"When I say something that you might think is a gaffe, it’s on purpose"
February 5, 2019 5:47 PM   Subscribe

Tonight at 9 pm, Donald Trump will make his second State of the Union address, in which he is expected to expatiate on the themes of "choosing greatness", infrastructure investment (maybe), bipartisanship (hopefully), and not declaring a national emergency (yet). Having made little progress on last year's SOTU promises (NYT), this year's could be even less believable (Politico). Here's how to watch it (Politico) or, if you prefer, drink to it (Newsweek).

• Wall Negotiations/National Emergency Round-up:
‘A Watershed Moment’: Trump Faces Crossroads Amid Mounting Threats On All Sides (WaPo) "House Democrats have made clear they will not vote to fund wall construction ahead of the Feb. 15 deadline to pass a new homeland security spending bill. Senate Republicans also are overwhelmingly resistant to declaring a national emergency, according to two senior GOP aides."
Trump Could ‘Be Forced’ to Declare National Emergency, GOP Border Negotiator Says (Politico) Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who represents a border district, "emphasized the legal doubts surrounding Trump’s threats to declare a national emergency to begin wall construction, saying that “any reasonable judge is going to say this is not an emergency.”"
Republicans Defy Trump On National Emergency (Politico) “As a practical matter, the president might be able to get his veto sustained,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). “The 99 percent likelihood is that a court would enjoin that emergency declaration and for the rest of the president’s first term the matter of the emergency would be tied up in the court and there would be no wall.”
Republicans Suggest Trump Won’t Get All The Wall Money He Wants — But They Are Unclear About What He Wants (WaPo) “Obviously, it’d be great if the president decided to sign the bill,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday. “I think we don’t yet know what his view is on this, but I think the conferees ought to reach an agreement and then we’ll hope that the president finds it worth signing.”
Path to Trump’s Border Wall Narrows as Republicans Balk at Emergency Declaration (NYT) "Mr. Trump is not expected to declare the state of emergency during Tuesday’s address. But he continues to threaten that he will divert funding for other military and infrastructure projects to build the wall, with or without congressional approval. He has told people close to him that he views the threat as his last remaining leverage in the fight."
• National Security Round-up:
Trump gets ready for State of the Union address – live news (Guardian) "Trump is expected to declare near-total triumph over the Islamic State group in Syria in his State of the Union address Tuesday, but U.S. defense officials are increasingly fearful that the militants are simply biding their time until the Americans leave the battlefield as planned, the Associated Press reports"
US commander says he was 'not consulted' on decision to leave Syria (Guardian) Gen Joseph Votel, head of Central Command, warned Isis will continue to pose a threat following US withdrawal
‘Unconscionable’: GOP Senate Homeland Security chair torches Trump’s Syria policy (Politico) "Johnson was one of 43 Senate Republicans to back a measure by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday that rebuked the president’s Syria policy in a bipartisan vote."
Trump disagrees with his own intelligence team. We catalog the differences (PolitiFact) "In his tweets, Trump was mostly responding to statements by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and CIA director Gina Haspel."
Author of Controversial Nunes Memo Joining National Security Council (CNN) "A congressional aide [Kashyap Patel] who was key in crafting the controversial Republican House Intelligence Committee memo that accused FBI and Justice Department officials of abusing their surveillance authority is set to join the National Security Council, two sources familiar with the matter said."
Why Intelligence Leadership Won’t Resign in Response to Trump’s Criticisms (LawFare) "The bureaucratic norm of putting one’s head down and getting to work lives particularly strong in intelligence circles."
Sold to an Ally, Lost to an Enemy—The US shipped weapons and secrets to the Saudis and Emiratis. Now, some are in the hands of fighters linked to al Qaeda and Iran. (CNN)
• INF Treaty Round-up:
Russia Pulls Out of Nuclear Treaty in ‘Symmetrical’ Response to U.S. Move (NYT) In a tit-for-tat response to the Trump administrations moves, Vladimir Putin suspends the observation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
Tom Nichols: Okay, everyone, I'm going to explain why the INF Treaty even existed and why it's an idiotic move to dump it and think we can replicate our success against the USSR in the 1980s all over again.[tweets|Thread reader]
Europe and the End of the INF Treaty (Carnegie Institute) "The Europeans, while standing behind NATO, have some hard choices to make. […] But there is little doubt that Putin can, and indeed has, threatened Europe (meaning Germany) over America’s decision to quit the INF."
John Bolton is a serial arms control killer (WaPo) Nuclear weapons policy expert Joseph Cirincione explains how Bolton's instincts to kill any treaty plays into Putin's hands, strengthening Russia position while weakening European cooperation.
• Trump Investigation Round-up:
New York federal prosecutors seek interviews with Trump Organization executives (CNN)
Federal prosecutors issue sweeping subpoena for documents from Trump inaugural committee, a sign of a deepening criminal probe (WaPo)
The Investigation Into Trump’s Inauguration Money Looks Quite Serious—The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York subpoenaed the inaugural committee on Monday. (Vox)
The Plan to Keep Trump’s Taxes Hidden (Politico) The Trump administration wants to drag an expected Democratic request for the president’s tax returns into a quagmire of arcane legal arguments.
[Maryland] Prosecutors Subpoena Records from Trump’s Scottish Golf Clubs (Vanity Fair) "Maryland prosecutors have subpoenaed a company owned by Donald Trump for records related to his Scottish golf courses, seeking information about the president’s possible violations of the emoluments clause of the Constitution."
• NRA Round-up:
Mueller Wants To Know About 2016 Trump Campaign's Ties to NRA (CNN)
N.R.A. Seeks Distance From Russia as Investigations Heat Up (NYT)
NRA Heavyweight Wanted Access to Putin: Leaked Email—“[I]mpressing the NRA’s Russian hosts is the quickest way to secure a private interview with President Putin,” an organizer of the NRA’s infamous 2015 trip to Moscow wrote. (Daily Beast)
Investigators Are Zeroing in on Top NRA Leaders’ Russia Ties—and Challenging the Gun Group’s Story (Mother Jones)
NRA Says 2015 Moscow Trip Wasn’t 'Official.' Emails, Photos Reveal Gun Group's Role. (ABC)
• Immigration Round-up:
US Sees Limitations On Reuniting Migrant Families (AP) "Jonathan White, who leads the Health and Human Services Department’s efforts to reunite migrant children with their parents, said removing children from 'sponsor' homes to rejoin their parents 'would present grave child welfare concerns.'"
Finding All Migrant Children Separated From Their Families May Be Impossible, Feds Say (NBC)
As U.S. Starts Deportations, Asylum-Seekers Face Perils in Mexico (Reuters)
Immigrants Drove Hours for Fake, ICE-issued Court Dates on Thursday (CBS)
Immigrant Rights Attorneys and Journalists Denied Entry Into Mexico (LAT)
Immigrant Tech Workers Struggle to Get H-1B Visas Under Trump: ‘I’ve Never Felt So Helpless’ (LAT) "While many people zero in on Trump’s crackdown against illegal immigration, his administration has also tightened or ended various paths to legal immigration."
Report: Immigration Applications Are Seeing “Crisis-Level” Delays Under the Trump Administration (Mother Jones)
IN OTHER HEADLINES:

• Before Expected Call for Unity, Trump Laced Into Democrats at Lunch for TV Anchors (NYT) Laying into Joe Biden (among possible 2020 challengers), Trump said, "His gaffes are unbelievable. When I say something that you might think is a gaffe, it’s on purpose; it’s not a gaffe. When Biden says something dumb, it’s because he’s dumb."

Mueller Witness’ Team Gamed Out Russian Meddling … in 2015 (Daily Beast). “At the time we were discussing the subject of cyber interference in democratic processes, it felt like just another idle intellectual exercise. But retrospectively, it feels a bit too on-the-nose not to be disturbing.”—Former Wikistrat analyst Peter Marino

• Trump Campaign Spending Erupts As President Enters Reelection Mode (Politico) Trump 2020 campaign spending dramatically increased to $23 million in the final quarter of last year, driven by midterm rallies and digital advertising (and $289,673 in "collateral" payments for hats). See also: “There’s a Revolt Against Parscale”: Amid Biden Night Sweats, the Knives Come Out (as Always) in Trump’s West Wing (Vanity Fair)

Insider leaks Trump's "Executive Time"-filled private schedules (Axios) (read all the schedules). "The schedules, which cover nearly every working day since the midterms, show that Trump has spent around 60% of his scheduled time over the past 3 months in unstructured 'Executive Time.'"

'They basically have nothing to do’: Trio of Republicans face life in exile (Politico). Duncan Hunter, Chris Collins and Steve King are on the sidelines after being stripped of their committee assignments.

US Oil Lease Near Sacred Park Pushes Forward (AP). The Bureau of Land Management "will move forward in March with the sale of oil and gas leases that include land near Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico and other areas sacred to Native American tribes."

How the Proud Boys Became Roger Stone’s Personal Army (Daily Beast). "When asked whether the Proud Boys mischaracterized his “1st degree” initiation in the video, Stone accused this reporter of being a member of the Communist Party and did not return further questions." See also: Proud Boys' founder Gavin McInnes sues Southern Poverty Law Center over hate group label (NBC)

The Palm Beach Post reviews "Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump’s Presidential Palace" How Trump used law suits, leaks to the National Enquirer, and threats to the town government to establish his Florida retreat. See also: Trump’s travel to Mar-a-Lago alone likely cost taxpayers more than $64 million (Washington Post).

Today is the 746th day of the Trump administration. There are 636 days until the 2020 elections and 10 until the short-term spending bill to keep the government open runs out.

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MetaTalk on Keeping Arguing about the US Primaries in Check", about avoiding the stuff that has gone badly on MetaFilter in previous election cycles.
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Megathread-Adjacent Posts and Sites:
The Empty Quadrant (on the social-liberal-fiscal-conservatism of Howard Schultz)
Comments Sought by Feb 12 on US Health Privacy Law
Curtailing Inequality and Saving Democracy
Day 31: Government Shutdown/Strike
Women's March AND March for Life events
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As always, please consider MeFi chat and the unofficial PoliticsFilter Slack for hot-takes and live-blogging breaking news, the new MetaTalk venting thread for catharsis and sympathizing, and funding the site if you're able. Also, for the sake of the ever-helpful mods, please keep in mind the MetaTalk on expectations about U.S. political discussion on MetaFilter. Thanks to box, I.forgot.my.password, Little Dawn, and zachlipton for helping to create this thread. U.S. Politics FPPs are generally collaborative, and a draft post can be found on the MeFi Wiki.
posted by Doktor Zed (1807 comments total) 120 users marked this as a favorite
 
Mod note: Preemptive reiteration: I know we got a nice new thread here but regardless please keep the livebloggy reactions to the SOTU in check. Let's try to skip contextless reactions or spit-takes and one-liners; contextualized reactions and comments summing up a digest of a larger bit of content are gonna work better.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:52 PM on February 5, 2019 [21 favorites]


Holy cow. Given the depth and breadth of the content of these posts — serious hat-tip to the posters — no wonder I’m feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude and pervasiveness of it all!

How could anyone hope to keep a firm handle on this mess?
posted by darkstar at 5:54 PM on February 5, 2019 [49 favorites]




This is going to be the second year in a row that I can't be bothered to watch, after about 2 decades of always watching.
posted by MrBobaFett at 5:59 PM on February 5, 2019 [20 favorites]


A few symbology notes:

Speaker Pelosi sending a pretty clear message by wearing a brooch of the ceremonial Mace of the House of Representatives [photo]

Tiffany Trump is wearing white, [photo] possibly standing with the Democratic women in suffragette white. Melania Trump is wearing black and a single glove.

Also, I very like the shout of "Madam Speaker" at the start.
posted by zachlipton at 6:04 PM on February 5, 2019 [40 favorites]


Text "sotu" to 50409 and they will text you when it is over.
posted by OnceUponATime at 6:05 PM on February 5, 2019 [6 favorites]


So Elizabeth Warren mistakenly relying on (or cynically exploiting) family stories of Indian lineage disqualifies her as a presidential candidate? Clearly 2020 is not a year for anyone but the absolute best Democratic candidate IMO so if another contender has a cleaner shot, I'd skip Warren too.

But in an age when the president elected despite any number of glaring character flaws proved to be perhaps the bull-shittiest president ever, that's it for her? Or is it that the emergence of a second document with Indian in her handwriting makes you wonder if there's another shoe to drop?
posted by sacre_bleu at 6:06 PM on February 5, 2019 [4 favorites]


Text "sotu" to 50409 and they will text you when it is over.

That number is for Resistbot
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:20 PM on February 5, 2019 [3 favorites]


Is anyone live fact-checking it?
posted by dobbs at 6:22 PM on February 5, 2019


The Washington Post is fact-checking/live-blogging Trump's SOTU. (The Toronto Star's redoubtable Daniel Dale's fact-checking sporadically since he's on deadline.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:23 PM on February 5, 2019 [5 favorites]


There is some preemptive fact-checking from the Associated Press:
TRUMP: “You saw the jobs report just came out. …The African-Americans have the best employment numbers in the history of our country. Hispanic Americans have the best employment numbers in the history of our country. Asian-Americans the best in the history of our country.” — CBS interview.

THE FACTS: Black unemployment is not currently the lowest ever, possibly in part to the partial government shutdown, which lifted joblessness last month. Black unemployment did reach a low, 5.9 percent, in May. But that figure is volatile on a monthly basis. That rate has since increased to 6.8 percent in January.

Hispanic and Asian-American joblessness has also risen off record lows last year. Hispanic unemployment last month was 4.9 percent, up from a low of 4.4 percent reached in October and December. Asian-American unemployment was at 3.1 percent, up from 2.2 percent in May.

Moreover, there are multiple signs that the racial wealth gap is now worsening. The most dramatic drop in black unemployment came under President Barack Obama, when it fell from a recession high of 16.8 percent in March 2010 to 7.8 percent in January 2017.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:28 PM on February 5, 2019 [12 favorites]




So apparently Trump just started talking before Pelosi spoke the traditional "I have the high privilege and distinct honor to introduce POTUS" introduction. Whether he was being rude, clueless of protocol, or trying to get out ahead of an overtly unenthusiastic line reading by Pelosi is left as an exercise to the reader.
posted by Rhaomi at 6:31 PM on February 5, 2019 [17 favorites]


My analysis so far is that this is fucking gross, that the state of the union address in general is a stupid ritual for a more functional society, and that I hope this is the last time the wheezing, dying american beast is forced to perform the dance of humiliation.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:32 PM on February 5, 2019 [52 favorites]


One thing that stands out to me so far is that there's effectively no agenda in this speech. We're a half hour in, and it's all "appreciate the congrats" stuff, as Josh Marshall says. We've got a parade of special guests, but there's been absolutely nothing forward-looking, anything he wants to actually do. Just now, he's finally getting around to mentioning that we need to fund the government in 10 days before launching into more doom and gloom stuff about the border, but this is just entirely devoid of any policy.

It's all looking back: moon landing, WWII vets, historical economic data. There's no positive future vision of any kind.
posted by zachlipton at 6:35 PM on February 5, 2019 [22 favorites]


Trump thanked Alice Johnson, whose sentence he commuted, for showing that we are all “in control of our own destiny”. What about all the people with near-identical stories to Alice Johnson who remain imprisoned, because the President hasn't experienced the whim to commute their sentence? How do they control their own destiny? Politicians show their worth by enacting humane policy, not by performing a handful of benign acts to provide a fig-leaf for their malevolent agenda.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:35 PM on February 5, 2019 [40 favorites]


Now he's on how the globalists want open borders to replace the American worker. Straight-up Nazi shit. Democrats need to walk out.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:37 PM on February 5, 2019 [23 favorites]


zachlipton: "We've got a parade of special guests, but there's been absolutely nothing forward-looking, anything he wants to actually do. Just now, he's finally getting around to mentioning that we need to fund the government in 10 days before launching into more doom and gloom stuff about the border, but this is just entirely devoid of any policy.

It's all looking back: moon landing, WWII vets, historical economic data. There's no positive future vision of any kind.
"

Vladimir Putin’s politics of eternity
Whereas inevitability promises a better future for everyone, eternity places one nation at the centre of a cyclical story of victimhood. Time is no longer a line into the future, but a circle that endlessly returns the same threats from the past. Within inevitability, no one is responsible because we all know that the details will sort themselves out for the better; within eternity, no one is responsible because we all know that the enemy is coming no matter what we do. Eternity politicians spread the conviction that government cannot aid society as a whole, but can only guard against threats. Progress gives way to doom.

In power, eternity politicians manufacture crisis and manipulate the resultant emotion. To distract from their inability or unwillingness to reform, they instruct their citizens to experience elation and outrage at short intervals, drowning the future in the present.
posted by Rhaomi at 6:41 PM on February 5, 2019 [40 favorites]


So Elizabeth Warren mistakenly relying on (or cynically exploiting) family stories of Indian lineage disqualifies her as a presidential candidate? Clearly 2020 is not a year for anyone but the absolute best Democratic candidate IMO so if another contender has a cleaner shot, I'd skip Warren too.

As someone from Oklahoma like Warren, the idea that this whole thing got so big in the first place seems insane. Half the people in the state have stories like this. Some of us actually do have that heritage, while many others think they do based on those family stories. And most of us have no idea who is correct and who's not. It's just not an uncommon thing at all. If she's mistaken she's mistaken, because people believe what their families have told them. Assigning some ulterior motive to it is a huge stretch.
posted by downtohisturtles at 6:43 PM on February 5, 2019 [142 favorites]


I didn't see it mentioned so: The designated survivor tonight is Rick Perry. Repeat, the next President if something really bad happens is Rick Perry.

Sleep well.

(ok, fine, the speech will be over soon. Don't ruin this for me.)
posted by Justinian at 6:53 PM on February 5, 2019 [16 favorites]


Assigning some ulterior motive to it is a huge stretch.

The whole Pocahontas thing started years ago with Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr, who long ago devolved from a State House muckraker to a right-wing troll.
posted by adamg at 6:56 PM on February 5, 2019 [13 favorites]


There has been a little meat in this speech, but it has been underwhelming. He's a terrible speaker when it comes to something like this. He'd rather be ranting.
posted by vrakatar at 6:59 PM on February 5, 2019 [1 favorite]


Trump had a riff on more women working, which the newly elected Democratic women in white quickly turned into cheering for themselves [video] and it was amazing, video part 2. If you're not watching, it's worth seeing these clips.

@christinawilkie: In case you were wondering the answer is yes, Trump did just try to take credit for the nationwide backlash against his presidency. The genuine surprise was that it turned into a memorably nice moment.
posted by zachlipton at 6:59 PM on February 5, 2019 [79 favorites]


I have no words for this (he's an idiot) except YAY WOMEN.
posted by bluesky43 at 7:04 PM on February 5, 2019 [5 favorites]


He's a terrible speaker when it comes to something like this. He'd rather be ranting.

They definitely fed him some tranquilizer gummies, like last time.

Incidentally he got to the HIV portion that we were speculating about earlier and instead of any dastardly scheme like we were worried about, or any proposal or plan at all, he just said "we're gonna beat AIDS" and moved on. Now he's talking about murdering babies in the womb.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:04 PM on February 5, 2019 [4 favorites]


It's worth seeing the graph of the 'boom' in manufacturing jobs (hint: it started in 2010),
posted by bluesky43 at 7:08 PM on February 5, 2019 [5 favorites]


NBC is live fact-checking, with updates posted after scrolling past this:
He didn’t call it a "witch hunt." But Trump took a veiled swipe at special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation while calling for unity and touting his administration’s domestic accomplishments on jobs and the economy.

“An economic miracle is taking place in the United States and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations,” he said. “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.”

It's reminiscent of President Richard Nixon criticizing the Watergate investigation in his 1974 State of the Union speech, in which he said, "One year of Watergate is enough."
posted by Little Dawn at 7:09 PM on February 5, 2019 [9 favorites]




This speech has no concept of transitions. He just says a thing, whether it's "cancer bad" or "school choice good" or "abortion bad" and moves on to the next one without a breath in between. There's no speechwriter here, just a list of stream of consciousness bullet points. He said something about Venezuela, which leads to socialism is evil and will never be in the USA, which somehow leads to moving the US Embassy in Israel. It's just incoherent.
posted by zachlipton at 7:11 PM on February 5, 2019 [25 favorites]


As someone from Oklahoma like Warren, the idea that this whole thing got so big in the first place seems insane.

Am I right to believe that in Senator Warren's early years, the mythical Cherokee ancestor was not something to proclaim proudly, but something to tell the kids only in whispers? I've Aussie descent, and pride in being descended of criminals only started in the 1960s. Lots of Australians made an effort to be more English than the English for most of the 20th century.
posted by ocschwar at 7:11 PM on February 5, 2019 [8 favorites]


Can these allegedly full-grown senators and representatives please stop clapping and cheering every 2 minutes? High school commencements are better behaved.
posted by GuyZero at 7:12 PM on February 5, 2019 [4 favorites]


It's sickening, I agree. White men in ties clapping, while women in white sit in silence.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 7:15 PM on February 5, 2019 [18 favorites]


Native American heritage wasn't ever something to be ashamed of, as far as I know.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:15 PM on February 5, 2019 [11 favorites]


I wouldn't say that, oschwar. The fabled "native american ancestor" has been a staple of American family mythology, particularly in certain regions including Oklahoma where Warren is from, for at least a century. How Americans went from purges and killing to mythologizing NA ancestry in the space of one generation is complicated.
posted by Justinian at 7:16 PM on February 5, 2019 [26 favorites]


Am I right to believe that in Senator Warren's early years, the mythical Cherokee ancestor was not something to proclaim proudly, but something to tell the kids only in whispers?

Not really. 125 years ago there were advantages to claiming native American ancestors. And these claims became part of family history as fact.

Paying to Play Indian: The Dawes Rolls and the Legacy of $5 Indians

It may be fashionable to play Indian now, but it was also trendy 125 years ago when people paid $5 apiece for falsified documents declaring them Native on the Dawes Rolls.

These so-called five-dollar Indians paid government agents under the table in order to reap the benefits that came with having Indian blood. Mainly white men with an appetite for land, five-dollar Indians paid to register on the Dawes Rolls, earning fraudulent enrollment in tribes along with benefits inherited by generations to come.

“These were opportunistic white men who wanted access to land or food rations,” said Gregory Smithers, associate professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University. “These were people who were more than happy to exploit the Dawes Commission—and government agents, for $5, were willing to turn a blind eye to the graft and corruption.”
posted by bluesky43 at 7:16 PM on February 5, 2019 [22 favorites]


Now on to his Tree of Life Synagogue shooting material, as if the blood will wash out. The balls on him.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:19 PM on February 5, 2019 [8 favorites]


Per this article from a site called Timeline, another reason for white families in the South to develop a Cherokee myth was to bolster associated claims about how long your family had lived in the area. And it combined, weirdly, with the Lost Cause narrative -- as in, the Cherokee nation bravely fought the federal government but lost, and we Southerners did the same thing, too. (Also complicated by the reality that some actual Cherokee did take part in the Confederacy, though not nearly as many as Confederates who claimed to be so.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:25 PM on February 5, 2019 [16 favorites]


There have been some previous posts about the phenomena of claimed 1/16th Cherokee ancestry.
posted by ckape at 7:30 PM on February 5, 2019 [5 favorites]


Well, that was ninety minutes of unsurprising but still appalling horseshit.
posted by cortex at 7:31 PM on February 5, 2019 [67 favorites]


it was also trendy 125 years ago when people paid $5 apiece for falsified documents declaring them Native on the Dawes Rolls

$5 noobs^?? Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.
posted by stopgap at 7:32 PM on February 5, 2019 [53 favorites]


I hate that guy but that was a decent close.
posted by vrakatar at 7:32 PM on February 5, 2019 [1 favorite]


This extraordinary Doug Mills photo of Speaker Pelosi turning some applause back on the President (or doing baby shark doo doo doo doo?) is the photo of the night.

We're done after 1:22:27 of garbage that largely seemed to focus on things that happened decades ago, some fearmongering and blaming immigrants for everything, and a little sidetrip to call for an end of the investigations into himself.
posted by zachlipton at 7:34 PM on February 5, 2019 [28 favorites]


Resistbot is not timely. The SOTU is over. It's safe to tune in.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:38 PM on February 5, 2019 [4 favorites]


Sure was a great look when all those Democrats stood and clapped for "we will never be a socialist country."
(Something something capital always siding with fascism over socialism something something)
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:38 PM on February 5, 2019 [34 favorites]


So the wall bit...We're deffo getting a shutdown next Friday.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 7:41 PM on February 5, 2019 [4 favorites]


"America will never be a socialist country"

well, not with that attitude.
posted by The Whelk at 7:42 PM on February 5, 2019 [238 favorites]


I don't want to belabor the thread or the point, but I too (born and raised in Oklahoma) always understood from a very early age that I was "one-thirty second Cherokee", even though the supposed actual native american great-great grandparent was never fully identified. I never doubted it for a minute, and still have no reason to not believe it, but if I ran for national office I suppose I would be eviscerated for it also.
posted by yhbc at 7:50 PM on February 5, 2019 [21 favorites]


Per this article from a site called Timeline, another reason for white families in the South to develop a Cherokee myth was to bolster associated claims about how long your family had lived in the area.

My family are all from the South, and all 8 of my great-grandparents have colonial-era ancestry back to the 1600's (pre-Mayflower in Virginia, 1630's Maryland, and Quakers who came to Pennsylvania with William Penn), and as far as I am aware I never heard my parents or grandparents or any of my relatives make any claim to Native American ancestry.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 7:53 PM on February 5, 2019 [2 favorites]


By far the most important line in the State of the Union Address was one not remarked upon by any of the talking heads on PBS:
If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.
It was clearly a line invented by the President himself, and it was a line that fell flat. But it contains a powerful statement of the President's viewpoint: that the act of investigating the President is equivalent to waging war, and that if the President is investigated, there can be no legislation, and, perhaps, there can be no peace.

That's the State of the Union.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:57 PM on February 5, 2019 [129 favorites]


Mod note: Maybe let's not in fact belabor the native heritage anecdote thing, folks.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:57 PM on February 5, 2019 [22 favorites]


The bit where Trump says there are more women in Congress than ever before was hilarious. Good on Pelosi for urging the new Democratic representatives to give him a standing ovation; comedy like that deserves to be acknowledged. I wonder if we'll ever find out who wrote it into the address?
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:59 PM on February 5, 2019 [37 favorites]


Trump thanked Alice Johnson, whose sentence he commuted, for showing that we are all “in control of our own destiny”. What about all the people with near-identical stories to Alice Johnson who remain imprisoned, because the President hasn't experienced the whim to commute their sentence? How do they control their own destiny?

I notice that both Alice Johnson and the other gentleman Trump introduced who was also released from prison had both become devout born-again Christians whilst in jail. Clearly "control your own destiny" means "accept Jesus" in this administration.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:01 PM on February 5, 2019 [18 favorites]


Sure was a great look when all those Democrats stood and clapped for "we will never be a socialist country."


I genuinely want more liberals and centrists to be as honest as possible about where they stand about the destination state of their actual ideology so everyone can actually see how far we can go with their politics.
posted by Ouverture at 8:02 PM on February 5, 2019 [22 favorites]


Here's a good roundup of Northam/Fairfax from Crystal Ball.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:05 PM on February 5, 2019 [7 favorites]


The rebuttal by Stacey Abrams was given in front of an audience of sorts, and I'm not thrilled that the tradition is always zero reaction from them until their applause at the end. I didn't even watch a single second of the SoTu, and I could sense the contrast with the clapping and cheering that must have punctuated that one. The effect is unfortunate, and the silence is probably a nontrivial part of why the response is always considered a snooze, but few pundits will admit this cause, because that would be confessing to possession of a hindbrain.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:13 PM on February 5, 2019 [6 favorites]


The thing that shocked me was that in the initial commentating period (after the speech and before the Democratic rebuttal) not one of the CNN panelists even brought up the fact that Trump just openly and proudly declared the start of a brand new arms race. Look I get that the wall and immigration are a big deal but an arms race has the potential to wipe out the entire world. Those of us here outside of the US are a bit concerned about the current state of your union.
posted by sardonyx at 8:14 PM on February 5, 2019 [65 favorites]


Good on Pelosi for urging the new Democratic representatives to give him a standing ovation

She was following their lead, there.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:15 PM on February 5, 2019 [3 favorites]


So the wall bit...We're deffo getting a shutdown next Friday.

I dunno, he went on and on about the border, but it kinda felt like he almost abandoned the whole idea of the wall, in a deniable-to-the-base way: "It will be deployed in the areas identified by border agents as having the greatest need" at least means he's given up on walling off the whole border sea-to-sea; a couple hundred feet of steel slats, enough for a photo op, and he can declare victory and go home.

Please. Go home. And stay there. That's all I ask, Donald
posted by ook at 8:17 PM on February 5, 2019 [2 favorites]


I don't think Alice Johnson would have been released without the help of Kim Kardashian.
posted by armacy at 8:17 PM on February 5, 2019 [12 favorites]




Stacy Abrams' speech was worth watching the other one for.
posted by rebent at 8:18 PM on February 5, 2019 [8 favorites]


@EC....or getting lovebombed by the pastor(s) of the local evangelical cult when everyone else in their lives gave up on them (with good reason).
posted by brujita at 8:19 PM on February 5, 2019 [2 favorites]


A few things I noticed:

His comment about ending the investigation

his use of the word Holocaust
posted by rebent at 8:20 PM on February 5, 2019 [3 favorites]




[Nancy Pelosi] was following their lead, there.

No, that was the previous line about women filling 58% of newly created jobs. When he delivers the one about more women in Congress than ever before you can see Pelosi doing a lifting motion with her palms to ensure that Democratic representatives drove the point home by standing up. But whatever, it was an incredible moment considering that there are no more Republican women in Congress today than there were thirty years ago.

(Yes, I know that's because of the 2018 midterms, it's still worth noting. WaPo analysis from January 3rd )
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:32 PM on February 5, 2019 [18 favorites]


Annotated State of the Union transcript from the WaPo and Politico.
posted by peeedro at 8:34 PM on February 5, 2019 [4 favorites]


The thing that shocked me was that in the initial commentating period (after the speech and before the Democratic rebuttal) not one of the CNN panelists even brought up the fact that Trump just openly and proudly declared the start of a brand new arms race. Look I get that the wall and immigration are a big deal but an arms race has the potential to wipe out the entire world.

Take some small comfort in Democrats controlling the House now. New nuclear weapons have to be funded, Nancy Pelosi isn't about to open up a blank check for a new and pointless nuclear buildup. Maybe some force modernization stuff, but that probably would've happened anyway, even Obama talked some about that. But we're not going back to trying to pump out as many nukes as possible like its 1962, no matter how many treaties John Bolton manages to sabotage.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:36 PM on February 5, 2019 [12 favorites]


Yeah, the Democratic House is a comfort, but as you said, T. D. Strange, Bolton is still there, whispering in Donald's ear, while Putin is purring seductively in the other one. That combination is enough to cause some queasy feelings, no matter how many checks and balances exist. It's enough of an issue that I don't think it should be glossed over and dropped from the public's attention. Then again, I suspect the public at large wouldn't really care.
posted by sardonyx at 8:42 PM on February 5, 2019 [1 favorite]


As I was getting ready for work this morning, I switched to CNN to see if Trump was done yet, and got a tv full of people chanting USA! USA! like we were back in the 80s and Hacksaw Jim Duggan was beating up another wrestling (probably also an American) portraying a blatantly racist caricature of whatever evil foreign empire we were all supposed to hate at whatever moment it was.

I was maybe 10 years old back then, but even so, without the words to describe it yet, I found it utterly revolting, just rampant, naked nationalism. Literally, the only reason we were given to cheer a slob like Duggan was that he was (literally) draped in the American flag, and his opponent was *not from around here* or *thought his country was pretty good, too.* Living over seas, whenever I’m in a situation with non-American friends and something like that happens (World Cup, Olympics, whatever) there’s always a moment where I feel like I need to apologize, and they’re looking at me with sympathy.

Hearing it now, 30 years later, makes my skin crawl. It’s one thing, though, for it to be chanted by mid 80s wrestling fans, and another entirely for it to be chanted in the House of Representatives. The rote applause because the president said America is pretty awesome (and if you don’t, it’s a chance for your opponent in the next election to claim you don’t love America), and the trained circus animal standing ovations are bad enough. But here we are, and the only thing that’s changed is the venue, and that we’ve got a different slob draping himself in the flag.

There really isn’t anything anymore that can’t be dragged down so far into the muck that we can’t remember why we used to think it mattered.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:45 PM on February 5, 2019 [72 favorites]


FWIW, Abrams's speech getting very strong reviews online, even from people on the right.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:47 PM on February 5, 2019 [21 favorites]


A tweet from Amy Klobuchar: I’m making a big announcement on Sunday. Join me there: http://amyklobuchar.com .

One presumes she isn't announcing that she saved a bunch of money on her car insurance by switching to GEICO. I think she'd be an incredibly formidable general election candidate against Trump since she directly undermines his most important support in the Midwest but I'm not sure what she sees as her path to the nomination. Will be watching with interest though!
posted by Justinian at 8:50 PM on February 5, 2019 [24 favorites]




Here's a good 1:53 clip from Abrams' speech that cuts to the heart of it: "Even as I am very disapointed by the president's approach to our problems, I still don't want him to fail. But we need him to tell the truth. And to respect his duties. And respect the extraordinary diversity that defines America."
posted by zachlipton at 8:55 PM on February 5, 2019 [41 favorites]


Trump has already started production of a new low-yield nuclear weapon – essentially a Trident missile with the warhead's second thermonuclear stage removed – meant to be a "usable" tactical nuke.

Unfortunately the Russians won't know if a sub-launched missile is a cute little tactical one headed for the Fulda Gap or a city-buster headed for Moscow until they've already launched their return volley.

The arms race is on, and stupider than ever.
posted by nicwolff at 8:55 PM on February 5, 2019 [28 favorites]


A tweet from Amy Klobuchar: I’m making a big announcement on Sunday. Join me there: http://amyklobuchar.com .

I've been calling Harris/Klobuchar for a year. They'll be the nominees, easily. Which is a bit too bad because originally in 2017, I was for Klobuchar/Franken.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 8:59 PM on February 5, 2019 [8 favorites]


Klobuchar won'r survive a minor investigation into her staffing practices
posted by The Whelk at 9:02 PM on February 5, 2019 [4 favorites]


She has a high turnover on her staff.

And as long as there's no harassment or abuse, that won't matter.
posted by asteria at 9:07 PM on February 5, 2019


They'll be the nominees, easily.

Given the past couple years, maybe bold assertions about what WILL happen are not super wise.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:08 PM on February 5, 2019 [53 favorites]


I do not yet have an informed opinion on the implications of Senate staff turnover but it's always struck me as implausible someone might not thoroughly vet all of those sorts of potential issues before jumping in to a high profile race? Wouldn't that be the bare minimum you'd do?

On the other hand it was just revealed that the Governor or Virginia dressed either in blackface or a Klan robe, and the current President ran despite decades of criminal activity barely concealed in his closet so I must be giving politicians too much credit.
posted by Justinian at 9:23 PM on February 5, 2019 [18 favorites]


Annotated State of the Union transcript from the WaPo and Politico.
In June, we mark 75 years since the start of what General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the Great Crusade -- the Allied liberation of Europe in World War II. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, 15,000 young American men jumped from the sky, and 60,000 more stormed in from the sea, to save our civilization from tyranny.
...
In 2019, we also celebrate 50 years since brave young pilots flew a quarter of a million miles through space to plant the American flag on the face of the moon.
Awesome! Two Democratic big-government projects driven by higher taxes on the rich. Thank you, Mr. President!
posted by kirkaracha at 9:40 PM on February 5, 2019 [44 favorites]


I thought his official position was that “there were very fine people on both sides” of D-Day. Weird to see him throw his base under the bus like that. Did notsee that coming.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:43 PM on February 5, 2019 [20 favorites]


I was maybe 10 years old back then, but even so, without the words to describe it yet, I found it utterly revolting, just rampant, naked nationalism. Literally, the only reason we were given to cheer a slob like Duggan was that he was (literally) draped in the American flag, and his opponent was *not from around here* or *thought his country was pretty good, too.* Living over seas, whenever I’m in a situation with non-American friends and something like that happens (World Cup, Olympics, whatever) there’s always a moment where I feel like I need to apologize, and they’re looking at me with sympathy.

Hearing it now, 30 years later, makes my skin crawl. It’s one thing, though, for it to be chanted by mid 80s wrestling fans, and another entirely for it to be chanted in the House of Representatives. The rote applause because the president said America is pretty awesome (and if you don’t, it’s a chance for your opponent in the next election to claim you don’t love America), and the trained circus animal standing ovations are bad enough. But here we are, and the only thing that’s changed is the venue, and that we’ve got a different slob draping himself in the flag.

There really isn’t anything anymore that can’t be dragged down so far into the muck that we can’t remember why we used to think it mattered.
posted by Ghidorah at 12:45 PM on February 6 [5 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]


#whatisthehashtagthatsmetoobutforpatriotism. I'm glad I didn't watch. Displays of patriotism make my skin crawl, especially because like Ghidorah, I live overseas, and I have to watch it from people from multiple countries, and do it or not do it for my own team in front of people from other countries too.

I don't care where you're from, it's rarely a good look. Humankind is made up of individuals who do actual things, and the times when a nation full of individuals act willingly and in concert to achieve something not zero-sum, self-interested, or outright abusive are really f**kin rare, and if you ask me, those are the only times worth cheering for the nation-team.

And then they did the thing in the House of Representatives. Fine. President Camacho the SOTU and be done with it already, this slow torture is killing me.
posted by saysthis at 9:50 PM on February 5, 2019 [5 favorites]




Unfortunately the Russians won't know if a sub-launched missile is a cute little tactical one headed for the Fulda Gap or a city-buster headed for Moscow until they've already launched their return volley.


Sure they will. Trump will have told them in advance.
posted by benzenedream at 9:58 PM on February 5, 2019 [11 favorites]


The Larry Sabato rundown on the Virginia situation that is cited by Chrysostom above leaves out two additional complications in the already boggling story. The woman who spilled the beans to Big League Politics, from a private Facebook message from Tyson, the woman claiming assault, is Adria Scharf, a social justice activist in Richmond who is married to a progressive college professor who happens to be a close advisor to Richmond Mayor Lavar Stoney. Stoney and Fairfax are sort of political rivals, but why is Scharf, a progressive Democrat, contacting a right-wing rag? Tune in tomorrow.
posted by kemrocken at 10:10 PM on February 5, 2019 [3 favorites]


On his line about there being more women in congress than ever:

Women are on track to make up nearly 40% of House Democrats in 2019, but less than 7% of House Republicans, she said.


The women deserve congratulations, but he doesn't get any credit for that. Then he explodes any goodwill with his baby killer bullshit.

It was nice of him to invite OG Antifa, the D-Day vets.
posted by adept256 at 10:14 PM on February 5, 2019 [27 favorites]


I also accidentally caught the last 5 minutes or so of Trump's speech, but that was enough to get the gist. The point, I thought, was to have all the Republicans constantly cheering, clapping, and standing for him. It legitimizes him. It completes the transformation of the Republican party from pretending to be primarily about conservative philosophy to being primarily driven by nationalism and anti-globalism.
posted by xammerboy at 10:28 PM on February 5, 2019 [3 favorites]


Newly unearthed video shows Trump ‘meeting with Russians in Moscow in 1995’

I saw that earlier and did a quick search to see if this was a previously known meeting. Found it in the Wikipedia entry, Business Projects of Donald Trump in Russia. He was apparently there in a consulting role for an underground mall connected to the Moscow Metro, but he was also trying to get in on the project, proposing additional construction of residential units (which they didn't end up doing).
posted by p3t3 at 10:30 PM on February 5, 2019 [1 favorite]


Am I right in thinking that he never mentioned climate change? Unbelievable.
posted by SLC Mom at 11:37 PM on February 5, 2019 [2 favorites]


Remember the last caravan that everyone freaked out about right before the mid terms and then it turned out that there was potentially some rat-fuckery with the organization of it and how convenient it was to give everyone a boogie man right before the elections? And now he’s in this can’t lose, can’t back down fight for his racist wall and suddenly there’s another caravan to be terrified of? Is anyone else thinking shenanigans?
posted by Weeping_angel at 11:45 PM on February 5, 2019 [7 favorites]


Contrast Mike Pence jacking off with Nancy Pelosi rolling her eyes.
posted by bendy at 11:45 PM on February 5, 2019 [1 favorite]


Speaking of which:

Who Is Mike Pence? 12 Percent of Americans Say They Have Never Heard of the Vice President: Poll

30 million Americans don't know who he is. To paraphrase a comedian I've heard, he's like a manilla envelope stapled to a beige wall.
posted by adept256 at 12:19 AM on February 6, 2019 [34 favorites]


Living over seas, whenever I’m in a situation with non-American friends and something like that happens (World Cup, Olympics, whatever) there’s always a moment where I feel like I need to apologize, and they’re looking at me with sympathy.

More the half the human beings on Earth didn’t watch the 2018 World Cup because “who cares who wins? One country is just as good as any other!”. Nationalism is literally the entire point. Your friends were looking at you with sympathy because you felt the need the apologize for something they were participating in whole heartedly. Or maybe it was because the USMNT lost to Trinidad and Tobago in late 2017 and they didn’t even get to go to the 2018 World Cup.
posted by sideshow at 12:20 AM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


More the half the human beings on Earth didn’t watch the 2018 World Cup because “who cares who wins?
To be accurate, it was actually 'more than half the human beings on earth watched at least one minute of the World Cup'.

Which sounds much less impressive, and doesn't really support the belief that nationalism is huge everywhere…
posted by Pinback at 1:30 AM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


Cheering for your team or even chanting "USA" aren't nationalism as I understand it. That sort of thing is just fandom and local pride, like cheering for your high school basketball team. It doesn't mean you hate people from the other high school or think them less than human. Nationalism is the idea that a ethnic group/culture should get its own state. Like the Kurds (tired of being a mistreated minority) want a Kurdish state. Like Jews wanted a Jewish state. If you want your ethnic/religious/cultural group to have its own nation, you're a nationalist.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:02 AM on February 6, 2019 [3 favorites]


Seeing and hearing crowds of red-flushed wild-eyed screaming white people bellowing USA USA USA is terrifying if you are not white. Comparing minorities who have faced systemic campaigns of extermination wanting their own state to that is, uh. Don't know how to word my feelings on that and not get banned.
posted by poffin boffin at 2:41 AM on February 6, 2019 [81 favorites]


Well, that was ninety minutes of surprising but still appealing horseshit.
posted by unliteral at 3:07 AM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


Not to further a derail on what is or isn’t nationalism, but yeah, USA! chants, especially where I described them, as coming from wrestling, nationalism is the whole point. The guy with the American flag was the good guy at all times, even when he blatantly cheated (Duggan was known for hiding foreign objects/brass knuckles in his shorts, or simply beating people with the 2x4 he carried around), and the other guy, Russian, Arab, French, literally whatever, they were bad because they weren’t American.

I’m fine with people cheering their hometown, or their country, because it’s a place they like, and want to see it do well in friendly competition. When it’s “my place is the best, and you are lesser than I because you come from somewhere that is not my place,” that’s what I see as nationalism, and that’s what I hear when I hear the USA chants.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:11 AM on February 6, 2019 [13 favorites]


I don't think the retired mathematician guy who wrote books about Windows and that blog post should be regarded as much of an authority on what nationalism means, particularly not what Trump means when he says "I'm a Nationalist" or how it would connect to members of Congress who have abetted his crimes shouting "USA!"

It has seemed to me, in reading more about how the word is used and which words from other languages are translated using it, over the past few years, that it's dangerous to regard it as a well-defined phenomena with broader characteristics which inform the meaning when it's used descriptively to apply to a specific situation.

Remember that formulating some benign both-sidesism generalized definition of nationalism and allowing that to color your perception of their own actions and motives is exactly what Bannon and Trump and company want you to do.

Their Nationalism is the kind of nationalism where it's outrageous for PoC to kneel during the national anthem or for anyone to portray history too accurately if it reflects poorly on the nation, where the government should be able to torture people including its own citizens if the right noises are made about a supposed urgency, and where there can be a good kind of rounding up millions of people and putting them in camps—when it's for the good of the nation, y'know.

It's a loose rationalization for the exercise of power, not a cerebral political philosophy or consistent code of conduct.

If I'm recalling correctly Mao was a Nationalist / member of the Kuomintang, at the same time he was a member of the Chinese Communist Party, before the split between them.
posted by XMLicious at 3:17 AM on February 6, 2019 [13 favorites]


I think that Nancy P has mastered this way to make her face light up with grandmotherly ambience and then like invisible knives fly out of her eyes, hit their target, and are unfelt until a certain period of festering sets in. And you can sort of barely sense the moment those knives are unsheathed except for a slight glaze on that beaming visage, a moment she is governed only by her deep desire for Trump to know intimately a series of Lovecraftian horrors.

I mean, that's what I got out of that Pelosi clapping Trump off gif.
posted by angrycat at 3:54 AM on February 6, 2019 [51 favorites]


The Atlantic has a nice monkey wrench of an article to throw into future political discussions: Liberals and Conservatives React in Wildly Different Ways to Repulsive Pictures
In which pre-cognitive genetic features such as germophobia, density of fungiform papillae on tongues and foul odor sensitivity can predict ideology to an alarming amount of significance in test subjects.
posted by Harry Caul at 4:33 AM on February 6, 2019 [45 favorites]


Melissa McEwen at Shakesville has written A LOT about Mike Pence. Here's an excellent piece about his destructive ambition. She even has an appropriately named label dedicated to him.
posted by kokaku at 4:34 AM on February 6, 2019 [14 favorites]


Cheering for your team or even chanting "USA" aren't nationalism as I understand it. That sort of thing is just fandom and local pride, like cheering for your high school basketball team. It doesn't mean you hate people from the other high school or think them less than human.

There is a vast and cavernous difference between "your high school basketball team" and "a country which has to co-exist with other sovereign nations".

A couple days after 9/11 I had a conversation with a friend about how we were already getting uneasy with how many flags we saw springing up; I said that "I'm just afraid that waving the flag is quickly going to turn into waving the flag at someone." And sure enough, Islamophobia shot waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay up, even targeting people that weren't even Muslim but just looked "other".

Cheering for your local sports team is one thing. Hell, cheer for your country's Olympic sports team. But the nations themselves are not sports teams and should not be treated as such - the fallout when two nations compete on a rugby field or what have you is very, very different from the competition when two nations compete over borders.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:49 AM on February 6, 2019 [36 favorites]


That's an interesting article, and I reflexively flinch away from articles suggesting conservative's brains are different. But it did draw my attention to the cover of the March edition of The Atlantic. One third of it is bold red capitals (on blue!) saying 'IMPEACH'.

It refers to this article:

Impeach Donald Trump
Starting the process will rein in a president who is undermining American ideals—and bring the debate about his fitness for office into Congress, where it belongs.

The cover is interesting because the colours and font break a zillion design rules. They've made it look so ugly on purpose, because surely they know better.
posted by adept256 at 4:56 AM on February 6, 2019 [16 favorites]


On reflection, maybe they made the cover so ugly knowing that, according to their own reportage, conservatives will fucking hate it.
posted by adept256 at 5:14 AM on February 6, 2019 [2 favorites]


The Atlantic has a nice monkey wrench of an article to throw into future political discussions: Liberals and Conservatives React in Wildly Different Ways to Repulsive Pictures
In which pre-cognitive genetic features such as germophobia, density of fungiform papillae on tongues and foul odor sensitivity can predict ideology to an alarming amount of significance in test subjects.


Be incredibly cautious about taking this research too seriously (or even seriously at all). It has all the hallmarks of replicability failures and cherry picked results. Almost every study of the "group x1 does y1 and group x2 does y2" that I have ever seen in psychology eventually breaks down under scrutiny.
posted by srboisvert at 5:25 AM on February 6, 2019 [26 favorites]


That technique causes an effect called Chromostereopsis, which causes the letters to jump forward at you slightly.

On the other hand, colorblind readers may have thought the Atlantic was entering their White Album phase.
posted by condour75 at 5:27 AM on February 6, 2019 [29 favorites]


On the other hand, colorblind readers may have thought the Atlantic was entering their White Album phase.

If this is an intentional design choice, it’s brilliant. A majority will look at that cover and see an urgent call to impeach. A minority of folks will see absolutely nothing and carry on with their day. Brilliant.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:42 AM on February 6, 2019


Re: The Atlantic: If the purpose of a magazine cover design is to get one to purchase the magazine, this one will be successful. For me.
posted by petebest at 5:47 AM on February 6, 2019 [4 favorites]


Am I right in thinking that he never mentioned climate change?

Yes, according to the Guardian:
A climate scientist and a former government expert in the audience for Donald Trump’s speech said this will likely be the last administration that can forego talking about climate change.

Trump didn’t mention rising temperatures or extreme weather, although he did tout the country’s status as the top producer of oil and gas and boast about how quickly his officials have moved to cut regulations. [...]

Joel Clement, who resigned from the Interior Department because he said the administration was muzzling scientists and ignoring climate change impacts on vulnerable communities, now works with the Union of Concerned Scientists. He was invited by Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree.

“The Trump administration’s strategy is to ignore climate change and pretend it doesn’t exist and pretend the science doesn’t exist even if it’s coming from its own agencies,” Clement said. “To not say anything about it is just ignorance, and it’s irresponsible.”
posted by Little Dawn at 5:48 AM on February 6, 2019 [15 favorites]


If this is an intentional design choice, it’s brilliant. A majority will look at that cover and see an urgent call to impeach. A minority of folks will see absolutely nothing and carry on with their day. Brilliant.

You'd have to have an extremely rare form of colorblindness (achromatopsia, which affects 1 in 40,000 people) for that magazine cover to potentially not scan. But I'm confused about how it's brilliant to put out secret messages that colorblind people can't read for no apparent reason? Unless this comment was ironic.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 5:54 AM on February 6, 2019 [5 favorites]


I was thinking it might be a clever commentary on, say, willful blindness when it comes to Trump and impeachment. But I’ll stop with the aesthetic derail.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:57 AM on February 6, 2019 [5 favorites]


Takeaways From Trump’s 2019 State of the Union Address (NYT):
“If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn’t work that way!” [...]

Representative Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, smiled. He has already begin examining whether money laundering could have motivated Mr. Trump’s coziness with Russian oligarchs.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:06 AM on February 6, 2019 [21 favorites]


ProPublica: Confidential Memo: Company of Trump Inaugural Chair Sought to Profit From Connections to Administration, Foreigners
A person familiar with the creation of the memo said it was written by Rick Gates, who was deputy chairman of the inaugural committee and was then hired by Barrack as a Colony consultant. The memo is on Colony letterhead. Gates, who was fired by Colony after he was indicted in Robert Mueller’s Russian interference investigation in October 2017, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gates has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to the FBI, and he is cooperating with law enforcement.
The Hill: Mueller probe filings raise prospect of more indictments
Despite rampant speculation that Mueller is close to finalizing his report, the language used in court documents over the past few months offers clues that suggest his probe might ensnare more individuals. [...]

Mueller has repeatedly sought to delay former Trump campaign aide Richard Gates’s sentencing, citing his cooperation with several ongoing investigations.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:45 AM on February 6, 2019 [6 favorites]


It's been said countless times already, but it will bear repeating until the end of this crisis: If Trump has nothing to hide, then he has nothing to fear from investigations. And Trump is not acting like a man with nothing to hide.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:46 AM on February 6, 2019 [28 favorites]


Listened to Senator Klobuchar on Minnesota Public Radio this morning, inviting everyone to come out to Boom Island for her announcement. As one does in Minnesota, she advised people to dress warmly, maybe bring a hand warmer or two.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:51 AM on February 6, 2019 [10 favorites]


If Trump has nothing to hide, then he has nothing to fear from investigations. And Trump is not acting like a man with nothing to hide.

I want to gently push back aginst the "nothing to hide" line, including because of the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of a presumption of innocence (Regent University School of Law), but also because we don't get to decide how our words are ultimately interpreted - it's just not how criminal prosecution works.

"Nothing to hide, nothing to fear" is a standard argument against privacy and civil rights (ACLU), so I encourage caution about the potential sacrifice of core democratic values in exchange for convenient slogans that we'd otherwise be fighting if they were turned against us.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:01 AM on February 6, 2019 [79 favorites]


Stacy Abrams saying that the White House responded "timidly" to mass shootings was brilliant framing which I hope to see adopted widely.
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:02 AM on February 6, 2019 [69 favorites]


Mod note: Couple comments deleted. Sorry, let's not drive off into general theories about humankind or "ugh these stupid people who still support him, what is wrong with them" or god forbid "sports cultivate xenophobia" general stuff.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:28 AM on February 6, 2019 [15 favorites]


"Nothing to hide, nothing to fear" is a standard argument against privacy and civil rights (ACLU), so I encourage caution about the potential sacrifice of core democratic values in exchange for convenient slogans that we'd otherwise be fighting if they were turned against us.

There's a distinct difference between investigation and prosecution (and a less distinct one between those and persecution). I don't know anyone who said that no one should have ever investigated Benghazi, or Clinton's emails, or Whitewater, etc. But once the investigation is done, then it's done.

Trump is clearly saying that no one should investigate collusion, that no one should look at his business dealings, that no one should be allowed to ask questions about his rampant malfeasance, for no reason other than "It's bad for everyone when things happen that the Leader doesn't like." That's a standard that would render not just criminal prosecution impossible at every level, but society.
posted by Etrigan at 7:47 AM on February 6, 2019 [69 favorites]


I think that Nancy P has mastered this way to make her face light up with grandmotherly ambience and then like invisible knives fly out of her eyes, hit their target, and are unfelt until a certain period of festering sets in.

Nancy Pelosi is perfectly situated for this moment in history, and I, for one, will be forever grateful that she was elected to stand for another term as speaker.
posted by bluesky43 at 7:54 AM on February 6, 2019 [56 favorites]


The Wall Street Journal is heavily paywalled, so it's barely worth even linking to the story, but in the light of one white guy with racist yearbook pictures, it's grimly humorous to see them run this headline: "‘I Was Young’ Isn’t an Excuse: Business Leaders Need to Revisit Yearbooks: High-profile executives and business owners should conduct ‘opposition analysis’ on themselves to see if damaging pre-digital images could come to light."
posted by octobersurprise at 7:56 AM on February 6, 2019 [15 favorites]


30 million Americans don't know who he is. To paraphrase a comedian I've heard, he's like a manilla envelope stapled to a beige wall.

For me, that's far more scary than it is funny. Power is often at its worst and most evil when it's relatively obscure. How many Americans actually know who Henry Kissinger, John Yoo, or William McRaven are and the atrocities against humanity they have all committed?

To this point, Splinter published a long piece this week into Joe Ricketts.

"Wait, who's Joe Ricketts?"

I'm glad you asked.
posted by Ouverture at 7:56 AM on February 6, 2019 [18 favorites]


WaPo: Ruth Bader Ginsburg was seen in public Monday. Conspiracy theorists still insist she’s dead. It's QAnon, Ben Garrison, Sebastian Gorka, and James Woods aided by Twitter and YouTube.
posted by peeedro at 7:57 AM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


How could anyone hope to keep a firm handle on this mess?

Late answer.

By knowing that one can't on their own, by accepting that the only possible sane response to the last two years has something to do with trusting one's greater community to have enough reason, rationality and overall commitment toward truth (for lack of a better word) that together, through complex and nuanced sharing of knowledge and wisdom and related research and discussion that we might just collectively have enough intellectual and emotional tenacity to (eventually) ride the ongoing chaos toward someplace reasonably calm and hopeful.

In other words, thanks everybody for doing what you're doing (no two of us doing exactly the same thing) toward NOT all going to hell together in a handbasket (though what handbaskets and trips to hell have in common, I'm still trying to grasp).
posted by philip-random at 7:58 AM on February 6, 2019 [3 favorites]


Last night Nancy Pelosi stood up and clapped when Trump said that the US will never be a socialist country, so ultimately she's going to be an obstacle to the goals of the left.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 7:58 AM on February 6, 2019 [13 favorites]


The Wall Street Journal is heavily paywalled, so it's barely worth even linking to the story,

As a heads up, I've found outline.com to be very useful in dealing with WSJ articles.
posted by corb at 7:59 AM on February 6, 2019 [11 favorites]


CNN has a scoop about the SCO's investigation of the Trump inauguration: Exclusive: Mueller's Team Questioning Russian Oligarchs
Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has taken the unusual step of questioning Russian oligarchs who traveled into the US, stopping at least one and searching his electronic devices when his private jet landed at a New York area airport, according to multiple sources familiar with the inquiry.

A second Russian oligarch was stopped during a recent trip to the US, although it is not clear if he was searched, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Mueller's team has also made an informal voluntary document and interview request to a third Russian oligarch who has not traveled to the US recently.

The situations have one thing in common: Investigators are asking whether wealthy Russians illegally funneled cash donations directly or indirectly into Donald Trump's presidential campaign and inauguration.[…]

The sources did not share the names of the oligarchs but did describe the details of their interactions with the special counsel's team.

One area under scrutiny, sources say, is investments Russians made in companies or think tanks that have political action committees that donated to the campaign.
Meanwhile, NBC has a development from Capitol Hill: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's Testimony Delayed—Cohen's testimony was originally going to take place on Friday. HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff said "in the interests of the investigation", Cohen will appear Feb. 28th (he's supposed to report to federal prison on March 6).
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:59 AM on February 6, 2019 [13 favorites]


"‘I Was Young’ Isn’t an Excuse: Business Leaders Need to Revisit Yearbooks: High-profile executives and business owners should conduct ‘opposition analysis’ on themselves to see if damaging pre-digital images could come to light."

How is this not, like, the first thing your campaign manager tells you when you open your first campaign office? "Hey, is there any concrete proof that you were (or are) a huge racist piece of shit? Like, are you on record with any newspapers questioning the Holocaust, or are there pictures of you in blackface in a yearbook anywhere? Maybe you have a history of being drunk and abusive to women that we should know about before your confirmation hearing?"
posted by Mayor West at 7:59 AM on February 6, 2019 [19 favorites]


Pelosi didn't stand up and clap, but she was certainly clapping politely which kind of sucked to see. The cut away to Bernie's blank expression surrounded by a bunch of standing ovation democrats is emblematic of...a lot of things that need to change in the party. As was AOC's thousand yard stare.
posted by windbox at 8:03 AM on February 6, 2019 [28 favorites]


I dropped into this thread earlier this morning and read some of the Nationalism and "USA!" discussion, so I thought I'd drop this in: I homeschool our nine year old daughter, and the history lesson reading his morning was on Hitler's rise to power. One of the review questions I gave her from the book was why people were moved to support him. Her answer, "He said he would make Germany great again." She then had to wait until I finished my laughing fit before I could move onto the next question.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:05 AM on February 6, 2019 [54 favorites]


My mistake, I'd only heard it described, haven't actually seen the video. But yeah, I was very disappointed with that entire happenstance.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:06 AM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


NPR links: Two things NPR didn't expand upon from Abrams: "America achieved a measure of reproductive justice in Roe v. Wade, but we must never forget: It is immoral to allow politicians to harm women and families to advance a political agenda. We affirmed marriage equality, and yet the LGBTQ community remains under attack."
posted by filthy light thief at 8:06 AM on February 6, 2019 [17 favorites]


If we're going to wish that Pelosi didn't play along with the marginal societal politeness of the ritual you may as well go full bore and wish she'd refused to ever issue the joint resolution inviting the President to the chamber to give the speech. Which I am okay with since the whole thing is a stupid waste of time. But the role of the leaders is to play the game 99 times out of 100 and leave the daily rough play to the folks down on the line.
posted by phearlez at 8:19 AM on February 6, 2019 [49 favorites]


Yeah, I'm good with not having a week of news about Socialist Pelosi.
posted by LarsC at 8:22 AM on February 6, 2019 [29 favorites]


How is this not, like, the first thing your campaign manager tells you when you open your first campaign office? "Hey, is there any concrete proof that you were (or are) a huge racist piece of shit? Like, are you on record with any newspapers questioning the Holocaust, or are there pictures of you in blackface in a yearbook anywhere? Maybe you have a history of being drunk and abusive to women that we should know about before your confirmation hearing?"

I have experience to speak to this. Our family-friend neighbor who went into local politics was surprised one day to get a call from his old high school back in Chicago, asking "do you have any idea why the GOP in your current town just called us to ask about your transcripts?" Fortunately he'd behaved himself back then, so they couldn't find anything. But the moral is: your own campaign manager better be on that, because if they're not, your opponent's will.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:24 AM on February 6, 2019 [15 favorites]


Yeah, I'm good with not having a week of news about Socialist Pelosi.

Myself, I'm pretty done with Democrats pre-emptively cringing and tacking rightward before it even becomes an issue.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:28 AM on February 6, 2019 [28 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, it seems like agree-to-disagree on Pelosi clapping or related at this point -- it's fine for people to have different opinions on it but nobody's changing their positions here so let's not restate a dozen more times.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:33 AM on February 6, 2019 [23 favorites]


How is this not, like, the first thing your campaign manager tells you when you open your first campaign office? "Hey, is there any concrete proof that you were (or are) a huge racist piece of shit? Like, are you on record with any newspapers questioning the Holocaust, or are there pictures of you in blackface in a yearbook anywhere? Maybe you have a history of being drunk and abusive to women that we should know about before your confirmation hearing?"

They do do that (well, good ones do), but there are so many potentially disqualifying things that could be out there that no one could possibly list all of them and get firm "Yes" or "No" answers. So what a good campaign manager will do is ask a few general questions, a few targeted questions (e.g., in 2018, they would have asked more closely about whether former sexual partners would say they assaulted them) and hope that the candidate isn't just forgetting things, or (ahem) whitewashing their memories. Someone may have asked Fairfax "Do you have any former sexual partners who would say you assaulted them?", and he may have answered honestly that, as far as he knew, no one would say that.

And sometimes candidates just flat-out lie because they figure no one will ever bother to look for that old college newspaper where they were "just asking questions" about whether affirmative action was bad, because they're just running for County Commissioner, and then they run for the State Senate and no one ever found that newspaper, and then they're in Congress and no one ever found it, and suddenly people might be looking, but you can't tell your campaign manager "Oh, hey, this thing I never told you or anyone else about might be a thing...".

As I've recounted here before, I worked for a candidate who was found to be lying (to everyone including their spouse) about a three-year chunk of their life. The lie was uncovered when someone went to the fourth page of Google results for the candidate's name.
posted by Etrigan at 8:41 AM on February 6, 2019 [32 favorites]


How is this not, like, the first thing your campaign manager tells you when you open your first campaign office? "Hey, is there any concrete proof that you were (or are) a huge racist piece of shit?

When you aren't reflective (and/or honest) enough to be able to say if you've been a piece of shit, that's when you have problems.

Meanwhile—
NEWS: AG Mark Herring had a private meeting this morning with the legislative black caucus, Del. Lamont Bagby confirms. Asked if Herring discussed a photo of his own, Bagby said “He’ll talk about it.” Before he could say more, the House min ldr pulled him into a private room.
— Jonathan Martin @jmartNYT

posted by octobersurprise at 8:43 AM on February 6, 2019 [4 favorites]


WaPo: Ruth Bader Ginsburg was seen in public Monday. Conspiracy theorists still insist she’s dead.

And other luminaries of the modern right (Posobiec, Shapiro, etc.) are positioning themselves as the reasonable ones by saying "We're not like those crazy assholes. We don't think she's dead, we just think she isn't capable of handling the duties of the office if she isn't at all these official functions."
posted by Etrigan at 8:44 AM on February 6, 2019 [3 favorites]


Nogales International, Despite complaints, soldiers add more wire to Nogales border fence. There are photos in the article, and it looks, um, extremely militaristic. Local officials are not happy.
posted by zachlipton at 8:45 AM on February 6, 2019 [7 favorites]




@RepAdamSchiff

BREAKING: The House Intelligence Committee just voted to release all witness transcripts from our Russia investigation to the Department of Justice and Special Counsel Mueller.
12:42 PM - 6 Feb 2019
posted by bluesky43 at 8:47 AM on February 6, 2019 [92 favorites]


Holy crap, they're all at it (WaPo):

RICHMOND — Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) said Wednesday he dressed in blackface during college, elevating the Capitol’s scandals to a new level that engulfed the entire executive branch of government.

“In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song,” Herring said in a statement. “It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes – and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others – we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup.”
posted by vickyverky at 8:48 AM on February 6, 2019 [8 favorites]


Okay, um....who is fourth in line and does there exist any leader in the state of VA that has not worn blackface?
posted by corb at 8:50 AM on February 6, 2019 [45 favorites]


... just voted to release all witness transcripts from our Russia investigation
Here we go. If I'm remembering correctly, a number of those early meetings of the HPSCI had some pretty egregious denials and obfuscations, esp. from the transition members.
posted by eclectist at 8:51 AM on February 6, 2019 [7 favorites]


Okay, um....who is fourth in line and does there exist any leader in the state of VA that has not worn blackface?

If you get rid of Northam, Fairfax, and Herring, you’re left with the Republican Speaker. He has the job because the Republicans literally won a coin toss to determine control of the legislature. I don't know whether he's worn blackface.

There's also a scooplet just coming out that Lt. Gov. Fairfax used profane and misogynistic language I won't quote in thread in reference to his accuser.
posted by zachlipton at 8:54 AM on February 6, 2019 [16 favorites]


Godammit. We had an excellent chance of unified Dem control of Virginia next year. Gah!
posted by Chrysostom at 8:56 AM on February 6, 2019 [13 favorites]


It would be the ultimate irony that Virginians will be forced to vote republican to rebuke racism.
posted by peeedro at 8:58 AM on February 6, 2019 [18 favorites]


' . . .does there exist any leader in the state of VA that has not worn blackface?'

Welcome to Virginia! Home to the capitol of the Confederacy.
posted by Harry Caul at 8:59 AM on February 6, 2019 [39 favorites]


He has the job because the Republicans literally won a coin toss to determine control of the legislature.

Pedantry: the coin flip meant it was 51-49, rather than 50-50. There are no rules in place for a 50-50 HOD; they would have had to work out a power-sharing arrangement, but *someone* would have had to be Speaker, and it might well have been a Republican.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:02 AM on February 6, 2019 [5 favorites]


Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) said Wednesday he dressed in blackface during college, elevating the Capitol’s scandals to a new level that engulfed the entire executive branch of government.

There's a certain hilarity to this that I'm having trouble putting into words. Like, this dude totally thinks he's doing the Governor a solid by pointing out that, hey, it was 1980, ALL the blinkered and privileged white college students were doing it, and what're you going to do about it, impeach ALL of us? Solidarity, yo.

It might work for the GOP, guys, but that's, uh, quite a bold strategy to undertake when you're relying on a constituency that is largely not-white. Because YES, you dumb fuck, we're going to impeach all of you, salt the earth, and make sure no one ever considers doing this kind of dumb racist shit ever again.
posted by Mayor West at 9:02 AM on February 6, 2019 [26 favorites]


Some interesting commentary coming from the David Pakman show.
Don Jr & Kushner Transcripts Heading to Mueller Soon
posted by bluesky43 at 9:03 AM on February 6, 2019 [2 favorites]


AOC's thousand yard stare.

Responding to Peggy Noonan's complaint about her looking "sullen, teenaged and at a loss" at the SOTU, AOC tweeted back: "Why should I be “spirited and warm” for this embarrassment of a #SOTU? Tonight was an unsettling night for our country. The president failed to offer any plan, any vision at all, for our future. We’re flying without a pilot. And I‘m not here to comfort anyone about that fact."

Speaking of flying without a pilot, NBC reports: On Trump's Calendar, Just 17 Intelligence Briefings In 85 Days—U.S. officials also say Trump does not regularly read the written intelligence briefing sent over daily.
President Donald Trump, who doesn't regularly read the daily intelligence summary prepared for him, is also participating in relatively few in-person briefings from his spy agencies, according to intelligence officials and a review of his schedules.

A series of recently published presidential schedules show that he has been in just 17 intelligence briefings over the last 85 days. That's about the same frequency as two of his predecessors, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, according to a former CIA briefer who has written a book on the subject. But unlike those former presidents, Trump does not regularly read the written intelligence briefing sent over each day to the White House, U.S. officials tell NBC News, and in private he frequently questions the integrity and judgment of the intelligence officials who are giving him secret information.[…]

When Trump believes something to be true, U.S. officials tell NBC News, it's extremely difficult for them to dissuade him, even if they have a mountain of evidence he is wrong. And when he doubts something they are telling him, he often requires iron-clad proof of a type that is rarely available from intelligence collection.

"This is the first president that the intelligence community has had to deal with whose instinctive departure point is not the truth," David Priess, a former CIA briefer, said on MSNBC. "He goes from his belief first."
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:04 AM on February 6, 2019 [66 favorites]


Like, this dude totally thinks he's doing the Governor a solid by pointing out that, hey, it was 1980, ALL the blinkered and privileged white college students were doing it, and what're you going to do about it, impeach ALL of us?

That's not my read at all. I don't think Herring thinks he's doing Northam a favor; I think he knows he is in line to be governor and had better get out in front of this.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:05 AM on February 6, 2019 [42 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, the Virginia fiasco should probably get its own thread, since it seems like it's gonna continue all the way down the chain.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:06 AM on February 6, 2019 [25 favorites]


NEW: Virginia Lt Gov Justin Fairfax released a new statement about the sexual assault allegations against him
posted by bluesky43 at 9:07 AM on February 6, 2019


There's a certain hilarity to this that I'm having trouble putting into words. Like, this dude totally thinks he's doing the Governor a solid by pointing out that, hey, it was 1980, ALL the blinkered and privileged white college students were doing it, and what're you going to do about it, impeach ALL of us? Solidarity, yo.


If he's doing anything for the governor it's showing the only possible right way to deal with this: admit, acknowledge the harm, acknowledge the ignorance behind the action, not make excuses, not preempt accepting consequences.
posted by phearlez at 9:09 AM on February 6, 2019 [16 favorites]


It is absolutely wild that, even while making an otherwise quite good apology for wearing blackface, the AG can't bring himself to say the word "racist". If you can't say "what I did was racist" when what you did was wear blackface, when can you say it?
posted by BungaDunga at 9:11 AM on February 6, 2019 [16 favorites]


That's a pretty good statement, IMHO, but with the news of him calling her names at the same time, it does fall pretty flat.
posted by AwkwardPause at 9:13 AM on February 6, 2019 [2 favorites]


I know I've posted some funny, inspirational, or incisive tweets from former MI congressman and Twitter master John Dingell over the years of this thread and I'm sure others have as well. A heartbreaking update:

Rep. Debbie Dingell
Friends and colleagues know me and know I would be in Washington right now unless something was up. I am home with John and we have entered a new phase. He is my love and we have been a team for nearly 40 years. I will be taking each day as it comes. We thank people for their friendship and support and ask for prayers and privacy during this difficult time.
posted by chris24 at 9:14 AM on February 6, 2019 [35 favorites]


It is absolutely wild that, even while making an otherwise quite good apology for wearing blackface, the AG can't bring himself to say the word "racist"

The New York Times: HOLD MY FUCKING BEER
Virginia Attorney General Says He Also Dressed in Dark Makeup
posted by octobersurprise at 9:21 AM on February 6, 2019 [27 favorites]


I want to gently push back aginst the "nothing to hide" line, including because of the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of a presumption of innocence (Regent University School of Law), but also because we don't get to decide how our words are ultimately interpreted - it's just not how criminal prosecution works.
I think this is an important point in the general case but the specific case carries some pretty overwhelming baggage. In this case the head of state has no peers to form a jury and is actively obstructing justice in the public eye. He should, could and will be tried in the court of public opinion.

Above and beyond the fact that his oath of office and the responsilbities he is charged with arguably do trump the presumptions one would make in the case of an arbitrary member of the republic.
posted by mce at 9:21 AM on February 6, 2019 [6 favorites]


Mod note: But seriously though: Virginia fiasco, separate post.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:27 AM on February 6, 2019 [23 favorites]


“...We’re flying without a pilot. And I‘m not here to comfort anyone about that fact."

Well, there is a pilot — he’s just not the President of the United States and is probably Russian.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:27 AM on February 6, 2019 [7 favorites]


Come draft a quick new VA post on the wiki, because none of us have the heart to do it alone.
posted by zachlipton at 9:28 AM on February 6, 2019 [14 favorites]


The Pelosi clap has become a meme - photoshop edition.
posted by bluesky43 at 9:38 AM on February 6, 2019 [6 favorites]


I had no idea what Debbie Dingell was talking about, because I'm an idiot, so I googled, and in case any of you were in my situation, here you go. Her husband is John Dingell, he's 92, he's in hospice care after getting prostate cancer and suffering a heart attack, and it's getting worse.

He is (was, retired a few years ago) the longest-serving member of Congress at 59 years. His father, John Dingell Sr., held the seat for 22 years before that. Democrat, long-term chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Wikipedia says that among his many other accomplishments, "For his conduct regarding environmental issues during the 109th Congress the lobby group League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has awarded Dingell its highest rating, 100%." His wife Debbie holds his former seat in Michigan's 12th District since 2015.

Hell of a family and legacy, probably worth a memorial post, at least worth a moment of your day to remember that we have had and still have plenty of decent politicians.
posted by saysthis at 9:44 AM on February 6, 2019 [42 favorites]


I think this is an important point in the general case but the specific case carries some pretty overwhelming baggage. In this case the head of state has no peers to form a jury and is actively obstructing justice in the public eye.

I respectfully disagree that there are no peers to form a jury, but yes, the Worst Client in the World is often very public about what appears to be criminal activity, e.g. from the Brookings Institution in August 2018:
Evidence supporting the elements of that offense—an obstructive act undertaken with corrupt intent and having the requisite connection to a grand jury or congressional proceeding—was available in public reports and testimony.
In the meantime, from Politico, Schumer: Trump is 'scared' of Congressional oversight:
In an earlier Wednesday appearance on CNN, Schumer said the president's "ridiculous partisan investigations" warning revealed that he has "something to hide." The minority leader likened the denunciation of investigations to the 35-day government shutdown that rattled Washington last month. "And the president says if you investigate me I'm not going to make progress. That's already doing what he did with the shutdown. Holding the American people hostage," Schumer said. "He's got something to hide. Because if he had nothing to hide, he'd just shrug his shoulders and let these investigations go forward. He's afraid of them."
I think it is more helpful to point out the massive amount of damning evidence that is already public, because it seems like a more effective way to protect the integrity of the investigation than to risk sounding like a fishing expedition based on factors that can't be considered under the U.S. Constitution.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:44 AM on February 6, 2019 [9 favorites]


The Pelosi clap has become a meme - photoshop edition.

Someone on Facebook brilliantly pointed out that Pelosi's necklace consists of two red balls on a blue chain.
posted by Autumnheart at 9:51 AM on February 6, 2019 [44 favorites]


Trump’s State of the Union polled well … because Republicans watched it (Emily Stewart, Vox)
State of the Union audiences generally skew toward the president’s party
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:05 AM on February 6, 2019 [3 favorites]


"Nothing to hide, nothing to fear" is a standard argument against privacy and civil rights (ACLU), so I encourage caution about the potential sacrifice of core democratic values in exchange for convenient slogans that we'd otherwise be fighting if they were turned against us.

This isn't about Trump testifying, or submitting to questions (yet), or any Fifth Amendment issues where you're correct to say "nothing to hide" is terrible advice. But that's not what's happening here. You absolutely want to stay quiet and not offer evidence against yourself when under investigation (where possible), but you don't say, "I didn't steal from orphans and I've always said I didn't steal from orphans, so the police department should be disbanded." Big difference.
posted by rhizome at 10:13 AM on February 6, 2019 [17 favorites]


Final stages of the Russia probe: Trump is under assault from all directions (Heather Digby Parton, Salon)
We haven't yet seen evidence showing that the Russian government was directly conspiring with the Trump campaign to sabotage the election, beyond that Trump Tower meeting and Roger Stone's mysterious shenanigans. But [information released recently from internal Trump Org documents] is important because it shows that regardless of whether the Russians had anything on Trump before the 2016 campaign, they certainly did once he began to lie publicly about not having any business deals there. They clearly knew he was lying, which made him vulnerable to blackmail.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:15 AM on February 6, 2019 [15 favorites]


regardless of whether the Russians had anything on Trump before the 2016 campaign, they certainly did once he began to lie publicly about not having any business deals there. They clearly knew he was lying, which made him vulnerable to blackmail.

And it's been said before on these threads but is worth repeating that regardless of whether Trump is unwillingly or even unwittingly under influence by the Russians, his actions are practically indistinguishable from someone who is being influenced by the Russians.

Investigation or no investigation, kompromat or no kompromat, Trump's public actions are incriminating enough.
posted by Gelatin at 10:20 AM on February 6, 2019 [26 favorites]


Virginia fiasco, separate post. Thanks everyone for their work on this.
posted by zachlipton at 10:29 AM on February 6, 2019 [32 favorites]


WaPo, Renae Merle, CFPB proposes weakening Obama-era payday lending rule, a win for industry
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday proposed significantly weakening Obama-era rules governing payday lenders, boosting the fortunes of an industry accused of keeping low-income borrowers trapped in a cycle of debt.

Under the existing rule, which is set to take effect in August, payday lenders are required to verify that borrowers can afford the loans they are being offered. The proposal would rescind that requirement and delay the rule’s implementation until 2020.
----

Republicans govern in bad faith, part #9792486:

@jonward11: “Nobody cares.” - Republican White House chief of staff & budget chief on debt and deficit

@JakeSherman: Mulvaney used to care. As a matter of fact, he said it was his central policy concern when he ran against a Dem budget chair in 2010. He said he cared when he got to congress and was involved w fiscal battles. He seems to have only stopped caring when he went to go work for trump

@hughhewittI used to care but (1) we are having an experiment with how much debt it equites to spark hyper-inflation and (2) Republicans learned that spending the next generation’s money is great politics in the here and now and thought “Why let just Ds do this?”
posted by zachlipton at 10:36 AM on February 6, 2019 [28 favorites]


This extraordinary Doug Mills photo of Speaker Pelosi turning some applause back on the President (or doing baby shark doo doo doo doo?) is the photo of the night.

Isn't this called clapping back? Heh.

Together with the pin and the necklace, I'd say Nancy ruled the night.
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:38 AM on February 6, 2019 [6 favorites]


The NYT has some insider reactions to Trump's SOTU from House Democrats: Pelosi Declares House Will Not Be Intimidated From Its Trump Inquiries
[I]n a closed-door meeting with House Democrats, Ms. Pelosi had privately lambasted the president.

“He was a guest in our House chamber, and we treated him with more respect than he treated us,” she said, according to a Democratic aide in the room who was not authorized to discuss the private session publicly.

Ms. Pelosi also took a dig at Mr. Trump’s plan, detailed on Tuesday, to invest $500 million over ten years to developing new cures for childhood cancer, characterizing it as paltry.

“Five hundred million dollars over 10 years — are you kidding me?” she said, according to the aide. “Who gave him that figure? It’s like the cost of his protection of his Mar-a-Lago or something.”
n.b. Trump's Mar-a-Lago visits cost an average of $3.4 million per trip, and then there are the expenses from his frequent trips to his clubs in Bedminster, NJ and Sterling, VA. The total might be as high as $87,000,000, Trumpgolfcount.com estimates.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:40 AM on February 6, 2019 [20 favorites]


@hughhewitt I used to care but (1) we are having an experiment with how much debt it equites to spark hyper-inflation and (2) Republicans learned that spending the next generation’s money is great politics in the here and now and thought “Why let just Ds do this?”

Groddamn but he is such trash. Before Obama and the stimulus package the biggest drivers of deficit spending had been Reagan and Bush and Bush. The only surplus in my lifetime came during Clinton's term. Bush II took that surplus and willfully threw it away for a dumbass tax cut when we all knew there was the look of a depression on the horizon. Which, surely enough, blew up deficits.
posted by phearlez at 10:50 AM on February 6, 2019 [56 favorites]


Mulvaney is completely in hock to payday lenders: they bankrolled his House campaigns. And his old district in SC, just over the state line from Charlotte, is full of them. (Payday loans are illegal in NC.)
posted by holgate at 10:51 AM on February 6, 2019 [17 favorites]


Payday loans are illegal in NC

Probably because they were preying on Ft. Bragg etc servicepersons
posted by thelonius at 10:53 AM on February 6, 2019 [11 favorites]


Probably because they were preying on Ft. Bragg etc servicepersons

Perhaps (it's been illegal since '07 to provide serving military and families with payday/title loans) but Fort Jackson is surrounded by them. Predatory lending is an SC thing.
posted by holgate at 11:00 AM on February 6, 2019 [3 favorites]


Governor withdraws most New Mexico National Guard from border (Las Cruces Sun News)
New Mexico's governor, arguing there is not an "overwhelming national security crisis," withdrew the majority of National Guard troops deployed at the state's southern border.

[Governor] Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday also announced she would be sending more help to Hidalgo County — one of the state's three border counties — to assist with humanitarian needs.

“I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the southern border, along which are some of the safest communities in the country," the governor stated in a news release sent hours before President Donald's Trump's scheduled State of the Union. "However, I recognize and appreciate the legitimate concerns of residents and officials in southwestern New Mexico, particularly Hidalgo County, who have asked for our assistance, as migrants and asylum-seekers continue to appear at their doorstep."
There were roughly 120 troops deployed in support of federal agents watching the border.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:01 AM on February 6, 2019 [49 favorites]


"I'm just afraid that waving the flag is quickly going to turn into waving the flag at someone."

It astounds me that the French, who displayed the fucking stars and stripes in solidarity with us just after 9/11, ended up being ridiculed and vilified by our Nationalist party members (remember Freedom Fries?).
posted by Mental Wimp at 11:05 AM on February 6, 2019 [24 favorites]


The State of the Union was deeply weird (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
President Trump: It is the best of times! The union is very strong. It has, perhaps, never been stronger. We have more jobs than the Founding Fathers had people, and we have made great strides with regards to women, who now have jobs and, I am told, mostly sink when placed in water.

[Raucous, pointed applause from the Women in White]

Trump: We are entering a new golden age. First, we won World War II (a great thing to do, and especially at that time!) and then we went to the moon, and I have brought Buzz Aldrin and the moon here with me to say “Thanks.” You’re welcome, moon!

[BUZZ ALDRIN’S TIE, A SENTIENT ENTITY FROM SPACE WHOM THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN KEEPING A SECRET FOR ALL THIS TIME, NODS AND WAVES.]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:06 AM on February 6, 2019 [15 favorites]


ZeusHumms: Governor withdraws most New Mexico National Guard from border (Las Cruces Sun News)

More from the Land of Enchantment: New Mexico governor signs 42 bills lawmakers had on fast track (Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb. 4, 2019)
Lawmakers had approved each of the bills in some form during past years with bipartisan support, but each was vetoed by [Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's] predecessor, Republican Gov. Susana Martinez. Some were bills sponsored by Republicans and some were sponsored by Democrats.

In signing the bills during a single morning, Lujan Grisham sought to show that the gridlock from the Martinez administration had eased.

“Today is a signal that we are in fact working together and we are in fact open for business,” Lujan Grisham told reporters while surrounded by Democratic and Republican lawmakers during a news conference in her Cabinet room.

But Republicans in the House of Representatives objected to the process. They argued that new lawmakers had never seen these bills before and that the so-called “rocket docket” amounted to rushing what is meant to be a deliberative process.

In the end, though, few Republicans voted against the bills.
The article has a brief summary of some of the bills, and why in the world Susana Texana* vetoed them is beyond me. (* even though we can celebrate her for being the first female Governor of New Mexico and first Hispanic female state chief executive in the United States, and she was admitted to the State Bar of New Mexico, some like to jab that she was born and raised in Texas, as a way to say "she's not one of us." But it's a bad look for me, as a California native who hasn't been here a decade yet.)

Anyway, if you want to take a peek at what's happening in this "long" 60 day legislative session, The Santa Fe New Mexican has a Legislative section, and the current stories look to be lots of positive, progressive stories of bills in the works, like a bill to lessen the impact of criminal history on job search and A bill to make it less complicated for transgender people to change the sex designation on their birth certificate cleared the Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 26-13. (Note: there's a page-view for the Santa Fe New Mexican, but no countdown to how many pageviews you have left.)

Good things can happen when you have a Democratic majority in the Senate and House, along with a Democratic governor.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:18 AM on February 6, 2019 [32 favorites]


CNN:
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff announced Wednesday a broad investigation his committee would undertake "beyond Russia" into whether President Donald Trump's financial interests are driving his actions.

Schiff said the investigation would "allow us to investigate any credible allegation that financial interests or other interests are driving decision-making of the President or anyone in the administration."

"That pertains to any credible allegations of leverage by the Russians or the Saudis or anyone else," Schiff told reporters after the House Intelligence Committee's first meeting in the new Congress.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:25 AM on February 6, 2019 [36 favorites]


From The Daily Beast: Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump vowed to end HIV transmission in the United States within a decade, the Department of Justice announced that a U.S. attorney has filed a civil lawsuit to halt the creation of supervised injection sites, which exist to prevent opioid overdoses and the sharing of contaminated needles by intravenous drug users.

The lawsuit, filed against the nonprofit Safehouse and its executive director on Wednesday morning by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania William M. McSwain, is the first of its kind. McSwain’s suit seeks a judicial decree preventing the opening of “consumption rooms,” given the green light by Philadelphia city officials last summer, which provide safe places for drug users to inject using sterile equipment under the supervision of medically trained staff.


Note: Fuck these fuckers. That is all.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:29 AM on February 6, 2019 [63 favorites]


Re: “Final Stages of the Russian Probe” Salon headline noted above, is there really any evidence of this? Aside from Guiliani nonsense, I mean? Seems to me there are still some very high profile individuals, and many complicated aspects that we have only heard about from Mueller and SDNY briefly or as a matter of course regarding other indictments/prosecutions.

Just a few off the top of my head: I-1, of course; two sons; one daughter; Kushner; Conway; maybe Pence; maybe any of another half-dozen senior admin staffers; then there’s House and Senate enablers/participants. Etc. Etc.

And I’m not mentioning many, including inauguration committee and Trump Org people, who I can think of, and of course many I can’t recall (and because brevity).

So, I admit not reading the Salon piece, because I’ve read these “final stages” pieces for the past year at least, and because I’ve seen the same assertion elsewhere without much substance to it. What evidence is there, exactly, of an endgame?
posted by young_simba at 11:36 AM on February 6, 2019 [3 favorites]


So, I admit not reading the Salon piece, because I’ve read these “final stages” pieces for the past year at least

This is the correct choice. I'm sure writing and publishing these articles is irresistible. You get easy clicks, and if you happen to publish your "it's almost over" piece at the correct time, you get to tweet about your tremendous foresight. If you're wrong, it just goes on the pile of premature calls that nobody will remember.
posted by diogenes at 11:48 AM on February 6, 2019 [12 favorites]


The lawsuit, filed against the nonprofit Safehouse and its executive director on Wednesday morning by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania William M. McSwain, is the first of its kind.

The US Attorney in Boston has been vowing for several months now to prosecute anybody involved with running a safe-injection site in Massachusetts. He recently reiterated that, after Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who once opposed the idea, came away impressed from visits to a couple of Canadian sites.

On Jan. 25, city and state health officials issued an alert about 6 HIV cases among IV drug users in Boston between November and January - compared to none in the same period a year earlier.
posted by adamg at 11:48 AM on February 6, 2019 [10 favorites]




HuffPost, Rowaida Abdelaziz, Yemeni Mother Affected By The Travel Ban Speaks Out After Her Son’s Death
At the State of the Union address Tuesday night, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) brought Shaima Swileh, a 21-year-old Yemeni national, as her guest. In December, Swileh was granted a waiver to travel from Egypt to the U.S. to be with her only child, 2-year-old Abdullah Hassan, a U.S. citizen, who was dying from complications of hypomyelination, a genetic degenerative brain disease.

Swileh petitioned the State Department to arrive sooner but was denied because of President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban. It wasn’t until the Council on American-Islamic Relations in the Bay Area organized a public campaign, and Lofgren stepped in, that a waiver was granted. Abdullah died days after his mother’s arrival.
...
[Swileh]: "I just want to say, please, help these kind of cases of people who need the help. There are so many stranded people who need help, in Djibouti or elsewhere. At bare minimum, help those who need medical assistance. There isn’t a single American who would agree to live in a country where they have a sick child and their spouse is in another country. No one would want to live like this, American or any other nationality. Families must be together during times of happiness and during times of illnesses. "
posted by zachlipton at 11:56 AM on February 6, 2019 [29 favorites]


Solid, pithy thread from Larissa Alexandrovna on Trump/Russia. The gist of it:

“It was never about espionage. It was about money. Trump had one job: to lift sanctions when he became POTUS. Once the sanctions were lifted, every corrupt bastard in his orbit was going to make a lot of money...Trump did not need to be involved or even know of each separate conspiracy and each criminal undertaking (Flynn's nuclear plant, Manafort's pay off to Deripaska, etc.). He had his own bribe: Trump Tower Moscow and he needed it, because once again he was near bankruptcy.”

There’s more. From movies, when I think of “conspiracy” I think of lots of people involved in lots of intricate, interrelated details. While I know I’m mistaken, this is a good reminder why.
posted by young_simba at 12:00 PM on February 6, 2019 [63 favorites]


I think the main reason for people believing that the Russia investigation is almost done is this story...

Pete Williams and Allan Smith, NBC News, Jan 9th 2019:
"Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw Mueller probe, leaving DOJ after investigation wraps up"
A source close to Rosenstein said he intends to stay on until Mueller's investigative and prosecutorial work is done. The source said that would mean Rosenstein would remain until early March. Several legal sources have said they expect the Mueller team to conclude its work by mid-to-late February, although they said that timeline could change based on unforeseen investigative developments.

The source said once Mueller's work is done, the special counsel's report to the Justice Department would follow a few weeks later, and Rosenstein would likely be gone by then.

But others familiar with his thinking said there’s no firm timeline and that Rosenstein would work out a departure plan once the new attorney general is confirmed and on board.

Rosenstein had long intended to serve about two years as the Justice Department's No. 2 official, the administration officials say. They add that this is his own plan and that he is not being forced out by the White House. That's despite the fact that he's been a frequent target of criticism from President Donald Trump on Twitter.
That followed the ABC story which mentioned that Rosenstein would retire "in the coming weeks" but did not include the "after the investigation is finished" part.

ABC attributed their story to "multiple sources familiar with his plans" and NBC to "A source close to Rosenstein." That's vague enough that it's hard to speculate about the motives of such a source. But I don't think that either description would cover, say, "Rudy Giuliani."
posted by OnceUponATime at 12:01 PM on February 6, 2019 [5 favorites]


USA Today: Donald Trump Taps World Bank Critic David Malpass To Lead The International Finance Agency
Malpass’s nomination could draw objections from other world leaders because of his criticism of the 72-year-old agency he has now been tapped to lead.

Malpass has criticized both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, arguing that improvements are needed in the bank’s lending programs and that a process must be in put in place “to focus, prune and streamline” such multilateral organizations.[…]

In his post at Treasury, Malpass, 62, has served as the principal adviser to Mnuchin on international economic issues. He also has been involved in ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and China and will be part of a delegation that will travel to Beijing next week to continue the talks.

Before his was named to his current post, Malpass worked on Wall Street for 15 years as the chief economist for Bear Stearns, a now-defunct investment bank and brokerage firm, until its collapse in 2008. He also was a member of Trump’s transition team following the 2016 presidential election and served as deputy assistant secretary in the Treasury and State deparrments during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Paul Krugman is unimpressed:
Give Trump credit for consistency: his "the worst and the dumbest" strategy of choosing personnel hasn't varied a bit, and now he's trying to bring it to the World Bank […]

My favorite of all these was Malpass insisting in 2005 that U.S. household savings were actually pretty high, and everything OK, bc of rising home values. In case you've forgotten, here's what happened to real housing prices

And of course he signed the 2010 letter warning that Bernanke's efforts to rescue the economy would lead to high inflation

Imagine what appointing Malpass would do to intellectual quality and morale at the World Bank. But I don't know whether other countries will stand up to Trump on this
Foreign Policy: Will David Malpass Run the World Bank or Ruin It? "When it comes to the World Bank in particular—the world’s biggest development bank—Malpass in his time at Treasury has tried to slow down the its ability to raise more capital and to limit the number of countries it lends to. […] On the surface, the choice mirrors other Trump nominations, both for domestic and international positions, with leaders seemingly hand-picked to undermine the agencies they are tapped to lead."
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:11 PM on February 6, 2019 [7 favorites]


Trump just gave a speech to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, in which he said that while ISIS has been decimated, it remains a dangerous threat and will do so for many years. You might think this sounds like a speech in which the President was reversing his decision to withdraw all troops from Syria. It was not. It was a speech in which Trump thanked the other coalition members for not withdrawing their troops from Syria. After all, they have an important job to do: protect America.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:23 PM on February 6, 2019 [10 favorites]




Donald Trump to visit UK for December Nato summit (Patrick Wintour, The Guardian)
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:41 PM on February 6, 2019


Solid, pithy thread from Larissa Alexandrovna on Trump/Russia.

This is a streamlined version of the Trump-Russia affair, not only throwing out everything we can't confirm (e.g. the Steele Dossier), but also drawing its conclusions from just what we know at present (which is a lot less than Mueller). It also gives Trump too much credit for being a hands-off boss, when he's more of an erratic micro-manager who charges his subordinates to make what he wants happen and then unpredictably drops in to focus specific details. Moreover, it completely ignores the "grand bargain" geopolitical manoeuvring that Trump conducted with the intermediaries of Putin, Netanyahu, and MBS during the 20160 campaign's last stages and the post-election transition—it's not just about money.

If we're lucky, this is the best-case scenario for Trump's collusion, one that will doubtless be more palatable than outright treason to GOP politicians when/if the time comes to talk impeachment seriously. In the meantime, Mueller keeps digging.

How else will we find out that Trump feels increasingly isolated?

Newsweek: Donald Trump Is the 'Most Isolated' President Since Richard Nixon, Watergate Journalist Bob Woodward Says
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:03 PM on February 6, 2019 [15 favorites]


People are starting to file their tax returns, and those who file early are typically people counting on a decent sized refund as soon as possible, and as the impact of the Republican tax bill starts to become clear, people are really not happy.

As Vox explains, there are a couple of things going on here, and since Americans don't understand the tax system at all (see the constant ignorance of the idea of marginal rates), everyone gets confused. The first is that some people will straight up pay more taxes under the new tax bill, and those people are only starting to realize it. Some of that will get worse in the coming years as the impacts of the changed inflation measures start to become apparent.

But the result of the tax bill also changed the way withholding works, and a lot of people ended up underwithheld as a result. Barely anybody changed their withholding to account for the new law. Some might ask if this was political manipulation for the midterms, to give paychecks a little boost knowing the bill would only come due after the election. But the effect of that is that more people will owe money when they file their tax returns now, and many of them are accustomed to getting refunds. That makes people upset, and that's true even if they're paying the same total amount in taxes this year that they paid last year; it's even true if their total taxes are less. People don't like getting hit with a surprise tax bill and many people focus on the size of the refund more than they care about giving interest-free loans to the government (plus it creates a shock to your budget to discover you owe). As David Dayen writes:
We saw this with the Obama administration’s 2009 “Making Work Pay” tax credit, which dribbled out $400 to individual weekly paychecks through changes to withholding. Studies showed that nobody actually knew they received a tax cut.

From a political standpoint, many will see the lower refund as confirmation that the tax cuts didn’t benefit them, regardless of how accurate that may be. There’s already anecdotal evidence of this from early filers.
Anyway, now would be a great time for a multi-million dollar ad push by Democrats to take advantage of this and blame Republicans as people file their taxes and get really angry.
posted by zachlipton at 1:14 PM on February 6, 2019 [78 favorites]




Buzzfeed's Emma Loop: House Judiciary Committee Chair @RepJerryNadler sends another letter to Acting AG Matt Whitaker basically warning him that he’s going to need to answer questions on Friday.

In his letter to Whitaker, Nadler spells out this out to the AAG: "I asked that you notify the Committee in writing no later than 48 hours before our hearing if President Trump plans to invoke executive privilege to prevent you from answering any of these questions. […] Because you have not provided any notification to the Committee regarding executive privilege—or, indeed, any communication in response to the January 22 letter—my understanding is that you will provide full and complete answers to these questions when they are asked at your hearing this Friday."

Nadler's ready to subpoena the former "MASCULINE TOILET" salesman tomorrow.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:27 PM on February 6, 2019 [26 favorites]


We saw this with the Obama administration’s 2009 “Making Work Pay” tax credit, which dribbled out $400 to individual weekly paychecks through changes to withholding. Studies showed that nobody actually knew they received a tax cut.

This is endlessly frustrating because that was the right way to do it from an economic perspective. The idea is to get people to spend that money, and they do spend it when it's distributed that way. On the other hand, people tend to save it when you send them a check that says "Here's an extra $400 courtesy of George W Bush."

So what actually works for the economy doesn't work from a political advantage perspective.
posted by diogenes at 1:37 PM on February 6, 2019 [22 favorites]


All in all, I found him to be surprisingly good at avoiding the "well, that's a blatant lie" comments that I thought for sure were going to pop up in the news. Sure, there were some distractions and deceptive ways of presenting a few notions - but that's nothing new for any President since.. well. in my lifetime, at least.
posted by bradth27 at 1:42 PM on February 6, 2019


> what actually works for the economy doesn't work from a political advantage perspective.

And once again, Obama took the high road and focused on what would be good for the country, at the expense of what would be good for him and Democrats politically. He was so damn high-minded, to the point of extreme naivete... And what I wouldn't give to have him back.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:42 PM on February 6, 2019 [45 favorites]


While it's true that many people don't understand the tax system, and aren't well versed in how withholding vs. total tax liability works, it doesn't change the fact that a lot of people are used to getting their tax refunds. People have long counted on a tax refund for a monetary boost early in the year. It's when the car finally gets fixed, or the kids finally go to the dentist, or some of the bills finally get caught up. Or maybe the old car finally gets replaced because there's money for a down payment, or a new tv gets bought. This money is a shot into the economy at that time. But now refunds are smaller or people now owe. People who owed now owe more. Suddenly there's a lot less money going into the economy. People are going to adjust their withholding so they have less money to spend, and that's going to take some more money out of the economy. The markets are long overdue for a drop, and I wonder if this is what's finally gonna start things.

But most people aren't rich. People were told that the tax cut was going to help them, that they'd be better off. And they look at a smaller refund or a bigger "amount owed" and they're pissed off. They don't necessarily understand withholding. They just know they aren't going to have that extra money this year.
posted by azpenguin at 2:06 PM on February 6, 2019 [41 favorites]


Vox - Why Trump ignored climate change and gun violence during the State of the Union

Because what are actual problems anyway.
posted by saysthis at 2:48 PM on February 6, 2019 [2 favorites]


T-Mobile executives seeking merger approval booked more than 52 nights at Trump’s hotel — more than previously known (WaPo):
Last month, The Washington Post reported that “VIP Arrivals” lists — issued by the Trump hotel daily to its staff — indicated that T-Mobile executives had stayed repeatedly at Trump’s hotel. On the day after the merger was announced, for instance, the lists showed nine T-Mobile executives were expected to check in.

Now, The Post has obtained VIP arrivals lists for additional days last year, which showed five more bookings at the hotel by T-Mobile executives, including chief executive John Legere. Those bookings — in October and December of last year — added 14 nights to the 38 previously reported.
Sen Warren and Rep Jayapal each sent letters to both the Trump Organization and T-Mobile seeking answers ahead of a joint House Energy & Commerce and Judiciary Committee meeting on the merger next week.
posted by peeedro at 2:51 PM on February 6, 2019 [10 favorites]




Sen. Amy Klobuchar's Abuse Of Staff Scared Off Candidates To Manage Her Presidential Bid (HuffPost)

is it usual to report on abusive emails that have been cc'd to large amounts of people and not report the emails themselves? like...wouldn't you want to verify them?
posted by schadenfrau at 3:00 PM on February 6, 2019 [6 favorites]


Sounds like working for a man anywhere. I'm not belittling abuse, but getting told your work isn't good on an email with a bunch of CC's isn't it.
posted by odinsdream at 7:00 AM on February 7 [+] [!]


It...it's not? That sounds abusive, at least to me. With myself, and clients, I tend to make clear that public floggings are only useful if you're firing that person as an example, and even then, you keep out the superlatives, you just say, "Thing happened, leading to bad thing, therefore we have to do this." Anything beyond that is abusive, at least to me, without the prior consent of the person to be criticized, and they have to approve the criticism before you send it out (again, unless egregious someone-might-die-and-this-was-an-understandable-human-mistake-but-seriously-never-again kind of situations). If public flogging is common from male bosses, omfg.

What is indisputable, however, is that Klobuchar’s office consistently has one of the highest rates of staff turnover in the Senate. From 2001 to 2016, she ranked No. 1 in the Senate for staff turnover as measured by LegiStorm, a widely used database of congressional staff salaries. She’s now third, behind Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen and Louisiana Republican John Kennedy.

Because this...sounds like something is up.
posted by saysthis at 3:09 PM on February 6, 2019 [32 favorites]


I don't think we really have enough information based on that HuffPo article to determine whether or not her behavior is abusive, but if multiple people are indeed turning down opportunities to work with her based on her reputation for being abusive, that seems like a serious problem. I want our Dem candidate to *actually* hire the best people, both for the campaign and for their work in the White House.

Time is short & there is a lot of important work to do both to defeat Trump and to undo all the damage done. We can't let a dysfunctional, high turnover work environment hamper that progress.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 3:12 PM on February 6, 2019 [4 favorites]


What is indisputable, however, is that Klobuchar’s office consistently has one of the highest rates of staff turnover in the Senate. From 2001 to 2016, she ranked No. 1 in the Senate for staff turnover as measured by LegiStorm, a widely used database of congressional staff salaries.

Let's look up LegiStorm on that other widely-used database of employee opinions.

If I didn't know better, I'd say it....sounds like something is up.
posted by rhizome at 3:15 PM on February 6, 2019 [9 favorites]


How to lie with cherry-picked statistics, edition 65354391...

Kevin Drum, Mother Jones, Here’s a Closer Look at President Trump’s Big Lie About El Paso
There’s simply no excuse for pretending that El Paso was ever a high-crime city or that it took the construction of a wall to bring down its crime rate. It’s just flatly not true.

This story wouldn't rate even a raised eyebrow as far as the routine background level of mendacity we've all come to expect, but even so, it's worth a click for the three charts just to see how shockingly egregious the lie about crime in El Paso really is.

(And spoiler alert, of course the wall makes no difference to the crime rate.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 3:18 PM on February 6, 2019 [19 favorites]


Time is short & there is a lot of important work to do both to defeat Trump and to undo all the damage done. We can't let a dysfunctional, high turnover work environment hamper that progress.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 7:12 AM on February 7 [+] [!]


Trump is a blaring red flag of a boss. A "dysfunctional, high turnover work environment" is bad enough already. I'd like to not have another one in the White House in 2020, and if Klobuchar really runs things like that...I guess we'll be hearing more about it, but mostly I like her, and I'd like this not to be true.
posted by saysthis at 3:24 PM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


Mod note: We can probably wait to dig in on the Klobuchar thing until there's more concrete details on the Klobuchar thing.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:26 PM on February 6, 2019 [21 favorites]


Without championing a particular Democratic candidate...

No candidate is going to be perfect, because no human is perfect. Every candidate that comes forward is likely as not to be infected with some sort of flaw, especially flaws that might derive from being a competitive, Type A personality with a record in politics, because that’s the only type of people who are going to try to run for President (except for the extreme grifters or nut jobs).

Gabbard isn’t very liberal. Harris championed some insensitive positions as a prosecutor and, as a Californian, wouldn’t deliver a swing home state. Klobuchar may have been insensitive to workers. O’Rourke hasn’t won a statewide office. Warren caught flak for her blind spot in her familial pride at having an ancestor of Native American heritage. Bernie Sanders isn’t a Democrat and would be 80 in 2020. Kirsten Gillibrand has a muddled history on immigration and, like Harris, wouldn’t deliver a swing home state. Julian Castro hasn’t won a statewide office. Cory Booker will have to answer some uncomfortable questions about his time as mayor of Newark. Sherrie Brown is rumpled. Biden would be 78 in 2020 and has a record of centrism on some key economic issues.

That said, some of these weaknesses are definitely not disqualifiers. And most of the above have some amazing strengths. I definitely have my top three current faves for the primaries. And obviously, I’d happily vote for any of them in a General Election against Trump.

I just hope we don’t amplify the rumor mill, and pile on and rule out any potentially very good candidates because of a perceived weakness at this stage.
posted by darkstar at 4:09 PM on February 6, 2019 [65 favorites]


This story wouldn't rate even a raised eyebrow as far as the routine background level of mendacity we've all come to expect, but even so, it's worth a click for the three charts just to see how shockingly egregious the lie about crime in El Paso really is.

And, if people are listening to literally any of the sheriffs over counties on the border or any of the politicians (R and D), they are all saying the same exact thing. Immigrants come to America for a better opportunity. They could do crime anywhere. And, if the Immigrants happen to be undocumented, they really don't participate in crime. The amount of downside for them (and their families and the other immigrants they are sharing an apartment with and their immigrant co-workers)... it practically knows no bounds.

Sort-of related: I interviewed once for a research dept. who were looking at what they called the "Hispanic Paradox". That is, in that area of Texas, taken as a whole, the Hispanic community had many factors that should reduce life expectancy (lots of drinking, smoking, living in poverty, few doctor visits, etc.), yet had a life expectancy that was better than average for the risk factors that the group, as a whole, showed. I also want to say they may have had a better than average life expectancy than the average population of the area. The research was far enough along that the department had a pretty strong theory that much of it tied into how happy the group was. While you can still be happy and commit crime, it's less common. People who are desperate, scared, angry, etc. will commit more.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:26 PM on February 6, 2019 [24 favorites]


After reading this piece from someone who worked for Reagan+both Bushes and who is now a senior fellow at a DC think tank that describes itself as "dedicated to applying the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy", along with their continued employment of literal war criminal David Frum and National Review writers like Reihan Salam and Alexandra DeSanctis, I am really, really bummed out that The Atlantic has taken such a rightward turn in the era of Trump. Adam Serwer is great, but god there is a lot of villainy to shovel through.

And yet, The Atlantic is not alone. There is the NYT with Ross Douthat, David Brooks, Bari Weiss, and Bret Stephens. Washington Post is a total crapshoot, but in a just world, Max Boot would be in a space station prison. For such an oppressed political group, conservatives sure seem to have an easy time finding public platforms for their views.

The only bright lights for me seem to be The New Republic, ProPublica, and The Intercept, despite Greenwald's inability to never log off. What a mess.
posted by Ouverture at 4:30 PM on February 6, 2019 [7 favorites]


Nancy owns Trump and he knows it. (Monique Judge, The Root)

I laughed at almost every sentence and had tears running down my face the whole time from laughing so uncontrollaby.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:43 PM on February 6, 2019 [46 favorites]


Oh this is fantastic.
Nancy owns Trump and he knows it. (Monique Judge, The Root)

I laughed at almost every sentence and had tears running down my face the whole time from laughing so uncontrollaby.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:43 PM on February 6

If you watched last night’s State of the Union address, you saw the Congressional OG show up with her gang in tow, wearing their colors and ready to drag your little “president” to hell if they needed to. With her army in white behind her, Fancy Pelosi (her gang name) sat behind the “president” as he gave his address, smirking at times and raising her eyebrows at others when he exaggerated or told an obvious lie. She was ready.

Keep in mind that the only reason Donald Trump was able to give his little speech in the first place is because the “Last O.G.” gave him permission too. She already checked his ass twice about it and shut down his previous attempts.

And he let her shut him down because if we are honest, Donald Trump is afraid of Nancy Pelosi.

posted by bluesky43 at 4:48 PM on February 6, 2019 [9 favorites]


Daily Beast: Paul Erickson, Russian Agent Maria Butina’s Boyfriend, Indicted for Fraud—The federal indictment in South Dakota alleges that he ran a criminal scheme from 1996 to 2018 using a chain of assisted living homes.

“The indictment alleges that Erickson ran a criminal scheme from 1996 to 2018 using a chain of assisted living homes called Compass Care. Erickson also allegedly defrauded investors through a company called Investing with Dignity that claimed to be “in the business of developing a wheelchair that allowed people to go to the bathroom without being lifted out of the wheelchair.” The indictment says he also ran a fraudulent scheme that claimed to be building homes in the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota.”

It’s grifters all the way down.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:51 PM on February 6, 2019 [30 favorites]


Forgive this minor backtrack but something has been bothering me about the recent report that Donald was having trouble getting a loan from Deutsche Bank in 2016.
Donald J. Trump was burning through cash.

It was early 2016, and he was lending tens of millions of dollars to his presidential campaign and had been spending large sums to expand the Trump Organization’s roster of high-end properties.
So in early 2016, he was desperate for cash but then in July 2016, Donald forgave $47.5 million in loans he'd made to his campaign. What happened in those few months that not only made him no longer desperate for cash but also on top of that willing to wave good-bye to almost fifty million dollars?

The loans were forgiven right when revenue from outside donors started to really pick up so there was now an actual possibility that Donald could get paid back by the campaign. But somehow the guy who once cashed a check for 13 cents just walked away from those millions of dollars? This person screamed at Chris Christie about "stealing his money" for the transition team, but didn't have any kind of ownership over the actual dollars he personally loaned to his own campaign?
posted by SpaceBass at 5:21 PM on February 6, 2019 [41 favorites]


Doktor Zed: "Imagine what appointing Malpass would do to intellectual quality and morale at the World Bank. But I don't know whether other countries will stand up to Trump on this"

There's some talk the executive board may itself nominate another American. That way they can stick with the "an American always runs the World Bank" thing, but not go with Malpass.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:28 PM on February 6, 2019 [4 favorites]


Is there a particular reason that the USA always gets to run the World Bank?
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 5:37 PM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


Traditionally, an American got the World Bank, and a European got the IMF. This made sense in the postwar environment, arguably; it's probably past its sell-by point now.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:40 PM on February 6, 2019 [14 favorites]


Is there a particular reason that the USA always gets to run the World Bank?

Because it is the largest shareholder.
posted by zakur at 5:41 PM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


538 does a chat on what they see as the current state of the Dem primary. tl-dr; Harris++, Nate disagrees with the others about a bunch of the rest, Biden&Bernie's cred buys them more time to declare than anyone else but they are still on a timer which is ticking down.
posted by Justinian at 6:05 PM on February 6, 2019


They just know they aren't going to have that extra money this year.

And they're not the only ones, according to Politico: Farmers nearing crisis push back on Trump trade policies
The recent five-week shutdown froze government programs to assist producers with financing, planting decisions and much more. If another shutdown comes after Feb. 15, it will seriously interfere with the spring planting season, further complicating the picture for farmers. [...]

Farm debt is nearing the record levels set in the ‘80s, accounting for inflation, according to USDA statistics, and farm expenses are rising. Fertilizer and equipment have become costlier, due partly to Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminum and certain chemicals made in China. [...]

The next few weeks could be critical in shaping how 2019 will turn out for U.S. agriculture: U.S. and Chinese officials have until March 1 to reach a trade deal before Trump ratchets up tariffs and Beijing retaliates. [...]

“If the farm economy continues to get worse in the run-up to 2020, my sense is that this will be devastating to Trump,” said Gregory Wawro, political science professor at Columbia University. “Although it is difficult to defeat a sitting president, it is hard to see how Trump wins a second term if things play out that way.”
posted by Little Dawn at 6:53 PM on February 6, 2019 [7 favorites]


“Although it is difficult to defeat a sitting president, it is hard to see how Trump wins a second term if things play out that way.”


Well, I’m afraid loads of farmers will still find a way to rationalize voting for Dumbass even as their farm is going under because of his stupid trade wars.
posted by darkstar at 7:07 PM on February 6, 2019 [13 favorites]


Biden&Bernie's cred buys them more time to declare than anyone else but they are still on a timer which is ticking down.
Biden and Bernie are unique in that they’re “next-in-line” candidates: the vice president to the most recent Democratic president and the runner-up in the most recent Democratic primary.
Hillary Clinton was the "next-in-line" candidate last time. I supported her in the primary and the general election. That's not a good enough reason for them to be the nominee and I would prefer someone younger.
For Beto, it’s sort of the exact opposite. His credentials are a little light. And IMO it reeks of arrogance to take all this time to decide when other, more experienced candidates have already gotten into the race.
I like Beto but I pretty much agree with this. Maybe not arrogance per se, but a little presumptuous.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:07 PM on February 6, 2019 [9 favorites]


I'd be more comfortable with Beto as the VP on a Harris/O'Rourke ticket.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:09 PM on February 6, 2019 [18 favorites]


I think they're not saying that Biden/Bernie would be strong nominees or good presidents; just that they have a little more time to play with, given that they have such strong name recognition, etc.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:40 PM on February 6, 2019 [3 favorites]


Mod note: Let's try not to accidentally slide full-on into "we've got to decide who should run for president" mode here w/r/t primary candidates.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:47 PM on February 6, 2019 [26 favorites]




After all, they have an important job to do: protect America.

Was that actually part of the speech or your own riff on it?
posted by scalefree at 8:51 PM on February 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


That's a brilliant idea. Republicans are gonna fight making Election Day a holiday as hard as they can. Cause they know it hurts them. They're not popular. When more people vote they do worse. Like the Popular Vote compact, cities and states need to start making Election Day a holiday on their own. Do it more and more among the states and eventually it becomes a thing nationwide. And Republicans can do nothing to stop it federally. If they prevent progress in one area of government it's up to us and our communities to make it happen wherever we can.
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:10 PM on February 6, 2019 [49 favorites]


How is it that the GOP doesn't see that by stating "Dems will win more if it's easier to vote" means that their policies are widely and wildly unpopular? How does that even get spun as a positive thing in The_Donald and other conservative circles?


‘There Is Going to Be a War Within the Party. We Are Going to Lean Into It.’ -- The Justice Democrats helped get Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez elected. Who are they after next? (David Freedlander for Politico, February 4, 2019)
“I am talking about the radical conservatives in the Democratic Party,” said Saikat Chakrabarti. “That’s who we need to counter. It’s the same across any number of issues—pay-as-you-go, free college, “Medicare for all.” These are all enormously popular in the party, but they don’t pass because of the radical conservatives who are holding the party hostage.”

Not long ago, this would have been an outlier position even among American liberals. Today, it’s the organizing principle of a newly empowered segment of the Democratic Party, one with a foothold in the new Congress.

Chakrabarti is chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the closest thing to a new celebrity Congress has had in years—a 29-year-old former activist and bartender who, on the most recent Martin Luther King Day, sat on the same New York stage as the rapper Common, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and MacArthur “genius award” winner Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Although it’s Ocasio-Cortez who gets all the headlines, she arguably wouldn’t be in Congress in the first place without the group Chakrabarti founded: Justice Democrats, a new, central player in the ongoing war for the soul of the Democratic Party. It was the Justice Democrats who recruited her in a quixotic campaign early on, providing a neophyte candidate with enough infrastructure to take down a party leader. And it is the Justice Democrats who see Ocasio-Cortez as just the opening act in an astonishingly ambitious plan to do nothing less than re-imagine liberal politics in America—and do it by whatever means necessary.
Some not-great framing and phrasing in the article (likening Justice Democrats to a "Tea Party-like populist coalition of voters" while ignoring that Tea Party Was Created by Big Tobacco and Billionaire Koch Brothers*), and apparently botching some details, like the fact that there were six other Justice Democrats who won their 2018 elections [Wikipedia] instead of Ocasio-Cortez being the only JD-backed winner ... yeah, maybe faulty on a number of fronts, but there are some interesting interviews with people involved in pushing the Democrats to the left (where many Americans reside, instead of the astroturf village of the Tea Party).


* Brendan DeMelle, HuffPo Contributor and Executive Director of DeSmogBlog.com, Feb. 11, 2013; Updated Dec. 6, 2017
A new academic study confirms that front groups with longstanding ties to the tobacco industry and the billionaire Koch brothers planned the formation of the Tea Party movement more than a decade before it exploded onto the U.S. political scene.

Far from a genuine grassroots uprising, this astroturf effort was curated by wealthy industrialists years in advance. Many of the anti-science operatives who defended cigarettes are currently deploying their tobacco-inspired playbook internationally to evade accountability for the fossil fuel industry’s role in driving climate disruption.

The study, funded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institute of Health, traces the roots of the Tea Party’s anti-tax movement back to the early 1980s when tobacco companies began to invest in third party groups to fight excise taxes on cigarettes, as well as health studies finding a link between cancer and secondhand cigarette smoke.
The tobacco connection is news to me, and somehow even more gutting than the fact that billionaire conservatives were behind the "grass-roots" initiative.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:53 PM on February 6, 2019 [62 favorites]


WSJ's take on the same subject Little Dawn commented on above: “‘This One Here Is Gonna Kick My Butt’—Farm Belt Bankruptcies Are Soaring”, paywalled of course but a slightly larger excerpt is on Democratic Underground here. Excerpt from the excerpt:
Bankruptcies in three regions covering major farm states last year rose to the highest level in at least 10 years. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, had double the bankruptcies in 2018 compared with 2008. In the Eighth Circuit, which includes states from North Dakota to Arkansas, bankruptcies swelled 96%. The 10th Circuit, which covers Kansas and other states, last year had 59% more bankruptcies than a decade earlier.

States in those circuits accounted for nearly half of all sales of U.S. farm products in 2017...
posted by XMLicious at 10:59 PM on February 6, 2019 [8 favorites]


From Brad Setser at the NYT: The Global Con Hidden in Trump’s Tax Reform Law, Revealed
despite Mr. Trump’s proud rhetoric regarding tax reform during his State of the Union address, there is no wide pattern of companies bringing back jobs or profits from abroad. The global distribution of corporations’ offshore profits — our best measure of their tax avoidance gymnastics — hasn’t budged from the prevailing trend. [...]

The craftiest and largest corporations can still legally whittle down their effective tax rate into the single digits. (In fact, the new law encourages firms to move “tangible assets” — like factories — offshore).

Overall, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act amounted to a technocratic sleight of hand — a scheme set to shift an even greater share of the federal tax burden onto the shoulders of American families.
posted by Little Dawn at 11:09 PM on February 6, 2019 [21 favorites]


How is it that the GOP doesn't see that by stating "Dems will win more if it's easier to vote" means that their policies are widely and wildly unpopular? How does that even get spun as a positive thing in The_Donald and other conservative circles?

They're trained by Fox News to respond to key words with desired policies. It's Pavlovian.
They see "easier to vote" & read it as "easier to cheat". Doesn't need to make sense, doesn't need to be an actual mechanism to cheat if voting's made easier. They simply know it's true because of how many times they've heard it.
posted by scalefree at 11:30 PM on February 6, 2019 [12 favorites]


There's a great deal more background on the Koch brothers' long range efforts to roll back history in Nancy MacLean's excellent Democracy in Chains This program has its origins in Virginia's fight against desegregation, and the beginning of the american 'libertarian' movmement.

"In this vision for America, those without great power or property are prevented from using their majority votes to better their lives through a multi-pronged strategy that seeks to kill off unions, suppress voting, privatize schools, highways, Medicare and Social Security, stop action on climate change, transform the legal and judicial system and amend the Constitution to lock all of this into place permanently.

“The libertarian cause,” MacLean states in her book, “was never about freedom as most people would define it.” Rather, it was about “the promotion of crippling division among the people so as to end any interference with what those who held vast power over others believed should be their prerogatives.”
posted by Harry Caul at 2:44 AM on February 7, 2019 [44 favorites]


Trump's SotU speech: opinions vary.

Newt Gingrich: President Trump’s State of the Union changed history
Every once in a while a speech is so effective and powerful it changes the trajectory of history. President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address was that kind of speech.

If you have not seen it, you should watch it online. Reading it will only convey 10 percent of its power. It was the interaction of the President with the members of Congress and the audience in the galleries that was so compelling.
[...]
This speech was designed to move toward unity and bipartisanship—and 56 percent of the viewers thought it will “do more to unite the country.”
[...]
The President entered the House chamber embattled with a divided country and bitter partisanship. He left it with a lot more humor and happiness. The ice may be breaking on bitter partisanship.

This was a speech that changed the trajectory of history.
posted by scalefree at 3:34 AM on February 7, 2019 [2 favorites]


Oh & the parts in between that I left out? Full to the brim with all the ways Pelosi & the Dems were gritting their teeth. Because bipartisanship means "we can have unity as long as you give in & do it 100% my way. Plus we still get to call you names, Libtards."
posted by scalefree at 3:52 AM on February 7, 2019 [8 favorites]


This was a speech that changed the trajectory of history.

Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see history’s take on that, Newt.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 3:58 AM on February 7, 2019 [25 favorites]


I'm looking back through the thread and realizing my interpretation of If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation doesn't seem to have showed up: it appeared to me that with those words he actually threatened to start a war to get out of his legal problems, but paired up “war and investigation” to muddy the waters.

But I suppose that even if he successfully starts a war, that's not really specifically related to the speech... it's still the points when the Republican party nominated him and the electoral college made him President when the trajectory of history changed.
posted by XMLicious at 4:13 AM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


Newt Gingrich: President Trump’s State of the Union changed history

Me: Newt Gingrich’s level of bullshit has an inverse relationship to his relevancy.
posted by jaduncan at 4:28 AM on February 7, 2019 [38 favorites]


as per @alt_uscis they're putting razor wire on the U.S. side of the southern border wall
posted by angrycat at 4:48 AM on February 7, 2019 [7 favorites]


their policies are widely and wildly unpopular? How does that even get spun as a positive thing in The_Donald and other conservative circles?

There are a surprising number of people--often including me if I let the old self-reflection slip a little--who think that they are smarter than other people and that people who disagree with them simply know what's good for them. And that therefore popularity isn't relevant to the strength of an idea.

The Trumpist right wing have taken that reflex to the point of "this idea being unpopular means it's good."
posted by aspersioncast at 5:01 AM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


The current (this week) exercise in scare-the-the-shite-out-of-the-people as seen in Nogales is the ridiculous amount of concertina razor wire facing its streets. It's the cheaper shrugging version of 'wall.' .

'The proclamation the city council is scheduled to vote on says concertina wire is typically something found in battlefields, and that placing it along the entirety of the border fence is "not only irresponsible but inhuman."

In a tweet, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat, called the additional wire a stunt by the Trump administration, which he said is "trying to create the perception of rampant lawlessness and crime."
posted by Harry Caul at 5:01 AM on February 7, 2019 [27 favorites]


~Newt Gingrich: President Trump’s State of the Union changed history
~Me: Newt Gingrich’s level of bullshit has an inverse relationship to his relevancy.


Newt's been working overtime to become relevant again ever since I-1 won the election. The problem is that Newt knows the shit he spouts is mostly packaged, partisan propaganda, whereas I-1 believes every incomprehensible word he utters is raw, unassailable truth. Frighteningly, Newt just doesn't fit in with the new management.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:06 AM on February 7, 2019 [6 favorites]


Adding to scalefree's point about Pavlovian response and aspersioncast's on elitism... there's a long tradition of conservative thought supporting an actual philosophy of sorts, argle-bargle with a classics education. Essentially, it's that certain voters -- the rural/white kind -- simply do merit an outsized influence, and others are either "illegal" or, like, may as well be "illegal". Sometimes this gets expressed as "We're a republic, not a democracy" and "Majority rule is mob rule" and "We can't let California and New York decide everything".

From this perspective, there is really is something fishy or even fraudulent about, say, a group of ~urban~ voters traveling to a poll together by bus. Of course the primary source of this is racism, but it intertwines with some bad (and ironic) logic about the need for "fairness" to the minority group that is Republicans, who consider themselves the ones who work for a living and/or earned their retirement. Tell a Fox News viewer about the notion of making Election Day a holiday, and they will connect the dots to "free handout" on their own. ("It wasn't a holiday for me and you don't see me complaining..")

XMLicious: I'm looking back through the thread and realizing my interpretation of "If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation" doesn't seem to have showed up: it appeared to me that with those words he actually threatened to start a war to get out of his legal problems, but paired up “war and investigation” to muddy the waters.

I assumed the surface-level intent of that speech is to combine defenses of the Syria withdrawal and obstructing justice. But it can serve mutiple purposes; certainly the word "war" has been a primer for American salivary glands for generations, hence a "war" on everything from poverty to terrorism.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:14 AM on February 7, 2019 [12 favorites]


Huh so not only is the Tea Party movement not grass roots, it’s pay-to-paint-the-fence (wall - steel slat and concrete barrier) druckery.
posted by tilde at 5:17 AM on February 7, 2019 [1 favorite]


Ohio city to stop observing Columbus Day, make Election Day holiday instead (TheHill)

Go Sandusky!


Might not matter. Miami Beach voted to raise minimum wage and ban plastic bags. State overruled based on a law we apparently enacted (gee I wonder why :::rolleyes:::) to prevent cities from making and enforcing laws like this.
posted by tilde at 5:19 AM on February 7, 2019 [2 favorites]


There's a great deal more background on the Koch brothers' long range efforts to roll back history in Nancy MacLean's excellent Democracy in Chains

And from Brooke Harrington, writing in the Guardian: 'Aristocrats are anarchists': why the wealthy back Trump and Brexit
After interviewing 65 wealth managers in 18 countries, I learned that many individuals with enormous wealth and power deeply resent any institutions that limit their freedom or hold them accountable to obey the law. Thus, they form common cause with populist political movements, which attack the authority and legitimacy of policy professionals and politicians. In this effort, the ultra-rich weaken the actors empowered to impose restrictions on them, liberating themselves to make even more money by flouting regulations, tax obligations, trade embargoes and other inconveniences. The goal, as a Guardian columnist wrote presciently back in 2012, is to “free the rich from the constraints of democracy” – and that, sooner or later, has the ironic consequence of aligning global elites with authoritarian nationalists.

These wealthy individuals’ political inclinations may seem like relatively harmless self-interest, until you consider the power they have to realize their ambitions.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:31 AM on February 7, 2019 [56 favorites]


How is it that the GOP doesn't see that by stating "Dems will win more if it's easier to vote" means that their policies are widely and wildly unpopular? How does that even get spun as a positive thing in The_Donald and other conservative circles?

Partly because the GOP doesn't care that their policies are unpopular. In fact, that plays into their whole victim mentality. Their policies are correct, even if deeply unpopular, so cheating by suppressing the vote, disenfranchising voters, etc. is not only necessary but also noble.

Assholes.

In news from NPR, "Whether it's a deadly cold snap or a hole in an Antarctic glacier or a terrifying new report, there seem to be constant reminders now of the dangers that climate change poses to humanity. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., think they have a start to a solution. Thursday they are introducing a framework defining what they call a Green New Deal — what they foresee as a massive policy package that would remake the U.S. economy and, they hope, eliminate all U.S. carbon emissions."

Huffington Post notes that polls show the Green New Deal appeals to voters from both parties. The GOP apparently hasn’t heard.
posted by Bella Donna at 5:33 AM on February 7, 2019 [42 favorites]


Sometimes this gets expressed as "We're a republic, not a democracy" and "Majority rule is mob rule" and "We can't let California and New York decide everything".

Well, those were in fact 18th Century concerns, weren't they? (Large States, pedants, not California as such). But what is always omitted from this is the story of the progressive expansion of political rights and democracy since that time. I suppose they think that is a bad story.
posted by thelonius at 5:41 AM on February 7, 2019 [1 favorite]


what is always omitted from this is the story of the progressive expansion of political rights and democracy since that time. I suppose they think that is a bad story.

According to the NYT: Painting Socialists as Villains, Trump Refreshes a Blueprint
The report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, “The Opportunity Costs of Socialism,” did not prescribe any action but was meant to serve as a warning about the destructive economic policies that Mr. Trump believes Democrats would inflict on the United States.

Policies like tuition-free college were mentioned in the same ominous tone as the atrocities committed by Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:49 AM on February 7, 2019 [3 favorites]


I learned that many individuals with enormous wealth and power deeply resent any institutions that limit their freedom or hold them accountable to obey the law.

Anarchy for us, tiny American flags for everyone else.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:00 AM on February 7, 2019 [17 favorites]


The Daily Beast Betsy Woodruff reveals how DoJ officials are frantically pscrambling ahead of Matt Whitaker’s appearance on Capitol Hill: ‘They Hate This Guy’: Matt Whitaker Braces for Showdown With Dems
Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker is set to testify before Congress on Friday, and in the Department’s sprawling Pennsylvania Avenue headquarters, dozens of officials have been working to get him ready.[…]

A person familiar with Whitaker’s preparation told The Daily Beast he is gearing up for an intense few hours.

“They hate this guy so much,” the source said.

Whitaker has gone through multiple practice committee hearings––known as moots––where Justice Department officials pepper him with questions that committee Democrats may lob, according to multiple DOJ officials involved in his preparation. They have tried to prepare him for lengthy statements, harsh tones, and leading questions. Dozens of department officials have helped him prepare, those officials told The Daily Beast, working through the government shutdown to brief him and get him ready. And they’re gearing up for questions about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, according to one source familiar with Whitaker’s preparation, including whether he had input on the investigation’s resources. On top of that, they’re braced for legal sparring if Democrats try to force Whitaker to testify about his conversations with the president.

“We don’t know what we’re up against with the House Judiciary Committee,” that source said. “We have no idea.”[…]

Chairman Jerry Nadler, meanwhile, appears to be laying the groundwork for a court fight. His spokesperson, Daniel Schwarz, said Whitaker should know exactly what’s coming.

“The notion that Mr. Whitaker doesn’t know what to expect on Friday is absurd,” Schwarz said. “We have given him months to prepare for this hearing, provided him with a list of questions more than two weeks ago, and we continue to give our Republican colleagues every opportunity to weigh in on the process. Most importantly, in repeated public letter after public letter, we have made our expectations for Mr. Whitaker’s appearance crystal clear. If he is still confused at this point, it is because he hasn’t done his homework—not because we haven’t explained it to him.”[…]

Nadler’s little-noticed 48-hour request could be significant. If Whitaker refuses to answer questions without invoking executive privilege, the committee could potentially move to hold him in contempt of Congress and then ask a federal judge to force him to answer their questions. The fact that Nadler has told Whitaker what he plans to ask and has requested notice of any executive-privilege claims means a federal judge may be more likely to side with a potential Democratic effort to compel testimony.
Here is Nadler’s original letter, which extensively lists all the questions the HJC wants to ask the AAG.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:16 AM on February 7, 2019 [28 favorites]


The current (this week) exercise in scare-the-the-shite-out-of-the-people as seen in Nogales is the ridiculous amount of concertina razor wire facing its streets. It's the cheaper shrugging version of 'wall.'

Not that cheap, Cost of border deployments could approach $1 billion by end of fiscal year (WaPo).
posted by peeedro at 6:25 AM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


thelonius Well, those were in fact 18th Century concerns, weren't they? (Large States, pedants, not California as such)

No, actually. That's modern justification slapped onto the system and often wrongly attributed as the original justification.

In fact, the states demanding the Electoral College were the largest, by population, in the original 13 colonies. At that point Virginia was the most populous state in the USA, and cities were barely blips on the landscape. The idea of large urban populations dominating politics would have been totally unthinkable to the Founders. At that point in history around 80% of the population, not just in the USA but worldwide, was employed in primary food production (farming, ranching, fishing) and lived either on farms or in small villages.

Virginia and the other slave states wanted the Electoral College for one simple reason: while they had the largest total populations, a significant percentage of that population was enslaved and thus didn't vote. The 3/5 compromise that counted enslaved people as 3/5 of a person for the purposes of calculating representation for that state in the House of Representatives gave the slave states representation in the House greatly in excess of what their free, voting, population would merit [1].

The Electoral College was the mechanism by which the slave states could expand the 3/5 compromise that gave them excess power in the House to also give them excess power in electing a President.

If the President was directly elected then only voters in Virginia and the other high population states would count. And that would give an advantage to free states in Presidential elections. By allocating Electoral Votes equal to the number of Senators plus the number of Representatives given to that state the slave states got to count the enslaved population towards their voice in electing the President.

It was never about protecting the interests of low population states, it was always a compromise that the high population slave states demanded in exchange for being part of America.

[1] Note, it was the free states that wanted enslaved people not to count at all, and the slave states that wanted enslaved people to count as full people. The free states negotiated down to 3/5 to avoid giving the slave states quite so much of an overwhelming majority in the House as they would otherwise.
posted by sotonohito at 6:27 AM on February 7, 2019 [75 favorites]



Ohio city to stop observing Columbus Day, make Election Day holiday instead (TheHill)

Go Sandusky!


That's a brilliant idea. Republicans are gonna fight making Election Day a holiday as hard as they can.

Sandusky's actually a really good example of why this is such a good idea. Home of Cedar Point amusement park and a hub for recreational boating and lake tourism, it's a small city/large town on the shore of Lake Erie about halfway between Cleveland and Toledo. The surrounding county is farmland, but the town itself often serves as a sort of bedroom community and retirement/second home for wealthy liberals and the remaining genteel Republicans from the two larger cities. Plus of course it's the county seat, so it's very much the driver of jobs and services for the area.

Erie county as a whole voted Democrat from 92 to 12, driven largely by the votes of Sandusky. But in the Republican ratfucking gerrymandering of 2010, Sandusky proper got jammed into a ridiculous district that skims the lakeshore from Western Cleveland to Toledo - clearly meant to cluster reliably Democrat areas into one district. Given that Ohio recently passed a bill requiring a more bipartisan approach to creating districts after the 2020 census, the town seems to be anticipating a possible future in a more geographically coherent district. Which means a district with more rural areas. So making Election Day a holiday is a step towards ensuring that places with lots of land but not many people don't dominate the policies of the area.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:45 AM on February 7, 2019 [15 favorites]


No, actually. That's modern justification slapped onto the system and often wrongly attributed as the original justification.

It was an actual issue.
posted by thelonius at 6:48 AM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


"I am also proud to be the first president to include in my budget a plan for nationwide paid family leave, so that every new parent has the chance to bond with their newborn child," Trump said in his address on Tuesday.

Ignoring the lie about Trump being the first - Obama and Democrats have been fighting for years to get paid family leave - just what is Trump's plan? Turns out it was created and promoted by Ivanka. Are they going to raise taxes on the rich to pay for it? Of course not. The plan it to allow parents to borrow from their future Social Security retirement benefits. So the Republican family leave is just a debt that parents incur and pay for by impoverishing themselves in their old age.

Rich people like Ivanka have no clue about how real people live, but one thing she is sure of is that she doesn't want her taxes increased to help families and their children.
posted by JackFlash at 6:57 AM on February 7, 2019 [68 favorites]


Trump appeared awfully low-energy at the National Prayer Breakfast today…

Vox's Aaron Rupar has the video: "Trump, who was having a hard time this morning, accidentally said "the abolition of civil rights" was led by people of faith."

Daniel Dale has been live-blogging/fact-checking the whole event, in all its weirdness, e.g. “Trump's text says a SWAT officer "raced through" a doorway during the Pittsburgh massacre. Trump accidentally says "graced," then says, "graced and raced."”

And Trump concludes with yet another lie: “Trump says that when he urged Americans on Tuesday to choose greatness, "everybody in that room stood and applauded." (That came right after "results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction," and Democrats did not stand and applaud.)”
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:04 AM on February 7, 2019 [12 favorites]


And while we are talking about stupid plans, how about Amy Klobucher:

"The American workforce is changing, & there isn’t one path to success. I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation with @SenSasse to allow people to use tax advantaged savings accounts to pay for educational expenses like skills training, apprenticeships, & professional development."

First off, partnering with fake moderate Ben Sasse should be the first clue that this is a terrible bill. But what is a tax advantaged account? It is just an IRA. So Klobucher is saying you can borrow from your retirement savings to finance your education. That assumes that you already have a job or have any retirement savings. You can already deduct some education expenses and student loan interest so this adds nothing for most people. But worse, it is a regressive handout to the wealthy because the higher your income, the bigger the tax deduction. Low income people pay very little or no income taxes so a tax advantaged account provides them precisely zero benefit.

Klobucher should be ashamed to promote such weak policy in coordination with Republicans.
posted by JackFlash at 7:12 AM on February 7, 2019 [19 favorites]


But what is a tax advantaged account? It is just an IRA.

Or a number of special savings accounts designed to allow parents to save for college, which have had the issue of being locked to just paying for college.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:22 AM on February 7, 2019 [8 favorites]


Washington Post's Jeff Stein:

Woah @SpeakerPelosi openly mocks in Politico interview the Green New Deal plan now supported by 5 of the Dems' leading presidential candidates:

“The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?”
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 7:22 AM on February 7, 2019 [6 favorites]


“The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?”

The Green Dream is that our grandchildren still have an inhabitable planet. I don't know the specifics, but if you're not for it, you're against us.
posted by explosion at 7:26 AM on February 7, 2019 [79 favorites]


If the Justice Democrats and like-minded progressive Democrats are anything like the Anti-Tea Party that they're often painted, they can push discussions and policies hard toward the left, with or without central party support.


House Democrats Divided On Strategy To Force Release Of Trump's Tax Returns (NPR, February 7, 2019)
There is a mechanism, known as the "committee access" provision, that allows the tax writing committee to request tax records of any taxpayer from the secretary of the Treasury. It is unclear how the agency will respond to that request and whether it will stall or resist efforts to turn over Trump's personal returns to the panel.

On Thursday, the committee will take its first small step toward a resolution when it holds a narrow hearing on the laws related to presidential and vice presidential tax returns.

Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., says the subcommittee-level session, set to include academics and think tank scholars, is cautious but necessary. "This is our first real crack," Pascrell said. "We have a responsibility. You either live up to the responsibility or you don't."
...
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday that while Democrats are serious about their constitutional responsibility to investigate Trump, they aren't going to be reckless when they do it. "We will not be bullied by the president of the United States," Jeffries said. "That said, we're not going to overreach, we're not going to overinvestigate, we're not going to overpoliticize our constitutional responsibilities."

Asked specifically whether he plans to make Trump's tax returns a top priority, Jeffries responded with a different list of legislative goals like lowering health care costs, introducing an infrastructure plan and "cleaning up corruption."

That approach is shared by some moderate members on the Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., a former prosecutor, said he wants to defer to special counsel Robert Mueller when it comes to requesting sensitive documents like private tax returns, to avoid interference with that investigation.

"First of all, there's no rush," Kind said. "I gotta believe that the Mueller team already has their hands on the president's tax returns. If they're looking for a possible connection between Russia and his family, there is a danger in trying to go too far too fast."
Emphasis mine, and I think I'm on the side of Reps Hakeem Jeffries and Ron Kind, though it goes against Nancy Pelosi's promise to make getting Trump's tax returns a priory:

Congress Really Can Demand, And Get, Trump's Tax Returns. Here's How (NPR, October 11, 2018)
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi vowed this week to demand President Trump's tax returns if Democrats win control of the House of Representatives next month.

Pelosi, seeking to regain her gavel as House speaker after elections in November, told The San Francisco Chronicle editorial board that the move "is one of the first things we'd do — that's the easiest thing in the world. That's nothing."
...
By law, taxpayer information is supposed to remain confidential. But as University of Virginia law professor George Yin, author of a 2017 article on the law (PDF), told NPR, Congress didn't like being dependent on the executive branch to provide tax records.

When the "committee access" provision, as it's known, became law in 1924, Congress had been dealing with taxpayers' information in the Teapot Dome scandal (Wikipedia) afflicting the Harding administration and in a controversy involving former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon. Like Trump, he had served in government while refusing to avoid conflicts of interest by letting go of his holdings.
But the October 2018 NPR article notes that the request is easy, but given that the request would go to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who oversees the IRS, there could be a significant amount of pushback and Justice Department lawyers, and perhaps private lawyers, might fight the request in court.

But ...
Were Congress to get access to Trump's returns, it would be easy for lawmakers to disclose the information, despite various privacy protections that exist for taxpayers. The chair or committee with Trump's tax returns could submit them to the full House or Senate if there's a legitimate legislative purpose. At that point, the returns would very likely quickly become available for the public to see on the Internet.
Fun times ahead. And by "fun," I mean holy fook, I appreciate that there's are many paths to getting Trump's tax returns, and I realize that processes mean structure and reliability, but in the meantime, Trump's deplorable policies are still being put in place.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:28 AM on February 7, 2019 [10 favorites]


“The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?”

The construction of this sentence resembles that of some other prominent figure on the national political stage. Can't think of who it is.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:30 AM on February 7, 2019 [27 favorites]


But what is a tax advantaged account? It is just an IRA.

Or a number of special savings accounts designed to allow parents to save for college, which have had the issue of being locked to just paying for college.


Yeah, it sounds like the professional development equivalent of a FSA. Call me crazy, but that sound like a good idea to me. It’d be better to have free college for everyone, but in the meantime, it seems like a win to give regular people a mechanism to lower their tax burden and put the money toward their economic viability.
posted by Autumnheart at 7:32 AM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


"First of all, there's no rush," Kind said. "I gotta believe that the Mueller team already has their hands on the president's tax returns.

Ron Kind is an idiot. There is zero, zip reason to believe that Mueller has Trump's tax returns. This would have to be approved by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and if Mueller had requested them, you can be sure there would have been a huge constitutional fight raised by Trump's lawyers.

Nobody is ever going to see Trump's tax returns unless congress mandates it, and still it will be a big fight.
posted by JackFlash at 7:36 AM on February 7, 2019 [6 favorites]


said "the abolition of civil rights" was led by people of faith."

*Looks at the alliance of the religious right and the Republican party for the last 40+ years.*

Well, he's not wrong . . .
posted by soundguy99 at 7:50 AM on February 7, 2019 [40 favorites]


If you want some basic background on the Green New Deal, here is an article at MPR.
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:59 AM on February 7, 2019 [4 favorites]


As professional and together as Pelosi is, I find it very difficult to believe she hasn't heard of and doesn't know the name of "Green New Deal", so her statement comes off as dismissive.
posted by Fleebnork at 8:05 AM on February 7, 2019 [25 favorites]


Virginia and the other slave states wanted the Electoral College for one simple reason: while they had the largest total populations, a significant percentage of that population was enslaved and thus didn't vote.

Slave states ranked by enslaved percentage of population in 1860:
57.2 South Carolina
55.1 Mississippi
47.0 Louisiana
45.1 Alabama
43.9 Florida
43.7 Georgia
33.4 North Carolina
30.7 Virginia
30.0 Texas
25.5 Arkansas
24.8 Tennessee
19.5 Kentucky
12.7 Maryland
9.7 Missouri
1.6 Delaware

All of the states with an enslaved population of 24.8% or higher seceded from the Union.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:07 AM on February 7, 2019 [11 favorites]


"The American workforce is changing, & there isn’t one path to success. I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation with @SenSasse to allow people to use tax advantaged savings accounts to pay for educational expenses like skills training, apprenticeships, & professional development."

Yeah, it sounds like the professional development equivalent of a FSA. Call me crazy, but that sound like a good idea to me. It’d be better to have free college for everyone, but in the meantime, it seems like a win to give regular people a mechanism to lower their tax burden and put the money toward their economic viability.

If you can afford to take additional time off of work or have the energy/time to take night classes, great. That's not the case for most middle-class people.
posted by joeyjoejoejr at 8:11 AM on February 7, 2019 [7 favorites]


What’s Your Green Deal? Any serious Democratic candidate must signal that mustering the full force of the U.S. government and economy to respond to the climate crisis is not only a moral imperative but a top priority in line with universal healthcare, a fair minimum wage, anti-corruption, criminal justice reform, and voting rights. For too long, Congress and the federal government have advanced incremental changes that do not match the scale and urgency of the climate crisis. (Crooked Media)
posted by The Whelk at 8:12 AM on February 7, 2019 [22 favorites]


Pelosi insultingly dismissing the Green New Deal while talking about forming a panel on climate change that will craft a bill that will need "congress-wide" "broader support" is a clear tell that she's interested in ineffective half-measures that won't meaningfully challenge energy corporations. If you doubt this, then consider her record and the record of the Democratic Party of the last few decades. And consider this article from just a few days ago about her top health policy aide reassuring insurance executives that they have nothing to fear from Medicare for All.

Pelosi is an effective political operator when seeking her goals, but her goals are completely incompatible with any policy that challenges major Democratic Party donors, no matter how important.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:17 AM on February 7, 2019 [32 favorites]


Totally fair to criticize her for this if you think that it would make more sense to push for bills that can't pass now, but she's pretty clearly saying -- and has previously said! -- that she supports the general ideas behind the Green New Deal and would support them in a bill that could get passed into law, which (in her view) is after 2020. This is a debate about political strategies and messaging, not about the need for climate change legislation.

From a political strategy standpoint, this still seems like a significant misstep. So much of what can't pass now is also incredibly popular with American voters and is a significant reason behind AOC's electrifying popularity.

If Pelosi and the rest of the establishment wants excited and engaged voters in 2020, especially those from the demographics most affected by climate change and lack of healthcare, she's not going to accomplish that by...not fighting for what they want and what is right, even if it can't pass right now. After all, with Trump as president and a Republican Senate, what exactly can pass right now?

This political strategy only makes sense if Pelosi is worried about how the Democrats look to "moderate" Republicans who won't ever vote for them anyway.
posted by Ouverture at 8:18 AM on February 7, 2019 [14 favorites]


Russian-Style Kleptocracy Is Infiltrating America (Franklin Foer, The Atlantic)
When the U.S.S.R. collapsed, Washington bet on the global spread of democratic capitalist values—and lost

American officialdom, [Richard Palmer, former CIA station chief, Moscow] believed, had badly misjudged Russia. Washington had placed its faith in the new regime’s elites; it took them at their word when they professed their commitment to democratic capitalism. But Palmer had seen up close how the world’s growing interconnectedness—and global finance in particular—could be deployed for ill. During the Cold War, the KGB had developed an expert understanding of the banking byways of the West, and spymasters had become adept at dispensing cash to agents abroad. That proficiency facilitated the amassing of new fortunes. In the dying days of the U.S.S.R., Palmer had watched as his old adversaries in Soviet intelligence shoveled billions from the state treasury into private accounts across Europe and the U.S. It was one of history’s greatest heists.

Washington told itself a comforting story that minimized the importance of this outbreak of kleptomania: These were criminal outliers and rogue profiteers rushing to exploit the weakness of the new state. This narrative infuriated Palmer. He wanted to shake Congress into recognizing that the thieves were the very elites who presided over every corner of the system.


In other words, the United States has legitimized a political economy of shadows, and it has done so right in step with a global boom in people hoping to escape into the shadows.

American collusion with kleptocracy comes at a terrible cost for the rest of the world. All of the stolen money, all of those evaded tax dollars sunk into Central Park penthouses and Nevada shell companies, might otherwise fund health care and infrastructure. … Thievery tramples the possibilities of workable markets and credible democracy. It fuels suspicions that the whole idea of liberal capitalism is a hypocritical sham: While the world is plundered, self-righteous Americans get rich off their complicity with the crooks.

The Founders were concerned that venality would become standard procedure, and it has. Long before suspicion mounted about the loyalties of Donald Trump, large swaths of the American elite—lawyers, lobbyists, real-estate brokers, politicians in state capitals who enabled the creation of shell companies—had already proved themselves to be reliable servants of a rapacious global plutocracy. Richard Palmer was right: The looting elites of the former Soviet Union were far from rogue profiteers. They augured a kleptocratic habit that would soon become widespread. One bitter truth about the Russia scandal is that by the time Vladimir Putin attempted to influence the shape of our country, it was already bending in the direction of his.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:26 AM on February 7, 2019 [53 favorites]


"Washington bet on the global spread of democratic capitalist values" = when American-style kleptocracy infiltrated Russia

From the 70s onward radical free market advocates kept trying to create bad kind of libertarian, privatized utopias out of existing states - tried first in South America and succeeded in the former USSR mostly by bribery and looting and hey guess what that thing that always happens happened, the mob took it over.

We’re all suffering from the failed experiment.
posted by The Whelk at 8:33 AM on February 7, 2019 [31 favorites]


When the U.S.S.R. collapsed, Washington bet on the global spread of democratic capitalist values—and lost

I haven't read the article yet, but IMO it's a bit worse than that. It's Washington thought it would be a great idea to impose libertarian values (deregulation, no social system worth mentioning) and supply side economics on Russia after the Sovjet collapse. The Republican economists in the Bush administration pushed through a system that couldn't even be realized in the US. And lo behold, it didn't work out as promised. (Though if one is conspiratorial, it might have worked out as planned).
posted by mumimor at 8:35 AM on February 7, 2019 [26 favorites]


That’s not a reason not to offer it. Not to mention we have this amazing thing called the Internet now, and I understand that a large number of colleges and universities are offering online curriculums.

Here's a better idea than telling an overworked single parent to spend 2 hours a night on a MOOC for a tax benefit: just fucking give people money. Take it from rich people and give to to poorer people. Poor people can spend that money how they choose even *gasp* on something that doesn't directly contribute to increasing productivity!
posted by codacorolla at 8:40 AM on February 7, 2019 [94 favorites]


The turn to neoliberal capitalism after the collapse of the Soviet Union had a huge death toll too:

“Rapid mass privatization as an economic transition strategy was a crucial determinant of differences in adult mortality trends in post-Communist societies,” they wrote in the report. The effects of privatization were “reduced if social capital was high.”

The report contends that life expectancy diminished in the early to mid-1990s in countries that were being rapidly transformed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Even though the governmental and economic transitions occurred nearly two decades ago, the report said, “only a little over half of the ex-Communist countries have regained their pretransition life-expectancy levels.”

From 1991 to 1994, life expectancy in Russia was reduced by five years. But life expectancy in Croatia and Poland improved in the same period. By last year, the life expectancy of Russian men was less than 60 years, compared with 67 years in 1985.

Despite the immense upheaval, the transformation did not lead to higher mortality rates in Poland, the report says, possibly because of the country’s strong social institutions and also because Poles could emigrate or rely on Poles in Western Europe and North America for support.

posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:42 AM on February 7, 2019 [16 favorites]


Have they actually announced what they want to be in the Green New Deal? Thus far all I know about it is the name and that it’ll involve lots of government programs. Which, sure, but it’s trivial to be in favor of something when nobody knows what it is, but that doesn’t pass anything; you have to actually write it down. I did see that it looks like they’re releasing a framework today, so that should help. But until then I’m not going to criticize Congressional leadership for not rushing to pass vaporware.

And I get that the future of humanity on the planet is at stake. But it doesn’t matter unless the Senate is willing to do something. It really really doesn’t. And if you think their inaction will kill us all, well, it still doesn’t make a difference to them, and it still doesn’t get anything done.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:43 AM on February 7, 2019 [7 favorites]


From the 70s onward radical free market advocates kept trying to create bad kind of libertarian, privatized utopias out of existing states - tried first in South America and succeeded in the former USSR mostly by bribery and looting and hey guess what that thing that always happens happened, the mob took it over.

We’re all suffering from the failed experiment.


America always forgets about the other 9/11.

What a cruel and awful irony that it eventually gave us such dismal gifts like Putin, the Iraq War, and Trump.
posted by Ouverture at 8:44 AM on February 7, 2019 [17 favorites]


Re: Trump's tax returns:

Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis.: If they're looking for a possible connection between Russia and his family, there is a danger in trying to go too far too fast

"Is there a connection between Russia and his family" isn't the question.

The question is, "Are there debts ( or unrecorded loans ) of Donald J. Trump that render him susceptible to influence or blackmail by his creditors, who could be agents of Russia, Saudi Arabia, or any other entity."
posted by mikelieman at 8:46 AM on February 7, 2019 [18 favorites]


In the dying days of the U.S.S.R., Palmer had watched as his old adversaries in Soviet intelligence shoveled billions from the state treasury into private accounts across Europe and the U.S.
This makes me wonder to what degree that massive infusion of money into the US and Europe helped power the boom of the '90s—the venture capital, the market boom, the real estate bubble, etc. Has anyone done any work on that?
posted by octobersurprise at 8:49 AM on February 7, 2019 [29 favorites]


One of the upsides of the umbrella term Green New Deal is that it can encompass a huge variety of tactics and legislation, for example a truly holistic GND would include provisions for making public spaces more pleasant, beautiful, and accessible to encourage people to use them instead of more carbon intensive entertainment or transit.

It’s not just solar panels and bioswales, it’s community centers and garden classes.
posted by The Whelk at 8:51 AM on February 7, 2019 [37 favorites]


Mr. Whelk, you are very kind to have written a whole FPP in indirect response to my request for actual specifics.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:54 AM on February 7, 2019 [30 favorites]




Mod note: Folks, extended analyses of the Democrats are nothing we haven't been over and over and OVER, please let them go. Thanks.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:00 AM on February 7, 2019 [9 favorites]


LA Times, In rush to revamp Medicaid, Trump officials bend rules that protect patients
As it races to revamp Medicaid by allowing work requirements for the first time, the Trump administration is failing to enforce federal rules directing states to assess the impact of the change on low-income patients who rely on the half-century-old safety net program, a Times analysis shows.

None of the eight states that the administration has cleared to implement a Medicaid work requirement has in place a plan to track whether Medicaid enrollees find jobs or improve their health, two goals often touted by administration health officials.

And nine of the 17 states that have sought federal permission to implement Medicaid work mandates have been allowed by the Trump administration to proceed with their applications despite failing to calculate the number of people who could lose coverage, according to a review of state and federal Medicaid records.
The regulations that authorize these waivers require states to conduct evaluations to see whether they meet their stated goals, but that's simply not happening, even as Arkansas has already kicked 18,000 people off their health insurance, because Medicaid work requirements aren't about getting people to work, it's about punishing the people Republicans have deemed "undeserving."
posted by zachlipton at 9:01 AM on February 7, 2019 [16 favorites]


Ha. Ha. *sob.* Kim Jong Un and Mohammed bin Salman make Foreign Policy's list of "Global Thinkers" in the category of "40 and under." So young! Their most murderous days still ahead of them!

(AOC and Ronan Farrow do, too, to be fair, but, still ...)
posted by octobersurprise at 9:09 AM on February 7, 2019 [12 favorites]


AOC Just Dropped Her Green New Deal Proposal—Here's What's Inside.

Some credit, please, for Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who is her co-dropper. He's not at all telegenic and is usually overshadowed by the state's other senator, but his heart and agenda are in the right place.
posted by adamg at 9:15 AM on February 7, 2019 [52 favorites]


That Green New Deal proposal is really solid. I love that it centers workers and marginalized people and turns the often boring and dread-inducing issue of climate change into something exciting and optimistic by presenting a concrete and achievable set of programs that would improve a lot of things about our country beyond just the immediate environmental issues.

Here's The Whelk's brand new thread on it for further discussion.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 9:22 AM on February 7, 2019 [13 favorites]


Betsy Woodruff for the Daily Beast:

NEW: DOJ tells House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler that Matt Whitaker ***will not testify*** unless Nadler promises in writing by 6pm that he won't subpoena him.

tl;dr the DOJ is shitting themselves preparing for this to happen and it looks like Jerry Nadler has his ducks in a row - he gave DOJ/the WH 48 hour notice to provide explanations for what they would try to exclude due to executive privilege and, shockingly, they didnt meet his deadline. Looks like a "trap" to get Whitaker on contempt of congress (trap insofar as he seems genuinely contemptuous and its basically congress' job to do what theyre doing).
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:54 AM on February 7, 2019 [52 favorites]


NEW: DOJ tells House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler that Matt Whitaker ***will not testify*** unless Nadler promises in writing by 6pm that he won't subpoena him.


That... is not how this works. I won't testify unless you promise you won't make me testify? WTF.
posted by suelac at 9:57 AM on February 7, 2019 [56 favorites]


Typically when someone says they will do a thing as long as you promise they will face no consequences for not doing the thing, they do not actually plan to do the thing.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:01 AM on February 7, 2019 [37 favorites]


CNBC: Trump is 'highly unlikely' to meet Chinese President Xi before March trade deadline
A meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is "highly unlikely" before the March 2 deadline for reaching a trade deal, according to a senior administration official.

While Trump and Xi are still expected to meet, there's too much work to do to flesh out a deal with China and prepare Trump for a high-stakes meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Trump's summit with Kim is set for Feb. 27-28.

Trump and Xi may still meet "shortly thereafter" March 2, said the official, who requested anonymity, citing a lack of authorization to speak publicly about the talks.
On that news: “BREAKING: Stocks extend drop, Dow off 360 points, after sources tell CNBC that Trump and Xi are 'highly unlikely' to meet before March 1.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:03 AM on February 7, 2019


I think the proper response to the attempted stonewalling by DoJ and Whitaker would be to subpoena him.
posted by VTX at 10:06 AM on February 7, 2019 [50 favorites]


I know we’re all dealing with our own crises, but has anyone seen anything about how the US plans to respond if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal?

Because I feel like that’s a) an unfortunately very real possibility, and b) uuuuhhh something that’s going to fuck everything.
posted by schadenfrau at 10:09 AM on February 7, 2019 [10 favorites]


DOJ tells House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler that Matt Whitaker ***will not testify*** unless Nadler promises in writing by 6pm that he won't subpoena him.

I'm glad we finally reached this stage. It's inevitable that the Trump administration will fight congressional subpoenas all the way to the Supreme Court. We might as well get started.
posted by diogenes at 10:15 AM on February 7, 2019 [73 favorites]


RE: Pelosi's dismissal of the Green New Deal earlier, Ocasio-Cortez and Markey responded by taking the high road at the GND press conference just now.

Alex C Kaufman:

Asked about Pelosi's "green dream" dig, @AOC says she's not offended. "It *is* a green dream."

@SenMarkey jumps in and says, "There is no greater champion on climate change than Nancy Pelosi."

-----

Also, more than 60 senators are signing on to the resolution. Y'all, if the Democratic Party puts its whole weight behind this idea they will DOMINATE elections. This is the kind of idea that can move masses.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 10:26 AM on February 7, 2019 [79 favorites]


Howard Schultz just pulled a Jeb! [video] telling his audience at Perdue that they need to clap for a line about the cost of education. There are also all of 200 people watching that stream, and I assume a decent number are reporters watching because it's their job.
posted by zachlipton at 10:59 AM on February 7, 2019 [21 favorites]


The letter does not respond to the request to identify any specific areas in which the President is choosing to assert privilege

Marcy Wheeler has a good idea of which are the no-go areas:
Here are the questions that Whitaker is effectively refusing to answer:
1) Have you briefed POTUS/his legal team on SCO investigation?
2) Did POTUS lash out after he showed up as Individual-1 in Michael Cohen's plea deal?
3) Did POTUS talk about firing people in SDNY?
4) Did you communicate any information about Huber's review of investigations into Hillary Clinton to the WH, including POTUS?
5) Did you communicate w/WH about the Buzzfeed article stating that Trump ordered Cohen to lie?

The headline from DOJ's response should really be

BREAKING Whitaker refuses to answer questions about POTUS' tampering w/SCO and SDNY investigations, folks.
She goes into this in detail on Emptywheel.net: Big Dick Toilet Salesman Matt Whitaker Crams For His Open Book Test

In parallel with the current efforts to rush through the Barr nomination, I think one possibly-cromulent read on this is an attempt to delay things by punting to the courts for long enough to avoid any chance that Whitaker's testimony might in turn delay or block Barr's confirmation.

Coincindentally, CNN reports that this morning the Senate Judiciary committee voted on party lines to advance Barr, setting up a confirmation vote next week.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:12 AM on February 7, 2019 [9 favorites]


> Coincindentally, CNN reports that this morning the Senate Judiciary committee voted on party lines to advance Barr, setting up a confirmation vote next week.

I dunno, shouldn't Democrats maybe threaten to filibuster the confirmation until the Acting AG responds to Congressional inquiries? Or is the Senate not supposed to protect the prerogatives of the House in this way? And who cares about "supposed to" anyway. Maybe they should hold the line on "No answers, no confirmation."
posted by RedOrGreen at 11:26 AM on February 7, 2019 [3 favorites]




There's no filibuster for confirmations anymore. It just takes 51 votes to cut off debate.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:30 AM on February 7, 2019 [4 favorites]


Rob Woodall [R - GA-07] is not running for re-election in 2020. Woodall hung on by just 419 votes in 2018, and the district seems to be trending hard to blue. This will be on the top of the pickup list for Dems.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:33 AM on February 7, 2019 [23 favorites]


One Second Before Awakening: "Also, more than 60 senators are signing on to the resolution. Y'all, if the Democratic Party puts its whole weight behind this idea they will DOMINATE elections. This is the kind of idea that can move masses."

NB: 60+ representatives have signed on (out of 435), but only nine of 100 senators. This is still a very uphill battle, at least in Congress.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:45 AM on February 7, 2019 [15 favorites]


I know we’re all dealing with our own crises, but has anyone seen anything about how the US plans to respond if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal?

Brexit supporters argued for a long time that England's "special relationship" with the U.S. meant that the U.S. would be willing to give them preferential trade deals. When Trump visited a while back he made it clear this would not be the case. In other words, Trump will use Brexit to ruthlessly negotiate deals that are in the U.S.'s best interests, just like the rest of the world will. My understanding is that it's the U.K. that will mostly suffer from Brexit.
posted by xammerboy at 11:52 AM on February 7, 2019 [11 favorites]


DOJ tells House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler that Matt Whitaker ***will not testify*** unless Nadler promises in writing by 6pm that he won't subpoena him.

Dems should accelerate this fight. Issue a subpoena for tomorrow at 6:01pm tonight when he refuses to attend. He has announced all week that he's attending voluntarily Friday, so he can't very well claim he's not available.

At 9:01am tomorrow, when he doesn't show up, vote out the contempt citation and start looking for a judge to enforce it.
posted by msalt at 11:59 AM on February 7, 2019 [37 favorites]


Newt Gingrich: President Trump’s State of the Union changed history

I think Gingrich may be right, in the sense that if your are a NeverTrumper, and were waiting for Trump to pivot toward becoming "presidential" and adopting traditional conservative policy goals, then the State of the Union was a game changer. Trump is no longer an aberration, a blip, non-representative of the party as a whole. Trump didn't pivot during that speech. The Republican Party pivoted to him.
posted by xammerboy at 12:16 PM on February 7, 2019 [7 favorites]


Trump will use Brexit to ruthlessly negotiate deals that are in the U.S.'s best interests

No, he'll use it to negotiate deals in his own and his wealthy friends' interests. He never does anything in the broader US's interests.
posted by Rykey at 12:18 PM on February 7, 2019 [54 favorites]


Fascinating overview of public opinion on "the rich," income inequality, and taxation.

Generally, people favor having rich people (about 60 percent agree that "The United States benefits from having a class of rich people"), and about a third expect to be rich, although only 3 percent say they are already rich.

But for decades a strong majority - about two-thirds - say "upper-income people are paying too little in federal taxes" and a growing share (now 52 percent) say "our government should redistribute wealth by heavy taxes on the rich".

There are, as you'd expect, large differences between Ds and Rs. When asked
"which generally has more to do with why a person is rich?", 71 percent of Rs say "Worked harder than most other people," 62 percent of Ds say "Had more advantages in life than most other people".
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:25 PM on February 7, 2019 [12 favorites]


Britain is a massive player in the global markets, and Brexit is about to become everyone's problem.
London is a major financial hub because of its passporting rights to the EU. As it says in the linked article, banks have already begun to move out of the city, and more will follow. On the top of that, the EU is cracking down hard on tax evasion and money-laundry, and other shady and illegal banking activities that are heavily concentrated in London, though they happen all over Europe. Brexiting doesn't save them from that.
As for the rest of British economy, well, massive isn't entirely accurate: The United States had $686 billion in total (two ways) goods trade with the European Union during 2016, its largest Goods trade partner. The US-UK trade is a large part of that, but as you see, less than a tenth.
Brexit will be a problem, but it won't in itself start a global crisis. Specially not if the EU holds tight, and right now, it seems it will. After the EU election in May, no one knows.
There's this whole mythology about the UK that is being unravelled these days which is a good thing, even as Brexit is a terrible thing for the British and Irish, and particularly the most vulnerable people in those countries.
posted by mumimor at 12:31 PM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


At 9:01am tomorrow, when he doesn't show up, vote out the contempt citation and start looking for a judge to enforce it.

A periodic reminder that Congress has its own jail and technically can enforce subpoenas by sending the House sergeant at arms, arresting the recalcitrant witness, and clapping them in irons. If it's good enough for Teapot Dome, it's good enough for Trumpot Dome. You don't need a judge involved at all, though the imprisoned witness could file a writ of habeas corpus and get in front of a judge that way.
posted by BungaDunga at 12:32 PM on February 7, 2019 [15 favorites]


The New Green Deal could probably be paid for with a fraction of the military budget.
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:32 PM on February 7, 2019 [29 favorites]


Part of the problem with criminal contempt of Congress is that Congress can't enforce it. It has to send the citation to the US DoJ, which maintains that it has the inherent Constitutional authority to ignore the directive. Trying to get the DoJ to file criminal contempt case against the Acting AG is, uh, unlikely. A civil case is always possible though.
posted by BungaDunga at 12:37 PM on February 7, 2019 [6 favorites]


The New Green Deal could probably be paid for with a fraction of the military budget.

FY2019 military budget: $674 billion

Cost of New Green Deal: unknown, but likely "on the order of trillions of dollars over 10 years"

So in theory, yes, but it would be a pretty significant fraction, like perhaps a half.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:38 PM on February 7, 2019 [6 favorites]


I'm partial to the Srsly Wrong podcast's Mario Kart style Blue Shell Tax that at random intervals hits the nation's wealthiest person with a big bill, knocking them down to fourth place and then moving on to the new first placer.

There are so many feasible ways to fund any social program that "how will we pay for it?" should never stand in the way of a good idea.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 12:43 PM on February 7, 2019 [30 favorites]


WOW. AOC on CSPAN demonstrating the corrupt system. In an easily understandable way I might add.
posted by yoga at 12:45 PM on February 7, 2019 [143 favorites]


So in theory, yes, but it would be a pretty significant fraction, like perhaps a half.

Which to me is one of the great opportunities of the Green New Deal: either by redirecting the military to do a lot of the work (which would be in the interest of national defense by avoiding conflicts over resources and refugee crises) or by simply cutting the military budget (since the US military and its contractors are very large polluters and the US spends far too much on the military anyway).

The US could cut its military budget in half and still spend more than any other country in the world.
posted by jedicus at 12:47 PM on February 7, 2019 [26 favorites]


Oil dependence is also a huge national security concern. It makes our military dependent on questionable international alliances, and far less operationally efficient than green energy. Also, if it truly helps us avert environmental disasters that will require future military involvement (national environmental emergencies, mass exodus from other countries, etc.) than that's money well spent from a military perspective.

I never really got the pushback against a Green New Deal. It's a jobs program, a sound business investment, strategic defense initiative, and possibly saves the planet. What's the argument for oil? An emotional attachment to pumping gas?
posted by xammerboy at 1:02 PM on February 7, 2019 [18 favorites]


Holy hell—I just watched that AOC CSPAN clip and got massive chills. Such bravery! Maybe the young people will save us after all!!
posted by eggkeeper at 1:07 PM on February 7, 2019 [24 favorites]


Thirded on that AOC CPAN clip. A simple favoriting of that post won't do. Any time you read an article about how she's overhyped or needs to act like the freshman rep she is, watch that clip and realize this woman is representing right. now. Screw the hot takes, she's using the platform she was elected to have with fantastic effect.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:11 PM on February 7, 2019 [48 favorites]


In other corrupt system news, from WaPo: The Mueller investigation has sprouted. Therein lies the jeopardy for Trump.
To open a new investigation, prosecutors need a credible predicate to believe that a crime has been committed. They must develop probable cause to believe they will uncover evidence or the fruit of a crime to persuade a federal judge to issue a search warrant. None of this suggests the witch hunt Trump often claims it is. [...]

It’s this threat of multiple ongoing investigations spanning the foreseeable future that should frighten the president the most. Whatever his personal criminal liability, it’s now proven that the organizations he has run — business, political and governmental — have been populated with actual criminals. Six of his associates, including his longtime friend and political adviser, his lawyer, his campaign chairman, his deputy campaign chairman and a foreign policy adviser have been indicted or pleaded guilty. It would be naive at this point to believe that more such charges are not coming.
posted by Little Dawn at 1:16 PM on February 7, 2019 [12 favorites]


Trump’s Attack on Socialism Is a Colossal Blunder:
Today, Trump is not only embracing the “rigged” system, but further owning his own unpopular economic policies, notably the $1.5 trillion tax cut he signed into law in December of 2017, which largely benefitted corporations and rich Americans. In the State of the Union, Trump boasted that “we are considered far and away the hottest economy anywhere in the world.” But many Americans still aren’t feeling that heat, just as they weren’t in 2016. Most of the economic gains have gone to the top 20 percent, and wage growth, while ticking upward over the past six months, has been largely flat throughout most of the economic recovery. This, much more than Sanders, is why more Americans have warmed to socialism. “The prime mover of millions of Americans into the socialist column has been the near complete dysfunctionality of contemporary American capitalism,” argued Harold Meyerson in The Guardian.
posted by Ouverture at 1:26 PM on February 7, 2019 [21 favorites]


Trump as President has done wonders to puncture the idea that wealth requires some base level of competence. I think a lot of people generally believed that most rich people were at least good at doing... high-powered business stuff, whatever that is. Even people who aren't down with the wealth inequality, there's a sort of base just-world fallacy that, well, they're rich, so they must be good at it.

Socialism starts to look better when it turns out that obscenely rich people are just... embarrassing. It's one thing when your model of a rich person is Warren Buffett or Steve Jobs and quite another when you're forced to realize how many Jareds and Donalds there are.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:33 PM on February 7, 2019 [81 favorites]


Also, more than 60 senators are signing on to the resolution. Y'all, if the Democratic Party puts its whole weight behind this idea they will DOMINATE elections.

The Democratic Party pushes a ton of policy that has broad public support. The Republican Party pushes a ton of policy that has broad public opposition. This would, and should, add to the pile but it would in no way lead to Democratic domination.

Policy mostly doesn't win elections!
posted by Justinian at 1:34 PM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


It's not just policy, it's a utopian vision with a plan to get there. Tell me the last time the Democratic Party has really pushed something like that, cuz the ACA wasn't it.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 1:40 PM on February 7, 2019 [15 favorites]


Trump as President has done wonders to puncture the idea that wealth requires some base level of competence. I think a lot of people generally believed that most rich people were at least good at doing... high-powered business stuff, whatever that is. Even people who aren't down with the wealth inequality, there's a sort of base just-world fallacy that, well, they're rich, so they must be good at it.

Socialism starts to look better when it turns out that obscenely rich people are just... embarrassing. It's one thing when your model of a rich person is Warren Buffett or Steve Jobs and quite another when you're forced to realize how many Jareds and Donalds there are.


I think this is a very good point -- looking back at the great revolutions in history, people were not only reacting to the lack of basics, like food, but also to the perception that the people who were supposed to lead their nations were idiots and/or out of touch with reality.
posted by mumimor at 1:41 PM on February 7, 2019 [21 favorites]






From the "A Swamp Divided" article linked above:

[Re: protesters outside Tucker Carlson's house] “It was bewildering to be told to leave a city I’ve spent my life in by rich kids in black bandannas who just moved here from Kansas City,” Carlson told me in mid-December, on a day when he was battling an advertiser boycott after saying on air that immigrants create a “dirtier” America. “But mostly it was depressing. Washington has never been like that, not in the thirty-five years I’ve been here. Political disputes were never personal after-­hours. Even at the height of the Clinton impeachment drama, people didn’t yell at each other at dinner parties. You didn’t choose your friends by partisan affiliation. Now you do. It’s awful.”

Sometimes the Trump-smash-destroy function accidentally does good.
posted by petebest at 1:57 PM on February 7, 2019 [22 favorites]


Godammit, if we'd had the votes for single payer in 2008 we'd have single payer. Don't tell me the ACA didn't push as hard as it possibly could at the time, because it took every drop of political capital Obama had at the time. He basically got nothing else done, and it was a Frankenstein-esque compromise at best, but it has saved a lot of lives and made countless lives better. We're only getting closer to single payer because as the GOP destroys bits of the ACA piece by piece and the healthcare companies continue to make money hand over fist, it becomes increasingly clear that there's no other way to accomplish what we need to accomplish.
posted by rikschell at 2:01 PM on February 7, 2019 [57 favorites]


About the socialism. In my European ears, the American use of "socialism" is always weird, though I'm getting less startled over time because of following these endless US politics threads. The way I understand it, socialism is about the workers taking over the means of production. And I'm actually against that, because I grew up seeing the poverty in the East Block. It wasn't working. (I'm not going to reply in any arguments about why it didn't work in this thread, because that is not where I am heading). Taxing the rich in order to provide welfare for everyone is social democracy. In that world view, the rich can do all the business they like, but they have to hand over a fair share of their earnings (like 70%) to society. The only reason I'm saying this -- obviously I can't police the American use of language -- is that maybe it would be helpful to frame it more like in Europe if you want to convince all those temporally embarrassed millionaires in the USA.
BTW I often vote for Socialists here, when I feel the Social Democrats are too third wayish.
posted by mumimor at 2:02 PM on February 7, 2019 [34 favorites]


Trump as President has done wonders to puncture the idea that wealth requires some base level of competence. I think a lot of people generally believed that most rich people were at least good at doing... high-powered business stuff, whatever that is. Even people who aren't down with the wealth inequality, there's a sort of base just-world fallacy that, well, they're rich, so they must be good at it.

Socialism starts to look better when it turns out that obscenely rich people are just... embarrassing. It's one thing when your model of a rich person is Warren Buffett or Steve Jobs and quite another when you're forced to realize how many Jareds and Donalds there are.
posted by BungaDunga at 5:33 AM on February 8 [13 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]


I think, for the greater American psyche, the wound cuts deeper than that. People watched and enjoyed The Apprentice. People laughed when Trump took up the charge on Obama's birth certificate. A lot of the things people believed about money, power, competence, and acceptable foibles are being questioned right now. And yes, socialism starts to look at lot better in comparison.
posted by saysthis at 2:03 PM on February 7, 2019 [6 favorites]


Godammit, if we'd had the votes for single payer in 2008 we'd have single payer. Don't tell me the ACA didn't push as hard as it possibly could at the time, because it took every drop of political capital Obama had at the time.

If the Democratic Party had fully come out in support of single payer, we would have single payer and they'd be a lot better off. Instead, a bunch of Democrats were afraid that single payer was too radical, and we got the half-measure of the ACA, and they still suffered massive electoral losses. If they'd just passed single payer at the time, we'd all be better off, and I'll bet their electoral chances would have been much better since then.

Anyway, this is all immaterial to the question of the Green New Deal, because it is a far more radical and all-encompassing vision for a better society. Hell, it contains universal healthcare within it as a small part of the whole package! My entire point is: nobody in American politics has offered a grand overarching vision for a better future in many decades, and I truly believe that this is a moment where a vision like that could succeed, and propel its proponents to electoral victory.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:12 PM on February 7, 2019 [9 favorites]


Late-Breaking. Wes: Here’s the redacted transcript of Monday’s sealed hearing for Paul Manafort.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:13 PM on February 7, 2019 [8 favorites]


If the Democratic Party fully came out in support of single payer, we would have single payer

Uhh, what?
posted by Justinian at 2:13 PM on February 7, 2019 [9 favorites]


About the socialism. In my European ears, the American use of "socialism" is always weird, though I'm getting less startled over time because of following these endless US politics threads. The way I understand it, socialism is about the workers taking over the means of production. And I'm actually against that, because I grew up seeing the poverty in the East Block. It wasn't working. (I'm not going to reply in any arguments about why it didn't work in this thread, because that is not where I am heading). Taxing the rich in order to provide welfare for everyone is social democracy. In that world view, the rich can do all the business they like, but they have to hand over a fair share of their earnings (like 70%) to society. The only reason I'm saying this -- obviously I can't police the American use of language -- is that maybe it would be helpful to frame it more like in Europe if you want to convince all those temporally embarrassed millionaires in the USA.
BTW I often vote for Socialists here, when I feel the Social Democrats are too third wayish.


The problem with social democracy is that without workers taking over those very means, even the most well-intentioned social democracies inevitably degrade back down to neoliberal shitholes.

Soaking the rich is incredibly important, but if workers are still beholden to the scraps that the rich deign to provide them, what sort of freedom is that really?
posted by Ouverture at 2:14 PM on February 7, 2019 [11 favorites]


WaPo’s Seung Min Kim, at 5 o’clock sharp: McConnell filing cloture on Barr right now, which is interesting because it means Democrats likely gave consent for him to do so (since the nomination only cleared the committee earlier today)

The Team Trump is flooring it to get Barr’s nomination done.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:21 PM on February 7, 2019 [2 favorites]


If the Democratic Party had fully come out in support of single payer, we would have single payer and they'd be a lot better off. Instead, a bunch of Democrats were afraid that single payer was too radical, and we got the half-measure of the ACA, and they still suffered massive electoral losses.

If I remember correctly, it was just one Democrat (Joe Lieberman) , not "a bunch", and that person has since left the party.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:23 PM on February 7, 2019 [7 favorites]


OK, I regret bringing up the ACA, let's please not have an argument about the particulars of a 9 year old bill's passage. I'm just saying that the Green New Deal is basically unprecedented in recent politics and I think it has serious potential from an electoral perspective.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:29 PM on February 7, 2019 [6 favorites]


There's a really great thread on the Green New Deal where we can discuss how wonderful and unprecedented it is.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:31 PM on February 7, 2019 [19 favorites]


From Politico: A federal health official testified Thursday he warned three Trump appointees about the potential health risks of separating migrant children from their parents more than a year before the administration announced the controversial policy.

Jonathan White, a career civil servant who helped lead efforts to reunify thousands of separated families, told a congressional oversight panel he first learned in February 2017 the administration was considering separating migrant families.

He said he quickly encouraged the Department of Health and Human Services officials to intervene to stop the policy, but he said they told him the administration would not implement the policy — though it would later be formally announced in May 2018 before being scrapped amid public uproar about six weeks later.

posted by Bella Donna at 2:32 PM on February 7, 2019 [14 favorites]


Kenneth Vogel (@kenvogel) with some pretty damning russia news.

KONSTANTIN KILIMNIK, the Russia intelligence-linked PAUL MANAFORT deputy, was in DC for TRUMP's inauguration, & met with Manafort about a Russia-Ukraine peace plan that we know envisioned a role for Russia-aligned former Ukrainian president YANUKOVYCH.

Actual filing (its an image):
The Office of Special Counsel contends that Mr Manafort lied about the number of times they discussed it, that he and Mr Kilimnik had not just discussed it once on August 2nd, 2016, but also in December of 2016; in January 2017, in person, in Washington DC, when Kilimnik was there for the inauguration; in February of 2017, including in person on [REDACTED] and even in the winter of 2018.

[emphasis mine]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:39 PM on February 7, 2019 [32 favorites]


Thank you Doktor Zed for posting the transcript of Monday’s sealed hearing for Paul Manafort. It's a fascinating (very long) document and far less redacted than anticipated.
posted by speug at 2:44 PM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


Uh, so Jeff Bezos is now explicitly accusing AMI and David Pecker of extortion related to the evidence of Bezos' affair that they have threatened to publish. And Bezos is explicitly tying this to AMI's fawning coverage of the Saudi prince. AMI is already taking heat for the Cohen scandals, why are they still acting as Trump's muscle?
posted by aiglet at 3:35 PM on February 7, 2019 [29 favorites]


Jeff Bezos's accusation of "extortion and blackmail" is incredible. Bezos says an AMI leader advised him and his P.I. Gavin de Becker that publisher David Pecker was “apoplectic” about their investigation of the Enquirer's revelations about Bezos's extramarital affair—and Pecker's new cozy relationship with Saudi Arabia. AMI then allegedly told them that the tabloid was in possession of more of Bezos's private text messages and some nude photos and that they would publish them unless Bezos called of the investigation—and killed any news stories about the National Enquirer that the Washington Post was working on.

Bezos told them, "Publish and be damned." He then published their e-mails, which are damning.

AMI is already taking heat for the Cohen scandals, why are they still acting as Trump's muscle?

The implication is that Trump fixed up Pecker with the KSA, so he owes Trump, big league.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:44 PM on February 7, 2019 [50 favorites]


Thank you Doktor Zed for posting the transcript of Monday’s sealed hearing for Paul Manafort. It's a fascinating (very long) document and far less redacted than anticipated.

And BRUTAL.... paraphrasing "Manafort's a lying liar, who lied to this detailed list of people, but that didn't mean he COULDN'T have cooperated in good faith. But he didn't."
posted by mikelieman at 3:53 PM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


NYT, Mark Mazzetti, Year Before Killing, Saudi Prince Told Aide He Would Use ‘a Bullet’ on Khashoggi
In the conversation, Prince Mohammed said that if Mr. Khashoggi could not be enticed back to Saudi Arabia, then he should be returned by force. If neither of those methods worked, the crown prince said, then he would go after Mr. Khashoggi “with a bullet,” according to the officials familiar with one of the intelligence reports, which was produced in early December.

American intelligence analysts concluded that Prince Mohammed might not have meant the phrase literally — in other words, he did not necessarily mean to have Mr. Khashoggi shot — but more likely he used the phrase as a metaphor to emphasize that he had every intention of killing the journalist if he did not return to Saudi Arabia.
This is an enormous and sensitive intelligence leak of closely-guarded communications intelligence. The timing is really interesting to me too. Sec. Pompeo met today with the Saudi Foreign Minister. Here's what Pompeo said last night on Fox Business (Pompeo did two interviews yesterday, both with Fox networks):
QUESTION: Tell me about that. I was speaking with one senator just last night, and he said to me, “Maria, I’d love to know why the ambassador is still 30 blocks away from the capital when we know Khashoggi called the ambassador to Saudi Arabia and said, ‘I need these wedding papers.’ And he said, ‘Well, go to Istanbul.’” And basically, this senator was suggesting they – he set him up. Why is he still there? Is there any other action that you’re going to take as a result of the Khashoggi murder?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Maria, I’d say three things. First, you should be careful about the facts that are out there. The --

QUESTION: You don’t think Khashoggi called?

SECRETARY POMPEO: There have – lots of facts --

QUESTION: And we know that that’s the crown prince’s brother.

SECRETARY POMPEO: I make it my professional business not to talk about American intelligence. You should be careful about the facts that are out there. Not all of them reflect the American understanding of what took place.

Second, we know that there is an important relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We’re going to do our best to continue to build on that.

Third, with respect to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, this administration has already taken action, and President Trump himself has said repeatedly to the extent we continue to develop facts that implicate others in the terrible act, the terrible murder of Jamal Khashoggi, we will continue to hold all of the people connected to it accountable. It’s an American commitment; it’s deeply consistent with our value set, and we’ll do it.
And now a day after Pompeo says this weirdly Orwellian thing about facts, here's a leak of some of the most sensitive intelligence undercutting him.
posted by zachlipton at 3:57 PM on February 7, 2019 [59 favorites]


(I should note that I'm reading a lot into AMI's lawyers' reference to "defamatory activities", which, emphasis added, seems like an odd way of referring to defamation. In particular, the following section from one of AMI's lawyer's e-mails appears to invite the recipient to read between the lines:
Once again, as I advised you in my February 1 response to your January 31 correspondence, American Media emphatically rejects any assertion that its reporting was instigated, dictated or influenced in any manner by external forces, political or otherwise. Simply put, this was and is a news story. {emphasis added}

Yet, it is our understanding that your client’s representatives, including the Washington Post, continue to pursue and to disseminate these false and spurious allegations in a manner that is injurious to American Media and its executives.

Accordingly, we hereby demand that you cease and desist such defamatory conduct immediately. Any further dissemination of these false, vicious, speculative and unsubstantiated statements is done at your client’s peril.
Bezos says, "For reasons still to be better understood, the Saudi angle seems to hit a particularly sensitive nerve", and in that context, the general legalese employed by AMI's lawyers would cover a multitude of Pecker's sins.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:00 PM on February 7, 2019 [4 favorites]


Those Enquirer emails - wow, just wow. That's such a clear case of blackmail, why on earth would they put it in email?
posted by stowaway at 4:00 PM on February 7, 2019 [15 favorites]


And yet all the lawyer guys on the TV are saying they aren't sure whether it's criminal. I know lawyers are by nature extremely cautious in public pronouncements but they sure sound like they don't know.
posted by Justinian at 4:02 PM on February 7, 2019 [3 favorites]


Vanity Fair, Emily Jane Fox, “I Am Disgusted”: Behind the Scenes of Trump’s Increasingly Scrutinized $107 Million Inauguration: Stephanie Winston Wolkoff was the mastermind event producer behind Trump’s inaugural celebration, which has since come under S.D.N.Y. investigation. Now, taped conversations reveal Wolkoff’s concerns with how money was being spent, the general chaos of the process, the involvement of the Trump family, and the people in charge, namely Rick Gates and Tom Barrack.

Wolkoff's taped conversations with Cohen, reportedly hours of recordings that the FBI seized from Cohen's office, led SDNY to investigate the inauguration, and she's accused Tom Barrack of throwing her under the bus. This paints her as more of a whistleblower, which I'm not sure is really justified by her ties to Melania Trump and the expenses that were moving through her company, but it's worth reading.
posted by zachlipton at 4:04 PM on February 7, 2019 [12 favorites]


I thought I recognized the name of the investigator hired by Bezos (Gavin de Becker) and I realized that he is the author of The Gift of Fear, a book frequently recommended by Metafiltarians.
posted by Emera Gratia at 4:06 PM on February 7, 2019 [22 favorites]


I've been hoping for a while that Bezos would realize Trump and Co. are an existential threat and start treating them as such
posted by benzenedream at 4:09 PM on February 7, 2019 [4 favorites]


stowaway: “Those Enquirer emails - wow, just wow. That's such a clear case of blackmail, why on earth would they put it in email?”
There are an awful lot of captains of industry and people in high office who are acting like they never expect to face any consequences for their prima facie criminal misdeeds. It's unnerving.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:11 PM on February 7, 2019 [49 favorites]


This potential crime would have occured after the immunity agreement and so would not only not be covered but would explode the agreement in the same way that Manafort's was exploded. If he's right about this being a crime, Bezos exposed Pecker to a lot of potential problems.
posted by Justinian at 4:23 PM on February 7, 2019 [14 favorites]


There is a separate Bezos thread.
posted by jedicus at 4:35 PM on February 7, 2019 [15 favorites]


Lauren Sanchez's brother is a Trumpist with connections to Roger Stone. Maybe she's been in on this thing all along.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:36 PM on February 7, 2019 [2 favorites]


Wolkoff's taped conversations with Cohen, reportedly hours of recordings that the FBI seized from Cohen's office...

1. Those Cohen recordings could, potentially, depending on when he started making them, turn up evidence of crimes going back to the mid-oughts, when Trump hired him.

2. None of this happens without Stormy Daniels wrestling with that NDA and Cohen trying to enforce it. “For want of a nail the kingdom was lost.”
posted by notyou at 5:03 PM on February 7, 2019 [30 favorites]


Rep. Nadler: My response to Acting AG Whitaker regarding the use of a subpoena for tomorrow's @HouseJudiciary hearing. (w/pic)

"If you appear before the Committee tomorrow morning and if you are prepared to respond to questions from our Members, then I assure you that there will be no need for the Committee to issue a subpoena on or before February 8. To the extent that you believe you are unable to fully respond to any specific question, we pare prepared to handle your concerns on a case-by-case basis, both during and after tomorrow's hearings."

Translation: It is on.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:12 PM on February 7, 2019 [43 favorites]


Lauren Sanchez's brother is a Trumpist with connections to Roger Stone. Maybe she's been in on this thing all along.

It would be so cool if we didn't trash a woman's character and motives sans evidence. Especially when we're talking about a situation in which the current president fucking HAAATES Bezos and conveniently has AMI in his pocket. Occam's Razor, y'all.
posted by palomar at 5:19 PM on February 7, 2019 [17 favorites]


Rep. Nadler: My response to Acting AG Whitaker regarding the use of a subpoena for tomorrow's @HouseJudiciary hearing. (w/pic)

UPDATE: CONFIRMED: Acting Attorney General Whitaker will appear tomorrow morning at 9:30am.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:20 PM on February 7, 2019 [22 favorites]


Again proving the Pelosi Principle: these bullies are all bluster and no bite, stand up to them and they'll back down.
posted by tivalasvegas at 5:37 PM on February 7, 2019 [23 favorites]


The Advocate, Louisiana law requiring admitting privileges for abortion providers takes effect Friday, unless Supreme Court acts
A law that critics say could cripple access to abortion in Louisiana is set to take effect Friday, unless the U.S. Supreme Court acts to put off its implementation as it's challenged in court.

The high court last week temporarily delayed the law, which would require abortion providers to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, on an administrative order.


That stay expires effective tomorrow and the law will go into effect unless the Supreme Court acts, which it doesn't look like they're going to do because it's getting late and nothing has happened yet. If this goes into effect, it could very quickly lead to a whole new wave of abortion restrictions across red states.
posted by zachlipton at 5:54 PM on February 7, 2019 [9 favorites]


Mod note: A few comments removed. I'm not sure a speculative "she probably did!" "she probably didn't!" argument about Bezos' divorce needs to happen anywhere but there is a thread about the Bezos/AMI thing and let's keep related stuff there.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:21 PM on February 7, 2019 [9 favorites]




That stay expires effective tomorrow and the law will go into effect unless the Supreme Court acts, which it doesn't look like they're going to do

Update: the Supreme Court acted, granting a stay of Lousiana's anti-abortion law, with Chief Justice Roberts joining the four liberal justices "to apply a 2016 precedent from which he had dissented."
posted by zachlipton at 6:37 PM on February 7, 2019 [45 favorites]


Oh, that’s too bad. From everything I ever ever heard from people, he was a heck of a nice guy.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:37 PM on February 7, 2019 [5 favorites]


Oh, that’s too bad. From everything I ever ever heard from people, he was a heck of a nice guy.

He was also the longest serving Congressperson in US History. Nearly 60 years. (He was also my congressperson for about a decade before the redistricting.)

John Dingell will be sorely missed.

.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:41 PM on February 7, 2019 [16 favorites]


Also tonight, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to let Alabama execute Domineque Ray, who sued after being informed that a Christian chaplain would be present in the room during the execution, not the imam he he requested. The case:
Ray’s attorneys filed a federal lawsuit last week claiming Ray’s religious freedom was being violated because the Alabama Department of Corrections would not allow his Muslim spiritual adviser, or imam, to be in the execution chamber. Officials told Ray he would be allowed to meet with his imam up until being prepared for execution, the lawsuit claims, but the imam would have to watch the execution in a witness room with two-way glass. The ADOC also said they wouldn’t remove the Christian chaplain who is typically in the execution chamber.
Justice Kagen's dissent.

Not a word so far from the usual defenders of "religious freedom."
posted by zachlipton at 6:55 PM on February 7, 2019 [70 favorites]


Steve Bannon and Erik Prince among right-wing crew plotting privatized border wall (Andrea Germanos / Common Dreams & Alternet)

MAGA all-stars visit border to plot private wall project (Ben Schreckinger, Politico)
It could have been an outtake from a hard-right reboot of “Ocean’s 11” for the Trump era: a gathering of some of President Donald Trump’s most notorious and outspoken supporters, who descended last week on the southern border town of McAllen, Texas.

In what amounted to a kind of #MAGA field trip, former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, former Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, baseball legend Curt Schilling, and former Sheriff David Clarke convened to plan construction of a wall along the southern border. Blackwater founder Erik Prince phoned in from South Africa.

With Congress refusing to pony up the $5.7 billion Trump has demanded for the project, his allies are now plotting to kick off construction with private money and private land.
Calling them "The Maleficent Seven" seems more appropriate.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:03 PM on February 7, 2019 [13 favorites]




@cameron_easley [Morning Consult]:
Trump numbers that should concern the @NRSC
ahead of 2020.

#COSEN: 39/57
#IASEN: 41/55
#MESEN: 43/54
#AZSEN: 44/52
Notably, the Morning Consult Trump approvals have tended to be on the high side, so yoiks!
posted by Chrysostom at 9:59 PM on February 7, 2019 [9 favorites]




tonight, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to let Alabama execute Domineque Ray, who sued after being informed that a Christian chaplain would be present in the room during the execution, not the imam he he requested. The case:

I refreshed the latter page to see it change to read,
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted the stay about 8 p.m., and the execution began at 9:44 p.m.

The curtains to the viewing room closed at 10:05 p.m, and the official time of death was 10:12 p.m.
posted by XMLicious at 12:06 AM on February 8, 2019 [6 favorites]


How Congressional Democrats Could Screw Up Their Trump Investigations (Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, 538)
Investigators need to avoid getting lost in the details

Congressional investigations are inherently theatrical. But political science experts told me that Democrats shouldn’t expect to win over the public by simply producing new facts — instead, they need to contextualize whatever information they find within a simple, compelling story.

“If the narrative were corruption, let’s say, they could try to draw in a lot of different Cabinet officials, make it bigger than the president, but still keep it cohesive,” said Josh Chafetz, who is a law professor at Cornell University and studies the relationship between Congress and the president. “The danger is that if you make it sound like it’s 40 disconnected issues, people lose track and tune out.”

This means that if Democrats begin questioning Whitaker on Friday, they may have more success if they can use their questions to hammer broad, overarching themes, rather than to focus on details. For instance, Democrats may be tempted to pepper Whitaker with queries about his past business dealings, but they might be better off sticking to questions that will keep the public’s attention on potential attempts by Trump to interfere with the Mueller investigation — a line of inquiry that Mueller himself seems to be following.
posted by ZeusHumms at 4:33 AM on February 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


Julie k. brown @jkbjournalist (Miami Herald investigative reporter)

New: Washington Post reporter just said that Bezos’ investigator suspects that “a government agency” intercepted Bezos’ text messages.

11:17 PM - 7 Feb 2019 from Hollywood, FL
posted by bluesky43 at 5:31 AM on February 8, 2019 [10 favorites]


I and at least one other prominent journalist involved in breaking stories about the National Enquirer’s arrangement with Trump fielded similar “stop digging or we’ll ruin you” blackmail efforts from AMI. (I did not engage as I don’t cut deals with subjects of ongoing reporting.) https://t.co/kHQdWIkVjV

— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) February 8, 2019
posted by bluesky43 at 5:33 AM on February 8, 2019 [38 favorites]


IIRC, the narrative that finally swept the Republicans out of Congress the last time was the “Republican Culture of Corruption.” Gingrich, Tom Delay, Duke Cunningham, Mark Foley, etc.

With all the people associated with I-1 that have already been indicted, plead guilty, or had to quit because of scandal and abuse of their position, it’s long past time that phrase was revived and applied to the Trump admin.
posted by darkstar at 5:39 AM on February 8, 2019 [10 favorites]


Nogales may be in the midst of a phase 1 push by the Trump Verwaltung to get their race war started. "Customs officer shoots, kills driver at port of entry on U.S.-Mexico border" (CBS News) APnews footage at scene
posted by Harry Caul at 5:42 AM on February 8, 2019 [1 favorite]


Republicans Got Us Into This Mess, and They Have to Get Us Out of It (Jonathan Rauch and Peter Wehner, NYT)
What, then, might flip Mr. Trump’s removal from impossible to inevitable? The most likely possibility is also the most obvious: the collapse of his support among center-right Republicans who so far have wavered but not completely turned against him.

Whether this happens depends on future events, the most ominous of which would be the discovery of clear criminality by the president or those closest to him (including family members). Another inflection point might be an economic recession. A third might be Mr. Trump’s mismanagement of a crisis. A fourth would be the continued deterioration of the president’s behavior. (By most accounts the president feels less constrained than ever.) And yet another might be the prospect that he will lead his party to comprehensive defeat in 2020, especially if he is weakened by a primary challenge. We would be surprised if one or more of these developments did not occur, and a combination is easily within the bounds of probability.

[...] The most troubling — and from our point of view the most disappointing — development of the Trump era is not the president’s own election and subsequent behavior; it is the institutional corruption, weakness and self-betrayal of the Republican Party. The party has abandoned its core commitments to constitutional norms, to conservative principles and even to basic decency. It has allowed itself to be hijacked by a reality television star who is a pathological liar, emotionally unsteady and accountable only to himself. And it has embraced presidential conduct that, if engaged in by a Democrat, it would have been denounced as corrupt, incompetent and even treasonous.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:44 AM on February 8, 2019 [9 favorites]




Cool, more "Surely Republicans will turn on Trump if he just does any of the bad things he's already doing" fanfic.

Whether this happens depends on future events, the most ominous of which would be the discovery of clear criminality by the president or those closest to him (including family members).

Like his campaign chairman or national security adviser?

A third might be Mr. Trump’s mismanagement of a crisis.

Puerto Fucking Rico, you asshats.

A fourth would be the continued deterioration of the president’s behavior.

How would we tell?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:58 AM on February 8, 2019 [85 favorites]


Politico: Trump cornered on border wall
Inside the White House, the Trump team is increasingly aware that the president is trapped.

Facing a Republican Party unwilling to back another government shutdown or a national emergency declaration to build his border wall, President Donald Trump is in an unfamiliar position, according to multiple White House officials and lawmakers: prepared, potentially, to accept a compromise foisted on him by Congress. [...]

Though the White House has worked to prepare an emergency declaration invoking the president’s sweeping executive powers, several West Wing aides have warned that invoking it would alienate some conservatives who have otherwise been loyal to the White House. [...]

Trump has stopped musing as much about a national emergency, both publicly and privately. Asked whether he’d been given marching orders or an ultimatum on a unilateral move by the president, Shelby said that didn't happen.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:02 AM on February 8, 2019 [4 favorites]


jedicus: ...one of the great opportunities of the Green New Deal: either by redirecting the military to do a lot of the work...

That reminds me of Thomas P. M. Barnett's "sysadmin force" notion from about ten years ago.

And you know, I still like the idea that DoD doesn't spend all of its time in shooting wars to defend our territory, but it could be spending more of its time improving the world -- and our place in it -- by bridging the gaps between richer/more-stable nations and poorer/less-stable nations.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:04 AM on February 8, 2019 [6 favorites]


Ronan Farrow's tweet, quoted by bluesky43: (I did not engage as I don’t cut deals with subjects of ongoing reporting.)

I'm trying to unpack this. The point of any threat, such as blackmail, is that you can't really "choose" whether to engage. So if he just didn't respond to AMI, presumably they went ahead and published whatever they thought he wouldn't want him to? Or were they all bark and no bite? Does blackmail in general often operate that way? ("Well, we didn't get the money/stuff we wanted, so there's no actual point to puling the trigger now.")
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:09 AM on February 8, 2019 [1 favorite]


Ronan Farrow says he also received ‘blackmail’ threat over reporting on the National Enquirer and Trump (Allyson Chiu, WaPo)
Farrow’s allegation came just hours after Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos published a remarkable public post accusing the National Enquirer of attempting to extort and blackmail him by threatening to publish intimate photos unless he stopped investigating the publication. Bezos owns The Washington Post.

In a tweet Thursday night, Farrow wrote that he and the unnamed journalist “fielded similar ‘stop digging or we’ll ruin you’ blackmail efforts from AMI.” Last April, Farrow published a story in the New Yorker about the Enquirer’s “catch and kill” practice — in which stories are buried by paying off sources — that benefited Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.[...]

In response to Farrow, former Associated Press editor Ted Bridis tweeted, “We were warned explicitly by insiders that AMI had hired private investigators to dig into backgrounds of @AP journalists looking into the tabloid’s efforts on behalf of Trump.” Bridis spent 11 years as the editor of the AP’s Washington investigative team.
There's still a whole lot to unpack here, given the latest reports that Bezos' team think a government source leaked the messages. However, Individual-1 and his goons may have done something exceedingly foolish going after a (real) billionaire whose willing to fight back. Once the gates open on the NDAs and/or blackmail and extortion attempts by AMI, they could be in a world of hurt.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 6:16 AM on February 8, 2019 [38 favorites]


Lawfare: Livestream: Whitaker Testimony Before House Judiciary Committee
The House Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing on oversight of the Justice Department at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, featuring testimony from Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. A livestream is available below.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:19 AM on February 8, 2019 [4 favorites]


Once the gates open on the NDAs and/or blackmail and extortion attempts by AMI, they could be in a world of hurt.

Right? One of the takeaways from the Bezos story is that these idiots are so cocksure that they were willing to put their blackmail attempts into email; I wonder what else they were stupid enough to write down. Discovery in one of these cases could topple the presidency, if he's foolish enough to try to enforce the NDAs.
posted by Mayor West at 6:20 AM on February 8, 2019 [7 favorites]


"Stop digging or we’ll ruin you" really packs a punch when it's implied that the ruining will be assisted by the United States security apparatus.
posted by diogenes at 6:23 AM on February 8, 2019 [12 favorites]


[Finally]
RICO charges around the corner?.....

posted by growabrain at 6:24 AM on February 8, 2019 [4 favorites]


Republicans Got Us Into This Mess, and They Have to Get Us Out of It (Jonathan Rauch and Peter Wehner, NYT)

We do have to get out of this mess; I'm not sure the Republicans are the right people to do so.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:24 AM on February 8, 2019 [11 favorites]


Julie k. brown @jkbjournalist (Miami Herald investigative reporter)

New: Washington Post reporter just said that Bezos’ investigator suspects that “a government agency” intercepted Bezos’ text messages.


Crooked Media's Brian Beutler thinks it's just as likely this is a domestic intelligence agency as a foreign one:
I overheard this on @Lawrence, too, and assumed that Bezos must suspect a foreign government intelligence agency–most likely Saudi Arabia.

Then I remembered the horrifying, but somehow forgotten story of Jeffrey Rambo.
NYT: How an Affair Between a Reporter and a Security Aide Has Rattled Washington Media
(We had an FPP about this very article about the ancillary extramarital scandal of SSCI aide James Wolfe, in which reporter Ali Watkins was threatened by a Trumpist CBP agent named Jeffrey Rambo, who somehow had obtained intelligence records about her travel itineraries with Wolfe.)
In other words, the Trump administration, or perhaps Trump-loyal rogue security service guys, have already committed wild privacy abuses on the order of what Bezos apparently suspects, and used the information to blackmail a reporter.

Because Trump is an unceasing crook, and because Washington media got wrapped around the axle by the gossipy aspect and professional implications of the Watkins-Wolfe, this scandal got flushed down the memory hole almost immediately. But it happened.

On that basis alone, I think Bezos would not be crazy to suspect something similar happened here–if in fact that's what he suspects.
Also, something to keep in mind about AMI's immunity deal with the SDNY over their involvement with Cohen's hush-money payments during the 2016 campaign: Trump's been campaigning for re-election practically since taking office, so if AMI's attempted extortion of Bezos and the WaPo can be tied to Trump, that's a massive violation of campaign finance laws.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:33 AM on February 8, 2019 [17 favorites]


We do have to get out of this mess; I'm not sure the Republicans are the right people to do so.

I think our system of checks and balances essentially requires the GOP to actively participate in protecting our democratic institutions, which is why I try to follow reporting on Republican opinions and actions - it's like a weather report for the future of the Trump administration.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:39 AM on February 8, 2019 [9 favorites]


Lawfare: Livestream: Whitaker Testimony Before House Judiciary Committee

Marcy Wheeler's also live-tweeting the hearings.

In Whitaker's prepared statement, Bloomberg reports, he says he won't talk about his conversations with Trump: "I will continue the longstanding executive branch policy and practice of not disclosing information that may be subject to executive privilege, such as the contents of deliberations or conversations with the president."

So that already violated Nadler's request for a heads-up about invoking executive privilege. Let the subpoena'ing begin!
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:50 AM on February 8, 2019 [13 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, there's an active thread on Bezos/AMI.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 6:54 AM on February 8, 2019 [7 favorites]


Whitaker alternates between choking, stumbling and delaying from the get go. Nadler will be subpoena-ing him by the end of this day I bet.
posted by Harry Caul at 7:09 AM on February 8, 2019 [3 favorites]


Republicans Got Us Into This Mess, and They Have to Get Us Out of It (Jonathan Rauch and Peter Wehner, NYT)

NYT, is this from late 2016? Because that ship has sailed so far it's not even visible.
Seriously I don't know what they're thinking. Why not headline "Jeebus Save Us!" or fire up a batsignal or something equally relevant to the situation on the ground. This reporting angle is like hearing an impersonation of the MovieTone News guy, "Breaking! Republicans On the March! How many currently existing scandals and obvious crimes will it take before they Really Do Something?! Here's Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaking drily before something unscrupulous happens! Go get 'em Mitch!" /patriotic_horns_and_glockenspiel

New York Times. Sad.
posted by petebest at 7:17 AM on February 8, 2019 [14 favorites]


Whitaker is off to quite the start.

@woodruffbets: !!! Nadler asks Whitaker if he's been asked to approve any of Mueller's moves.
Whitaker: “Mr Chairman, I see that your five minutes is up I’m here voluntarily I agreed to five-minute rounds” Gasps in the room

Here's video. Nadler is outright laughing at him.

Nadler is the chair and can talk as much as he wants. Witnesses don't, you know, do that.

@brianbeutler: Nadler says no subpoena today, but he will depose Whitaker under oath after Barr is confirmed and at that proceeding Whitaker will either have to answer or assert executive privilege.
posted by zachlipton at 7:20 AM on February 8, 2019 [47 favorites]


This reporting angle...
The piece cited is an op-ed by a couple of think tank guys, not NYT reporting.
posted by neroli at 7:27 AM on February 8, 2019 [7 favorites]


Guardian: Rosenstein did not want to write memo justifying Comey firing – new book
Andrew McCabe writes in a new book that Rosenstein, who has publicly defended the memo, lamented that the president had directed him to rationalise Comey’s dismissal, which is now the subject of inquiries into whether Trump obstructed justice.

Rosenstein made his remarks in a private meeting at the justice department on 12 May 2017, according to McCabe’s memoir, which also accuses Trump of operating like a criminal mob boss and of unleashing a “strain of insanity” in American public life.

McCabe recalls Rosenstein being “glassy-eyed”, visibly upset and sounding emotional.

“He said it wasn’t his idea. The president had ordered him to write the memo justifying the firing,” McCabe writes. Rosenstein said he was having trouble sleeping, McCabe writes. “There’s no one here that I can trust,” he is quoted as saying.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:36 AM on February 8, 2019 [9 favorites]


WaPo, Joshua Partlow ,Nick Miroff, and David A. Fahrenthold, ‘My whole town practically lived there’: From Costa Rica to New Jersey, a pipeline of illegal workers for Trump goes back years
The Washington Post spoke with 16 men and women from Costa Rica and other Latin American countries, including six in Santa Teresa de Cajon, who said they were employed at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. All of them said they worked for Trump without legal status — and that their managers knew.

The former employees who still live in New Jersey provided pay slips documenting their work at the Bedminster club. They identified friends and relatives in Costa Rica who also were employed at the course. In Costa Rica, The Post located former workers in two regions who provided detailed accounts of their time at the Bedminster property and shared memorabilia they had kept, such as Trump-branded golf tees, as well as photos of themselves at the club.

The brightly painted homes that line the road in Santa Teresa de Cajon, many paid for by wages earned 4,000 miles away, are the fruits of a long-running pipeline of illegal workers to the president’s course, one that carried far more than a few unauthorized employees who slipped through the cracks.
...
Their descriptions of Bedminster’s long reliance on illegal workers are bolstered by a newly obtained police report showing that the club’s head of security was told in 2011 about an employee suspected of using false identification papers — the first known documentation of a warning to the Trump Organization about the legal status of a worker.

Other supervisors received similar flags over the years, including Bedminster’s general manager, who was told by a worker from Ecuador several years ago that she entered the country illegally, the employee said.
Read on for more on how these workers were treated and the boss who no commented with a Trump gif.
posted by zachlipton at 7:38 AM on February 8, 2019 [34 favorites]


he will depose Whitaker under oath after Barr is confirmed and at that proceeding Whitaker will either have to answer or assert executive privilege.

So what happens if privilege is asserted, besides Whitaker doesn't have to answer? What are the ramifications? Seems like that's what Whitaker would just do right now, if there were no downside to it (but I don't understand these matters, so).
posted by Rykey at 7:48 AM on February 8, 2019 [1 favorite]


So what happens if privilege is asserted, besides Whitaker doesn't have to answer? What are the ramifications?

NYT: Matthew Whitaker Testifies Before House Panel: Live Updates
Democrats had told Mr. Whitaker that they would ask him to describe his conversations with Mr. Trump about the Russia inquiry, and had warned him that they would not accept his refusal to answer on the grounds that Mr. Trump might want to later invoke executive privilege to shield that information from Congress.

(A valid assertion of executive privilege by Mr. Trump would give Mr. Whitaker a lawful basis to refuse to answer such questions, but Mr. Trump must formally take that step.)

The Justice Department, noting that such disputes are usually resolved through negotiation and accommodation, has said that Mr. Nadler promised on Thursday not to subpoena Mr. Whitaker — who is appearing voluntarily before the panel — on Friday.

A subpoena would be the first step toward citing him for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:55 AM on February 8, 2019 [7 favorites]


The first step toward citing him for contempt of congress already happened.

@JakeSherman
“Mr. Chairman, i see that your five minutes is up,” Matt Whitaker says to Jerry Nadler, who controls the committee and can decide to talk as long as he’d like, essentially.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 8:05 AM on February 8, 2019 [18 favorites]


Whitaker is performing for an audience of one and a White House job once Barr's confirmed.

I wouldn't be surprised if Nadler held the committee in recess until 12.15, when I-1 is scheduled to leave for his "physical".

So what happens if privilege is asserted, besides Whitaker doesn't have to answer?

Whitaker can assert executive privilege all he wants, but it doesn't have to be taken seriously unless the White House formally invokes it. For the past couple of years, the congressional GOP let witnesses get away with a kind of "Schroedinger's executive privilege", where it wasn't formally invoked but everyone pretended it applied. The House Dems aren't going to let that happen: they want the White House on record invoking privilege, with the alternative being a contempt citation. (But that can't compel Whitaker to answer questions.)
posted by holgate at 8:25 AM on February 8, 2019 [18 favorites]


The House Dems aren't going to let that happen: they want the White House on record invoking privilege, with the alternative being a contempt citation. (But that can't compel Whitaker to answer questions.)

Contempt isn't the only reason, they also want a formal invocation of executive privilege so they can sue, and have the courts rule on whether the Trump administration has a valid privilege claim.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 AM on February 8, 2019 [26 favorites]


Joe Lieberman is a huge part of why single payer never happened. Sure there were some DINOs that would have had to have been pressured really hard but the seeming Democratic majority never really was because of Joe Lieberman. I still shudder to think he was a Democratic VP candidate.

Elections, consequences, etc. - and while the Presidency is the focus for almost everyone, Congress is equally important. See how "Democrats in Disarray!" turned into "Democrats in Array! With Spines!" once the House turned blue. A heavily Democratic House also provides cover for members from more conservative districts (Conor Lamb for example) to not vote with the majority and no harm or foul.

The Senate back in 2010 was so narrowly Democratic that one stubborn, entitled member like Lieberman could threaten to take his toys and go home and blow up the whole ACA. I think John Dingell (RIP) has a point that the Senate needs a re-think at the least. But elections do have consequences, and I hope that seeing the Peleesi and her House in action keeps Democrats energized and gaining seats.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 8:40 AM on February 8, 2019 [15 favorites]


Update: the Supreme Court acted, granting a stay of Lousiana's anti-abortion law, with Chief Justice Roberts joining the four liberal justices "to apply a 2016 precedent from which he had dissented."

I wonder if everything going on is pushing Roberts to the Max Boot side of the house?
posted by corb at 8:51 AM on February 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


I wonder if everything going on is pushing Roberts to the Max Boot side of the house?

Why, has Roberts recently been encouraging us to stay in Afghanistan for literally centuries (positively comparing it to the genocide of native americans) and admiring the Wehrmacht?
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:03 AM on February 8, 2019 [7 favorites]


My impression is that Roberts isn't so different from Kavanaugh and company on where he ends up. He just knows that if you do it softly, softly, by chipping away at precedents, taking things in small bites, it's a lot easier to get away with it without people noticing so much.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:06 AM on February 8, 2019 [26 favorites]


USAT: Trump handing out jobs to Mar-A-Lago members.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:07 AM on February 8, 2019 [12 favorites]


Why, has Roberts recently been encouraging us to stay in Afghanistan for literally centuries (positively comparing it to the genocide of native americans)

If you want to be furious for hours, read the Max Boot stuff linked above. The least offensive thing he says is it's okay to keep people deployed forever because it's a volunteer force. He really does advocate the "Indian Wars" as a model.

The enemy of our enemy is not our friend. For any number of examples, look to American history, but you can also look at "Never Trump" Republicans to see just how little they have learned and how little they have changed.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:19 AM on February 8, 2019 [12 favorites]




Roberts is highly partisan but expresses frequent public concern that the court as an institution should not be perceived as a partisan, political entity. He's the only one of the conservatives who still cares about saying the quiet part quiet.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:25 AM on February 8, 2019 [15 favorites]


The discomfort Trump provokes ought to prompt international relations experts to reflect on the failings of their discipline to reckon with the relationship between U.S. imperialism, U.S. foreign policy, and the constellation of xenophobia, militarism, racism, and nationalism that haunts our days. Trump’s Foreign Policy Isn’t the Problem
It reflects, like a funhouse mirror, a twisted image of U.S. imperialism.

posted by infini at 9:39 AM on February 8, 2019 [6 favorites]


Carter was already a member of the National Rifle Association when he murdered Casiano, and he remained a high-ranking officer with the organization through his years with the border patrol. Then, in 1977, after his retirement from the patrol, he led what observers called an extremist coup against the (relatively) moderate NRA leadership, transforming the organization into a key institution of the New Right, a bastion of individual-rights absolutism. In a remarkable echo of this history, it was a border patrol agent who in 2015 invited Donald Trump to tour Laredo’s port of entry, just a few days after Trump announced his presidential candidacy. American Extremism Has Always Flowed from the Border
Donald Trump says there is “a crisis of the soul” at the border. He is right, though not in the way he thinks.
posted by infini at 9:43 AM on February 8, 2019 [11 favorites]


My impression is that Roberts isn't so different from Kavanaugh and company on where he ends up. He just knows that if you do it softly, softly, by chipping away at precedents, taking things in small bites, it's a lot easier to get away with it without people noticing so much.

My own "Not A Lawyer" suspicion is that Roberts may be looking for cases (on abortion and other conservative causes) where he can provide a more sweeping definitive ruling that will end discussion about it for decades if not forever. This Louisiana case may not be it, it may be too limited in scope of ruling or interpretation. (IANAL, I dunno.)

IOW, while the rest of the conservative Justices are willing to leap on any chance to push their agenda, Roberts is biding his time until just the right case comes along, at which point he can kill Roe vs. Wade nationwide (or push other conservative positions) while still claiming non-partisan judgement because look at all those other related cases that the SC refused to consider or where Roberts voted against the rest of the conservative wing of the Court.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:46 AM on February 8, 2019 [8 favorites]


That's exactly my read, Roberts is much, much better at playing the long game than the rest of the 5 horsemen, who would rule whatever way Hannity told them to in every case.

Roberts wants a definite, unquestionable win that also preserves the Court's standing and legitimacy. He's willing to wait for the perfect case to get that, and if it never comes along, he's also willing to kill Roe by 10,000 cuts rather than risk an overtly partisan ruling and having it widely ignored and tarnishing the Court's authority.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:04 AM on February 8, 2019 [17 favorites]


There's also always the possibility that Roberts is among the not-negligible number of folks in the Republican party who care about abortion exactly as far as it gets them the things they really want re: binding the out-group and protecting the in-group. I'd wager that if you gave every republican a magic wish where they could have either the tax cut or the abortion ban the majority wouldn't even have to think about it before going tax cut. They won't break the orthodoxy because it keeps the rubes in line and is part of The Identity but it's not their top priority.
posted by phearlez at 10:13 AM on February 8, 2019 [14 favorites]


For the past couple of years, the congressional GOP let witnesses get away with a kind of "Schroedinger's executive privilege"

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, OG. In the middle of the You've-Got-To-Be-Shitting-Me '017s he showed his tuchas to the Senate Intelligence Committee, leading the New York Times to wonder aloud "Do officials have a legal right to avoid providing potentially privileged information?" before answering "No".

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeatedly refused to answer senators’ questions on Tuesday about his conversations with President Trump, even though Mr. Trump had not asserted executive privilege to keep them secret. That raises questions about whether Mr. Sessions had any legal basis to stonewall Congress.

It sure does, New York Times. Which is why it was so nice to have it promptly answered a few sentences later with "No". Next time you could answer those questions before composing the article to save time.

I'll also mention in passing that Crystal Mason was sentenced to five years in prison for voting. 61-year-old Desiree Fairooz was convicted of laughing at Sessions.

Congressional perjury advocate Sessions, meanwhile, went on to great fame and fortune by being a racist shitbag "human" and rolling in lobbying money. Can Matthew Whitaker's career be as fortunate? Let's watch!
posted by petebest at 11:30 AM on February 8, 2019 [25 favorites]


Ivanka Says She and Jared Got No Special Treatment

Said Trump: “There were anonymous leaks about there being issues. But the president had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband’s clearance, zero.”

There you have it, all you people who bet that she wasn't the liberal feminist voice of reason we all know her to be. Pay up.
posted by petebest at 11:38 AM on February 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


Laurence Tribe -
Are Trump and Prince bin Salman co-conspirators with David Pecker and AMI in a failed criminal plot to blackmail and extort Jeff Bezos? Asking for a friend in the Southern District of New York
posted by growabrain at 11:43 AM on February 8, 2019 [11 favorites]


What Trump Has in Common With Venezuela’s Maduro (Nancy LeTourneau, Washington Monthly)
It is clear that he doesn’t know the first thing about Venezuela, but chose to use the unrest in that country as an attack on his opponents in this country. Based on what we’ve been hearing from the president and his enablers lately, those attacks won’t be limited to those who identify as Democratic Socialists. They plan to paint any member of the Democratic Party as a socialist, while pointing to Venezuela as the end product of their policies.
She makes a comparison between Bolivia and Venezuela, noting that Bolivia too is governed by socialists, but hasn't seen the same turmoil that Venezuela has.
I would simply add that making sound decisions is grounded in the fact that Evo Morales [President of Bolivia] is neither incompetent nor a narcissist.

That is why, when we look at what is happening in Venezuela, the chaos there has nothing to do with socialism and everything to do with incompetent narcissists who resort to autocracy when their failure becomes obvious. Sound familiar?
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:47 AM on February 8, 2019 [20 favorites]


Everything is for sale, Justice Department decision to issue legal opinion long sought by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson draws criticism (WaPo).

Vox's Aaron Rupar has the video from today's AAG hearings in which Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-D) asks if Adelson could have been an anonymous donor to Whitaker's one-man Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), setting him up for a quid pro quo:
RASKIN: Tell us who was behind the $1.3 million that you were paid before you came to the DOJ

WHITAKER: I don't know
And here's Rep. Pramila Jaypal (WA-D) making Whitaker look like an idiot:
@RepJayapal: What was your involvement in Trump's family separation policy

WHITAKER: "There was no family separation policy."

JAYAPAL: There was a DOJ memo about it!

WHITAKER: I wasn't aware of it
And Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-D) just makes him look like a fool and a hack.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:05 PM on February 8, 2019 [49 favorites]


ProPublica, Justin Elliott and Ilya Marriitz, New Evidence Emerges of Possible Wrongdoing by Trump Inaugural Committee: The Trump inaugural appears to have overpaid for space at Trump’s Washington hotel, a possible violation of the law. Federal prosecutors are probing the festivities.
A spokesman confirmed that the nonprofit 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee paid the Trump International Hotel a rate of $175,000 per day for event space — in spite of internal objections at the time that the rate was far too high. If the committee is deemed by auditors or prosecutors to have paid an above-market rate, that could violate tax laws prohibiting self-dealing, according to experts.

Tax law prohibits nonprofits from paying inflated prices to entities that are owned by people who also control or influence the nonprofit’s activities.
...
The inaugural committee also spent at least $1.5 million at a hotel in which the investment firm of the committee’s chairman, Tom Barrack, held a small stake.

In addition, the inaugural nonprofit appears not to have disclosed multiple gifts to the committee on its tax return, as required by law.
There are emails, naturally. It seems like Stephanie Winston Wolkoff is talking to all sorts of reporters, with the Vanity Fair story yesterday and this today.

----

@adam_wola [see attached graph]: CBP January data show that "metering" continues in full force at US-Mexico border ports of entry. It's very hard to seek asylum the "right" way, which creates a huge incentive to climb a fence, cross in the desert, or raft across the Rio Grande.
posted by zachlipton at 12:05 PM on February 8, 2019 [29 favorites]


Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-D) asks if Adelson could have been an anonymous donor to Whitaker's one-man Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), setting him up for a quid pro quo:

RASKIN: Tell us who was behind the $1.3 million that you were paid before you came to the DOJ

WHITAKER: I don't know


This was some FIRE questioning - at the end of Rep Raskin's 5 minutes he was getting around to why it would be that multiple lobbying firms would be making mid 200k donations to his senate campaign funds FOUR YEARS AFTER HE LOST HIS ELECTION
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:08 PM on February 8, 2019 [55 favorites]


Whitaker's one-man Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT)

I'm repeatedly struck by the right wing's penchant for ironic titling.
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:37 PM on February 8, 2019 [10 favorites]


BuzzFeed, Molly Hensley-Clancy, Staffers, Documents Show Amy Klobuchar’s Wrath Towards Her Aides

This article is particularly notable in that it tries to grapple with whether these charges are sexist, putting that question to several women who worked for the Senator.
posted by zachlipton at 12:43 PM on February 8, 2019 [13 favorites]


Wow that Whitaker faceplant was painful. For Whitaker's part, that's what I'd imagine future civilizations in 2388 would do when trying to re-enact what a "Congressional Committee Hearing Testimony" would be like. It's like he was coached by Trump University course materials on How to Do Obstruction - TU-O101.

A true transcript would be full of ellipses and false-starts.

LIEU: There's no sentence in the Constitution that says the President's children can't be indicted, correct?

WHITAKER: Congressman, eh eh ... y'know, y-you can give me the whole list, I mean, y'know sort of, ... y'know i- th- the - it's

LIEU: No, I'll give you three more

WHITAKER: *bugs eyes, shrugs* wm'Okay
posted by petebest at 12:56 PM on February 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


This article is particularly notable in that it tries to grapple with whether these charges are sexist, putting that question to several women who worked for the Senator.

I think it can be possible for it to be true that she's really unpleasant to work for and for it to be sexist. One of the things I am always ambivalent about is when people point out circumstances where a woman is judged more harshly than identical behavior would be from a man - unquestionably a thing that happens a lot - but said behavior is stuff I find massively unacceptable when men do it too.

The so-called "demanding" boss is surely one of these situations. A woman who yells at her employees will surely get called gendered things and irrational when a man would be a "perfectionist" and other various soft-pedal horseshit that we say about abusive managers. How do I decry judging her more harshly than him while at the same time thinking that what really should be happening is judging the men just as negatively? Obviously when you toss on 'bitch' and 'irrational' etc you've crossed into never okay, but for fuck's sake - surely the equality of the future could involve not just dragging everyone down?
posted by phearlez at 1:05 PM on February 8, 2019 [37 favorites]


John Dingell: My last words for America

John D. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who served in the U.S. House from 1955 to 2015, was the longest-serving member of Congress in American history. He dictated these reflections to his wife, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), at their home in Dearborn, on Feb. 7, the day he died.

In my life and career I have often heard it said that so-and-so has real power — as in, “the powerful Wile E. Coyote, chairman of the Capture the Road Runner Committee.”

It’s an expression that has always grated on me. In democratic government, elected officials do not have power. They hold power — in trust for the people who elected them. If they misuse or abuse that public trust, it is quite properly revoked (the quicker the better).

I never forgot the people who gave me the privilege of representing them. It was a lesson learned at home from my father and mother, and one I have tried to impart to the people I’ve served with and employed over the years.

As I prepare to leave this all behind, I now leave you in control of the greatest nation of mankind and pray God gives you the wisdom to understand the responsibility you hold in your hands.

May God bless you all, and may God bless America.
Ah yeah, there come the tears.
posted by zachlipton at 1:09 PM on February 8, 2019 [110 favorites]


I think it can be possible for it to be true that she's really unpleasant to work for and for it to be sexist

I think a good way to judge will be whether this story gets more, less, or the same amount of play as a similar story about a well known male candidate.
"As a supervisor, he was unbelievably abusive," says one former campaign staffer, who claims to have endured frequent verbal assaults. The double standard was clear: "He did things that, if he found out that another supervisor was doing in a workplace, he would go after them. You can't treat employees that way."
I'm gonna take the "over" on whether the Klobuchar thing gets more or less play.
posted by Justinian at 1:10 PM on February 8, 2019 [32 favorites]


I'm disappointed to hear this about Klobuchar, because we can already see right now what happens when someone is totally mismanaging and screaming and firing employees or making them quit left and right in the WH, and I don't think anyone wants more of that shit.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:14 PM on February 8, 2019 [6 favorites]


The first former staffer said ... “The reason it matters is when I hear the descriptors of our current president and how he lacks responsibility and everyone is to blame, and there’s erratic behavior, name-calling,” she said. “It’s unfortunate, but you’re also describing her.”

Ouch.
posted by petebest at 1:15 PM on February 8, 2019 [4 favorites]


John Dingell tweeted his way into my heart two years ago and I am so sad to have him leave us. I do hope some representatives take his words to heart.
posted by Sophie1 at 1:16 PM on February 8, 2019 [9 favorites]


Oh, I think plenty of people want more of that shit; just not from a woman. Look at the way notoriously awful Steve Jobs gets lionized. People wouldn't want to deal with it themselves but from a distance they'll look at men doing this and nod approvingly about how they Get Shit Done. It's insane and there's such better ways to get good work from people but that doesn't get stories written about you.
posted by phearlez at 1:17 PM on February 8, 2019 [15 favorites]


Justinian, that's exactly what I've been thinking about. I've read more than one damning article on that topic, all from Vermont publications - I never noticed it penetrating the national media.

I'm not exactly thrilled that what we have now are two articles where no one will put a name on their accusations against Klobuchar, although I can understand why they wouldn't.
posted by Emmy Rae at 1:18 PM on February 8, 2019 [8 favorites]


I've known lots of people who work on the Hill, and let me tell you to that a first approximation, all Senators are assholes. Some less so that others, but they all eat up that "world's greatest deliberative body" shit.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:23 PM on February 8, 2019 [12 favorites]


Oh, I think plenty of people want more of that shit; just not from a woman. Look at the way notoriously awful Steve Jobs gets lionized. People wouldn't want to deal with it themselves but from a distance they'll look at men doing this and nod approvingly about how they Get Shit Done.

See also, all the tech bros on Hacker News who actively wish that Linus Torvalds still insulted Linux contributors, yet never manage to provide any personal experience for how being abused by your manager makes for an effective work environment.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 1:27 PM on February 8, 2019 [6 favorites]


Georgia voters suing for paper ballots win appeal to 11th Circuit

“Now we can get past the defendants’ delays and move forward with the case on the merits and get the relief Judge Totenberg already ruled we’re entitled to,” said David Cross, an attorney for Georgia voters who sued. “This appeal was meritless from the start.”

A spokeswoman for Georgia Secretary of
[Republican] State Brad Raffensperger said the ruling “simply means that the case will continue.”

Gosh, that *is* simple!
posted by petebest at 1:29 PM on February 8, 2019 [13 favorites]


Note that there is an active Virginia thread.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:37 PM on February 8, 2019 [2 favorites]


So Klobuchar is literally Minnesota Nice?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:39 PM on February 8, 2019 [6 favorites]


To shed more light on Amy Klobuchar:

The Time Amy Klobuchar Went After a Baseball Hall of Famer for Sexual Assault (Pema Levy, Mother Jones)
In 2002, Amy Klobuchar found herself in the unenviable position of deciding whether to prosecute a sports star for an alleged sexual assault. At the time Klobuchar, now a US senator from Minnesota and a likely Democratic candidate for president in 2020, was the chief prosecutor for [Hennepin County, Minnesota’s largest], and the star in question was Kirby Puckett, a baseball Hall of Famer and one of Minnesota’s most beloved sports figures.

The case was a risk in the courtroom. The facts boiled down to a “he said, she said” case in which juries are often loath to convict, especially when the alleged perpetrator is a hometown hero. Most aspiring politicians would have likely preferred to campaign with Puckett than prosecute him. But Klobuchar, who was weeks from reelection as county attorney, took a gamble and charged the retired Minnesota Twins center fielder. Puckett, who died in 2006 at the age of 45, was ultimately acquitted.

Though it was nearly 20 years ago, the episode encapsulates two dominant themes that have emerged in Democratic politics and are likely to play a significant role in the 2020 primaries. Democrats have embraced the #MeToo movement, which ultimately seeks to empower survivors and hold perpetrators—especially powerful men—accountable for harassment and assault. This movement has sprung up alongside the issue of criminal justice reform, in which progressives have grown critical of hard-nosed prosecutors as drivers of mass incarceration and unethical prosecutions.
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:45 PM on February 8, 2019 [4 favorites]


If they've saved emails showing Klobuchar is abusive, why not publish them?
posted by asteria at 1:56 PM on February 8, 2019 [2 favorites]


I didn't know Klobuchar used to be a prosecutor. That's unfortunate.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 1:56 PM on February 8, 2019 [2 favorites]


I hate that sexism is what will get this information about Klobuchar the wide disapproval that it should in regards to any candidate. But, if accurate, it’s still decisive information for me in terms of my willingness to consider her for President. There’s one simple reason for that: people who are afraid of their bosses don’t want to bring those bosses bad news. The next President has got to be someone who is reasonably even-tempered and doesn’t shoot messengers because the world is only going to fill up with more bad news.
posted by Countess Elena at 1:59 PM on February 8, 2019 [22 favorites]


I hate that sexism is what will get this information about Klobuchar the wide disapproval that it should in regards to any candidate.

It's not just that sexism will garner her the wide disapproval. It's also that sexism means other candidates will never get the same disapproval because the same behavior is characterized as being a lovable old grump.
posted by Anonymous at 2:01 PM on February 8, 2019


imho the story about Klobuchar throwing stuff (and hitting people, even if by accident) pushes it over the line from "asshole manager" stuff to actual abuse.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:03 PM on February 8, 2019 [11 favorites]


Let's check in on the press pool as Trump departs from his physical: In town pool report #4 - Walter Reed departure
Hogan Gidley came into the hold room briefly. He didn't have a explanation for how President Trump was tweeting during his physical.
The tweets from the last few hours seem to my eye to be Scavino tweets.
posted by zachlipton at 2:03 PM on February 8, 2019 [6 favorites]


Justinian, that's exactly what I've been thinking about. I've read more than one damning article on that topic, all from Vermont publications - I never noticed it penetrating the national media.

Vermont journalists have been the only one to cover a number of issues with him: the FBI investigation into his wife and his possible influence on her bank dealings, her involvement in the tanking of Burlington College, the deal engineered between Burlington College and their daughter's woodworking school . . . the media gets its own idea of who a candidate is and then it pursues stories that follow that narrative. And frequently that narrative is far more positive with male candidates than it is with women.
posted by Anonymous at 2:06 PM on February 8, 2019


At the risk of mentioning 2016: I distinctly remember an article late in the primary cycle talking about Sanders being an awful boss. Plenty of quotes from former staffers. It hardly registered a blip.

I feel like being a bad boss is a significant issue for a presidential candidate, and I am also really frustrated at seeing how much more people care about it depending on whether said bad boss is a man or a woman.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:10 PM on February 8, 2019 [33 favorites]


Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) spent a good deal of time trying to pry information from acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker [•••] At the very end of her time, she asked this very simple question: “Did you ever create, direct the creation of, see, or become aware of the existence of any documents relating to pardoning of any individual?”

Whitaker looked down in a listening pose during the question, and paused for a small amount of time before answering the question: “I'm aware of documents relating to pardoning of individuals, yes.”
posted by tilde at 2:17 PM on February 8, 2019 [32 favorites]


OMG. Stacey Abrams watched Doctor Who before State of the Union response (Clark Collis, Entertainment Weekly)
Is there anything Time Lords can’t do? Democrat Stacey Abrams received widespread acclaim for her televised response to Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night and it turns out she calmed herself by watching several episodes of Doctor Who prior to going in front of the camera.

“I watched about three episodes of Doctor Who and just kind of chilled out,” Abrams told the hosts of Buzzfeed’s AM to DM show, detailing her pre-speech prep.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:18 PM on February 8, 2019 [77 favorites]


Defying Trump, Calif. National Guard Won't Discharge Trans Troops

One of the highest-ranking officers in the California National Guard told lawmakers on Tuesday that the state will not discharge transgender soldiers from its ranks — even as President Trump’s administration makes strides in doing so.

“As long as you fight, we don’t care what gender you identify as,” said Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, who serves as assistant adjutant general for the California National Guard. "Nobody's going to kick you out.” he said.

The official's remarks to the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee come only a month after the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that Trump’s ban on transgender service members can proceed while lower courts weigh its legality.
posted by bluesky43 at 2:26 PM on February 8, 2019 [68 favorites]


I didn't know Klobuchar used to be a prosecutor. That's unfortunate.

This comes up with Kamala Harris, too. I don't have a problem with someone being a prosecutor - it could be a huge plus. Just depends on what they did with the position.

Any if anyone thinks this is going to lose a candidate votes, just for being a prosecutor? No. Not even in the most liberal district in the US, in the primary. Besides, right now arguably the most successful leftist change is coming from progressive big city reformer prosecutors.
posted by msalt at 2:45 PM on February 8, 2019 [17 favorites]


For what it’s worth, I’ve heard similar things about Kamala Harris yelling/blowing up at her employees or campaign workers often, though it seems milder (and has gotten much less media play) than the Klobuchar stuff. I feel like this awful boss stuff is just something we’ll have to evaluate throughout the primary, especially for the women.
posted by BeginAgain at 3:01 PM on February 8, 2019 [3 favorites]


Besides, right now arguably the most successful leftist change is coming from progressive big city reformer prosecutors.

Definitely, except there is a lot more that separates someone like Philadelphia's Larry Krasner from Kamala Harris or Amy Klobuchar than geographic distance:
Harris’s progressive centrism, if you want to try to give it a name, is also less persuasive when held up against recent examples of what aggressive reform in the prosecutor’s office can look like in 2019. Take Philadelphia’s newly-elected District Attorney Larry Krasner. In his first months in office, Krasner, who campaigned on ending mass incarceration, made waves by firing a slew of prosecutors that he believed would resist his agenda and sent out a memo with a set of progressive directives for his entire staff, which included not prosecuting for marijuana possession without an intent to sell and not charging prostitution cases against sex workers for the first and second offense. (Even here, we see there is still a long way to go.) The memo also directed attorneys to state the projected cost of any prison sentence that they asked for in court. Krasner is new and still testing the limits of his job, but he’s presented a much more robust vision of what a progressive prosecutor should be.

In contrast, Harris’s chapters on her prosecutorial record try to signal her progressivism, while carefully making sure not to alienate liberal and centrist voters—the type who feel might feel more comfortable when Harris describes her Back on Track program as a “boot camp,” noting that it was “not a social welfare program; it was a law enforcement program.”
posted by Ouverture at 3:02 PM on February 8, 2019 [6 favorites]


Under Trump, EPA inspections fall to a 10-year low (WaPo). The agency’s inspection rate last year is half of what it was in 2010, while the civil penalties levied against polluters is the lowest since 1994.
posted by peeedro at 3:11 PM on February 8, 2019 [11 favorites]


I'm not disagreeing with the broader points of criminal justice reform, but it is really interesting to watch leftist critics transition from calling mainstream Dems neoliberals, then centrists, and now progrssive-centrists.

Don't get me wrong, I love a leftward moving party, but damn
posted by Think_Long at 3:19 PM on February 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


I'm not disagreeing with the broader points of criminal justice reform, but it is really interesting to watch leftist critics transition from calling mainstream Dems neoliberals, then centrists, and now progrssive-centrists.


As the Overton window shifts, so does the language people use. Although I'd say "neoliberal" is nowhere near exclusive to centrists or even "progressive centrists".

We can all thank Sanders, Warren, and AOC for that leftward shift.
posted by Ouverture at 3:43 PM on February 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


Whitaker must have had a good laugh about that compound and vague question that allowed him to give such a direct and totally useless answer.

I'm no lawologist but that question and affirmative reply would almost seem to cover him hearing that they found an old crumpled up pardon sheet behind the office copier which mentioned some guy that was considered for a pardon in 1952.
posted by Justinian at 3:45 PM on February 8, 2019 [4 favorites]


From the Vanity Fair article by Emily Jane "Michael Cohen Whisperer" Fox on the Inaguration criming:

Nearly $24 million was paid for projects related to the work of a subcontractor, Inaugural Productions, an independent organization affiliated with television producer Mark Burnett, which was responsible for staging several events.

That's a lotta millions to a "liberal" Hollywood producer who in no way supports Turmp.

On December 10, 2016, a Trump Organization employee sent an estimate for a ballroom rental and food and beverage minimum to use the Trump Hotel space for eight days. The price she quoted was $3.6 million

3.6 Meeellion was the minimum y'all. That's a pricey shrimp yo.

According to the two people familiar with the matter, [Rick "Conspiracy against the United States"] Gates approached a couple individuals working on the inauguration and asked if they would be willing to be paid directly for their work by a donor, rather than by the inaugural committee. They had received more donations than they’d initially anticipated, Gates told these people. Skirting the usual payment route could allow the inaugural committee to avoid reporting the full amount raised from donors.

Sounds legit. Overall the piece reads like damage control for Wolkoff who (in the article's picture) looks exactly like Melania. I encourage the writers to consider this addition to the Dignity Wraith™ metamorphosis: in the end, they all end up looking like a Trump. Picture: Romney, Christie, Kelly, Graham: all with Trump's wiggy hair.
posted by petebest at 3:47 PM on February 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


GOP Warns That Releasing Trump’s Taxes Could Lead to More Transparency

Not an Onion headline. It genuinely feels like the media is getting sassier, and I'm rather liking it.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 3:52 PM on February 8, 2019 [75 favorites]


Jim Acosta reports on the letter (pic) from Trump's doctor, following today's medical exam: "WH Physician: Trump “in very good health... will remain so for the duration of his Presidency, and beyond.”"

NYT Jennifer Gunter responds, "Fellow doctors of twitter, have you ever written a letter stating your patient will be healthy for more than 2 years? And where can I take a Predictive Medicine fellowship?"
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:25 PM on February 8, 2019 [67 favorites]


Harry Reid Rebuked Amy Klobuchar For Mistreatment Of Staff (Molly Redden and Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post)
A leaked campaign document shows how staff tried to manage her anger.
posted by ZeusHumms at 5:18 PM on February 8, 2019 [2 favorites]


"WH Physician: Trump “in very good health... will remain so for the duration of his Presidency, and beyond.”"

WH Physician: "He never sleeps, the Trump. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die."

Incidentally this also happened last year, when Ronny Jackson said his genes are so good that with a better diet he could live to 200. Either his doctors are explicitly required to at least imply his immortality, or else or the physical point of contact between the government and his literal body is just where our latent Kim-dynasty-esque Imperial deification cult seeps through.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:23 PM on February 8, 2019 [38 favorites]


As was pointed out in the twitter thread Doktor Zed linked, Trump has had a history of securing the sycophancy of compliant physicians ever since his “bone spurs” deferment, and probably before.

It’s practically a requirement that you have no moral compass if you want to do business with the Trumps.
posted by darkstar at 5:46 PM on February 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


Rewinding a bit to yoga's comment yesterday:
WOW. AOC on CSPAN demonstrating the corrupt system. In an easily understandable way I might add.
As a fan of watching the local-equivalent committee sittings here in Aus, I'm curious: Who do the people appearing before the committee in that clip represent? My Google-fu's failing me.
posted by Pinback at 5:49 PM on February 8, 2019 [3 favorites]


The NYT has a solid summary of the Whitaker hearings—Nadler closed saying he fully intends to call Whitaker back to respond to unanswered questions, “under subpoena if necessary.”

The AP has the Trump White House’s verdict on Whitaker’s hearings: “White House officials kept an eye on Whitaker’s performance and, while they appreciated his combative tone and aggressive defense of the administration, there was a sense from aides that his performance, at times, appeared halting and ill-prepared. The president himself kept an eye on the proceedings before leaving the White House for his annual physical.”

Whitaker was playing to an audience of one today, but he couldn’t pull off a Brett Kavanaugh performance.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:59 PM on February 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


In 2018, voters in Durham & Raleigh rejected sheriffs who were cooperating with ICE, and elected new sheriffs who refused to help enforce immigration laws. ((link: https://www.appealpolitics.org/2018/north-carolina-287g/) appealpolitics.org/2018/north-car…)

Now ICE is retaliating thru raids & arrests. Scary situation in NC:


ICE Blames Its “More Visible Presence” in NC on New Sheriffs Not Cooperating With the Agency
“I would say the new normal is you will see more visible ICE presence out in the communities,” Gallagher said. “Two hundred cases a week, probably not—but you will see an increase in enforcement.”
...
“I think the uptick you’ve seen is the direct result of some of the dangerous policies that some of our county sheriffs have put into place, and it really forces my officers to go out on the street and conduct more operations out in the community, at courthouses, at residences, doing traffic stops,” he said. “This is a direct correlation between the sheriffs’ dangerous policies of not cooperating with ICE and the fact that we have to continue executing our important law enforcement mission.”
Literally "if you don't help us, we will target attacks against your people". This is a domestic terror force.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:12 PM on February 8, 2019 [84 favorites]


Whitaker was playing to an audience of one today, but he couldn’t pull off a Brett Kavanaugh performance.

I fully expect him to pull the ripcord on a full-on cry-yelling Kavanaugh outburst in one of these hearings, but more pathetic and with less prompting.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:38 PM on February 8, 2019 [2 favorites]


> Pinback on the clip of AOC on CSPAN demonstrating the corrupt system:

As a fan of watching the local-equivalent committee sittings here in Aus, I'm curious: Who do the people appearing before the committee in that clip represent?

Thanks for asking - it reminded me to go find a transcript of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's part of the hearing.

Per that page:
The witnesses Ocasio-Cortez questioned included Walter Shaub, former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics during the Obama era; Karen Hobert Flynn, president of the progressive watchdog organization Common Cause; Bradley Smith, who was the chairman of the Federal Election Commission under George W. Bush; and former Obama cabinet adviser Rudy Mehrbani.
(Thanks so much to yoga for posting that in the first place. AWESOME clip. AOC is FANTASTIC.)
posted by kristi at 6:40 PM on February 8, 2019 [14 favorites]


CNN: White House refuses to meet Congress' deadline on Khashoggi killing
The White House refusal to meet the legal requirement by Friday's deadline is likely to heighten anger on both sides of the aisle in Congress, where Khashoggi's killing has galvanized lawmakers who are increasingly intent on pushing back against Trump's defense of the Kingdom.

Indeed, the immediate reaction from Congress was unequivocal.

"The law is clear," said Juan Pachon, spokesman for the Democratic side of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "The President has no discretion here. He's either complying with the law or breaking it."

The Global Magnitsky Act gives the President 120 days to determine whether a foreign individual is responsible for extrajudicial killings and report the findings to Congress as well as whether the President intends to impose sanctions on that person.

A National Security Council source insisted that the administration is under "no legal obligation" to respond, but added that the State Department would send a letter to Congress today. The source did not disclose the contents of that letter.
Earlier today, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, held a press conference, telling reporters, "You have had so many journalists murdered in the last year. Are they going to legislate sanctions against all countries where these journalists have been killed? […] Mistakes happen."
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:44 PM on February 8, 2019 [17 favorites]


The sooner we tell Saudi Arabia to fuck off, fully and completely, the better.
posted by reductiondesign at 6:54 PM on February 8, 2019 [41 favorites]


I fully expect him to pull the ripcord on a full-on cry-yelling Kavanaugh outburst in one of these hearings, but more pathetic and with less prompting.

If you haven't seen the interaction with Rep. Raskin (D-MD), it's a kind of hoot. Raskin reads his rap sheet, Whitaker indignantly puts on teensy-tiny Roger Stone-brand glasses, and tries to windup into a big huff and puff before getting kicked in the toilet plunger by Raskin. The Tysonesque interaction was just-as-swiftly gaveled down by Nadler.

All of which is to say; steroids ain't courage. Not that ShutdownBaby gives a rat's ass about courage, but that Whitaker couldn't fake it enough to pass on TV. Fail. Sad. Pack yer box, Moose.
posted by petebest at 7:32 PM on February 8, 2019 [10 favorites]



Candace Owens: Hitler was just trying to make Germany Great Again. It only became a problem when he went global. Of course, she'll be appearing as the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for the Boulder County Republican Party in Colorado tomorrow, and then again at CPAC, and a ton of other conservative parties. Because, if there's one thing Republicans love, it's making Germany, er America Great Again. Well, and Hitler, obviously. I mean, that's a given.

(Candace previously)
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 7:48 PM on February 8, 2019 [14 favorites]


ICE is pushing awfully close to the edge of their 100 mile border exception if they're performing traffic stops in fucking Raleigh now. That's straight up thuggery. If a police officer sees them say anything other than "are you a US Citizen" to some random driver they've stopped and they don't instantly fuck right off when answered in the affirmative, they ought to arrest the Nazi for false arrest/imprisonment.
posted by wierdo at 7:56 PM on February 8, 2019 [13 favorites]


Candace Owens: Hitler was just trying to make Germany Great Again

Jack Dorsey: "Hi Candace. I want to apologize for our labeling you “far right.” Team completed a full review of how this was published and why we corrected far too late (12 hrs after). There was a clear break in our curation process and understanding, and we’re fixing. Thanks for calling out."

Her linking Hitler and MAGA sloganeering together is either leakage of cognitive linking or epic trolling, or both.
posted by meehawl at 7:57 PM on February 8, 2019 [8 favorites]


I guess when you combine Owens and Trump, you get "the only good socialist is a national socialist".
posted by Slothrup at 7:57 PM on February 8, 2019 [2 favorites]


@maggieNYT: Spotted at the Trump Hotel earlier tonight - Matt Whitaker, post-testimony.

@matthewamiller: Pretty galling move on the day he refused to answer q’s from Congress about the emoluments clause by citing litigation over this exact hotel.
posted by zachlipton at 8:01 PM on February 8, 2019 [40 favorites]


ICE is pushing awfully close to the edge of their 100 mile border exception if they're performing traffic stops in fucking Raleigh now. That's straight up thuggery.

It's Border Patrol that has the 100-mile Constitution Free Zone. ICE gets to terrorize anywhere and everywhere, as it has for the 16 years it's existed.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:04 PM on February 8, 2019 [18 favorites]


Pretty galling move on the day he refused to answer q’s from Congress about the emoluments clause by citing litigation over this exact hotel.

As Sarah Kendzior always points out, the flaunting is actually the message: by acting as if the law doesn’t apply to them they create the conditions whereby people accept that the law doesn’t apply to them.
posted by Rumple at 8:07 PM on February 8, 2019 [39 favorites]


Speaking of ICE in NC: Feds arrest at least a dozen undocumented immigrants in Charlotte, advocates say

(Including arresting people as they left sanctuary churches to meet with Immigration officials.)

In videos posted to Facebook by Comunidad Colectiva, Arteaga said that undercover officers in bulletproof vests were stopping people at checkpoints near the intersection of Sharon Amity Road and Central Avenue, and on Old Statesville Road in north Charlotte, among other locations.

“It seems like they’re pretending to be CMPD and using traffic stops, when in reality they’re faking that to try and get people to disclose their immigration information,” Arteaga told the Observer.


See, Charlotte police quit cooperating with ICE, so now ICE is impersonating the Charlotte Police, and stopping traffic in case a brown person happens to be in the car. Because, America!
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:08 PM on February 8, 2019 [19 favorites]


Apparently I need to go read some statutes, because I was under the impression that ICE does not have general law enforcement powers and therefore should not be detaining people without reasonable suspicion they are not legally present in the country outside of the free fire zone where everyone is presumed to be unlawfully present and can have their things searched at any time.
posted by wierdo at 8:09 PM on February 8, 2019 [3 favorites]


“It seems like they’re pretending to be CMPD and using traffic stops, when in reality they’re faking that to try and get people to disclose their immigration information,” Arteaga told the Observer.

See, Charlotte police quit cooperating with ICE, so now ICE is impersonating the Charlotte Police, and stopping traffic in case a brown person happens to be in the car. Because, America!


The next step is for blue cities and states to start arresting and prosecuting ICE officers for impersonating police. And it needs to start happening, now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:21 PM on February 8, 2019 [96 favorites]


The ONLY reason Trump is so positive about North Korea is because he wants to build the first foreign-owned hotel there.
From https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-09/donald-trump-praises-north-korea-with-summit-announcement/10796690 - "US President Donald Trump says North Korea will someday become "a great Economic Powerhouse" under leader Kim Jong-un, heaping praise on the dictator while announcing the location of the pair's next summit."

That's code for Trump not giving a shit about nuclear weapons, and definitely wanting to get in the ground floor of any move from state-owned autocracy to state-owned kleptocracy.
posted by awfurby at 12:25 AM on February 9, 2019 [3 favorites]


I have a kind of technical question to MeFi physicians: how does such a thing as the president's "physical" even happen? I mean, it's pretty obvious that he writes them himself, last year it was the "good genes" he loves to talk about, this year it is predictive medicine, neither are things I've ever heard from real doctors. How can a whole team of doctors and nurses who are military staff let that happen? Can they be threatened? Or bribed? I don't get it.
I do know that physicians have lied about presidents' health before (JFK, FDR), so maybe it's a tradition?
It just looks really weird from the outside.
posted by mumimor at 1:35 AM on February 9, 2019 [15 favorites]


Like all Trumpiness, there is no relation between this document and what a normal medical professional would do. This is entirely consistent with the warped norms as you approach the event horizon of Trumpland.
posted by chiquitita at 3:20 AM on February 9, 2019 [3 favorites]


Politico: White House Hunts for 'Executive Time' Schedule Leaker
West Wing officials managing the hunt have enlisted the help of the White House IT office, and believe they are making progress in narrowing the search for potential suspects. One Trump official said the culprit is likely a career government employee who works in the White House, not a person appointed by Trump himself, but did not offer specific evidence.

The search has been approved by the office of acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and Trump himself — who has been infuriated by leaks from within his White House — is aware of the mole hunt and supports the effort, according to one of the officials.
They’d better cast their nets wide, because Vanity Fair reports ‘Trump is hated by everyone in the White House’.
Morale inside the White House, never high to begin with, has turned particularly bleak, according to interviews with 10 former West Wing officials and Republicans close to the president. The issue is that many see Trump himself as the problem. “Trump is hated by everyone inside the White House,” a former West Wing official told me. His shambolic management style, paranoia, and pattern of blaming staff for problems of his own making have left senior White House officials burned out and resentful, sources said. “It’s total misery. People feel trapped,” a former official said. “Trump always needs someone to blame,” a second former official said. Sources said the leak of Trump’s private schedules to Axios—which revealed how little work Trump actually does—was a signal of how disaffected his staff has become.
Bill Shine, Larry Kudlow, and Mick Mulvaney are all supposedly growing tired of Trump’s criticism, especially when Jared and Ivanka make up his trusted inner circle. (“This is a family affair, and if you’re not in the family, you’ve got problems,” a former official said.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:26 AM on February 9, 2019 [9 favorites]


This is entirely consistent with the warped norms as you approach the event horizon of Trumpland.

And it sounds like another example of "what his former communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, himself an author of a tell-all, once called Mr. Trump’s “reality distortion field” where he “curves facts toward himself.”"
posted by Little Dawn at 5:08 AM on February 9, 2019 [4 favorites]


Kaiser Health News: “Trump Administration Salutes Parade Of Generic Drug Approvals, But Hundreds Aren’t For Sale”
The approved generics that haven’t made it to American medicine cabinets include generic versions of expensive medicines like the blood thinner Brilinta and HIV medication Truvada. They also include six different generic versions of Nitropress, a heart failure drug, whose price spiked 310 percent in 2015.
posted by XMLicious at 5:40 AM on February 9, 2019 [5 favorites]


Then they came for the Journalists...
Journalists, Lawyers, And Activists Working On The Border Face Coordinated Harassment From U.S. And Mexican Authorities.
posted by adamvasco at 5:43 AM on February 9, 2019 [25 favorites]


Why Trump’s Inauguration Was So Sleazy, Even For Washington (Allegra Kirkland and Josh Kovensky, TPM)
Former high-level inauguration staffers and ethics experts told TPM that Trump’s team stretched the boundaries of acceptability, potentially opening the door to the kind of self-dealing and illegal foreign donations that prosecutors are reportedly probing.

“It’s become fairly common for these events to be an influence-buying free-for-all, but it seems like Trump took this to another level,” Brendan Fischer, director for federal reform at the Campaign Legal Center, told TPM.
Inauguration committees seem to be mostly self-policing, with some being more ethical than others.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:37 AM on February 9, 2019 [4 favorites]


Guardian: Do New York prosecutors pose the greatest threat to Donald Trump?
In interviews with the Guardian, former SDNY prosecutors spelled out why investigations run out of New York of Trump-linked interests could dog the president, his family and his associates for years, including after his departure from office.

Unlike Mueller, Trump cannot as a practical matter fire the entire southern district, which comprises about 150 career prosecutors, as distinguishable from political appointees. Unlike Mueller, the southern district is not constrained in what it might investigate by a narrow authorization. And unlike Mueller, the southern district does not report, on most matters, directly to the attorney general, who is appointed by the president and who might act at the president’s bidding, though norms of justice department independence proscribe that.

[...] in a sign of how extensively prosecutors have penetrated Trump’s network – and of how saturated that network is with alleged criminal conduct – the inaugural committee investigation may have a different primary source: the testimony of the former Trump aide Rick Gates, who is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty last year to conspiracy and lying to the FBI. Gates was deputy chairman of Trump’s inaugural committee.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:59 AM on February 9, 2019 [14 favorites]


Wasn't SDNY suspected of leaking to Giuliani during the Comey Letter affair?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:42 AM on February 9, 2019




Mother Jones delves into other areas of Maria Butina's foreign intrigue: The NRA Welcomed Maria Butina – Even As She Worked to Arm Anti-American Thugs Abroad—While NRA leaders embraced her, Butina denounced US sanctions and advised a militia group helping Putin seize Crimea.
Mother Jones has uncovered a trail of activity showing that during the same period when top NRA leaders welcomed Butina into the fold—meeting with her extensively in Moscow and the United States—Butina actively supported Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military takeover of Crimea. In the immediate aftermath of the invasion and annexation in March 2014, Butina denounced retaliatory sanctions by the Obama administration and traveled to Crimea to promote the arming of pro-Russian separatists. Her efforts there included pledging support to a leader of a militia group that violently seized a Crimean news outlet it deemed “pro-American” and swiftly repurposed for a Kremlin propaganda operation.

As multiple congressional probes of NRA ties with Russia intensify, the NRA now says it had no official connection to a trip NRA leaders took to Moscow to meet with Butina’s gun group and Kremlin officials—a claim that Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who is leading one of the probes, calls “not credible.” Butina’s role in Crimea raises additional questions about why the NRA—known historically for its hawkish “freedom loving” image—spent years getting close with a Russian national who was doing work hostile to US national security interests.
Bloomberg has an update on her current situation: Maria Butina Isn't Done Cooperating With U.S. Prosecutors. Since Butina's still cooperating with US authorities, a judge has granted a request from both the feds and her defense team to move her sentencing hearing back a couple of weeks to February 26th.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:50 AM on February 9, 2019 [29 favorites]


Candace Owens

I just feel like two years is awfully fast to go from "I'm a young woman who wants to start an anti-bullying campaign" to "Hitler did nothing wrong." Those YouTube algorithms are very powerful, I guess.
posted by Scattercat at 12:47 PM on February 9, 2019 [21 favorites]


Cassandra Fairbanks started out (tmk) as a enthusiastic participant in and proponent of the Ferguson protests and is now a MAGA Chud.
posted by rhizome at 2:37 PM on February 9, 2019 [2 favorites]


Cassandra Fairbanks started out (tmk) as a enthusiastic participant in and proponent of the Ferguson protests and is now a MAGA Chud.

Tim Pool started as an Occupy Wall Street citizen journalist and yesterday, after less than a year of transformation, he was on Joe Rogan talking about how the only real problem with racism comes from the left. Dave Rubin was a youtube progressive and is now funded by the Koch brothers and getting paid to appear in pro-Bolsonaro propaganda.

There's no easy money on the left but there's an enormous pile of it to be made on the right the minute you decide to put grift over ideology.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:46 PM on February 9, 2019 [64 favorites]


Exclusive: Thousands of Black Votes in Georgia Disappeared and No One Can Explain It. Since the election, a watchdog group has been quietly gathering data about Georgia’s 2018 election. The nonprofit group, Coalition for Good Governance, discovered that approximately 127,000 Georgia voters simply did not have a recorded vote for lieutenant governor. Officials claimed that most of these voters simply left that part of their ballot blank. And for some reason, the “drop-off” (the difference between people who voted and people who skipped one race) was disproportionately Democrat. ...

According to the report from Coalition for Good Governance (CGG) and the experts who spoke with The Root, the undervote wasn’t concentrated in Democratic areas. It seemed to specifically happen in black neighborhoods. Even stranger, the black voters’ absentee mail ballots didn’t reflect the drop-off, only the people who voted on election day and people who voted on machines in early voting. ...

The CGG’s report notes: The extreme undervote issue occurred at statistically significant levels in 101 of Georgia’s 159 counties. However, the undervotes on voting machines are concentrated in precincts where African American voters make up the majority of the precincts’ registered voters. The rates of touchscreen machine–reported undervotes in such precincts in the Lt. Governor contest are far greater than the undervote rates in non–African American neighborhoods regardless of whether those neighborhoods lean Democratic or Republican.


How can things just keep getting weirder?
posted by Bella Donna at 3:42 PM on February 9, 2019 [58 favorites]




I'm not gonna link to the asshole but unless I'm seriously misreading it, and I don't think I am, Trump tweeted a Trail of Tears joke in response to Warren's official announcement today. In case we thought he couldn't go any lower.

He can always go lower.
posted by Justinian at 4:14 PM on February 9, 2019 [21 favorites]


Yeah no it's a a Native American genocide "joke" by the President of the United States, if you'd like to know where we are as a country. Both a right-wing pundit and Trump's own son knew exactly what it was, so we can just skip right over the forthcoming "but what did he really mean?" newscycle where Sarah Sanders gaslights us over it.
posted by zachlipton at 4:17 PM on February 9, 2019 [37 favorites]


It's a follow-up to a Wounded Knee "joke" he made earlier this year, and it's very deliberate.

These folks are so, so thrilled at the paper-thin "she started it" excuse to pile on this specific flavor of incredibly gross bigotry. It results from an odd confluence of somewhat increasing liberal sensitivity about Native issues such as appropriation, plus continued-or-perhaps-increasing conservative conviction that "Indian stuff" barely even matters or hardly involves "real" racism.

Hence "Warren exaggerating her heritage means we can make genocide jokes, because that's not racist by our team's standards, but her behavior is racist by her team's standards." It's a polarization that's definitely happening in many areas, but on Native issues, especially so.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:27 PM on February 9, 2019 [44 favorites]


I just finished reading Killers of the Flower Moon and this "joking" about native genocide hit me like a punch to the gut. Surely even the most right-wing xenophobe has to understand what we (white people) did to native Americans is wrong and so wrong that you can't make jokes in that space. Right? But apparently the Trump family will go there. Wow.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 4:34 PM on February 9, 2019 [7 favorites]


Surely even the most right-wing xenophobe has to understand what we (white people) did to native Americans is wrong and so wrong that you can't make jokes in that space. Right?

No. The far right does not believe that its enemies are equally human. To them the genocide was either good, or it was a fair fight and they lost and we won and that's that, now stop complaining. It's difficult for people who believe in the essential goodness of humanity to wrap their heads around this fact but it's necessary to avoid suicide-by-civility.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:38 PM on February 9, 2019 [41 favorites]


Now House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) opened a probe into Mar-a-Lago influence at VA
posted by growabrain at 4:51 PM on February 9, 2019 [32 favorites]


From the Sheldon Whitehouse link:

Whitaker did political hit work for a front group called FACT that does not reveal its donors.

Today he admitted that its donor was Donors Trust, an entity that hides the identity of right-wing donors.


I was watching that exchange. Whitaker was so pleased with himself when he was able to answer "Who put the cash into your money laundering vehicle?" with "It was another money laundering vehicle."
posted by diogenes at 4:55 PM on February 9, 2019 [12 favorites]


JimInLoganSquare: Surely even the most right-wing xenophobe has to understand what we (white people) did to native Americans is wrong and so wrong that you can't make jokes in that space. Right?

Anti-Native-American racism overlaps plenty with other racisms, yet in some ways it's just on another planet. There's a widespread white-people belief that Native people are in some sense no longer "around"... or even that they were never quite "real", like somehow mythical.

Plus, a distinction from, say, anti-black racism (which is still just as prevalent and vile, to be clear) is that the latter experienced enough of a progressive backlash that at least a certain expressions of it actually became off-limits. Those limits are still broken all the time, of course, but in the form of white people grumbling about not being "allowed" to use the N-word, whereas they don't merely grumble about the R-word, they apply to it a damn football team. (I think even Trump would probably not be so bold as to, say, make an Atlantic-slave-trade joke when talking about Ralph Northam, even though most whites would regard Northam's behavior as worse than Warren's and thus grant Trump even more "you started it and I'm just continuing it" logic. I'm not about to place any bets on this, except insofar as the Virginia story may be hitting the airwaves less.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 5:05 PM on February 9, 2019 [6 favorites]


There's a widespread white-people belief that Native people are in some sense no longer "around"... or even that they were never quite "real", like somehow mythical.

In formerly multiethnic ethnostates, in which a large minority population that had once been a visible and important presence was practically exterminated, a specific and peculiar mystical romanticization develops. Our cigar store indian is the Lucky Jew phenomenon in Poland. And when living examples of these people show up and say "hey, we're real and we're not long-dead creatures from folklore akin to elves," then majority-culture people in those countries get angry.
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:21 PM on February 9, 2019 [64 favorites]


David Leonhardt and Ian Prasad Philbrick chronicle Donald Trump’s Racism: The Definitive List in an NYT Op-Ed:
Donald Trump has been obsessed with race for the entire time he has been a public figure. He had a history of making racist comments as a New York real-estate developer in the 1970s and ‘80s. More recently, his political rise was built on promulgating the lie that the nation’s first black president was born in Kenya. He then launched his campaign with a speech describing Mexicans as rapists.

The media often falls back on euphemisms when describing Trump’s comments about race: racially loaded, racially charged, racially tinged, racially sensitive. And Trump himself has claimed that he is “the least racist person.” But here’s the truth: Donald Trump is a racist. He talks about and treats people differently based on their race. He has done so for years, and he is still doing so.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:25 PM on February 9, 2019 [21 favorites]


My wife deals cards for the Oneida Nation, and they give us a platinum level Blue Cross health insurance policy, so they are very much real to us (they are also our neighbors) and very much appreciated in a real fashion. In fact, the Oneida and other folks here in Central New York at least appear to be getting along.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 5:27 PM on February 9, 2019 [15 favorites]


It's so discouraging to me that the Virginia scandals have gotten wall to wall coverage for a week (and they are important!) but the President making a blatant racist joke about literal genocide will probably just disappear down the memory hole with barely a mention. Not a single news organization has picked up the story so far as I can tell.

Maybe they're too busy doing weekend things to acknowledge the President of the United States racistly mocking the attempted extermination of an entire people but it seems like they could manage to fit in a minor below the fold mention in passing.
posted by Justinian at 5:40 PM on February 9, 2019 [18 favorites]


Texas Tribune reports on another Trumpist's hearing this week: Texas Secretary of State David Whitley Defends Releasing Flawed Data About Voter Citizenship Review—At his confirmation hearing, Whitley faced tough questioning from Democrats over his decision to erroneously question the citizenship status of tens of thousands of voters.
Almost two weeks after calling into question the citizenship status of almost 100,000 registered voters, Texas' new chief elections officer, David Whitley, defended his office's decision to hand over those voters' names to law enforcement even though he knew the list could contain mistakes.

At a Senate hearing to consider his confirmation as secretary of state, Whitley vacillated between telling lawmakers he referred the list of voters to the attorney general’s office because his office had no power to investigate them for illegal voting and describing the citizenship review efforts as an ongoing process based on a list that still needed to be reviewed by local officials. But he made clear is that his office knew from the start that the data could be faulty.

He stated that in response to a question from state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Brenham Republican, who asked whether the secretary of state’s office had “cautioned the counties that there may be mistakes on the data.”

“Yes,” Whitley responded.
Another of the exchanges went even worse:
In one awkward exchange, state Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, asked Whitley to define voter suppression.

“I think it’s irrelevant,” Whitley responded.

“You’re the secretary of state, sir,” West shot back. “It is relevant to me if I’m going to vote for your confirmation.”
Previously: Texas quietly informs counties that some of the 95,000 voters flagged for citizenship review don't belong on the list.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:55 PM on February 9, 2019 [19 favorites]


There's a widespread white-people belief that Native people are in some sense no longer "around"... or even that they were never quite "real", like somehow mythical.

It's also good to remember that one of the earliest (the Boston Tea Party) events leading to the American revolution was performed in the Native American equivalent of blackface.
posted by Harry Caul at 6:03 PM on February 9, 2019 [22 favorites]


emptywheel, Paul Manafort Sold Out Donald Trump — and His Anonymous Leakers Are Lying about It Publicly, a detailed look at how Manafort's leakers (and his lawyers) are playing games with their descriptions of the polling data Manafort gave to Kilimnik.

@normative: What goes for online platforms is also true of Paul Manafort: If you’re not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product.
posted by zachlipton at 6:08 PM on February 9, 2019 [16 favorites]


emptywheel, Paul Manafort Sold Out Donald Trump — and His Anonymous Leakers Are Lying about It Publicly

As usual, Marcy Wheeler spells out what mainstream reporters—like the NYT's—can't/won't:
Manafort knows well what he did in August 2016. But he — and his lawyers, and whoever lied anonymously to the NYT — continue to lie about it in hopes that, by refusing to confirm that he conspired with Russia to get Trump elected, Trump will pay him off with a pardon.

The truth appears to be that Manafort walked Konstantin Kilimnik through recent, highly detailed polling data at a clandestine meeting in NYC on August 2, 2016, in part because even if it didn’t help Trump, it might help his own fortunes down the way. And he’s willing to bet that lying about that fact is his best chance for a pardon.
And Whitaker did admit yesterday that he is "aware of documents relating to pardoning of individuals" at the DoJ.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:28 PM on February 9, 2019 [13 favorites]


As usual, Marcy Wheeler spells out what mainstream reporters—like the NYT's—can't/won't

We've reached a strange phase. We can see in the publicly available information that there's smoking gun evidence of collusion by the Trump campaign. But the media seems to be waiting for the courts or congress to officially acknowledge it.
posted by diogenes at 6:36 PM on February 9, 2019 [17 favorites]


We can see in the publicly available information that there's smoking gun evidence of collusion by the Trump campaign. But the media seems to be waiting for the courts or congress to officially acknowledge it.

Because in modern journalism "objectivity" doesn't mean telling readers what the truth is, it means telling readers what one side says the truth is and then what the other side says the truth is. So they don't see it as their job to report that the Trump campaign colluded, only to report that Democrats say that Trump colluded and Republicans say that Trump didn't collude (or in some cases that collusion is awesome.)
posted by Justinian at 6:38 PM on February 9, 2019 [32 favorites]


I want to at least try to be fair, though, and say that they do see it as their job to report the facts that could lead a reasonable person to conclude that the Trump campaign concluded, only they don't draw the obvious conclusion from those facts. They trust that the public is smart and knowledgeable enough to reach the conclusion themselves.

This strikes me as implausible given the last 40 years of evidence.
posted by Justinian at 6:47 PM on February 9, 2019 [13 favorites]


In the case of access journalists, though, they have a further incentive to write up a version of the news that favors their sources' views beyond simply presenting a "both sides" false objectivity.

For instance, Maggie Haberman has a six-figure book deal for her account of the Trump administration that's riding on staying on the good side of her inside sources within Trumpworld (notably Jared and Ivanka, even Trump himself). Her reporting for the Gray Lady is essential reading because of her connections, but that doesn't obviate the enormous "caveat lector" that comes with this. Her sharing a byline on the NYT's story "Manafort Accused of Sharing Trump Polling Data With Russian Associate" definitely rates that, as Wheeler's anaylsis shows.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:54 PM on February 9, 2019 [6 favorites]


NBC, Elizabeth Warren launches 2020 bid with call to ignore 'cowards' and go big
"It won’t be enough to just undo the terrible acts of this administration," Warren continued. "We can’t afford to just tinker around the edges — a tax credit here, a regulation there. Our fight is for big, structural change."
...
But instead, she chose Lawrence, a distressed mill town about 30 miles outside Boston, with a more obscure, but very telling history: Just over 100 years ago in the factory buildings that served as a backdrop for Warren’s speech, women textile workers defied bosses and bayonets to start a strike, that as Warren said, “changed America.”
...
Today, Warren said, a new uprising is needed to confront the 21st century equivalent of mill owners and the politicians who defend them, which she made a point of saying include members of both parties.

“When I talk about this, some rich guys scream ‘class warfare!’” Warren said. “Well, let me tell you something, these same rich guys have been waging class warfare against hard-working people for decades — I say it’s time to fight back!"
She had a particularly noteworthy line that ties together economic justice and criminal justice reform:
“It’s not equal justice when a kid with an ounce of pot can get thrown in jail while a bank executive who launders money for a drug cartel can get a bonus,” Warren said.
posted by zachlipton at 7:54 PM on February 9, 2019 [68 favorites]


I hope she can keep her edge and not soften it as time goes on. Maybe she can do more onsite events without speeches than ones with them so she doesn't feel she has to mix things up so people don't get message fatigue.
posted by rhizome at 8:41 PM on February 9, 2019


there is a lot more that separates someone like Philadelphia's Larry Krasner from Kamala Harris or Amy Klobuchar than geographic distance

One thing that separates them is decades of history. Harris became a (deputy) DA in 1990; Klobuchar was elected Hennepin County Attorney in 1998.

IMHO a huge problem for Democrats is activists with recency bias and no understanding of history. What is possible changes over time, on issues from marijuana legalization to gay marriage to mass incarceration. It's not smart to veto any politician who adapts, especially since these attacks seem only to be directed at women.

EG Bernie Sanderse opposed gay marriage in 2006 and didn't support it until 2009. But he never gets criticized for that. Ditto Joe Biden, etc.
posted by msalt at 9:37 PM on February 9, 2019 [63 favorites]


In other news, Republicans are clapping louder but it just seems absurd. EG The New York post has a headline now reading "The Democrats' disastrous week highlights Trump's sanity." (not going to link)
posted by msalt at 9:38 PM on February 9, 2019


@Rosie [who is performing at The Music Man at the Kennedy Center]: i have 2 tickets tomorrow for the 2 brave gay men who screamed fuck you at mike pence tonight at the music man in dc - thank u - come back tomorrow and be my guests #GAYisOK

This guy really needs to find something to do that doesn't involve going to musicals. Also, it's a little on the nose that he went to a musical about a con man that cons an entire town but the townspeople are all happy and he gets away with it, thanks to a woman.
posted by zachlipton at 9:48 PM on February 9, 2019 [40 favorites]


The problem with the NYT interpretation of objectivity is that it demands we adopt their definition of center.

This is true of literally anyone who calls themselves a centrist.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 11:26 PM on February 9, 2019 [13 favorites]


They trust that the public is smart and knowledgeable enough to reach the conclusion themselves.

At a certain point though it's like they have a corner fire and are saying that 'Democrats say it's a corner fire' while 'Republicans say there is no corner fire' as the journalists themselves are crawling around on the floor to avoid the smoke and then when the curtains catch fire we're still stuck on agreeing whether there's a corner fire or not. "Some people say the ceiling will collapse soon. Others say there is no fire. Surrounded by flames, this is Jane The Reporter for Reporting Reporters." '

Like they report a collection of symptoms and depend entirely on the public to determine whether it's food poisoning or stomach cancer (sorry, tore a muscle on the previous paragraph's metaphor).

The game of 'let's let the public draw their own conclusions' is especially a drag because the number of really careful followers of our current governmental trainwreck is small, percentage-wise. I bet there is a relatively small percent of the population who are like, 'yeah, dude totally colluded'. Probably everyone in this thread. But I bet across the country there's a lot of 'well, jury's still out!' or 'We'll see what Mueller says.'

Letting the public draw their own conclusions is something news organizations often seem to do when it suits them but less so in cases where many people really do need to a timeline, a crazy wall with string attached, a person to walk them through the entire thing, etc. Is Semion Mogilevich a commonly known name? I don't think it is. It should be.

I think it's quite literally crazy for someone at this point to not know the president is a Russian asset. Possibly he is so in part because he's always been too stupid to realize what that means. But the idea that we're on the fence about it is nuts and in general the conclusions that should be drawn should be provided more forcefully by journalists.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 3:47 AM on February 10, 2019 [44 favorites]


I just wanted to add: it's *normal* for most of the population to not be able to keep up with with a story about an enormously complicated international conspiracy. People have lives, professions, relationships, children, private dramas. They need information distilled and clear, not to be thrown 70 pieces of 1000 piece puzzle one at a time and 'draw your own conclusions'.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the general understanding is better than I'm assuming. But I kind of feel like a lot of people think there's maybe or maybe not some Russian involvement and have kind of a shaky grasp of the whole thing and are waiting to be told the implications.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 3:50 AM on February 10, 2019 [81 favorites]


"The president personally colluding with Russia" has managed to become the nationally-agreed consensus for a fault line. Sometimes there's yet another revelation of not-directly-Russia-related crimes or corruption involving Trump, and the conservative response is "Where's the collusion, libs?" as though that's the only possible zone of misconduct. (Cleverly, they've also prepared a lot of "collusion is good anyway" rhetoric as a backup.) Even obstructing justice is sort of "baked in" as "Trump being Trump".

That makes "collusion", specifically, a third rail for news outlets, because using those words as the dirct, surface-level headline (not "A says B did C" but "B did C" full stop) is tantamount to "The president really is illegitimate and has got to go", which is in turn a subjective claim (subjective in the sense that maybe you, the reader, think he should stay regardless of whatever deals he has with Putin).

It's the same as their hesitation to say "racist" instead of "racially charged" -- the former, for better or worse, carries the implication of moral judgement, and thus never gets deployed, because everyone agrees "racist" means "bad" even before they reach any agreement on any one thing possibly being racist. That's why people were impressed by Gillum saying of DeSantis "He might not be racist, but the racists think he is", in that it sidestepped the issue of "calling anyone racist means immense, infinite moral judgement and do you think you're God or something".

In these and similar cases, the larger implication is not just that the media is taking sides, which people often don't mind at all (indeed, they want media to tell them what the heck is the right reaction to have, much of the time), but that it's taking a side in the big question of liberal-versus-conservative, Democrats-versus-Republicans. A "Tump Colluded" headline is a "Republicans are the Bad Party" headline. Maybe more news outlets should dip toes in the water of "This might not be collusion per se, but it did break the law regardless", sort of like Gillum's approach, because, oddly enough, the public might actually more readily accept that as not overstepping the unwritten "don't take sides" rule.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:45 AM on February 10, 2019 [19 favorites]


the number of really careful followers of our current governmental trainwreck is small, percentage-wise

This is so true. We need to remember what kind of bubbles we are in. Not only is MetaFiler a liberal bubble, it’s an informed bubble. That level of information and interest is uncommon. Recall that in the “real world”, there are a significant number of people who can’t even name a single cabinet member or probably even the vice President.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:45 AM on February 10, 2019 [43 favorites]


It's going to be funny if the thing that ultimately does in Trump is not that he's running a corrupt, borderline-treasonous administration, but that a lot of people thought they were getting a tax cut and are just now realizing that they just forgot to adjust their withholding and actually owe the IRS a lot of money. Because I'm hearing a lot more "holy fuck, my tax bill is bonkers" on my Facebook feed than anything about the Mueller investigation, and I assume that my Republican Senators, who were super enthusiastic about this "middle class tax cut", are going to be hearing about it.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:13 AM on February 10, 2019 [35 favorites]


I'm a centrist. I'm willing to negotiate whether the rich should pay 60% or 80% tax and I'm willing to meet in the middle.
This sounds jokey but this is how it's done. This is how conservatives do it.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:55 AM on February 10, 2019 [64 favorites]


"The president personally colluding with Russia" has managed to become the nationally-agreed consensus for a fault line.

Thanks to its vigorous promotion by Trump, his legal team, and his enablers in the GOP and rightwing media.

For instance, earlier this week Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Bill Burr—who was a national security adviser to the Trump campaign—gave an unusually lengthy interview to CBS about the committee's ongoing work and its ever-lengthening timeline ("If I can finish tomorrow, I would finish tomorrow," he told . "We know we're getting to the bottom of the barrel because there're not new questions that we're searching for answers to."). Naturally he was pressed on the collusion question, to which he responded, "If we write a report based upon the facts that we have, then we don't have anything that would suggest there was collusion by the Trump campaign and Russia."

Those quotes have been bouncing around the rightwing noise machine ever since, and now this morning @realDonaldTrump blasted: "Senator Richard Burr, The Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, just announced that after almost two years, more than two hundred interviews, and thousands of documents, they have found NO COLLUSION BETWEEN TRUMP AND RUSSIA! Is anybody really surprised by this?" Such is message Trump and his partisans are pushing, as they try to pressure a rush to judgement, but as long as the mainstream media continues "both sides" reporting, it will affect public opinion.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:02 AM on February 10, 2019 [10 favorites]


I'm a centrist. I'm willing to negotiate whether the rich should pay 60% or 80% tax and I'm willing to meet in the middle.

This actually IS a centrist position, since we did just fine on 90% top rates in the mid 20th century and since the harder ideological left thinks there needs to be a 100% rate past a certain level (which FDR in fact proposed before settling on 94%). The way conservatives would do it would be to start at demanding 90%, and if that fails, to then demand 100%.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:02 AM on February 10, 2019 [27 favorites]


> This is so true. We need to remember what kind of bubbles we are in. Not only is MetaFiler a liberal bubble, it’s an informed bubble. That level of information and interest is uncommon. Recall that in the “real world”, there are a significant number of people who can’t even name a single cabinet member or probably even the vice President.

I follow this thread pretty religiously, and have 50+ news feeds that cover politics including at least a half a dozen specifically devoted to documenting POTUS45's malfeasance. I read nearly every explainer type piece that comes across them, from sources ranging from Vox (which skews toward higher-level explainers) to Emptywheel, who digs into every nuance of every legal filing. I've pored over dozens of different articles / sites that try to visualize all of the players, their motivations, and their participation in the various crimes and conspiracies.

And after all that, I feel like I have barely a bar napkin sketch idea of what we know so far, with perhaps a few faint glimpses of the dotted lines that would represent possible/unproven connections between various parties / motives to commit wrongdoing. I don't think I have a wall big enough in my home or office that could hold a whiteboard large enough to draw this to a level of detail where I thought I had a handle on it. It's just too massive to wrap your head around once you zoom in on any level of detail beyond the broad strokes.

All of which makes me admire the hard work that Mueller's team, SDNY, and friends have done to get us to the point we're at. It's frustrating that we don't have a lot of the answers we need, especially with so many people being harmed by the perpetrators every day, but that has to be weighed against the potential for things to unravel if there are any factual errors in the charging documents.

Maybe some day Ken Burns can do a 30 episode documentary covering all of this in sufficient detail to understand most of it. Until then, I think only the most motivated among us will have more than a surface understanding of Stupid Watergate.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:03 AM on February 10, 2019 [57 favorites]


Maybe some day Ken Burns can do a 30 episode documentary covering all of this in sufficient detail to understand most of it. Until then, I think only the most motivated among us will have more than a surface understanding of Stupid Watergate.

I think that when it comes time for academic analysis, people are going to build careers publishing papers about our non-stop analysis of the situation in real-time.
posted by mikelieman at 8:34 AM on February 10, 2019 [14 favorites]


I'm a centrist. I'm willing to negotiate whether the rich should pay 60% or 80% tax and I'm willing to meet in the middle.

that's a brave thing these things -- admitting to being a centrist, in certain circles anyway. I know I'm not. If you averaged out my positions on various issues, you might find me somewhere in the middle, but that would only be because my various extremes are balancing each other. Speaking of which, the notion of middle ground is coming to be what bothers me, I suppose because it necessarily shifts from issue to issue, conflict to conflict. Or as somebody else put it over on Facebook a while back:

"Forget middle ground. That's become just another word for battleground these days, certainly between me and pretty much every Trump supporter I've come across. Because these people are WRONG about pretty much EVERYTHING. But then, I've definitely been wrong about some things, too. So what we now have is common ground. Maybe that's the kind of broad discussion we could start having. All the stuff we've been wrong about. Maybe this is how we loosen some of the tension."

(or words to that effect)
posted by philip-random at 8:37 AM on February 10, 2019


Maybe some day Ken Burns can do a 30 episode documentary covering all of this in sufficient detail to understand most of it. Until then, I think only the most motivated among us will have more than a surface understanding of Stupid Watergate.

Yes, I also am completely out of red yarn and thumbtacks. The worst is that none of it means anything if the people who can act, don't act. And almost all of them are either full-on white nationalists (or theocrats waiting in the wings), or enablers, or ostriches. I still don't see a "surely this" in sight.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:40 AM on February 10, 2019 [9 favorites]


Stupid Watergate.

I sincerely hope this becomes the historically acceptable term for this dumb phase we're currently stumbling through.
posted by philip-random at 8:49 AM on February 10, 2019 [7 favorites]


Stupid Watergate.

I sincerely hope this becomes the historically acceptable term for this dumb phase we're currently stumbling through.


According to Politico this morning, it sounds like we're well beyond Watergate:
Negotiations reached an impasse Saturday, primarily over detention beds, the source said. Democratic negotiators offered a deal to their Republican counterparts, but Republicans are refusing to negotiate until Democrats take back their demand for a cap on the number of beds, the source added
The NYT reports on January 30, 2019:
Democrats also insisted on their own priorities beyond homeland security. They proposed new funding to improve Customs and Border Protection’s care for migrants in the agency’s custody, expanding an “alternatives to detention” program at Immigration and Customs Enforcement to keep families together while reducing the number of ICE detention beds and requiring more frequent detention-facility inspections.
According to the Associated Press on February 1, 2019:
Despite identifying more than 14,000 violations of detention standards at more than 100 facilities, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement imposed financial penalties on just two of them, the Homeland Security inspector general said in a review that covered three years of records. [...]

The audit comes at a time when ICE is already facing fierce criticism from Democrats on Capitol Hill who say the detention system for illegal immigrants is cruel and out of control.
On January 6, 2019, an NBC News analysis "of dozens of government reports, death reviews and audits of ICE detention centers reveals a system long riddled with problems," including:
In the late 2000s, a series of exposes led the agency to overhaul detention standards and set up more rigorous oversight.

Dora Schriro helped put those in place as the founding director of ICE's Office of Detention Policy and Planning, formed under Obama. The standards focused on increasing transparency and oversight and ensuring that only those who presented an immediate risk were detained. She said the changes lowered the risk of harm in detention, too. It was "good policy and good practice," she said.

The Trump administration has sought to curtail and even shutter the office she founded as it pushed for a quick expansion of detention, which Schriro highlights as a pattern within the agency.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:22 AM on February 10, 2019 [12 favorites]


Some commentary on the recent YouTube algorithm changes by someone who used to work on them. Technology may not save us but it could nevertheless do less harm.
posted by ropeladder at 9:32 AM on February 10, 2019 [12 favorites]


Democrats are dumb dumb dumb if they don't hammer Republicans over border separations resulting in lost migrant children. It's such an easy angle, stolen children. Say they did it on purpose, they don't know what they're doing, and they don't care. Don't even get me started on the trafficking and sex abuse implications.
posted by rhizome at 9:42 AM on February 10, 2019 [27 favorites]


The New Yorker's Adam Davidson posted a thread in response to Ivanka Trump's recent ABC interview:
Ivanka claimed that she isn't worried about Mueller because the family never did business with Iran:
ABC: Ivanka Trump Has 'Zero Concern' About Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Investigation—Ivanka Trump says she 'barely knew' about potential Moscow deal.

“It’s not like it's a strange thing, as a hospitality company or a development company, to have a hotel or a property in Russia. We're not talking about Iran. It was Russia. And we weren't even advanced enough that anyone had even visited the prospective project site. So it really was just a non-factor in our minds. I'm not sure that anyone would have thought of it," she added.
Let me explain how they did, in fact, almost certainly do business with Iran. Everything I write here is acknowledged by the Trump Org.

Ivanka oversaw the Trump Tower building in Baku, Azerbaijan, funded by the Mammadov family. The Mammadovs, led by Ziya, then Transportation Minister, were in business with a front company for Iran's Revolutionary Guard. That front company, Azarpassillo, is owned by the sanctioned Khatam Al-Anbia, the construction arm of the IRGC. The IRGC famously used these fronts to launder money and to purchase components for WMD. The folks at Azarpassillo were, specifically, part of the IRGC air force division tasked with illegally acquiring missile guidance systems.

The Trump Org admitted that they learned by mid-2015 that the Mammadovs were likely part of this WMD/money laundering front. They continued to work with them through the entire election. When I asked why they didn't drop the Mammadovs as clients, they said they couldn't because they had a contract.

Pro tip: you can't knowingly work with sanctions violating $ launderers b/c you have a contract.

Not one word of this stream is contested by anybody.

I will never understand how this isn't bigger news.

The President of the United States knowingly participated in a likely money-laundering/WMD-acquiring scheme with the worst part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Something to bear in mind the next time the NYT publishes a puff piece on Ivanka like White House to Unveil a Global Women’s Empowerment Initiative, Led by Ivanka Trump or passes along her excuses like Ivanka Trump Denies President Was Involved in Granting Security Clearance.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:55 AM on February 10, 2019 [78 favorites]


Washington Examiner, 'Show of force': 100 vehicles line one mile of Texas border to deter caravan on other side
More than 100 U.S. police vehicles lined a one-mile stretch of the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, Texas, Saturday afternoon. Sixty sat together in one section of the river on a local golf course.
Here are pictures of whatever the hell this is supposed to be.

@Anna_Giaritelli: Law enforcement have been moved to Eagle Pass from other parts of Texas to help here. Senior officials told me they have no idea when the relocated forces will go home. A local sheriff said it could be weeks or months.

@ReichlinMelnick: Again, CBP’s willingness to spend untold amounts of taxpayer $$$ on an unprecedented “show of force,” while simultaneously refusing to increase funding to process asylum seekers more efficiently, is extraordinarily telling. According to the article, over 500 Texas state officers, at least 250 members of the National Guard, and an untold number of Border Patrol officers have been deployed to Eagle Pass... to deal with 2,000 people, inc. kids, who just want to request asylum.
posted by zachlipton at 11:34 AM on February 10, 2019 [34 favorites]


Amy Klobuchar is making her announcement right now. I'm watching it on Facebook.
posted by Autumnheart at 11:37 AM on February 10, 2019 [2 favorites]


She's giving a woman-focused recap of the Old Testament right now. ?!?!
posted by Autumnheart at 11:40 AM on February 10, 2019 [2 favorites]


Jesus, that's the laziest show of force in human history. Like could they at least get out of their SUVs and gaze vaguely in the general direction of the border?
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:41 AM on February 10, 2019 [2 favorites]




WaPo: Trump ‘may not even be a free person’ in 2020, Elizabeth Warren says
“By the time we get to 2020, Donald Trump may not be president,” Warren told an audience here. “In fact, he may not even be a free person.”

Warren had not previously hinted that the scandals surrounding the president could keep him from seeking a second term. In her previous trip to Iowa, she rarely mentioned Trump by name.

But her campaign, which has faced more direct attacks from Trump than other Democratic candidates, appears to see the question about Trump’s own viability as way to stop engaging with everything the president says.
posted by Little Dawn at 12:09 PM on February 10, 2019 [46 favorites]


So far, Twitter is already talking about how Klobuchar must be an asshole for "making" people stand out in a "snowstorm" in 14-degree weather.
posted by Autumnheart at 12:12 PM on February 10, 2019 [1 favorite]


There were warming shelters with fireplaces, on which the campaign set wood fires. They handed out hot chocolate. Minnesotans aren't that scared of snow.
posted by OnceUponATime at 12:20 PM on February 10, 2019 [13 favorites]


As a Minnesotan, 14 deg is not bad and the snow is kind of pleasant- big pretty flakes falling without wind.
posted by localhuman at 12:22 PM on February 10, 2019 [14 favorites]


The weather probably limited the crowd size a bit but you couldn't pay for the optics of Klobuchar standing in the snow like a Real Americantm
posted by Justinian at 12:32 PM on February 10, 2019 [8 favorites]


Nate Silver on the threshold for scandals among female politicians:
The allegations (of mistreatment of staff) are certainly newsworthy; they're also a long way from a Richter magnitude 8 type of scandal. So I'm also a little wary of the framing that Klobuchar's launch has been sidetracked or overshadowed. [...] I dunno. I guess you could study this systematically and someone probably should. It does seem like when women are running, the threshold is lower for controversies that are deemed to overshadow a campaign, e.g. Warren/DNA, Gillibrand/Franken, Klobuchar/staff (or Hillary/email).
About where I'm at.
posted by Justinian at 12:46 PM on February 10, 2019 [45 favorites]


It does seem like when women are running, the threshold is lower for controversies that are deemed to overshadow a campaign
Yea, maybe they deserve a 3000+ year spot on horrible behavior just like men got?, just to try to even things out before anyone goes all Frankenstein villagers on them.
posted by Harry Caul at 12:56 PM on February 10, 2019 [10 favorites]


Gillibrand/Franken

...is the implied argument here that she was in the wrong for being one of the first to demand Franken's resignation? (Am I misremembering?)
posted by reductiondesign at 1:22 PM on February 10, 2019 [4 favorites]


I think the knock on Gillibrand is that she's "opportunistic" (unlike, apparently, any other politician ever). I've seen this even in liberal circles on FB where it's basically the complaints against Hillary-as-Senator: "she's just saying things to gain popularity!"
posted by TwoStride at 1:27 PM on February 10, 2019 [5 favorites]


14F here in Minnesota right now is absolutely balmy. It was -15F on Friday. I had tons of friends at the announcement and no one complained about the cold. Personally I went skiing to take advantage of the nice weather. Roads are deteriorating now as the snow is coming down harder now.
posted by misterpatrick at 1:28 PM on February 10, 2019 [8 favorites]


is the implied argument here that she was in the wrong for being one of the first

It's not an implied argument, it's a literal one. The misogynistic hit on Gillibrand is that she is a pure opportunist that threw Progressive Hero And Groping Enthusiast Al Franken under the bus in order to further her presidential ambitions. Gillibrand calling on Franken to step down: crass and disqualifying opportunism. The other candidates calling on Franken to step down literally within hours of Gillibrand: the right thing to do!

No it doesn't make sense. But it is common; you see it in the comments of every Gillibrand thing online whether it's someone tweeting about her, the comments to a news story, a reddit thread, a politico thing, whatever. It's the standard brogressive position.
posted by Justinian at 1:30 PM on February 10, 2019 [38 favorites]


Oh you probably meant the argument implied by Nate Silver, in which case... yes that's what he's referring to!
posted by Justinian at 1:34 PM on February 10, 2019 [1 favorite]


WaPo: Trump ‘may not even be a free person’ in 2020, Elizabeth Warren says

Man, I like this new Democratic party!  She's coming out swinging; this is a Boomer I can get behind.  One can't help but wonder how long before Democratic rallies have people chanting "Lock Him Up!"  Only this time, it looks like the chant would be justified—literally.  Trump's Mirror strikes yet again.

It genuinely cheers me to note that multiple people on the left are clearly aware of how to get under his skin, and I feel we're seeing only the barest beginning of the needling little Donny Two-Scoops is going to have to endure.  He and the right have fucked up—the left has realized their constant, uncontrollable ranting can be weaponized against them. The Republicans thought they had a tiger by the tail, only it turns out he's no tiger—only colored like one—and is instead a demented old lech, so dirty it's rubbing off on them wholesale.

Herr Twitler's so corrupt that as it's coming out into the news, he may take the entire Republican establishment down with him merely by association.  I feel the Democrats realize this, and that's partly why we're seeing them so obviously egging him on.  I eagerly await the tweets when the Democratic candidates all start answering questions about the race with variation of "I'm not sure I expect to even be running against Trump in 2020. Next question, please."
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 1:36 PM on February 10, 2019 [23 favorites]


Justinian: Gillibrand calling on Franken to step down: crass and disqualifying opportunism. The other candidates calling on Franken to step down literally within hours of Gillibrand: the right thing to do!

Or even "The wrong thing to do, but forgivable because Gillibrand forced their hand". It's basically like permanently holding the world's biggest grudge against the kid who called the emperor naked (while insisting that a proper investigation could somehow have shown he was clothed) because that's how the avalanche started (to mix metaphors a bit), and if that one specific kid had kept his mouth shut then surely the emporer's reign would have continued gloriously to this day.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:48 PM on February 10, 2019 [4 favorites]


But it is common; you see it in the comments of every Gillibrand thing online whether it's someone tweeting about her, the comments to a news story, a reddit thread, a politico thing, whatever. It's the standard brogressive position.

It's not just brogressive. You see it a lot from moderate, usually older Democrats who were fans of Franken. In fact, in my experience I've heard it most often from older white female Democrats, but that may just be a bias due to the fact that the older male Democrats may feel more reluctant to utter something that could be (correctly) construed as sexist.
posted by chortly at 1:58 PM on February 10, 2019 [4 favorites]


RE: Lock him up!

I have yet to try it out at a protest, but I prefer the chant "Due Process!" It manages to affirm the importance of an independent, law-based judiciary, while still (I think) making the threat perfectly clear. The symmetry of just yelling "No you should go to jail!" plays right into us-vs-them, both-sides-do-it narratives too much.
posted by ropeladder at 2:04 PM on February 10, 2019 [35 favorites]


NYT, Talks Over Border Security Break Down, Imperiling Effort to Prevent Shutdown
To stave off a court challenge, one proposal circulating among some White House officials, including those close to Stephen Miller, the president’s top domestic policy adviser, is to claim that the wall would be built to protect the more than 5,000 active-duty troops now operating near the southwestern border or deploying there soon.
So we're sending the military to the border so we can argue that the wall is necessary to protect the military that we sent to the border so we can argue that the wall is necessary to protect the—you know, I can just picture the smirk on Miller's face now.
posted by zachlipton at 2:11 PM on February 10, 2019 [40 favorites]


Warren: Trump 'may not even be a free person' by 2020
By QUINT FORGEY 02/10/2019 04:02 PM (vox)


“Every day there is a racist tweet, a hateful tweet — something really dark and ugly,” Warren said during a campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “What are we as candidates, as activists, as the press going to do about it? We’re going to chase after those every day?”

She added: “Here’s what bothers me. By the time we get to 2020, Donald Trump may not even be president. In fact, he may not even be a free person.”
posted by bluesky43 at 2:47 PM on February 10, 2019 [12 favorites]


WaPo: Trump ‘may not even be a free person’ in 2020, Elizabeth Warren says

CNN's MJ Lee: “In a gaggle after Iowa City event, Warren is asked about her earlier comments about Trump not being a "free" person by 2020 Election Day: "Come on, how many investigations are there now, into him? It's no longer just the Mueller investigation... These are serious investigations."”

Warren's not letting up on this line of attack, even though the odds of Trump not being a "free person" by December 31, 2020 still look remote from this vantage point. It's more likely she's pushing Trump's buttons, knowing Trump's feeling vulnerable and, of coruse, isolated.

Meanwhile @realDonaldTrump's been on a Twitter tear all day today. Just now he attempted to mock Klobuchar for announcing her candidacy during a snowstorm and talking about global warming. He also commented snidely on the Border Committee negotiations ("I can't believe they want a Shutdown!") and quoted Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-R) who appeared on Fox today to support a presidential National Emergency decree. The best, though, was when Trump claimed "I probably work longer hours than almost any past President" and made excuses about how he had to "work very long hours" when he took office because "our Country was a mess." He's low-energy and anxious today.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:59 PM on February 10, 2019 [22 favorites]


I feel like Klobuchar already scored a win because he referred to her as a woman (as opposed to a “dog” or anything else), and couldn’t come up with anything worse to say than “snow”.
posted by Autumnheart at 4:13 PM on February 10, 2019 [6 favorites]


I have yet to try it out at a protest, but I prefer the chant "Due Process!"

“Rule of Law” seems stronger, rhythmically, and better for chanting.
posted by thelonius at 4:33 PM on February 10, 2019 [54 favorites]


Axios: Scoop: New leaks amid leak probe
The president’s secretary Madeleine Westerhout tweeted that the leak was "a disgraceful breach of trust." Then Politico scooped (and we confirmed) that the White House has launched an internal hunt to find the leaker.

This crackdown has not stopped the leaking. Axios' Alexi McCammond obtained four of the president's private schedules from last week. You can view them here, retyped in their original format for source protection.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:59 PM on February 10, 2019 [10 favorites]


“Rule of Law” seems stronger, rhythmically, and better for chanting.

I think I just had a vision of the future. More of a sound though. One side chanting "Rule-of-Law", the other "U-S-A", and if you stand right in the middle, you can hear ... the ocean, I guess.
posted by philip-random at 5:04 PM on February 10, 2019 [4 favorites]


What are the "31 ongoing national emergencies" McClintock supposedly referred to?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:04 PM on February 10, 2019


Here's a list of the 31 national emergencies that have been in effect for years.

Note that these aren't simply relics people have forgotten, they have to be renewed annually. Some highlights-

* Nov 14, 1979: The National Emergency With Respect to Iran, in response to the Iran hostage crisis.

* October 21, 1995: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions with Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered in Colombia was declared after increased reports of drug cartels laundering money through American companies.

* November 3, 1997: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Sudanese Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Sudan implemented economic and trade sanctions.

*June 26, 2001: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Western Balkans imposed sanctions on those aiding Albanian insurgents in Macedonia

*February 25, 2011: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Libya froze the assets of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

And so on. There are a ton of "national emergencies". They are, mostly, not in fact national emergencies. They may be very important. They may be actual things unlike Trump's racist bs. But it's hard to argue that they are national emergencies as most of us would understand the term.
posted by Justinian at 5:10 PM on February 10, 2019 [21 favorites]


I mean I sure feel safer knowing we are in a state of national emergency in order to freeze the assets of the busy-being-a-corpse Muammar Gaddafi.
posted by Justinian at 5:11 PM on February 10, 2019 [13 favorites]


Seems like the most normal thing about this timeline.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:14 PM on February 10, 2019 [8 favorites]


Walter Jones, ‘freedom fries’ congressman who became Iraq War critic, dies at 76 (WaPo). His story of seeking redemption after voting for Iraq is pretty sad in that it only took attending one marine's funeral to realize that he had fucked up, but at least he realized it.
posted by peeedro at 5:20 PM on February 10, 2019 [19 favorites]


I'm a centrist. I'm willing to negotiate whether the rich should pay 60% or 80% tax and I'm willing to meet in the middle.

Remember when they call you a radical leftist that Nixon wanted universal healthcare and a 70% marginal tax rate on the rich. A generation ago, today's leftist radical proposals were mainstream conservative positions. Today, they are mainstream conservative positions in almost every industrialized country except this one.
posted by xammerboy at 5:41 PM on February 10, 2019 [71 favorites]


We're very likely to get a more doctrinaire Republican than Jones in NC-03; aside from his turn against Iraq/Afghanistan, he was sometimes idiosyncratic on other issues. District went Romney 59-41 Romney, Trump 61-37.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:58 PM on February 10, 2019 [4 favorites]


I dunno. I guess you could study this systematically and someone probably should. It does seem like when women are running, the threshold is lower for controversies that are deemed to overshadow a campaign, e.g. Warren/DNA, Gillibrand/Franken, Klobuchar/staff (or Hillary/email).

Prof. Mirya Holman has an excellent thread summarizing just some of the research of the scholars who have, in fact, systematically studied how women candidates are perceived and treated. There's at least a great FPP to be made out of this thread too.
posted by zachlipton at 7:29 PM on February 10, 2019 [20 favorites]


The NYT is catching up to the obvious about the Ukrainian quid pro quo between Manafort/Trump and Deripaska/Putin: In Closed Hearing, a Clue About ‘the Heart’ of Mueller’s Russia Inquiry
Pressed by the judge at Monday’s hearing to say why Mr. Manafort’s alleged lies mattered, Mr. Weissmann gave a broad hint about the thrust of the investigation.

“This goes to the larger view of what we think is going on, and what we think is the motive here,” Mr. Weissmann said. “This goes, I think, very much to the heart of what the special counsel’s office is investigating.”

Mr. Weissmann did not elaborate. […] Yet Mr. Weissmann’s cryptic comments suggest that the special counsel’s investigation — which Mr. Trump has sought to dismiss as a witch hunt and which the acting attorney general, Matthew G. Whitaker, has said will wrap up soon — is still pursuing the central question of whether there was some kind of deal between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Marcy Wheeler proceeds to drag them:
Three reporters, 2 extra days than me, and the NYT STILL doesn't correct clear errors abt when and what polling data got shared.

This is where NYT repeats their error from last month. Even Westling argues this data was not comprehensible to a lay person.
The transcript suggests that Mr. Manafort claims that he wanted only public data transferred. But Mr. Weissmann told the judge that the question of whether any American, wittingly or unwittingly, engaged with Russians who were interfering in the election relates to “the core” of the special counsel’s inquiry.
And this quote, which NYT attributes to Kilimnik generally, actually pertains specifically to the polling data they still haven't corrected their error on.
But Judge Amy Berman Jackson seemed to agree with prosecutors that whether Mr. Manafort lied about his contacts with Mr. Kilimnik was important, saying at one point, “I am, actually, particularly concerned about this particular alleged false statement.”
Anyway, in honor of NYT writing a 2000 word article substantially about the August 2, 2016 Kilimnik meeting, reupping on their uncorrected error abt what polling data got shared and when (hint: at that August 2 meeting!).
Paul Manafort Sold Out Donald Trump — and His Anonymous Leakers Are Lying about It Publicly
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:51 PM on February 10, 2019 [25 favorites]


A rare occasion where the ignorance and apathy of the average taxpayer works against Republicans, for a change...

WaPo: Millions of Americans could be stunned as their tax refunds shrink
Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refunds will be less than expected or that they owe money to the Internal Revenue Service after years of receiving refunds.

People have already taken to social media, using the hashtag #GOPTaxScam, to vent their anger. Many blame President Trump and the Republicans for shrinking refunds. Some on Twitter even said they wouldn’t vote for Trump again after seeing their refunds slashed.

While the vast majority of Americans received a tax cut in 2018, refunds are a different matter. Some refunds have decreased because of
[eliminated deductions or changes in witholding]
Meanwhile, a headline for the annals of good government: "File your taxes soon — in case there’s another government shutdown".
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:22 PM on February 10, 2019 [16 favorites]


The wiser move for Trump in that case would be to try and distance himself from Manafort and try to make him the fall guy.

Or, as always, to just keep court-packing and power-consolidating full steam until no amount of evidence will result in a conviction in a court of law or meaningful public opinion.
posted by contraption at 9:06 PM on February 10, 2019 [6 favorites]




So, I fell down a rabbit hole reading #gopTaxScam and #gopTaxScamStories. I’m not a tax preparer, but I wanted to remind everyone that if you have not reconfigured your withholding form, you are likely in for a terrible surprise. Check with your hr department, and make sure it matches the new tax code, or you may be subject to underpayment penalties. Penalties are theoretically waved for 2018, but the form to file for the exemption wasn’t ready when I checked a few days ago.

Deductions for state and local taxes are capped at 10k. The standard deduction has been raised, and it is increasingly hard to file deductions above the default. The irs estimates that only 8% of taxpayers will be able to deduct more than the default. Those 8% get to write off their private jets though, so that’s nice.

This tax season may be what kills the GOP. People really hate writing checks to the government.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:14 PM on February 10, 2019 [43 favorites]


This tax season may be what kills the GOP. People really hate writing checks to the government.

If the GOP base's desire to punish its enemies outweighs a habitable planet for its grandchildren then it can also take the hit and write the check. They're ride-or-die.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:30 PM on February 10, 2019 [12 favorites]


No. Oh, no... the only thing that could have preserved the base is more money in the pocket. Not happening for the majority of middle-class racist households, quite the opposite. If you get to put money back in your pocket, folks will be suddenly in reverence of MLK day, if their kids get to go to college and they still keep their house... well, perhaps a Big Tent party is the way to go? Also AOC is much more charming and plain-folksy than The Turtle, and who doesn't want to back an underdog winner?
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:31 AM on February 11, 2019 [4 favorites]


Whenever we correctly observe on-the-ground Republicans as voting against their own interests, and their motivation as spite (that they would let your burn their house if they knew the fire would hurt Those People more), I think we ignore how abstract the issues in question can be to them. In many cases they can be fooled that every kind of deprivation of government assistance or harm caused by deregulation was really the fault of Those People, or in some way inevitable. Rarely are they being asked to make the sacrifice in stark terms, on a conscious level.

It's easy to commit to opposing a government-run health system when you either don't grasp what that means, or you can carve out exceptions as "not counting", or when you do comprehend the notion but can assure yourself it sucks because you've never experienced it. Climate change is even more like this -- a certain "we'll all drown together, libs" attitude may be there subconsciously, but the dominant right-wing narrative is that it simply doesn't exist at all, it's still snowing in Minneapolis, etc. And we've discussed here how even scratching the surface of Stupid Watergate requires a dedicated politics nerdery, and most Americans don't have the time or interest.

But this tax bill's effects are easily quantifiable, it has a clear before-and-after inflection point, it's beyond question which party is responsible, and that party was lying to everyone about it. On the whole I think real repercussions are afoot.

That happens to contradict my own blinkered assumptions before reading these stories -- I always take the standard deduction and figured most people did (hence I can expect the same or lower tax bill). But it looks like I was wrong (and might even be wrong about myself), or at least that the set of households that itemize has some non-trivial voting power.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:33 AM on February 11, 2019 [12 favorites]


By the end of this month Fox News will be airing coverage blaming the loss of refunds on Democrats. I guarantee it.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 4:39 AM on February 11, 2019 [45 favorites]


Axios: Scoop: New leaks amid leak probe

“The schedules show the president spent 50% of the four days last week in non-structured "Executive Time."”

Politico: "Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, Sunday said the administration was close to identifying the source of leaks that revealed President Donald Trump's private schedules, but suggested any potential recourse may be limited."

@realDonaldTrump, 20 minutes ago: "No president ever worked harder than me (cleaning up the mess I inherited)!"
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:05 AM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]


WaPo: Millions of Americans could be stunned as their tax refunds shrink


Guess I'm glad I recalculated my withholdings. Also, I already did my taxes and this is the fastest I've ever received my refund. Less than a week from the time I filed.

“The schedules show the president spent 50% of the four days last week in non-structured "Executive Time."”

He spends the first three hours of the morning in "executive time". As a person who also wishes they could spend the hours from 8-11 am in executive time (aka sleeping) I'm upset that I have anything in common with Trump.
posted by runcibleshaw at 5:24 AM on February 11, 2019 [6 favorites]


My wife and I both proactively increased our withholding to the maximum standard amount, zero exemptions, and yet we *still* owe. I'm legitimately surprised since we always take the standard deduction, so theoretically we should be better off. I hope the zeitgeist puts the blame where it belongs. I'm doing my part on social media, anyway.
posted by dbx at 5:58 AM on February 11, 2019 [14 favorites]


I wish I were better at searching the news; I swear I remember articles last spring that said, basically, no one could predict what withholding should be given all the uncertainty and changes. And the IRS had like, weeks to come up with something. So the new tables the IRS put out were just stabs in the dark. People were advised to change withholding, but - given all the verbiage about TAX CUT!!! and the shrugs from the IRS .... this was a likely outcome.
posted by Dashy at 6:07 AM on February 11, 2019 [13 favorites]


In addition, there was surely motivation and pressure to under-withhold, because people immediately saw bigger paychecks 'thanks to Dump'. In a recession this can be good strategy, but see: now.
posted by Dashy at 6:11 AM on February 11, 2019 [5 favorites]


Robert Reich: “Trump offers socialism for the rich, capitalism for everyone else”
America is on the cusp of the largest inter-generational wealth transfer in history. As rich boomers expire over the next three decades, an estimated $30tn will go to their children.

Those children will be able to live off of the income these assets generate, and then leave the bulk of them to their own heirs, tax-free. (Capital gains taxes don’t apply to the soaring values of stocks, bonds, mansions, and other assets of wealthy people who die before they’re sold.)

After a few generations of this, almost all of the nation’s wealth will be in the hands of a few thousand non-working families. To the conservative mind, the specter of socialism conjures up a society in which no one is held accountable, and no one has to work for what they receive. Yet that’s exactly the society Trump and the Republicans are promoting for the rich.
posted by XMLicious at 6:17 AM on February 11, 2019 [61 favorites]


What Dashy said.

I'm all for piling on the dumpster fire of this stupid, ridiculous tax "cut", but the size of your refund/bill at filing time is not a measurement of what you paid in taxes, it only tells you whether you overpaid or underpaid via withholding.

The tax withholding tables changed as the result of the tax code being markedly changed. They didn't do a great job with it, and likely erred on the side of making people feel like their paychecks were bigger. Glad that's biting them in their sorry butts, but a smaller refund does not mean you paid more in taxes.
posted by mcstayinskool at 6:23 AM on February 11, 2019 [6 favorites]




I'm fascinated that CNN thinks dozens of humans doing anything for a moment is news.
posted by Harry Caul at 6:27 AM on February 11, 2019 [26 favorites]


I've got a pretty poshly paid gig as a contractor to a contractor, no days off for vacation or sick leave, also third shift which is literally killing me as a family man, but. My wife, I found out after involuntarily leaving the previous gig*, ascended the ranks as she is a complete bad-ass, and making damn near what I was making before hopping jobs. She took over the mortgage, and as a result, I have enough saved up since then for our "Tax Break" surprise to take it in stride. A lot of families are not in the same place.

Republicans are literally taxing American families into oblivion. They're doing it here and now and everyone can see it. Democratic Party: Fair Taxes. That's a line that will ring true for a long time after this April.

*I have three senior managers and a veep from there as references, I feel bad for leaving one of them out to go back to another veep at the super prestigious previous-previous gig when job hunting. Pro-tip: dye the beard, downplay any experience beyond 5 years. Tech sector sucks and is shrinking.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:37 AM on February 11, 2019 [14 favorites]


When and if it's clear to the GOP that this tax return thing is backfiring on them, they'll deploy another variation of the "That guy is trying to steal your cookie!" messaging strategy. Whether that works the way it always has remains to be seen.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:42 AM on February 11, 2019 [4 favorites]


Robert Mueller has spent two years investigating Trump and he hasn't said a word. It's possible he never will. (Kevin Johnson and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY)
"A public narrative has built an expectation that the special counsel will explain his conclusions, but I think that expectation may be seriously misplaced," said John Pistole, who served as Mueller's longtime top deputy at the FBI. "That's not what the rules provide, and I really don't see him straying from the mission. That's not who he is."

The Justice Department's special counsel rules don't call for Mueller to make any public statements about his work, let alone deliver a report of what he has found. Instead, his confidential report must explain why he filed the charges he did, and why he might have declined to bring charges against others. It would be up to the attorney general to decide whether that becomes public.
Is Mueller one to break the rules? The rest of the article suggests that he is not.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:46 AM on February 11, 2019 [4 favorites]


The tax withholding tables changed as the result of the tax code being markedly changed. They didn't do a great job with it, and likely erred on the side of making people feel like their paychecks were bigger.

Yeah, that's part of the problem. The GOP cries of "LOWER TAXES!" and "BIGGER PAYCHECKS!" were always just half-assed guesses by people who truly, obviously, patently did not give a warm shit about whether Joe Q. Taxpayer made more money or less money or the same amount of money. The important thing -- the only important thing -- was that billionaires paid less, because the only change for those billionaires is that it took their teams of accountants a few days to figure out how to play the game under the new rules.
posted by Etrigan at 6:47 AM on February 11, 2019 [12 favorites]


Just Security: EXCLUSIVE: FBI’s War Crimes Unit on the Chopping Block
A special unit within the Federal Bureau of Investigation that handles war crimes may be shut down imminently, according to officials familiar with the administration’s decision-making process. The FBI’s International Human Rights Unit takes the lead on investigating individuals within the United States who have been accused of committing international crimes, including war crimes, torture, genocide, female genital mutilation, and the recruitment of child soldiers. It also investigates international crimes committed against or by U.S. citizens abroad and enforces immigration statutes that can be invoked against abusers who cannot be prosecuted for their underlying crimes for whatever reason.

The rationale for suddenly scaling back the United States’ commitment to investigating and prosecuting war criminals is unclear. […] If the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit is disbanded, its portfolio (but not the majority of the staff) will apparently shift to other Civil Rights Unit staff. The Civil Rights Unit is already fully engaged in their day jobs, pursuing violations of the federal civil rights statutes, particularly on behalf of vulnerable members of American communities. Saddling it with this additional responsibility threatens to jeopardize its core civil rights mission and deemphasize new war crimes cases. In addition, removing expertise from within the Bureau will undermine operations in the field when it comes to these most specialized of cases.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:47 AM on February 11, 2019 [45 favorites]


Action alert: Remind *all* Dem. Senators, Schumer cannot even consider cutting deals on these 44 judicial nominees. It should not be on the table for any reason. Thread from @Celeste_pewter via Threadapp about the 44 judicial nominees who made it out of committee last week and how we need to call our Senators and forcefully push them and Schumer for no votes. The way Trump and his cronies are reshaping the judiciary is a clusterfuck that just keeps giving. These new nominees are not unlike climate change: They suck already, and yet can also make things much worse. So start making calls, folks. Please do not sit this one out.
posted by Bella Donna at 6:57 AM on February 11, 2019 [31 favorites]


NYT: El Paso’s Message for Trump Before Rally: Don’t Speak for Us
Ahead of President Trump’s scheduled rally in this West Texas city aimed at building support for his proposed wall on the border with Mexico, people from across the ideological spectrum in El Paso had a message for him on Sunday: Don’t speak for us. [...]

El Paso, where Hispanics account for about 80 percent of the population, was already hostile ground for Mr. Trump. In the 2016 election, he took only about 26 percent of the vote in El Paso County. [...]

Governor Abbott and United States Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican who narrowly defeated Mr. O’Rourke to hold on to his seat in November, are among the Republican officials from around the state who are expected to attend the rally on Monday in support of Mr. Trump.

But elsewhere along the border, there has been rising opposition among state and local officials to the president’s security strategies.

New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, announced last week that she had ordered a partial withdrawal of National Guard troops from her state. “New Mexico will not take part in the president’s charade of border fear-mongering by misusing our diligent National Guard troops,” Ms. Grisham, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Early Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California announced that his state, too, would withdraw National Guard troops sent earlier to help the federal government boost security at the border.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:03 AM on February 11, 2019 [15 favorites]


Is Mueller one to break the rules? The rest of the article suggests that he is not.

Mueller has already issued most of his report, one indictment at a time
...Mueller has already been submitting his report, piece by piece, in indictments and other charging documents. He has hidden it in plain sight in the court dockets of individuals and organizations he has prosecuted. Many of those court papers have included far more detail than necessary to prove the culpability of defendants who have agreed to plead guilty. This isn’t just legal overkill on Mueller’s part — it’s the outlines of a sweeping narrative about the 2016 election.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:47 AM on February 11, 2019 [23 favorites]


WaPo article on tax: “I am really frustrated with my refund this year. I was expecting good chunk of change. I was going to put it toward buying a car,” said Sal Ramirez"

There's a large chunk of the economy that is kind of keyed to the refund infusions each April. Automotive sales, vacation deposits, etc. Wonder how that's going to go.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:01 AM on February 11, 2019 [24 favorites]


On the question of a report:

What an Old Watergate Document Can Teach the House Judiciary Committee:
But what if the Mueller report is not factually rich? What if it is not designed to deliver to Congress information to help Congress do its job? What if it is designed, in accord with the text of the reporting requirement, merely to explain “the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel”?

If Nadler wants a referral from Mueller of information that, in the language of the old statute, may be grounds for impeachment, he should ask for it. He should write both Mueller and Barr a letter explaining—as Rodino explained—that it would be unthinkable if material relevant to the House of Representatives in the discharge of its most awesome constitutional responsibility were not made available to the Judiciary Committee. He should express the unacceptability of the House either acting in impeachment or failing to act in impeachment without having had the opportunity to take material in the hands of the special counsel into account. And he should request, notwithstanding the lapse in the independent counsel law, that Mueller—at the appropriate time and if such material exists—refers to the House judiciary committee “any substantial and credible information which [he] receive[d] . . . that may constitute grounds for an impeachment.”
posted by BungaDunga at 9:01 AM on February 11, 2019 [6 favorites]


Steve Schmidt Storms Off Own Podcast When Asked About Advising Howard Schultz

Charlie Pierce: NeverTrumpers Care About Damage to the Republican Brand, Not the Republic
More than a few people have been bothered by my consistent skepticism about the good faith of most Never Trump conservatives. If any of them had abjured 40 years of insane Republican economics, and 40 years of weaponized bigotry, and 40 years of vote-tampering under the color of law, and if any of them had evinced a desire to change American conservatism from a profitable poisonous grift to an actual governing philosophy that didn't require a Thorazine the size of a manhole cover, I'd have felt differently.

(To be fair, Max Boot came as close as anyone to fulfilling this checklist, and people like John Weaver tried gamely to hold onto the party's sanity for it.)

But, through it all, I had the sense that most of them were more concerned with damage to the brand than with the damage to the republic. This was a revelatory weekend for people who believed as I did.
[...]
Those deeply afflicted with the prion disease that has eaten away the higher functions of the Republican Party thought they'd found a way to stop it, but Never Trumpism has proven to be the ideological equivalent of anti-vaxxers. The disease rages on.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:01 AM on February 11, 2019 [28 favorites]


If the Republicans really wanted political credit for the tax cut, they should have directed the IRS to artificially inflate the withholding tables so nobody's take-home pay increased with the tax cut, and instead everyone got their tax cut as a lump sum at refund time. It would be a purely cynical move, but it would have worked way better, image-wise, than giving people a couple extra dollars per week.

Instead, the totally rational move of updating the withholding has managed to just confuse people.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:06 AM on February 11, 2019 [4 favorites]


To be fair, Max Boot came as close as anyone to fulfilling this checklist, and people like John Weaver tried gamely to hold onto the party's sanity for it.

If Maximum "we must stay in Afghanistan for 300 more years because it's like the Native American genocide, which was good" Boot is the greatest NeverTrump success story then, well.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:25 AM on February 11, 2019 [10 favorites]


Kamala Harris tests out her power at controlling the narrative on a national level. I think she thinks big, and that that is a good sign.
posted by Harry Caul at 9:36 AM on February 11, 2019 [11 favorites]


And speaking of NeverTrump: remember when Erick Erickson was the early leader of the "movement?" From today:

I will vote for Donald Trump and Mike Pence. And, to be clear, it will not be just because of what the other side offers, but also because of what the Trump-Pence team has done. They’ve earned my vote.

Every single last one of them has proven less than worthless. Props to those here who asserted this in 2016/7, wish I'd been realistically pessimistic enough to fully believe you then.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:37 AM on February 11, 2019 [45 favorites]


Amy Klobuchar enters 2020 ready to take on big tech:
Most Democratic contenders have entered the race attempting to outflank one another from the left on big progressive ideals like universal health care and criminal justice reform, but Klobuchar, a third-term senator, is sidestepping that progressive fight to carve out a space on consumer protection.

“We need to put some digital rules into law when it comes to people’s privacy. For too long the big tech companies have been telling you ‘Don’t worry! We’ve got your back!’ while your identities are being stolen and your data is mined,” she said during her launch on Sunday. “Our laws need to be as sophisticated as the people who are breaking them.”
As someone who is incredibly critical of big tech, this still seems like a strange thing to prioritize for a presidential election. I will be curious to see how it affects her polling.
posted by Ouverture at 9:47 AM on February 11, 2019 [11 favorites]


Koch-funded group sending ‘DREAMers’ to lobby Congress

By the way, the tag line on the Koch-funded Libre's website is "limited government - unlimited opportunities." Ugh.

Can somebody explain to me why dreamers would actually do this?
posted by SteveInMaine at 10:00 AM on February 11, 2019


From Harry Caul’s link above:
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has backed the legalization of marijuana, saying: “I think it gives a lot of people joy. And we need more joy in the world.” Harris, who announced her presidential run last month, was appearing on The Breakfast Club radio show in New York City when it was suggested to her that she's against legalization. “That’s not true,” she responded, going on to joke: “Half my family is from Jamaica. Are you kidding me?”
Refreshingly unapologetic on the weed issue.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 10:04 AM on February 11, 2019 [41 favorites]


Freedom of movement is something that is pretty fundamental to libertarian ideologies and is one of the few things I agree with my dad about (don't take this away from me!). I am none surprised by the "limited government - unlimited opportunities" tag line. If I was a Dreamer and my actual life was on the line? I'd take any port in that storm. If it gets them in front of a MOC that would otherwise not take a lobbying meeting with someone being sponsored by a left-wing organization? Why not. They're not signing on to be spokespeople for Galt's Gulch.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:08 AM on February 11, 2019 [6 favorites]


CNN: Trump Foundation says NY AG's comments show lawsuit is political. NY has a new AG, and the Trump Foundation has hired a new attorney, Marc L. Mukasey, coincidentally a Giuliani crony.
"Newly elected New York Attorney General Letitia James ran on an anti-Trump campaign where she expressed grave antipathy and animus toward Mr. Trump," attorneys for the foundation, as well as President Donald Trump and his three eldest children, wrote in the filing Friday.

"Attorney General James has referred to President Trump as an 'illegitimate President,'" the filing states, "and has vowed to 'use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well.'"
Then again, Trump and his lawyers were saying this was a politically biased investigation back when Eric Schneiderman was investigating it.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:12 AM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]


A bit more context of the Koch brothers' stance on immigration, as compared to the Trump administration's stance (and therefore, what the majority of the GOP are saying out loud): 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.

"This stands out. People when they talk about the Koch network ... they point at areas like tax reform, where we've worked very closely with Republican members," said Wadi Gaitan, a spokesman for the LIBRE Initiative. "Here on this issue, we have Democrats where we want to make sure that their constituents are aware that they are working on a permanent solution for DREAMers and on border security. So it certainly is a unique effort."

It's a novel approach for a network that has made a name for itself for funding causes on the right — and has only very sparsely praised anyone in the Democratic Party.

But the Republican Party under the Trump administration has not moved closer to the libertarian philosophy favored by the Kochs: The White House has pursued foreign tariffs, taken a hard line on immigration, and approved a massive spending bill that would increase the deficit.

As the Republican Party moves further away from the Kochs' ideals, it appears that their network has begun investing in bipartisan efforts that unite members of both parties.
But that doesn't mean they were shifting more heavily Democratic in their support.
Republicans still make up more than half of the beneficiaries of this ad blitz — six GOP House members and three GOP Senate lawmakers will get kudos from the Koch network. They have already pledged to spend nearly $400 million in 2017-2018 to back the Koch Network's policy goals in various states and the federal level, including the free market policy gains achieved by the Republican-controlled Congress.
The Koch brothers also co-sponsored a study that supported the fact that climate change is human-driven (previously on MetaFilter, back in 2012). They have enough money to support a range of topics and viewpoints, sometimes counter to the GOP party line, but always in support of the brothers' libertarian worldview.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:15 AM on February 11, 2019 [5 favorites]


Another name in the Democratic candidate for president hat for 2020: Pete Buttigieg’s Quiet Rebellion (Benjamin Wallace-Wells for The New Yorker, February 9, 2019)
John Dickerson pointed out that other Democratic candidates were proposing very big ideas—Medicare for All, the abolition of private health insurance—and asked, “What is your idea that is so big that nobody would mistake it for nibbling around the edges?” Buttigieg answered, “Well, first of all, we’ve got to repair our democracy. The Electoral College needs to go, because it’s made our society less and less democratic.” He went on in this vein, suggesting that electoral reform was essential, and promising that other policies, on security and health care, would follow.
...
“The View” had gone much better. The hosts were intrigued by the idea that Buttigieg, who came out three and a half years ago, could be the first gay President, and by his campaign’s main theme, which he calls intergenerational justice—he believes that millennials are suffering from their elders’ short-term thinking on climate change, economics, and other issues. Whoopi Goldberg wondered whether such a case could be made without alienating older Americans, and Buttigieg watched her intently, absorbing the criticism. “I think we really hit on something with this idea of intergenerational justice,” Buttigieg told me. “I think the trick for us—and this was a big part of what Whoopi Goldberg was asking about—is there should be a way to make a generational case without this all being about generational conflict. And I think there’s a way to do it.”
Interesting ideas, and maybe one to open discussions on these topics, but I won't bet on his chances to advance past the primaries.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:19 AM on February 11, 2019 [12 favorites]


Trump tweets: The Democrats are so self righteous and ANGRY! Loosen up and have some fun

Ted Lieu responds
posted by growabrain at 10:26 AM on February 11, 2019 [13 favorites]


The only thing the "never trump" crowd has ever cared about is that he says things out loud you're only supposed to say quietly among like-minded bigots. Their disagreement is 100% about approach and 0% about policy. No shit they support him now -- he's doing the things they want, and he's also proving that he can get away with a level of not giving a fuck about decorum previously believed untenable. He's a goddamn trailblazer as far as they're concerned.
posted by tocts at 10:27 AM on February 11, 2019 [15 favorites]


Jamelle Bouie, Trump’s Trail of Fears
When Trump jabs at Warren with “Pocahontas,” he’s using the name as an anti-Native caricature. But when he uses Wounded Knee or the Trail of Tears in his attacks, he’s grossly trivializing this nation’s history of genocidal violence against Native Americans, as if there aren’t still millions of indigenous people living in the United States facing continued discrimination and disadvantage.

Like his attacks on prominent African-Americans or his xenophobic smears of Hispanic immigrants, the president’s jokes about these shameful moments in American history are both a performance of racial contempt and an atavistic expression of white supremacist ideology. It’s those comments — more so than his election night promise to represent “the forgotten man” — that forge whatever resemblance Trump has to Andrew Jackson.

It was Jackson who first championed reactionary white majoritarianism, Jackson who shepherded this country toward a mass democracy so tied to chattel slavery, settler colonialism and white supremacy that we still struggle to disentangle ourselves from their legacies.
posted by zachlipton at 10:58 AM on February 11, 2019 [46 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, AIPAC is way too big and contentious an issue to fit in the catchsll. Pease make a new thread and don’t continue that conversation here, or we won’t be able to fit in anything else.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 11:30 AM on February 11, 2019 [13 favorites]


Quinta Jurecic writes in the Atlantic about how Roger Stone, Jerome Corsi, and George Papadopoulos are making bank off their infamy: A Confederacy of Grift—The subjects of Robert Mueller’s investigation are cashing in.
Crucial to Papadopoulos’s success is his apparent grasp of a foundational principle of the pro-Trump media universe: “The only rule seems to be not to let yourself disappear,” Warzel told me, describing the playbook he views as popularized by [Alex] Jones. “All press is good press, and scandal is the best possible.” In this view, the ultimate aim of these grifts may be not only money but also attention. Whatever the immediate financial rewards they’ve achieved, Stone and Corsi have succeeded in keeping themselves on television.
It's possible that future historians will write the history of the Trump administration as the nadir of the attention economy.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:34 AM on February 11, 2019 [12 favorites]


Basically it's right up there as debate legitimacy as Klobuchar being unfit for the presidency because she stood outside yesterday without a hat.
posted by Autumnheart at 11:41 AM on February 11, 2019 [1 favorite]


Meanwhile, Kamala Harris answers questions about being black

Why does the media have to entertain every yahoo that opens his mouth?
posted by Autumnheart at 12:33 PM on February 11, 2019 [4 favorites]


(By which I mean the outpouring of racist and other -ist bullshit being directed at candidates, not Harris.)
posted by Autumnheart at 12:34 PM on February 11, 2019 [3 favorites]


Adam Entous and Ronan Farrow have a long and fascinating read at the New Yorker on Psy-Group, which pitched the Trump campaign, George Nader, and Erik Prince in 2016 on proposals to run a social media influence campaign for Trump: Private Mossad for Hire, focusing on their efforts to expand to state and local elections. The article focuses, rather unexpectedly, on a Tulare Hospital Board election (yep, that is in Devin Nunes' district), along with other madness. The entire thing really needs to be read in full, but these three mysterious paragraphs featuring unreliable narrators with motives to both minimize and exaggrate are the most relevant to Trump:
Burstien said that his talks with the Trump campaign went nowhere; a representative for Zamel denied that his client engaged in any activity having to do with the election. But, according to the Nader representative, shortly after the election Zamel bragged to Nader that he had conducted a secret campaign that had been influential in Trump’s victory. Zamel agreed to brief Nader on how the operation had worked. During that conversation, Zamel showed Nader several analytical reports, including one that described the role of avatars, bots, fake news, and unattributed Web sites in assisting Trump. Zamel told Nader, “Here’s the work that we did to help get Trump elected,” according to the Nader representative. Nader paid Zamel more than two million dollars, but never received copies of the reports, that person said.

A representative for Zamel denied that he told Nader that he or any of his operatives had intervened to help Trump during the 2016 election. If Nader came away with that impression, the representative said, he was mistaken. “Nader may have paid Zamel not knowing when, how, or why the report was created, but he wanted to use it to gain access and new business,” the representative said. “In fact, it used publicly available material to show how social media—in general—was used in connection with the campaign.”
...
To capitalize on this newfound interest, Burstien started making the rounds in Washington with a new PowerPoint presentation, which some Psy-Group employees called the “If we had done it” slide deck, and which appeared similar to the one that Nader saw. Titled “Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential Campaign—Analysis,” the presentation outlined the role of Web sites, avatars, and bots in influencing the outcome of the election. In one case highlighted in the slide deck, pro-Trump avatars joined a Facebook page for Bernie Sanders supporters and then flooded it with links to anti-Hillary Clinton articles from Web sites that posted fake news, creating a hostile environment for real members of the group. “Bernie supporters had left our page in droves, depressed and disgusted by the venom,” the group’s administrator was quoted as saying. As part of the presentation, Burstien pointed out that Russian operatives had been caught meddling in the U.S.; Psy-Group, he told clients, was “more careful.”
There's a broader narrative behind the piece, which is the extent to which creating fake avatars and stirring up nonsense online in elections isn't particularly illegal because nobody has even contemplated laws for this stuff
posted by zachlipton at 12:38 PM on February 11, 2019 [19 favorites]


[Folks, AIPAC is way too big and contentious an issue to fit in the catchsll. Pease make a new thread and don’t continue that conversation here, or we won’t be able to fit in anything else. ]

I hope this one will prove to be serviceable.
posted by box at 12:50 PM on February 11, 2019 [11 favorites]


News You May Have Missed for 10 Feb
posted by joannemerriam at 12:54 PM on February 11, 2019 [3 favorites]


Autumnheart The thing is, while the yahoo in question was indeed a bad actor, there are valid questions about Harris and her record as AG. She advances the argument that there is a need for progressive attorneys general and other prosecutors to oppose the problems in the criminal justice system and I'm inclined to agree.

However, her record as AG doesn't really point to her being one of those hypothetical attorneys general. She was relentlessly pro-cop and anti-defendant during her time in that office and acted in a way that was largely consistent with maintaining the white supremacist and pro-police brutality system as it currently exists. She wasn't entirely awful, there were definitely things she did that I strongly approve of.

But her record is, at the absolute most generous, spotty and she needs to talk about it and make amends for her many wrong and unjust actions. She wrote that the American justice system has a long and ugly history of white supremacy and, sadly, while she was most able to change that she not only failed to try, but often actively worked to make the problem worse.

I'm not even anti-Harris, TBH she's my favorite of the candidates right now. But there are valid, important, questions to be asked about her time working on behalf of white supremacy both in her time as a prosecutor and as California's Attorney General.
posted by sotonohito at 12:54 PM on February 11, 2019 [13 favorites]


But there are valid, important, questions to be asked about her time working on behalf of white supremacy both in her time as a prosecutor and as California's Attorney General.

Okay. But "are you really black" is not one of those questions. I think that is what Autumnheart was getting at.
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:58 PM on February 11, 2019 [40 favorites]


After the day I've had, I'm ready to give serious consideration to any candidate, regardless of party or policy, who promises to do something very harsh about call spoofing and telemarketing.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:08 PM on February 11, 2019 [23 favorites]


From the Kamala Harris article: "There are some people who are just going to say, 'we don't want prosecutors.' And I don't know that I'm going to be able to convince them," she said.

If there is ever a year when a being a former prosecutor is an asset, 2020 is it. While she would not actually be prosecuting Trumpworld, I would expect her to understand the nuances that Justice might want to discuss with her. Also, though running for president, she could end up as AG.
posted by M-x shell at 1:16 PM on February 11, 2019 [15 favorites]


But her record is, at the absolute most generous, spotty and she needs to talk about it and make amends for her many wrong and unjust actions.

This is pinging a lot of the same alarm bells the anti-Hillary crusades pinged, for me. There is an uncomfortable, nuanced conversation that needs to be had about how the double standards and systems of oppression placed on women (particularly women of color) in executive roles have constrained the paths that are available to them while in office, and I don't trust this country to have that conversation at all.

Instead there are going to be a bunch of people who gleefully latch on to a reason that this woman is not the right woman, yet again, and a bunch more who uncritically accept their arguments.
posted by schadenfrau at 1:30 PM on February 11, 2019 [82 favorites]


Like, "she didn't do enough" is such a context dependent argument that it's absurd to make it without reference to the context, and I really don't trust the opinions of anyone who wasn't deep in California politics at the time, and even then, if they're not a woman of color...side eye.
posted by schadenfrau at 1:32 PM on February 11, 2019 [11 favorites]


That article also includes Harris's response to people who have questioned her decision to marry a white man. Ugh, my heart hurts.
posted by sunset in snow country at 1:33 PM on February 11, 2019 [11 favorites]


If there is ever a year when a being a former prosecutor is an asset, 2020 is it.

Shes not going to prosecute anyone herself, as president. Thats a bit like saying a company should have a plumber as CEO because its toilets are leaky . . . except in my analogy most plumbers just walk around shooting black people and ignoring white collar toilets, erm i mean crimes.

We need a culture-wide reconsideration of our relationship with laws and power, going back to this countrys founding through the subjugation of Native Americans and African slaves. Folks who think prosecutors arent well position to make laws or lead those who wont be swayed by this empty logic.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:35 PM on February 11, 2019 [7 favorites]


except in my analogy most plumbers just walk around shooting black people and ignoring white collar toilets

In what universe do lawyers shoot people?
posted by asteria at 1:42 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]


@Exceptional_Hubris: The very next thing I wrote after your quote was "While she would not actually be prosecuting Trumpworld..."

And I agree there are huge problems with law enforcement and prosecution, but I wasn't trying to solve them in the three sentences I wrote.
posted by M-x shell at 1:43 PM on February 11, 2019 [3 favorites]


We need a culture-wide reconsideration of our relationship with laws and power

Well, yeah. We need to reconsider both the ways in which they have bound people of color and the poor and the ways in which they have NOT bound wealthy white men.

I'm all in favor of prosecutors who want to go after white collar crime, campaign finance violations, and sexual assault, for instance. A black woman prosecutor may be the perfect person to reconsider that part of our relationship with laws and power.

(Though I am also partial to "daughter of a newspaperman and a unionized teacher" former prosecutor Amy Klobuchar. I like the hard questions she asked in Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing and in Senate Judiciary committee hearings related to the Russia investigation. I like the way she goes after Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey. I like the way she goes after pharmaceutical companies. Etc)
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:47 PM on February 11, 2019 [16 favorites]


I like the hard questions she asked in Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing and in Senate Judiciary committee hearings related to the Russia investigation. I like the way she goes after Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey. I like the way she goes after pharmaceutical companies. Etc

I mean, that's the thing, right? Where do they stick their neck out?

The campaign industry is overgrown with these weeds of entrenched conservatism that waits for the right time to do everything, and not much beyond platform talk until then. The silent voice of donors feels like a factor in this lack of boat-rocking, like a band that starts out by releasing its second album.
posted by rhizome at 2:01 PM on February 11, 2019 [3 favorites]


Ivanka Trump is touting her ambitious new program to lift 50 million women from poverty using $50 meeelion dollars of USAID money.

Let's see -- aught from aught, carry the one -- uh, that works out to just under 2 cents a week per woman. "Don't spend it all in one place."

Trump sure raised some awful offspring.
posted by JackFlash at 2:34 PM on February 11, 2019 [28 favorites]


NYT, Cliff Sims, White House Tell-All Author, Sues Trump for Going After Him Over Book
Cliff Sims, the former White House communications aide who wrote an insider account of life working for President Trump, is suing the president in his official capacity, alleging that he used his campaign organization as a “cutout” to improperly seek retribution against former employees and keep them from invoking their First Amendment rights.

Mr. Sims was a White House aide from the beginning of the administration. But it was the campaign organization that filed an arbitration claim against him last week, accusing him of violating the nondisclosure agreement he signed with it during the 2016 presidential race with the publication of his book, “Team of Vipers,” last month.
Here's a copy of the complaint (PDF). He's represented by Mark Zaid.
posted by zachlipton at 3:01 PM on February 11, 2019 [16 favorites]


WaPo, Devastated by one shutdown, dreading the next
The federal government had finally called her back to work after 35 days, but now Vicki Ibarra wondered how she could afford to get there. Her used sedan had been repossessed by the bank a few days earlier. The family minivan had a faulty engine and barely any gas. Her Internet had been cut off a month into the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, so she used a friend’s wireless password to log into her bank account. There was $0.38 left in checking and $7.80 in savings, the sum total of 16 years at the IRS.

“This is like disappearing into quicksand,” she said to her friend, Ernie Delgado. “Even once I get back at work, how am I supposed to dig out?”
16 years at the IRS making $35,000, already stretched thin, and the shutdown had her selling her mattress and realizing that the backpay she eventually got wouldn't begin to cover the late fees she'd amassed.
posted by zachlipton at 3:46 PM on February 11, 2019 [68 favorites]


Ivanka Trump is touting her ambitious new program to lift 50 million women from poverty using $50 meeelion dollars of USAID money.

Um, isn't that one dollar per woman? What the fuck difference will that make?
posted by kirkaracha at 4:11 PM on February 11, 2019 [21 favorites]


Serious question, what happens if someone under a binding arbitration agreement just ignores the summons to arbitration and whatever fine the arbitrator levies agaibst them? Surely arbitrators dont have the power to garnish wages or seize assets? So eventually theyd have to go to a real court to try and collect, right?
posted by sotonohito at 4:17 PM on February 11, 2019 [4 favorites]


Um, isn't that one dollar per woman? What the fuck difference will that make?

Yeah I think its because its 50 million per year for 50 million women, so close to 2 cents per woman, per week....but don't worry if that sounds like too little to make a difference. According to the WaPo, White House Deputy Director of Communications Jessica Ditto responded in an email that the $50 million figure for 50 million people mischaracterized the initiative. Apparently agencies would “seek to collectively attribute no less than $300 million per fiscal year".

So really it may be 12 cents per woman, per week, for 50 million women annually. A quick google suggests you can buy V for Vandetta masks for 1 cent each on Amazon (excl delivery). So I guess that'll work for year one for helping dress the revolution.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 4:53 PM on February 11, 2019 [14 favorites]


If the media does to Harris, or any of the women candidates, what the media did to the woman candidate in the last election, I will be so incredibly sad and angry. The first question to Kirsten Gillebrand was about her likability, the comments about Harris being black enough, the ethnicity of her husband, the focus on the native american 'thing' (I refuse to call it an issue) and Warren (she addressed this a bunch), and Klobuchar being 'mean'. It's such a condescension of the American electorate that these issues are front and center instead of policy and there is nothing - no.thing. that any of these candidates could possibly say that will put these things out of the headlines.
posted by bluesky43 at 4:54 PM on February 11, 2019 [33 favorites]


Surely arbitrators dont have the power to garnish wages or seize assets? So eventually theyd have to go to a real court to try and collect, right?

Well, that's exactly what happens in non-arbitration situation as well. You first get a judgement against you, you ignore it, and then the aggrieved party goes to court to force you a pay via seized assets or garnishments or whatever.
posted by sideshow at 5:05 PM on February 11, 2019


@Phil_Mattingly: Senator Richard Shelby says negotiators have an agreement in principle on the border security talks

It apparently is a deal on all seven remaining appropriations bills to fund the government through September, but no details yet on the border or exactly what's in this agreement. Or whether Trump will ruin it with a tweet.

Meanwhile, Politico reports that the White House is trying to come up with a way to shuffle around money to build a wall without declaring an emergency by taking it from, er, actual needs: ‘It will create a firestorm’: Mulvaney’s border wall cash grab sparks dissent in White House
The emerging consensus among acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and top budget officials is to shift money from two Army Corps of Engineers’ flood control projects in Northern California, as well as from disaster relief funds intended for California and Puerto Rico. The plan will also tap unspent Department of Defense funds for military construction, like family housing or infrastructure for military bases, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations.
...
But the strategy is far from a cure-all for a president with no good options, and it has already sparked debate within the White House. Moving funds by executive order is virtually certain to draw instant court challenges, with opponents, including some powerful members of Congress, arguing the president is encroaching on the legislative branch’s constitutional power to appropriate funds.

Some Trump officials, including those aligned with senior adviser Stephen Miller, have argued internally that the gambit might be even more vulnerable to court challenges than a national emergency declaration. And in a sign of the political fallout, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee has argued that tapping military construction money would hurt the armed forces’ potential readiness.
posted by zachlipton at 5:37 PM on February 11, 2019 [8 favorites]


Governors Are Pulling Their Troops From The Border, Saying There Is No “Crisis”

California Governor Gavin Newsom joined New Mexico's Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in removing troops from the border. Said Newsom:
"How many hundreds of millions of dollars are being wasted for political gain?"  Newsom said at a press conference Monday.  "This whole thing is the theatre of the absurd and California has had enough and we will not perpetuate it."
That's gonna stick in Comrade Trumpski's craw, no doubt.  One has to assume other republicans will soon complain as well, since states' rights generally only apply to conservative ones.  It was good to see Buzzfeed pointing out how dramatically far border arrests have declined in the past 15 years or so.  I'd like to see that brought up in every article.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 5:40 PM on February 11, 2019 [21 favorites]


Here's a super indepth assessment of Klobuchar's strengths as a candidate (vox Nate Silver)

1. Electability
2. Potential strength in Iowa, and in the debates
3.The beer track … without the baggage? Klobuchar’s campaign is likely to emphasize her working-class Midwestern roots,
4. A reasonably clear contrast to Trump (/this latter point focuses on some policy but also refers to her being "scrappier" on the campaign trail that might be unexpected, as if that is a weakness).
posted by bluesky43 at 5:46 PM on February 11, 2019 [1 favorite]


@matthewjdowd
If i were Senators Klobuchar, Warren, Harris, and Gillebrand I would soon do an event together where they stand side by side and say they stand as one even while they run against each other, and say any petty attack on one is an attack on all.

/IMHO this is a brilliant idea.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:48 PM on February 11, 2019 [95 favorites]


‘A Woman, Just Not That Woman’: How Sexism Plays Out on the Trail NYT

In the words of her detractors during the 2016 presidential race, Hillary Clinton was abrasive and shrill. She was aloof. She was unlikable.

It’s not a coincidence that some of these adjectives are now bubbling up in discussions of Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris as they campaign for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

Few Americans acknowledge they would hesitate to vote for a woman for president — but they don’t have to, according to researchers and experts on politics and women and extensive research on double standards in campaigns. Reluctance to support female candidates is apparent in the language that voters frequently use to describe men and women running for office; in the qualities that voters say they seek; and in the perceived flaws that voters say they are willing or unwilling to overlook in candidates.

“For 20 years, we’ve heard participants in our focus groups say they would vote for a woman, just not that woman,” said Amanda Hunter, research and communications director at the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, which supports women in politics. “That promise will be put to the test in some cases, because folks may not be able to hide their bias behind that excuse when there’s multiple women on the debate stage.” (emphasis mine)
posted by bluesky43 at 5:54 PM on February 11, 2019 [38 favorites]


WaPo reporter Erica Werner:
The agreement reached tonight would include:
-$1.375b for border barriers (55 new miles of bollard fencing)
-Dems drop call for new cap on ICE beds for detentions in interior
-Overall cap on detention beds drops from 49,057 to 40,520

Per congressional official.
Seems like mostly a Democratic victory to me.
posted by Justinian at 6:20 PM on February 11, 2019 [17 favorites]


Just reflecting on how Schumer once offered Rump $25 billion for The Wall with no strings attached, but he decided to be petulant and killed the deal.

Then the Dems get elected, so now he gets about 95% less (and that, with imposed conditions).


The Art of the Deal, y’all!
posted by darkstar at 6:26 PM on February 11, 2019 [49 favorites]


If the media does to Harris, or any of the women candidates, what the media did to the woman candidate in the last election, I will be so incredibly sad and angry. The first question to Kirsten Gillebrand was about her likability, the comments about Harris being black enough, the ethnicity of her husband, the focus on the native american 'thing' (I refuse to call it an issue) and Warren (she addressed this a bunch), and Klobuchar being 'mean'. It's such a condescension of the American electorate that these issues are front and center instead of policy and there is nothing - no.thing. that any of these candidates could possibly say that will put these things out of the headlines.

They will. What the media does is tear down Democratic candidates, and particularly Democratic women. Anything to keep the focus of America on "likeability" or personal traits, rather than the actual existential issues facing the country. Covering Elizabeth Warren's tax plan is hard, and their corporate owners really hate it. Running the same "she marked Native-American on another test another time!" story for 600 straight days is easy, and fits their goal to reelect Trump. This is going to keep happening, every time, to every Democrat that takes the lead, and to every woman that enters the race. It's what they do.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:29 PM on February 11, 2019 [21 favorites]


Here's a super indepth assessment of Klobuchar's strengths as a candidate
One of them is simply the overall electoral importance of the Midwest — particularly the Upper Midwestern states of Minnesota (which Trump came within 1.5 percentage points of winning), Wisconsin and Michigan (which Trump won). Winning those three states plus Pennsylvania (or Ohio, or Florida, or North Carolina) would have given Hillary Clinton the presidency.
I like Klobuchar (she's currently my 2nd choice after Harris) but I think this runs a danger of overreacting to the 2016 results in the Midwest. Trump won the upper Midwest states by a football stadium full of people spread out over three states. I'd bet many of those people have buyer's remorse. Consequently I don't think the Democratic nominee necessarily needs to be from the Midwest.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:34 PM on February 11, 2019 [13 favorites]


Remember before getting mad about the 1.375b that 1.375b is what Democrats offered in the original deal that Trump exploded. Uh, I guess the second deal that Trump exploded, not the original original 25b one.

So this deal is the same amount of money that the Democrats were going to offer months ago... and with a 20% reduction in funding for detention.
posted by Justinian at 6:37 PM on February 11, 2019 [37 favorites]


I like Klobuchar (she's currently my 2nd choice after Harris) but I think this runs a danger of overreacting to the 2016 results in the Midwest. Trump won the upper Midwest states by a football stadium full of people spread out over three states. I'd bet many of those people have buyer's remorse. Consequently I don't think the Democratic nominee necessarily needs to be from the Midwest.

I see what you mean but I think a midwesterner has appeal beyond the midwest. One of the (totally unsubstantiated things) I have always thought about Obama's appeal overall was based on a quote from him about campaigning. What he said was that he could connect to many of the people he met - and they to him presumably- because they were like his midwestern grandparents. This was super important early on in the primaries. I always thought there was truth in that.
posted by bluesky43 at 6:49 PM on February 11, 2019 [6 favorites]


Glenn Thrush (didn't this guy get canned for #MeToo or something?) has some more on the details. According to him the 20% reduction in beds is purely symbolic because ICE will just declare an emergency and ignore it. So I dunno why Democrats fought so hard for it unless it's the symbolism of Republicans agreeing they wanted? And with regard to the 1.375b there is authorization for 55 miles of new "bollard fencing" using existing tech and a specific ban on things like Trump's concrete prototypes. But, importantly, the 55 miles is less than the 65 miles in the deal from last June that Trump scuttled.

So it sounds like this is a hodgepodge of stuff from both of the last two "deals" but on a much smaller scale.
posted by Justinian at 7:01 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]


Guardian: 'Inexplicable cruelty': US government sued over family separations at border
Lawyers for eight immigrant families separated under Trump administration policy have filed claims against the US government, demanding $6m each in damages for what they describe as “inexplicable cruelty” and lasting trauma. [...]

Stanton Jones, an attorney representing some of the plaintiffs, warned the Trump administration that other families caught up in the government’s policy of “zero tolerance” for unlawful border crossings, which resulted in parents being forcibly divided from their children and held in detention separately, are getting ready to sue.

“Today is just the beginning,” he told the Guardian on Monday evening. [...]

The government has admitted to separating 2,600 children from their families, though a recent government review says that the Trump administration divided thousands of other families before the policy was publicly known.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:06 PM on February 11, 2019 [20 favorites]


Yeah, I worry that the bed/funding reductions will just make conditions worse.
posted by Windopaene at 7:09 PM on February 11, 2019 [6 favorites]


If you promote and implement a policy of stripping refugee children away from their refugee parents, detaining the children in cages, and then letting third parties adoptfiscate the children, to later claim that it’s impractical to reunite the families, well, I just don’t see how anyone could argue that’s not a Crime Against Humanity.

I mean, not kidnapping children would seem to be a basic principle of humanity, wouldn’t you think?
posted by darkstar at 7:44 PM on February 11, 2019 [35 favorites]


well, I just don’t see how anyone could argue that’s not a Crime Against Humanity.

Precedent says it's a crime against humanity, punishable by life imprisonment
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:57 PM on February 11, 2019 [31 favorites]


Daniel Dale’s been live-tweeting/fact-checking Trump’s El Paso rally, which has been nuts, naturally. Some highlights:
—Trump complains that people complain about progress with North Korea even though he left the Singapore summit a mere "15 months ago." It was in June 2018.
—Trump says he's "1 for 1" in elections, and now he's going to be "2 for 0."
—Trump adds some more to his usual line about a protester going home to mommy, this time saying the protester will be "punished" by mommy.
—Trump lies that "the real collusion" was with Hillary Clinton. This is, as always, simple nonsense. There is a Lock Her Up chant. Trump adds that "there's also collusion between the Democrats and the fake news right here." There is a CNN Sucks chant.
—Trump: "Where are the fact-checkers? You know, some of the most dishonest people in media are the so-called fact-checkers."
—Trump falsely: "Our unemployment rate: real unemployment, 3.6, 3.7, and going down." He then says, "It went up to 4...you know how low 4 is?...It went up from 3.7 to 4 just quickly." He says it's because of "a little blip" with the shutdown.
—Ah, the "three women tied up in the backseat of a car" have returned. Trump this time says the traffickers "make a left" to get into the country with the gagged women, a departure from the frequent "make a right."
—"Almost 40,000 people were murdered in Mexico," Trump says. He first tweeted the correct number, 33,341, then made it "38,000" in his remarks at the White House, then tonight made it "almost 40,000."
—!!! Trump: "Certain types of dogs. You do love your dogs, don't you? I wouldn't mind having one, honestly, but I don't have any time. How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn?...Feels a little phony to me...That's not the relationship I have with my people."
—Trump says he's been advised to get a dog because it's good politically, but "that's not the relationship I have with my people," his base.
—Sir Alert/Tears Alert! Trump says a crying guy so big "he's like a monster, like this monster football player, big strong guy," said to him, as he was coming out, "Thank you very much...you've saved our country."
However tiresome it is to report on this, Dale underscores how abnormal these rallies are and how unwell Trump clearly is (covering Rob Ford prepared him for this in ways that many American journalists still haven’t learned).
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:58 PM on February 11, 2019 [54 favorites]


Newsweek: Largest Newspaper In State Won By Trump Compares Child Separation Policy To War Crimes
The editorial board of The Salt Lake Tribune, the newspaper with the largest weekday circulation in Utah, published a searing editorial Tuesday that called the U.S.'s treatment of refugee children “a national disgrace.”

“It can be hard for normal people to grasp that their own government—and it’s individual agents, officers and attorneys—is involved in a heartless and brainless effort to visit so much deliberate cruelty upon asylum-seeking families,” the editorial said.

“All this at a time when the president of the United States stirs up public mistrust, if not downright hatred, of the news organizations that are struggling daily to find out the truth about these children and what is happening to them,” the piece went on. “This is the kind of behavior that, when carried out by non-superpowers, gets people hauled before the International Criminal Court of some special war crimes tribunal.”
posted by Little Dawn at 8:01 PM on February 11, 2019 [70 favorites]


Trump this time says the traffickers "make a left" to get into the country with the gagged women, a departure from the frequent "make a right."

What's the explanation for this bit of his? Why the detail about directions?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 8:08 PM on February 11, 2019


@GOP [image]: "We're only getting stronger / TOGETHER"

@molly_knight: “Stronger Together” was literally Hillary’s slogan I’m so embarrassed for you.
posted by zachlipton at 8:09 PM on February 11, 2019 [67 favorites]


What's the explanation for this bit of his? Why the detail about directions?

I think it's because he found out (prob after he became POTUS) that the US/MEX border already has a bunch of fencing (or Wall™, if you will), so he had to pivot to more of "fill in the holes in existing fence/wall system" kinda deal. So, the imaginary bad guys drive north, hit the existing fences, make a right (but they made a left in this last rally for some reason) until they get to the end of fence, then cross into the US/leave their prayer blankets in the desert/catapult their bales of weed onto unsuspecting Americans/tie up women in blue tape/whatever.
posted by sideshow at 8:26 PM on February 11, 2019 [6 favorites]


I’d just like to note that in recent years, Republicans in power have gone on the record supporting — without exaggeration — the following:

1. Waterboarding prisoners

2. Tear-gassing refugees

3. Building a border wall

4. Detaining refugees in concentration camps

5. Stealing children from their parents to place them in “more desirable” households

6. Investigating and incarcerating political opponents

7. Assaulting protesters and dissident journalists

8. Rank authoritarianism

9. White supremacy

10. Overt nationalism

11. Nepotism at the highest levels of government

12. Obstruction of Justice and Undermining the Rule of Law

13. Race/ethnicity-based rejection of travel and immigration

...and so on.


At what point do they begin to ask themselves “Are we the baddies?”
posted by darkstar at 8:37 PM on February 11, 2019 [106 favorites]


@GOP [image]: "We're only getting stronger / TOGETHER"

@molly_knight: “Stronger Together” was literally Hillary’s slogan I’m so embarrassed for you.


The GOP: We’re only getting stronger to get her.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:38 PM on February 11, 2019 [30 favorites]


They don't ask themselves that.

They are right, and have no self-reflection/doubt about this at all...
posted by Windopaene at 8:38 PM on February 11, 2019 [5 favorites]


Mod note: One deleted. Pre-empting this: let's not go down a rabbit hole of general always-applicable "these fuckers, don't they see"/"no they're terrible" stuff.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:45 PM on February 11, 2019 [8 favorites]


@GOP [image]: "We're only getting stronger / TOGETHER"

The phrase also recently showed up in a BuzzFeed profile of Tommy Hicks, buddy of DJT Jr and now co-chair of the RNC:
“We've had some people move out who weren't on the side of the president,” he said, adding with a smirk, “We're stronger together,” a nod to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign slogan.
So it's no accident, it's a concerted effort to troll.
posted by peeedro at 9:44 PM on February 11, 2019 [6 favorites]


Losing political campaigns are often accused of "fighting the last battle", but seldom is it this literal.

It's 3 years later and his biggest applause line is still "lock her up".
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:57 PM on February 11, 2019 [13 favorites]


Countdown to him pointing it at Kamala Harris.
posted by rhizome at 11:01 PM on February 11, 2019 [9 favorites]


I realize that it’s intended to get under my skin, but the "blue tape" thing really gets under my skin. Blue tape is the kind of masking tape you use for painting walls. It's a 3M product that's not vey sticky at all so it doesn't rip the paint off the wall. It doesn't even stick to skin...it would be terrible for gagging anyone. Also: while electrical tape comes in a bunch of colors, including blue, black is by far the most common (followed by white), and it's way too skinny to gag someone with. DUCT tape is what you want to be using. #pedanticaboutabductionmaterials,sorry
posted by sexyrobot at 4:04 AM on February 12, 2019 [56 favorites]


True but blue tape sounds like blue wave, in the mind of a 5 year old orange giant.
posted by Harry Caul at 4:08 AM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


I realize that it’s intended to get under my skin, but the "blue tape" thing really gets under my skin.

In a way it's a very important point as it clearly shows how much of a fabulist he is, and how little it matters to his supporters. The idea anyone would choose electrical tape to gag someone is ridiculous, and his working class supporters must realise that. But then, ditto needing an ID to buy groceries, etc. His supporters have ceased to believe their lyin' eyes if what he tells contradicts them.

As Voltaire said
Once your faith, sir, persuades you to believe what your intelligence declares to be absurd, beware lest you likewise sacrifice your reason in the conduct of your life. In days gone by, there were people who said to us: "You believe in incomprehensible, contradictory and impossible things because we have commanded you to; now then, commit unjust acts because we likewise order you to do so." Nothing could be more convincing. Certainly anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices. If you do not use the intelligence with which God endowed your mind to resist believing impossibilities, you will not be able to use the sense of injustice which God planted in your heart to resist a command to do evil. Once a single faculty of your soul has been tyrannized, all the other faculties will submit to the same fate
Or as it's often paraphrased: "Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."

Trump is successfully redefining reality and the rules of the game (probably by accident, most power accumulates due to luck and psychopathy), which is why he may quite possibly win.


That said, fairly sure blue duct tape exists, the seat on my poor old Transalp is 75% Duck brand actual rainbow coloured duct tape...
posted by Buntix at 4:28 AM on February 12, 2019 [32 favorites]


WaPo: Americans view Mueller as more credible than Trump, but views of his probe are scattered
As the special counsel investigation seems to be nearing its final stage, Americans view Robert S. Mueller III as far more credible than President Trump, but the public has scattered and partisan perceptions of Mueller’s motives and what he has found so far, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll.

Fifty-six percent to 33 percent, more say they trust Mueller’s version of the facts than Trump’s. And by nearly as wide a margin, more believe Mueller is mainly interested in “finding out the truth” than trying to “hurt Trump politically.” [...]

More than 6 in 10 say that if Mueller concludes Trump obstructed justice or authorized his campaign to coordinate with Russians in an effort to win the 2016 election, Congress should begin impeachment hearings to remove him from office.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:42 AM on February 12, 2019 [11 favorites]


sideshow: I think it's because he found out (prob after he became POTUS) that the US/MEX border already has a bunch of fencing (or Wall™, if you will), so he had to pivot to more of "fill in the holes in existing fence/wall system" kinda deal.

Ah, that makes sense. Of course, one issue is that in his rambling to reporters announcing the shutdown's end, he said existing physical barriers are adequate just like advisors are presumably telling him -- that we don't literally need to build a wall "from sea to shining sea".

It's one of the better examples of his habit of telling different groups different things, which works when what you say is siloed to different smoke-filled rooms rather than accessible to the entire American public.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:45 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."

Guardian: BBC cameraman shoved and abused at Trump rally in El Paso
The BBC’s Washington correspondent Gary O’Donoghue said his colleague Ron Skeans was “fine” despite the “incredibly violent attack”.

Footage from Skeans’ camera, tweeted by O’Donoghue, suggested he and his equipment were knocked off balance for around 10 seconds, as he was filming Trump’s speech. Skeans recovered to film a man in a red Make America Great Again cap being restrained and shouting: “Fuck the media.” [...]

In August last year United Nations experts warned that Trump’s anti-media invective increased the risk of journalists being targeted with violence.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:01 AM on February 12, 2019 [46 favorites]


Seth Abramson -
My 2019 would be officially made if one of the Democratic candidates spent their whole primary campaign campaigning against Mike Pence on the assumption Trump will not be in office in November 2020
It would be the ultimate troll, as Trump has no idea what to do when 100% ignored
posted by growabrain at 5:41 AM on February 12, 2019 [91 favorites]


According to him the 20% reduction in beds is purely symbolic because ICE will just declare an emergency and ignore it. So I dunno why Democrats fought so hard for it unless it's the symbolism of Republicans agreeing they wanted?

Yeah that's my take. It was just a bargaining chip from the outset. There was no way the Democrats were going to take the heat for another shutdown over fighting for detention beds for supposed criminals. They gave a performance of fighting the good fight til the bitter end, the Republicans gave a performance of forcing the Dems to surrender a core demand, "both sides" gave a performance for the benefit of so-called independent voters of making a reasonable compromise. In the end, everybody's happy, crisis averted, back to three martini lunches and being feted by lobbyists. We're all winners!! (except the legions of unfairly detained undocumented people and their loved ones but, that's politics for ya.)
posted by xigxag at 5:56 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


As much hoped for, Mark Kelly, NASA astronaut and husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, launches his Arizona Senate campaign to unseat Republican Martha McSally.

McSally lost to Democrat Sinema last November, in the race to replace the retiring Flake. After her loss, McSally was appointed by the Governor to fill McCain’s seat for the two years remaining in McCain’s term.
posted by darkstar at 5:58 AM on February 12, 2019 [58 favorites]


Daniel Dale follows up on Trump's lying about crowd sizes last night:
As almost always, Trump was lying about his crowd size...
El Paso Times Editor Zahira Torres:
El Paso Fire Department just told us that Trump's statement about them allowing 10,000 people inside is incorrect. Spokesman says coliseum holds 6,500 and that is how many were allowed in building. #TrumpElPaso
...Trump was also lying about the O'Rourke event, which he pegged at a maximum of 300 people...
Bloomberg's Jennifer Epstein:
El Paso police estimate a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 for the anti-Trump, anti-wall, pro-O’Rourke march and rally tonight.
...and Trump was lying about the number of people watching the rally on screens outside. That is a crowd size liefecta.
WaPo's Bob Moore:
El Paso County Coliseum officials tell me about 6,000 people watched the @realDonaldTrump rally on screens outside, on top of the 7,000 inside. So total of about 13,000.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:03 AM on February 12, 2019 [25 favorites]


Or as it's often paraphrased: "Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."
"The great masses of the people ... will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one."
—Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
Notably, that sentence, in the passage where it occurs, is an example both of the big lie and of the technique of projection, since, in the course of telling the lie, he is attributing that same habit to the Jews.

But, yeah, that psychological principle is a fundamental strategy of all manner of abusers, con artists, cult leaders, and totalitarians. It functions as a "buy-in," demanding a kind of libidinal investment by the believers, one which, at the risk of feeling like a mark, they may be increasingly unwilling to abandon and which, at the same time, they can wear as a badge of pride.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:39 AM on February 12, 2019 [17 favorites]


Scarborough: “Most older men in retirement homes live far more active lives than does Donald Trump" (Travis Gettys, RawStory via Salon)
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough ridicules Trump for spending most of his time watching TV and griping like a retiree
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:07 AM on February 12, 2019 [15 favorites]


TechDirt: Report Shows ICE Almost Never Punishes Contractors Housing Detainees No Matter How Many Violations They Rack Up
ICE only imposed financial penalties twice, despite observing a jaw-dropping 14,003 deficiencies over the course of three years.

...

ICE is handing out waivers for private companies to violate Constitutional protections afforded to detainees. These waivers are almost always indefinite. Each waiver is supposed to be followed up on to ensure the "deficiency" has been eliminated by the contractor. ICE has performed zero reviews or reassessments of these waivers.
Original Office of Inspector General Report
posted by M-x shell at 7:23 AM on February 12, 2019 [49 favorites]


Trump this time says the traffickers "make a left" to get into the country with the gagged women, a departure from the frequent "make a right."

What's the explanation for this bit of his? Why the detail about directions?


If you're coming up from Mexico, to the Left is California and to the Right is Texas which works on a shit ton of levels if Steven Miller is writing this fuckery.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:33 AM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]


Bait & switch lede: The Least Pro-Life President Ever (William Saletan, Slate)
"From war crimes to executions to murdering dissidents, Trump treats human life with contempt."
...

Other presidents have started or fought bloodier wars. What sets Trump apart is his malicious intent. For him, violence against civilians isn’t just a tragic consequence. It’s often the objective. As a presidential candidate, he encouraged crowds to “punch,” “rough up,” and “knock the crap out of” protesters.
...

Some pro-lifers, despite their revulsion at the president’s advocacy of violence, support him because he appoints judges who are sympathetic to legislation against abortion. But everyone knows Trump is a fake pro-lifer. He has extramarital affairs, doesn’t use condoms, and expects his partners not to give birth. Twenty years ago, when he was asked about “partial-birth abortion,” he defended it. “I am pro-choice in every respect,” he said.

Trump is an opportunist. He was pro-choice when he thought it would help him as a Democrat. Now that he’s a Republican, he calls himself pro-life. To him, it’s all marketing. He doesn’t stand for a culture of life. He stands for depraved indifference.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:37 AM on February 12, 2019 [35 favorites]


House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy: Pelosi and Democrats caved on Trump's border barrier demand
In response, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill told CNBC that "there is no wall money in this agreement" and that "Democrats have supported physical barriers in the past."

"This agreement has the same amount of funding for physical barriers that last year's omnibus had," he added.
Caved, indeed.
posted by zakur at 7:41 AM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


If Trump wasn't in campaign mode before, he surely is now: 'Socialism' Vs. 'Greatness': For Trump, That's 2020 In A Nutshell (NPR, Feb. 12, 2019)
"The Democrat Party has never been more outside of the mainstream," Trump said in El Paso, Texas, Monday night in what was his first campaign rally of 2019. "They're becoming the party of socialism, late-term abortion, open borders and crime."

It's a message he began trying out a week ago during his State of the Union address. He tied the unrest in Venezuela to domestic U.S. politics.

"Here in the United States, we are alarmed by the new calls to adopt socialism in our country," he said. "America was founded on liberty and independence and not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country."

The denunciation of socialism and the attempt to tie the philosophy to Democrats is President Trump's and his campaign's attempt to invert the argument that he is an extremist. The president's sluggish approval rating means he is going to have to try and pull Democrats down with him — and given that surveys also show he would lose at this point to a generic Democrat, Trump also needs to show their candidates to be unelectable and out of step with the rest of America.
Good luck with that, Donny.

Freedom and liberty if you're white and straight. Most freedom and liberty for white, straight men, who make up the vast majority of GOP congressional representation.

Also, it sounds like Trump is still his usual conman self, promising vagueness, in contrast to things that would actually benefit a huge swath of Americans. It's hard to buy Greatness from a guy who is considered the worst president in a Presidential Greatness survey of 170 political science experts (Independent [UK], 19 February 2018).
posted by filthy light thief at 7:46 AM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


It is weird how Pelosi has almost total power over whether Trump (and his party by extension) accepts a deal based on her labeling something a "wall" or "fence". It's about symbols more than anything; if she called it a wall, the budget would be signed and the whole party (sans Ann Coulter) would agree with McCarthy that she and the Democrats "caved". Her not doing so means instead that the consensus for most people is that the Democrats are holding firm (and I would agree; it's good for them to do so and it's also good if the narrative is that they're doing so). But it's the same thing regardless. Philosophers of language, eat your heart out.

(Also, Trump understand this himself pretty well, to the point of publicly spilling the contents of his great brain by saying "call it peaches, I don't care". He's used to a world where all sides can just tell their people what they want to hear, but he's lost the finesse of not additionally telling people that it's all about telling them what they want to hear.)
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:52 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


Mod note: Couple deleted; if folks want to talk about the pros and cons of mobile throttling, better to make a separate post.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:04 AM on February 12, 2019


Vox's Aaron Rupar found the nadir of Trump's rally yesterday, which may be the worst sadistic fabulation he's ever uttered (w/video):
Holy shit -- Trump falsely accuses Ralph Northam of saying he supports "a newborn baby [coming] out into the world, and wrap the baby, make the baby comfortable, & then talk to the mother & talk to the father and then execute the baby. Execute the baby!"

Huge, angry boos.
Anti-abortion extremists were already taking Northam's comments out of context, but Trump has, as usual, escalated that beyond the pale.

Guardian: BBC cameraman shoved and abused at Trump rally in El Paso

Rupar also posted a video excerpt of Trump's reaction to this.

It's worthwhile considering that even as Trump throws red meat to his extremist base, he's riding a tiger. In the short term, he's about to be handed a huge political setback as Congress prepares to send him a spending bill without any money for his precious Wall, so he puts on a show for his zealots in a flashpoint region. In the long term, though, he's facing multiple investigations into his business and his presidency, and only by ensuring his core base of partisans stays loyal—and angry—can he hang on to political leverage.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:04 AM on February 12, 2019 [22 favorites]


Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night; What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Politico: GOP livid with Trump over ignored Khashoggi report
Senate Republicans are fuming at President Donald Trump for telling lawmakers he would disregard a law requiring a report to Congress determining who is responsible for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. [...]

“It’s not a good way to start the new Congress in its relationship with the Foreign Relations Committee,” said Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a Republican on that panel, in an interview. “It violates the law. And the law is clear about those timelines. I’m urging them and I expect them to comply with the law.”

Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, a vulnerable Republican who faces re-election in 2020, said “the administration needs to submit the report,” adding: “There’s no excuse. They must submit it.” [...]

“They were supposed to make a report on Friday and they didn’t do it,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said. “And the only thing I can say now is they better have a good excuse for not issuing it.”

“They owe us a report,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said. “We can make a fuss about it.” [...]

Despite those calls from the rank and file, the committee’s chairman, Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), hasn’t shown discomfort with the administration’s Friday letter. He wouldn’t commit to further action to compel compliance with the Magnitsky Act, a marked contrast to Corker’s time as chairman.

“We asked for the information. They sent it. And I put out a press release,” Risch told reporters.
posted by Little Dawn at 8:14 AM on February 12, 2019 [11 favorites]


“We can make a fuss about it.”

A fuss? Watch out, guys, we're dealing with a badass over here.

Meanwhile, Reuters's Top News Twitter account posted: "Exclusive: Qatar is attempting to keep tighter control of its investments abroad after finding out it may have unwittingly helped bail out a Manhattan skyscraper owned by the family of Jared Kushner, sources tell @Reuters"

Reuters : Qatar Revamps Investment Strategy After Kushner Building Bailout
The bailout, in which Doha played no part and first learned about in the media, has prompted a rethink of how the gas-rich kingdom invests money abroad via its giant sovereign wealth fund, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The country has decided that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will aim to avoid putting money in funds or other investment vehicles it does not have full control over, according to the sources, who are familiar with the QIA’s strategy.

“Qatar started looking into how its name got involved into the deal and found out it was because of a fund it co-owned,” said one of the sources. “So QIA ultimately triggered a strategy revamp.”

The QIA declined to comment.
It seems like a bit of a coincidence that Qatar is throwing Kushner under a bus at the same time that the Saudis' ties to him are coming up because of their potential involvement with the AMI-Bezos showdown.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:25 AM on February 12, 2019 [7 favorites]


It seems like a bit of a coincidence that Qatar is throwing Kushner under a bus at the same time that the Saudis' ties to him are coming up because of their potential involvement with the AMI-Bezos showdown.

Isn’t there also a growing consensus that the QIA is the unnamed government-owned group in sealed filings at the supreme court?
posted by C'est la D.C. at 8:28 AM on February 12, 2019 [5 favorites]


"In August last year United Nations experts warned that Trump’s anti-media invective increased the risk of journalists being targeted with violence."

Recently, A.J. Sulzberger, publisher of the NYT, attended an interview of Trump by Maggie Haberman and Peter Baker. He remained quiet until the end, and then had this exchange with Trump.

The NYT's podcast, The Daily, has more context for all this.

tl;dr even when confronted directly, DJT feigns(?) surprise/ignorance.
posted by exlotuseater at 8:34 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


darkstar: "As much hoped for, Mark Kelly, NASA astronaut and husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, launches his Arizona Senate campaign to unseat Republican Martha McSally."

Kelly seems like a pretty strong candidate. It's likely that Rep Ruben Gallego will also jump in as a more progressive option.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:38 AM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


A very frustrating headline on this Ken Dilanian article on NBC news:

Senate has uncovered no direct evidence of conspiracy between Trump campaign and Russia

I guess it's technically true depending on how you define "direct," "evidence," "conspiracy," and "Trump campaign."
posted by diogenes at 8:38 AM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


The Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand on that Dilanian piece:
Senate Intelligence Committee aide tells me, re: NBC story, that right now there is "a common set of facts" that the panel is working with, "and a disagreement about what those facts mean."

They add: "We are closer to the end than the beginning, but we're not wrapping up."

Re: the headline, "Senate has uncovered no direct evidence of conspiracy between Trump campaign and Russia," same aide says: "the word 'direct' is doing a lot of work here."
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:44 AM on February 12, 2019 [23 favorites]


I'm thrilled that Trump, the most hated man in America, capitalism personified, the vile embodiment of unjust human hierarchy, is full-throatedly denouncing socialism. Socialist ideology is already on the rise, and this seems like it'll only increase its popularity.

Only thing is this: in 2020, we need a nominee who's not going to cringe at the "socialist" label. If Trump calls the Democratic candidate a socialist and they run away screaming, then we're screwed.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 8:45 AM on February 12, 2019 [30 favorites]


A very frustrating headline on this Ken Dilanian article on NBC news:

Fun Fact: Disgraced anchor Matt Lauer hosted the "first ever" "Commander in Chief" debate in 2016 which was a giant f**kyou to common sense and decency on behalf of NBC news.

Yeah you thought we forgot about that didn't you NBC news? Nah.
posted by petebest at 8:49 AM on February 12, 2019 [18 favorites]


I'm suspicious of who exactly Dilanian is using as his Democratic sources.

Democratic Senate investigators who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity did not dispute Burr's characterizations, but said they lacked context.

"We were never going find a contract signed in blood saying, 'Hey Vlad, we're going to collude,'" one Democratic aide said.


"Democratic Senate investigators" is fishy. It implies that he's talking about Senators on the committee. But it could also describe the same Democratic aide quoted in the next sentence.
posted by diogenes at 8:53 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


Warner needs to speak up if the Democrats on the SSCI don't endorse the conclusion in that headline.
posted by diogenes at 9:01 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


Only thing is this: in 2020, we need a nominee who's not going to cringe at the "socialist" label.

The candidates need MSG, which is to say, Madison Square Garden Address
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.

They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.

Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.
Senate has uncovered no direct evidence of conspiracy between Trump campaign and Russia

This is also a "Who writes this shit?" moment. It's very clear how the Senate could fail to find direct evidence of a conspiracy; it's much less clear how they could uncover an absence.
posted by octobersurprise at 9:08 AM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]


[RatFucking 2.0]
Meet Jacob Engels, Roger Stone’s Mini-Me
posted by growabrain at 9:21 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


Rand Paul says he's a NO on Barr AG confirmation.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:24 AM on February 12, 2019 [14 favorites]


In other frustrating headline news, currently bannering the Drudge Report in all-red all-caps as LAWYER: MUELLER WILL SAY NOTHING! 'WILL NOT ISSUE REPORT':

ABC News: Former Trump lawyer slams Mueller probe, maintains president will be cleared: 'Knock it off and get it done'
Dowd’s overall view of the investigation -- he called it "one of the greatest frauds this country's ever seen" -- echoes Trump's claim that it is a hoax or a witch hunt.

That differs sharply from Justice Department officials, who have had a window into the probe, which, to date, has pried guilty pleas out of five former Trump advisers, and indicted 26 Russian nationals, three Russian companies, a California man (for assisting Russians in faking their identities), another Trump adviser, and a London-based lawyer.

In appearances on Capitol Hill, a series of senior administration officials have disputed President Trump’s repeated dismissals of the probe.

"I do not believe special counsel Mueller is on a witch hunt," FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress in June, a sentiment shared by Rosenstein -- and more recently -- by the man appointed to take over the Justice Department, William Barr. Even acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker defended Mueller’s work in an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee last week.

“I do believe he's honest," Whitaker said of Mueller. "I have been on the record about my respect for Bob Mueller and his ability to conduct this investigation."
posted by Little Dawn at 9:27 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


The Washington Post has brought back the Shutdown Countdown, which is now ticking at 3 days 11 hours and 25 minutes, because we have this hot garbage:
“I can’t say I’m happy. I can’t say I’m thrilled,” Trump told reporters ... a day after the deal was struck giving Trump a fraction of the money he’s sought for his U.S.-Mexico border wall.

At the same time, Trump said he did not think there would be another government shutdown. “If you did have it it’s the Democrats fault,” he added.

“I would hope that there won’t be a shutdown,” Trump said. “I am extremely unhappy with what the Democrats have given us.”
Basically, the administration is being led by a passive bystander / petulant toddler who can only hope that things will magically happen. Art of the Deal, y'all.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:34 AM on February 12, 2019 [14 favorites]


"In the short term, he's about to be handed a huge political setback as Congress prepares to send him a spending bill without any money for his precious Wall, so he puts on a show for his zealots in a flashpoint region."

I wouldn't be so quick to say that. Trump has already pivoted the message into "finish the wall", and even corrected last night's crowd when they started chanting "build the wall". He's claiming entire sections are done for chrissakes.

He could certainly declare victory in getting a partial chunk of money for border security and declare that will be enough to "finish" the wall.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:39 AM on February 12, 2019


NBC: House Judiciary Committee hires two new outside counsels -- The new attorneys will be tasked with reviewing issues that could be at the heart of an impeachment case against President Trump.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:56 AM on February 12, 2019 [28 favorites]


Can't they pass conditional funding for the wall based on the discovery of the existence of the five illegal alien voters who voted for Hillary?

(Trump said 3-5 million. No reason to go with the lowball number.)

I'm serious about this. Shouldn't the Democrats being using Trump's lies against him. We'll give you a billion if you come up with that 16 year old female who was stabbed in the stomach by MS-13 gang members that you mentioned in your nationwide address. Otherwise, we'd be funding lies.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:07 AM on February 12, 2019 [6 favorites]


Senate has uncovered no direct evidence of conspiracy between Trump campaign and Russia

I guess it's technically true depending on how you define "direct," "evidence," "conspiracy," and "Trump campaign."
posted by diogenes at 8:38 AM on February 12 [3 favorites +] [!]


When I read something like this, it immediately jumps to my mind that Trump never wants to write anything down and it's exactly so headlines like this one can be fostered. Direct evidence, I assume, would be uncovering written communications from Trump saying, "Do this crime," which ain't gonna happen. My conclusion is that Trump isn't going down for collusion. However, crime bosses like Trump can't stand to not have the money documented, so I assume he will go down for financial crimes. That seems to be the pattern. My dismay is that I want his goober followers to know that he sold them out, but this ensures they'll deny it, saying "all" they could get him for was a little paperwork, and hey, who hasn't cheated on their taxes?
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:11 AM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


In other frustrating headline news, currently bannering the Drudge Report in all-red all-caps as LAWYER: MUELLER WILL SAY NOTHING! 'WILL NOT ISSUE REPORT':

The mainstream article that was based off of had a partially similar title along the lines of Mueller will say nothing. It did not say he will not issue report (he is in fact required to issue a report). The point of the article is that Muelller does not talk to the press. He indicts and he reports. He doesn't blab. This was based on both recent Trump stuff and his history.

Also not amusing but Jesse Jackson Jr. is doing a bit a media attack on Mueller right now joining the trumpist in the witch hunt chant as part of his current prison letters from mom book tour. Which is funny given that he pled guilty.
posted by srboisvert at 10:12 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


Rand Paul says he's a NO on Barr AG confirmation.

This means Barr's confirmation is assured (not that there was much question). Paul only takes libertarian protest type votes when he is 1000% sure it will not affect the outcome Republicans want. He will never be the 51st no vote.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:24 AM on February 12, 2019 [56 favorites]


This is what Zuckerberg and the other platform chiefs still haven’t grappled with: Their tools are great at helping you find content but not truth. (Even YouTube’s app for kids, as business insider discovered, recommended conspiracy videos about our world being ruled by reptile-human hybrids.)

Facebook et al. became the primary sources of news and the primary destroyers of news. And they refuse to deal with it because their business is predicated on the fallacy that technology is neutral – Silicon Valley’s version of “guns don’t kill people.”

... It’s also become clear that Zuckerberg doesn’t fundamentally grasp of the difference between journalism and propaganda. Last May, he explained to her room full of journalists that “a lot of what you all do is have an opinion.” Facebook, he said, is just providing space for many opinions.
Great long read from Mother Jones on some of the effects of social media on journalism. Includes charts and numbers like actual reporting.
posted by Bella Donna at 10:48 AM on February 12, 2019 [11 favorites]


I'm serious about this. Shouldn't the Democrats being using Trump's lies against him. We'll give you a billion if you come up with that 16 year old female who was stabbed in the stomach by MS-13 gang members that you mentioned in your nationwide address. Otherwise, we'd be funding lies.

They'd be saying that the wall would be justified if those lies were true, which it wouldn't be. MS-13 members could be committing a murder a day (they aren't) and the wall would still make no sense and be a waste of money.
posted by BungaDunga at 10:48 AM on February 12, 2019 [14 favorites]


Cover of the new issue of Esquire tackles the great struggle of our age: being a middle-class white boy from wisconsin

Their defense of it is...lacking.

We disagree as a country on every possible cultural and political point except, perhaps, one: that private life, as a result, has also become its own fresh hell. This has made the very social fabric of modern democratic civilization—watercooler BS, chats with cabbies and total strangers, dinner parties, large family gatherings—sometimes feel like a Kafkaesque thought-police nightmare of paranoia and nausea, in which you might accidentally say what you really believe and get burned at the stake.

Cool choice for Black History Month.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:49 AM on February 12, 2019 [49 favorites]


To make it clearer, the Mother Jones articles gives examples involving national politics.
posted by Bella Donna at 10:49 AM on February 12, 2019


Racist Congressman Steve King Would Very Much Like to Be Un-Shunned Please:
It hasn’t even been a month since the GOP reluctantly forced Iowa Rep. Steve King out of his committee assignments and sent him wandering into the congressional wastelands, where he busied himself by fundraising off the fact that he’s a racist. But now, King is back and asking ever-so-nicely to be reinstated to the appointments he feels were so unfairly taken away from him after his long history of being awful.

In a letter shared by King on Tuesday, 200 hundred “pro-family leaders” have requested Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy reinstate King to the House committees he’d been ignominiously—if very, very belatedly—dropped from in January, after publicly musing about how weird it is that phrases like “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization” are suddenly considered “offensive.”
There needs to be a more specific word than "schadenfreude" to describe the joy I feel when a gigantic racist is sad because he is shunned for abhorrent views. But I would ultimately rather want the gigantic racist to have no political power whatsoever.
posted by Ouverture at 10:58 AM on February 12, 2019 [19 favorites]


"As much hoped for, Mark Kelly, NASA astronaut and husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, launches his Arizona Senate campaign to unseat Republican Martha McSally."

There is something really amazing about how Kelly is positioned in the launch video. His personal accomplishments are certainly mentioned, but in a very understated way. Front and center is his role as Gabby Giffords' husband. They're presented as a package deal (she's in more than 60% of the video, even in the scenes where he's shaking hands in the bar), and then you add to that the sole family story he tells is about his mother becoming a police officer. He's even shown helping Giffords with things she is unable to do for herself.

It is really an astonishing way for a fighter pilot and astronaut to present himself for public office - as, first and foremost, a nurturing husband in a partnership where his wife has taught him his most important qualifications.
posted by anastasiav at 11:05 AM on February 12, 2019 [93 favorites]


Cover of the new issue of Esquire tackles the great struggle of our age ...

With additional cover stories, 'Power & Sex: A Shocking Story,' by TC Boyle and 'Inside The Defense Of Harvey Weinstein,' by Eric Sullivan. Cool, cool. Anyway, I read that piece and came away impressed by just how thin is the line between deadpan satire, utter, utter obliviousness, and malice aforethought.
posted by octobersurprise at 11:21 AM on February 12, 2019 [14 favorites]


ABC News: Former Trump lawyer slams Mueller probe, maintains president will be cleared: 'Knock it off and get it done'

Reminder: John Dowd is still in regular contact with Trump and his legal team. This is absolutely part of Team Trump’s campaign in the media to undermine public support for the Mueller investigation, and ABC shouldn’t be uncritically giving him a platform to do so.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:22 AM on February 12, 2019 [15 favorites]


Pair of NPR articles from today (Feb. 12, 2019):

Soul-Searching After Parkland, Dick's CEO Embraces Tougher Stance On Guns (spoiler: it also makes financial sense, because the company's profit margin improved slightly when it stopped selling guns to anyone under 21, and stopped selling semiautomatic rifle used in the Parkland shooting, which is sometimes called assault-style or military-style. This profit margin improvement was because guns and ammunition "tend to be very, very low margin," said Wedbush analyst Christopher Svezia. This was part of Walmart's justification when it stopped selling modern sporting rifles in 2015. Still, Dick's is was also coupled with a small lobbying effort to make these standards the new national norm, which isn't a terrible idea, but it's convenient that it would level the playing field for other fire arms retailers.)

'Church Of Safe Injection' Offers Needles, Naloxone To Prevent Opioid Overdoses
On a bitter cold afternoon in front of the central bus stop in Bangor, Maine, about a half-dozen people recently surrounded a folding table covered with handmade signs offering free clean syringes, coffee and naloxone, the drug also known as Narcan that can reverse an opioid overdose.

They're with a group called the Church of Safe Injection that is handing out clean drug-using supplies in cities around the U.S.

Even though they could be arrested for doing so, volunteers say they have to step up because of the staggering number of opioid overdose deaths and because the public health system has failed.

"There are all these barriers to people getting well — like insurance and treatment rules," said one of the Bangor volunteers who goes by the name Dave Carvagio, though it's not his real name. "It's to the point where, for some people, the only treatment options are in institutions like prison."
It's almost like the current administration sees that as a benefit to force drug users into (private, for-profit) prisons, instead of actually trying to address the opioid epidemic.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:23 AM on February 12, 2019 [14 favorites]


Laurence Tribe twitts:

1. This rare moment of clarity reveals Trump’s real agenda: KEEP LATIN AMERICANS OUT OF THE U.S. It’s White Supremacy pure & simple.

2. Pathetic, porcine, stupid, sinister, obscene, obese, cruel, corrupt, deceitful, dictatorial, evasive, evil: who among us would’ve imagined that the person all those adjectives would simultaneously bring to mind for half the earth’s population would be the U.S. president?
posted by growabrain at 11:30 AM on February 12, 2019 [14 favorites]


A couple of recent developments make what appears to my eye to be a trend:

@cam_joseph: .@realDonaldTrump lays out his 2020 case against the Dems: “They’re becoming the party of socialism, late-term abortions, open borders and crime."

Trump last night: "I really don't like their policy of taking away your car, of taking away your airplane rights, of 'let's hop a train to California,' of you're not allowed to own cows anymore!"

[yes, let's take away Trump's "airplane rights" please]

Politico, Republicans can’t wait to debate 'Medicare for all'

And just now, the gotcha vote, @kasie: NEWS: Mitch McConnell says the Senate will be voting on the Green New Deal

All the better to generate non-stop attacks of Democratic proposals as delusional and extreme.

This isn't new, of course; as Dave Weigel put it, is really more laying out his 2020 campaign theme as a bunch of Fox News chyrons. And after years of Republicans crying "socialism" at everything, plenty of voters are rolling their eyes.

But I do think Democrats need to think about how to confront this. The answer certainly isn't to put up our most milquetoast centrists, but I don't think ignoring the attacks and pretending there isn't a corrosive effect from year after year of this stuff from Republicans is the answer either. Because they're starting to zero in on the only way to get Trump re-elected: convince the weakest parts of his 2016 coalition that they have to vote for him because the Democrat is too extreme. And untethered by reality, they can just make things up: banning cows, "execute the baby," Venezuela, etc... We'll get tons of earnest "sure, if they only nominated Joe Biden, that I could get behind, but now I have to vote for the racist over the [possibly not a white man] socialist" op-eds. It will be in bad faith, sure, but the groundwork for that campaign is getting laid right now, and I'm not seeing a message to counter it.

There is one: Democratic Party proposals are extremely popular, practical, and work all over the world. But I hear "Venezuela!" and "ban cows!" a lot more than that.
posted by zachlipton at 11:42 AM on February 12, 2019 [23 favorites]


In 2016, Bernie Sanders ran on a "yeah, I'm a socialist, so what?" approach and polling soon after the midterms showed him to be the most popular politician in the US. Democrats don't need to fight accusations of socialism or extremism. The typical stereotype of the party is that they're too feckless and milquetoast to get anything done. Accusations of extremism will probably help them.

The real counterpunch to Trump's politics of corrupt, venal, dead-end stagnation is this: a sincere, strong push for a radical, positive, easily-understood vision for a better future. Luckily, policies pushed by the DSA like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal fit the bill perfectly.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 11:59 AM on February 12, 2019 [27 favorites]


"can't own cows"

Methane restrictions, I assume
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:10 PM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


"hop a train to CA" came from AOC's press release on the Green New Deal saying that they would build rail infrastructure so robust it would make air travel unnecessary (its not in the bill and they've - i would say successfully - defended it as a stretch goal in the sense that people would choose to fly less if real trains were a viable alternative)

no clue on the fucking cows.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:10 PM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


There's a conservative meme going around where people are sharing fake screencaps of the Green New Deal proposal where they've inserted text about how farming cows will be banned and all men are going to have to drink their own piss to save water. I am not joking, this is a popular conservative talking point right now.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 12:12 PM on February 12, 2019 [24 favorites]


Lawmakers pay tribute to John Dingell at 30,000 feet as funeral-bound flight is turned back because of bad weather (WaPo)
Former colleagues including Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) paid tribute to John D. Dingell at 30,000 feet on Tuesday as their flight to Michigan for the lawmaker’s funeral was turned back because of wintry weather.

The funeral for Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history, went ahead with former vice president Joe Biden eulogizing the Michigan Democrat.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:25 PM on February 12, 2019 [7 favorites]


So we should be able to trace what places online Trump is looking at to find this info, then, yeah? I remain convinced he's actually a reddit member or on some even worse conservative forums.

Trump doesn't use a computer, his staff prints out his twitter mentions and articles for him, and it's a certainty that Don Jr. and Stephen Miller are 4chan regulars. Jr. probably prints off a stack of Gab replies for him every day, and that's the shit he's reading in "executive time".
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:26 PM on February 12, 2019 [17 favorites]


Scandal double standard: Dems pay the price for every misdeed, while the GOP skates (Bob Cesca, Salon)
"Elizabeth Warren's ancestry, or the Virginia mess, are huge stories — but we can't even keep track of GOP crimes"

The fact that Warren's ancestry is still a thing after all this time is another staggering example of the double standard we’ve observed since the 2016 election. As long as Trump continues to flood the zone with crazy-bombs, preventing any individual scandal from occupying headlines, he’s able to continue serving as president with an incomprehensibly not-awful approval poll average of around 42 percent. Contrastingly, Warren is all but written off because of one thing, and it’s not even a real thing.
...

We could sit here for days listing all the horrifying and fraudulent deeds of Trump and his people. Once again, however, Trump’s firehose of news disintegrates into white noise (pun intended) while relatively minor Democratic scandals are amplified -- because there are so few by comparison and therefore each thing is easier to remember individually.

The takeaway for future presidential hopefuls is to flood the zone, as Trump has, whether by design or accident. More is definitely less, in Trump’s case, while less is more for everyone else. This is not only mind-blowingly offensive, it’s morally wrong given that it only serves to reward the worst of the worst -- hence the rise of Trump and his Putin-supported copycats. As a bonus, Republican scandals ... slide under the radar, hidden from sight on Trump’s baggy coattails. If you want to know how the president might avoid impeachment and get re-elected in 2020 despite all the ignominy surrounding him, this is it.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:31 PM on February 12, 2019 [27 favorites]


The typical stereotype of the party is that they're too feckless and milquetoast to get anything done.

A perception I hope Nancy Pelosi right now is doing much to counter, by the way.
posted by Gelatin at 12:50 PM on February 12, 2019 [5 favorites]


Kamala Harris Once Supported Handing Over Undocumented Minors to ICE:
While San Francisco had been a self-declared sanctuary city since the late 1980s, Harris came out publicly to support then-mayor Gavin Newsom’s 2008 policy in which undocumented minors would be handed over from police to ICE if they were arrested—even if those arrests never resulted in a conviction.

“[San Francisco’s sanctuary status] was never intended to shield anyone from being held accountable for a crime,” Harris said at the time. “It’s intended to encourage immigrant victims and witnesses to report crimes without fear of reprisal so we can hold offenders accountable.”

After just one year in place, according to CNN, the policy resulted in over 100 undocumented minors being turned over to ICE for deportation—some for arrests as minor as showing off a BB gun to a friend, or getting into a fight and stealing 46 cents. A year after the policy went into effect, the city’s board of supervisors passed a law which allowed police to hand over minors only if the juvenile in question had been convicted of a felony. Newsom—with Harris’ support—vetoed the new rule, but his veto was overturned.

[...]

This, however, gets to the heart of why so many on the left have been frustrated with Harris and her run for the White House—one which has brought her past as a hard-nosed prosecutor into direct conflict with a progressive base for whom cooperation with ICE is seen as anathema. Harris has already struggled to reconcile her “good cop” persona with a growing wing of the party leftists who see—among other things—abolishing ICE as an attainable goal, not just an aspirational slogan.
Yet another flashpoint in the seemingly eternal discursive war between liberals and leftists.
posted by Ouverture at 12:53 PM on February 12, 2019 [9 favorites]


In re: cows - it's because cow flatulence generates a ton of methane, which is a highly potent greenhouse gas.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:53 PM on February 12, 2019 [6 favorites]


no clue on the fucking cows.

Update: still not sure where it came from, but its now spread to the Senate. via Aaron Rupar's diligent video threads:

@SenJohnBarrasso: "There's another victim of the Green New Deal - it's ice cream! Livestock will be banned. Say goodbye to dairy, beef... American favorites like cheeseburgers & a milkshake would become a thing of the past. Living this green dream is actually a natl nightmare."

Crying into my coffee trying to decide what is more pathetic, that theyre making these arguments or that people will/are buy(ing) them. Also i love that Barasso represents like 250k people to Kamala Harris' 20 Million.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:57 PM on February 12, 2019 [14 favorites]


There's a conservative meme going around where people are sharing fake screencaps of the Green New Deal proposal where they've inserted text about how farming cows will be banned and all men are going to have to drink their own piss to save water. I am not joking, this is a popular conservative talking point right now.
The funniest thing about this is that there is someone in politics who has dumped millions of dollars into research about urine.

...But it's a conservative billionaire (who was also the primary funder behind Milo Yiannopoulos and many conservative initiatives).
posted by Ouverture at 1:00 PM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


The cows thing is also a quasi-dogwhistle to conservative rural ranchers who demand to be able to let their livestock tramp all over hill and dale with zero consequences. (Remember that the Bundy nonsense in rural Oregon started over their desire to let their cows loose on federal land.)

I live in rural central Oregon and let me tell you those assholes are whiny enough about water rights that it makes a fella want to give up beef forever just to spite them
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 1:05 PM on February 12, 2019 [48 favorites]


It's not just about the Bundys' grazing rights – the idea that USDA or the EPA is going to start regulating cow farts (which are, no joke, a major contributor of methane on a global scale) is a persistent bugaboo on the right, and there's a perennial rider in EPA's appropriations to exempt “livestock emissions” from monitoring and regulation.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:12 PM on February 12, 2019 [7 favorites]


Well, if we can have multitudes of open-air lagoons of fermenting pig shit that seem impervious to legislation and regulation, what's the big deal about a few cow farts here and there?

(This is where the sane person says "well, maybe we should regulate both" and the other person yells BUILD THAT WALL)
posted by delfin at 1:22 PM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]


Senator Angus King to vote no on Barr nomination - link to tweet with image of statement
posted by mikepop at 1:23 PM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]


"Elizabeth Warren's ancestry, or the Virginia mess, are huge stories — but we can't even keep track of GOP crimes"
Kinda like how plane crashes are rare enough that we hear about every one of them and people are afraid to fly, but car accidents kill zillions every day and it's normal.
posted by bink at 1:32 PM on February 12, 2019 [35 favorites]


AOC recently tweeted a list of things we could all do to save the planet, and one was eat less meat. I tried to find the tweet, but I think it was last week.

Farmers are not happy about that, especially farmers in her own state, where farms are being lost after generations and farmers are committing suicide because they can't bear to sell out.

The Upstate New York farmers whose Twitter responses to that tweet I read are not by any means right wing.
posted by jgirl at 1:34 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


The peecake is real.
posted by emelenjr at 1:35 PM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


I'm sure it genuinely sucks to be one of those farmers. At the same time, current levels of meat consumption are not compatible with getting global warming under control.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:44 PM on February 12, 2019 [51 favorites]


CNN: Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, rejected Republican Chairman Richard Burr's recent statements that the committee has not found evidence of collusion, saying the investigation is still ongoing and the committee still had to interview key witnesses.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:45 PM on February 12, 2019 [18 favorites]


Farmers are not happy about that, especially farmers in her own state, where farms are being lost after generations and farmers are committing suicide because they can't bear to sell out.

People should eat less meat. There should be fewer cows. Farmers wouldn't have to sell out if we had a functioning social welfare system and programs to support small-scale non-commodity agriculture. Those who are committing suicide are being killed by capitalism.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:48 PM on February 12, 2019 [70 favorites]


Here is a related tweet from @NYFarmer. She's also a lawyer who acts on struggling fellow farmers' behalf and generally likes the change AOC represents. Her response to that effect is in the thread.
posted by jgirl at 1:48 PM on February 12, 2019 [7 favorites]


WaPo, Lisa Rein, This grievance board for federal workers has one person left — and he’s about to leave
Mark Robbins soon will pack up his belongings from his sixth-floor corner office, ride the elevator to the lobby on M Street in downtown Washington for the last time, and leave behind 240 employees and a federal agency that could be leaderless.

His departure as acting chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which serves as a personnel court for federal employees, raises an existential question: Can the board still live and function with no one at the top? The answer could determine whether thousands of federal workers will have their grievances heard.

Two of the board’s three seats have been vacant for the entire Trump administration. President Trump didn’t nominate a new board for more than a year — and then a Senate committee deadlocked last year on his picks. Now, the third seat could be empty, too, unless the Senate can confirm the same three people.

Experts say they’ve never heard of a similar case. At midnight on Feb. 28 — when a one-year extension of Robbins’s seven-year term expires — the board could enter uncertain legal territory. Justice Department attorneys have told Robbins that once he leaves, the office could be operating illegally.
...
With two of the three seats vacant for more than two years, the board has been unable to render decisions. During his lonely tenure, Robbins dutifully has written his opinion on 1,900 cases and filed them in cardboard boxes; those decisions will land in the trash if no other board members join him before he departs, he says.

His board of one already has created legal predicaments. Congress passed a special statute last year giving just one member the authority to order agencies to grant relief in cases involving whistleblowers. “We joked that it’s the Mark Robbins Home Alone Act of 2018,” said Jim Eisenmann, who was executive director until last fall.
The Senate is trying to fix it, but it's complicated if they can't manage to confirm new board members. Robbins has also been appointed acting general counsel for the Office of Personnel Management, which takes positions in cases he'd hear himself, so a proposed backup plan that would extend his term would create an even bigger mess.

It's amazing how just generally non-functional large portions of the government are and how little attention that gets.
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on February 12, 2019 [24 favorites]


We certainly need to eat a lot less beef and also use a lot less dairy products. And some people will be angry about this. There is no way to not deal with it. Last year I spent some time living in an area with a lot of cattle farmers, who have collectively dealt with this change beginning 20+ years ago. The thing is, they get better prices for their sustainable, organic produce. And while it was really tough back when they began, now they are at an advantage when dealing with the Chinese market, because Chinese consumers are particularly worried about food contamination and otherwise bad produce. So once upon a time, organic, sustainable food was a problem for farmers. Now it's a feature. And I can still buy their products in my local supermarket, at very nearly the same price as industrial produce.
For consumers in a broader sense, there's a different story. While the sustainable burger meat at my local COOP is not much more expensive than the industrial stuff, there is no way a sustainable cheeseburger can meet the price of the current fastfood offers, which depend on horrendous feedlots and industrial processing.
I don't really know how to deal with this problem.
posted by mumimor at 1:53 PM on February 12, 2019 [26 favorites]


Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, rejected Republican Chairman Richard Burr's recent statements that the committee has not found evidence of collusion, saying the investigation is still ongoing and the committee still had to interview key witnesses.

Good. That means he also rejects NBC's bogus summary of what Democrats on the SSCI are thinking. I wonder if Dilanian will update his article and the misleading headline accordingly? (That's a rhetorical question.)
posted by diogenes at 1:55 PM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


Mod note: If folks want to talk meat-eating, farming, climate change etc, that should get its own thread.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:56 PM on February 12, 2019 [9 favorites]


WaPo: The Senate just passed the most sweeping conservation legislation in a decade, protecting millions of acres of land.

Does anybody know what this is referring to? I had no clue something like this was on the table, let alone able to pass the Republican-controlled Senate? What's the horrible catch that I'm missing?
posted by schmod at 2:05 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


Does anybody know what this is referring to?

Senate passes public lands package, including permanent authorization for Land and Water Conservation Fund, Denver Post
A package of more than 100 bills that would increase conservation and access to the outdoors nationwide passed the U.S. Senate Tuesday 92 to 8.

Senate Bill 47, which now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives, is the culmination of years of negotiations in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which includes Colorado’s Republican Sen. Cory Gardner.

The package includes nine Colorado-specific bills and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The LWCF collects money from offshore oil and gas drilling and spends it on projects that improve outdoor recreation. Its authorization expired in September.

“After four years of working on this issue, the Senate was finally able to permanently reauthorize the crown jewel of conservation programs …,” Gardner said in a statement. “The program has a direct impact on public lands in Colorado and will be used to protect our state’s natural beauty for future generations.”

One of the big things LWCF has done for Colorado is buy private lands that abut or block access to public lands. Gardner said during a floor speech before Tuesday’s vote that Colorado has about 250,000 acres of public lands that people still can’t access.
Here’s what the massive public-lands bill means for conservation, climate change in Washington state
Going forward
If the Senate approves the bill, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to take up a version of it soon after, beginning in the House Natural Resources Committee.

“We support the bill as it currently stands and we intend to move it,” said Adam Sarvana, communications director for the committee’s Democrats, who have the majority. Provided there were no unexpected amendments to the bill, “we’re going to hold a vote soon,” he added.

Even if the public-lands bill runs into trouble, the Yakima project, which has been on Cantwell’s agenda for years, still has legs.

Congressional members Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, and Kim Schrier, D-Issaquah, last week introduced a separate House bill specific to the issue that used language identical to the Senate’s.

“I feel like we’re reaching a turning point,” Tebb said. “This is the closest we’ve ever felt.”
"The Land and Water Conservation Fund is America's most important program to conserve irreplaceable lands and improve outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the nation."

S.47 - Natural Resources Management Act
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:10 PM on February 12, 2019 [22 favorites]


Also i love that Barasso represents like 250k people to Kamala Harris' 20 Million.

I'd really like to start seeing Democrats throw these numbers around as snarky rejoinders. Folks need to be reminded how lopsided representation really is.
posted by duoshao at 2:14 PM on February 12, 2019 [33 favorites]


More details here, from Outside: What's in the Natural Resources Management Act.

Lisa Murkowski sponsored. Haven't noticed anything in it yet re: drilling in the ANR, elsewhere.
posted by notyou at 2:16 PM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


If folks want to talk climate change etc., I invite them to amble over to the existing FPP on The Liberal Argument For a Green New Deal.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:27 PM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


In other news, from HuffPost:

Last month, CNN hosted its first town hall of the 2020 presidential cycle. In the hot seat was Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who had announced her run for president days before. The show proved to be a ratings success ― “the most watched cable news single candidate election town hall ever,” according to a CNN press release ― and many Democrats are rankled that the next one has gone to Schultz.

“It’s odd that they are giving a stage to someone who is not even an announced candidate yet, before they’ve given a stage to all of the top-tier Democratic candidates in a Democratic primary,” said one Democratic strategist.

The Daily Beast reported Monday that at least three Democrats who have officially announced their candidacy for president have not received formal invitations to participate in a CNN town hall ― South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii).

“Once again,” the strategist said, “you’re going to see a presidential race that is going to be treated as entertainment.”

posted by Bella Donna at 2:50 PM on February 12, 2019 [10 favorites]


Rand Paul says he's a NO on Barr AG confirmation.

What’s more significant are the Dem senators who are voting to confirm Barr.

From CQ’s Todd Ruger: “Senate moves closer to confirming William Barr as attorney general, in 55-44 vote on procedural motion on the floor. Sets up final confirmation vote, likely Thursday. Dems voting yes: @Sen_JoeManchin @DougJones and @kyrstensinema.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:20 PM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


Rand Paul voting against the Republican indicates only that the Republican leadership has already determined that it has enough votes to pass or approve whatever they’re looking to do, and Rand has been given permission to be push whatever insane angle that he’s nominally behind. You can count on one hand all the times his defections have cost mainstream republicans anything, and still have plenty of fingers to spare.
posted by skewed at 3:43 PM on February 12, 2019 [5 favorites]


Excellent thread about the crimes Don Jr. has committed and the legal consequences he faces.

Tldr: "Junior is deep in the borscht-flavored shit."
posted by orange swan at 3:45 PM on February 12, 2019 [30 favorites]


The thing is that people have been saying stuff like that for over a year and Don Jr is still out there doing his Don Jr thing. If it was so blatantly obvious he were a criminal why hasn't he been arrested? I'm not saying it can't or won't happen only that it sure is taking its sweet time.
posted by Justinian at 3:53 PM on February 12, 2019 [18 favorites]


Rand Paul voting against the Republican indicates only that the Republican leadership has already determined that it has enough votes to pass or approve whatever they’re looking to do...


The Rand defection is the same reasoning for why those three Dem senators were released to vote for confirmation. Schumer already knows they are going to lose the vote, so why not let Dems in conservative states vote in favor, and avoid spending political capital in a lost battle.
posted by darkstar at 3:57 PM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


The thing is that people have been saying stuff like that for over a year and Don Jr is still out there doing his Don Jr thing. If it was so blatantly obvious he were a criminal why hasn't he been arrested?

Mutato junior...
posted by uosuaq at 3:59 PM on February 12, 2019


If it was so blatantly obvious he were a criminal why hasn't he been arrested?

Because his father has both the power to pardon and the power to shut down the investigation?

For a number of key players, any indictments on the case-in-chief would inevitably move things from the legal domain into the political domain. The strategy of the investigation is akin to a mob roll-up, starting either from the outside (IRA / Guccifer) or with charges that are at a distance from the campaign. Mueller has one shot. (And yes, this sounds eerily similar to the QAnon doctrine, but there are a bunch of court filings to back it up.)
posted by holgate at 4:01 PM on February 12, 2019 [12 favorites]


In a case this high-profile and high-stake, the prosecutors and investigators need to make sure their case is air-tight and rock solid, and to work their way up the food chain. From what I've been reading Steve Bannon will be the next arrest, and then finally we'll see arrests of members of the Trump family: the three oldest kids and Jared.
posted by orange swan at 4:01 PM on February 12, 2019 [7 favorites]


Mueller has one shot.

Sure, that's one of the two possibilities for why Don Jr hasn't been arrested. The other is that he isn't going to be arrested. I'm just super tired of sitting around waiting to find out which is the case while he and his buddies tear down everything the country has built over the last 50 years and stuff the loot in their pockets.
posted by Justinian at 4:03 PM on February 12, 2019 [72 favorites]


Latest version of the DKE House Vulnerability Index, which identifies which seats are most vulnerable to flipping. It's proved pretty accurate over the past couple of cycles.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:25 PM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


"Elizabeth Warren's ancestry, or the Virginia mess, are huge stories — but we can't even keep track of GOP crimes"
Kinda like how plane crashes are rare enough that we hear about every one of them and people are afraid to fly, but car accidents kill zillions every day and it's normal.


The real number is about 100 people a day in the United States. With another 1000 being injured badly enough to need medical care.

That's still a lot of people inside the wicker man every single day.
posted by srboisvert at 4:32 PM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]


The Trump collusion case is like a drug case that has stalled, because all you have is a recording of a buyer saying he wants to exchange some "cabbage" for some "salts". Your case is barely circumstantial, but you don't like your chances with the cartel sympathizers that will likely make up the jury. You decide the only way you'll remove any chance of reasonable doubt for this jury is by first convicting everyone else at the meeting for drug running.
posted by xammerboy at 5:31 PM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


HuffPost, Only About A Tenth Of Americans Think Both Parties Are Too Extreme
Just over a tenth of Americans think that both the Democratic and Republican parties are too extreme, a new HuffPost/YouGov survey finds.

Overall, Americans say, 50 percent to 33 percent, that President Donald Trump is too extreme. They say the same of the Democratic Party, 42 percent to 34 percent, and of the Republican Party, 40 percent to 36 percent.
...
Just 11 percent of Americans, the poll finds, call both Democrats and the GOP too extreme. Of the rest, a 53 percent majority finds only one party to be too extreme (for 28 percent, just the Democrats, and for 25 percent just the Republicans), and another 7 percent say that neither party is outside bounds. The remainder isn’t sure about one or both parties.
Howard Schultz, we found your ceiling here if you'd like to come collect it.
posted by zachlipton at 6:09 PM on February 12, 2019 [11 favorites]


and for 25 percent just the Republicans

The Correct Threat Identification Factor is smaller than the Crazification Factor.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:23 PM on February 12, 2019 [16 favorites]


jgirl, I also follow @NYFarmer on Twitter, and I was disappointed by her mischaracterization of AOC’s post. Ocasio-Cortez was offering advice to kids about actions they can take in their own lives, she wasn’t claiming that dairying is ruining the environment. Children generally don’t have much control over things like transportation and manufacturing, but they can control what they eat to some extent. As someone working in the dairy industry myself, I don’t think it helps to unfairly represent what people say. There’s an important role for animal protein in human diets, not least because cows can eat things we humans can’t, but we’re all going to have to make a lot of changes in the near future.

There’s a lot to say about GHG and livestock, but the mods have asked us to keep it to a minimum, so all I’ll say is that more intensive production systems are also more efficient systems.
posted by wintermind at 6:35 PM on February 12, 2019 [6 favorites]


....Christie was once an insider favorite to succeed Barack Obama as president. He was the Beltway’s idea of a “crossover” political star, i.e. mean enough to parallel park over a homeless person, but maybe able to name three good movies...

- Matt Taibbi's review of Chris Christie's memoir, Let Me Finish
posted by growabrain at 6:38 PM on February 12, 2019 [17 favorites]


AOC's (posted-and-retracted? think i saw a documentcloud copy described as sourced by npr) FAQ did indeed note that the phase-out of bovine flatulence is not among the express goals of the green new deal resolution. if the mind can leap from ~until air travel is not necessary~ to ~highspeed transoceanic maglev trains~ then such a mind might plausibly leap from noting that bovine emissions are excluded from present emission-banishing goals to calling for the eradication of ranchers. i don't mean to suggest such a mind could plausibly be operating in good faith.

it was chasing down that sea train leap (glide on the sea train, ay-ah-oh-ee-ah-oh, glide on the sea train), from drud*e/ze*ohedge, where officemate saw and joined in the ridicule without looking closer or evaluating plausibility, that gave me the opportunity to scan the flatulence lamentation.
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:02 PM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


Cow burps are the source of methane emissions, not flatulence. 🐄
posted by wintermind at 7:05 PM on February 12, 2019 [19 favorites]




I just watched the Mark Kelly campaign announcement and as an ex-Tucsonan, I really think he has a chance in Arizona. Running as an astronaut and navy pilot, pushing the Desert Storm stuff, reaches out to the McCain voters. Showing how much he is inspired by, and dedicated to, the women in his life is the right tone for the Democratic party right now, I think. And while I personally roll my eyes at the whole "oh we're too partisan now" thing, it's probably the right call for that state. And if it gives him credibility to talk to people across the aisle about climate change, so much the better. I suppose I'll wait for the polls to get my hopes up, but at the moment I'm pretty optimistic about that seat.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 7:22 PM on February 12, 2019 [17 favorites]


Howard Schultz is basically bland Trump
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:03 PM on February 12, 2019 [11 favorites]


CNN, Trump floats new 'tradition:' 4th of July parade that already exists. Washington already hosts a large 4th of July parade, but Trump wants a parade, and that turned out to be hard, so why not co-opt the one that already exists?
"We're thinking about doing, on the 4th of July or thereabouts, a parade, a 'Salute to America' parade. I guess it'd be really more of a gathering than a parade. Perhaps at the Lincoln Memorial. We're looking at sites. But we're thinking about doing something that would, perhaps, become a tradition," Trump said.

Unlike the hefty price tag the administration rejected for the planned but never executed Veterans Day parade, Trump said this time the fireworks would be free.

"The fireworks (are) there anyway, so we just saved on fireworks. We get free fireworks because it's already being done. So, that's very good," Trump said, referring to the stash launched annually on Independence Day in downtown Washington.
One awful thing about this is that it instantly turns the existing parade into a partisan event where the crowd size becomes a referendum on Trump.
posted by zachlipton at 8:06 PM on February 12, 2019 [41 favorites]


Is it seriously possible Trump doesn't understand we already have a "salute to America day" and it's called 4th of July? And everyone has parades on it?

Or he just wants a Trump-branded "salute to America day" so he has an excuse to conflate national pride with love of him. Isn't putting his name all over stuff and trying to take all the credit for it his shtick? The brave tradition of American independence *brought to you by Donald Trump*
posted by Avelwood at 9:00 PM on February 12, 2019 [24 favorites]


I think the answer is 'no': the mad king is still a king and receives the deference of a king. The discourse becomes shaped around the behaviour as it does with every incumbent, except in this case the court correspondents will try to contort themselves around "many people are saying July 4th isn't enough of a holiday" instead of, say, a tan suit.
posted by holgate at 10:08 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


Washington already hosts a large 4th of July parade, but Trump wants a parade, and that turned out to be hard, so why not co-opt the one that already exists?

I'm on board with this because I've actually been in DC for the 4th of July parade and... it was a bit of a let down. I was expecting Bastille Day pomp (not on that level of course) but it was mainly high school bands, a recreation of the planting of the flag at Iwo Jima and a float sponsored by Falun Gong.
posted by PenDevil at 10:15 PM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


Cause, like, unless there's some seriously compelling reason to think he somehow just missed hearing about 4th of July in his entire life, this is edging really close to the kind of talking that anyone would be able to recognize as cognitively impaired.

I also vote 'no,' because I think Quinta Jurecic's prescient essay On Bullshit and the Oath of Office: The “LOL Nothing Matters” Presidency offers a more compelling explanation:
I am not the first person to make this observation about Donald Trump, who gives every appearance of proudly moving through the world without ever bothering to consider how concepts of truth or falsehood might potentially shape his behavior. Trump just says things, some of which coincidentally happen to be true, many of which turn out not to be. [...]

But Trump’s victory forces us to consider what it means for the president himself to be, as it were, full of bullshit. How will his incessant bullshitting affect his ability to carry out the duties of his office? What does it mean to have a bullshit artist as President of the United States—a leader both responsible for and constrained by the rule of law? And more specifically, what does it mean to have a bullshit artist swear the Oath of Office and promise to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States,” when the notion of hewing “faithfully” to any commitment is so fundamentally antithetical to the character of bullshit?
posted by Little Dawn at 10:19 PM on February 12, 2019 [38 favorites]


Trump probably could get his own holiday if his administration wasn't so stupid and incompetent. Flag Day has already been proposed as a national holiday and also happens to be Trump's birthday.
posted by ryanrs at 11:44 PM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


I would kind of like to see holidays celebrating "american exceptionalism" die, so if this hastens it, so be it.
posted by maxwelton at 1:17 AM on February 13, 2019 [16 favorites]


Flag Day has already been proposed as a national holiday and also happens to be Trump's birthday.

Quiet, you! He probably doesn't know that!
posted by loquacious at 2:24 AM on February 13, 2019 [13 favorites]


I was just reading a Vox explainer on Howard Schultz's CNN town hall.

Ugh.

Inspired by that, I propose a progressive registration fee for presidential candidates:

* Fee is calculated as 2% of the candidate's net worth

* Net worth is based on the higher of:
(1) Total as documented by candidate and/or tax records, recent loan applications, etc.
(2) The highest net worth claimed by the candidate on the campaign trail or in speeches/statements/other public claims made in the 2 years prior to registering

* Fee must be paid from candidate's personal funds -- not from campaign or donors. Candidate may not I'm any way be compensated or recompensed for fee.

* Fee will be refunded to candidate upon winning a major party primary or the general election

* For non-winning candidates, after the election, fee will be donated to a charity chosen by the candidate out of a list of 10 preselected charities

* Fee is not tax deductible under any circumstances
posted by duoshao at 4:39 AM on February 13, 2019 [23 favorites]


Correction: "major party primary" should be changed to "major party nomination".
posted by duoshao at 4:52 AM on February 13, 2019 [1 favorite]


I realize the newly Blue House just got sat a few weeks ago, and this is par for the course for right now but
Mueller Is Just the Beginning (Axios, via)

“House Democrats plan a vast probe of President Trump and Russia — with a heavy focus on money laundering — that will include multiple committees and dramatic public hearings, and could last into 2020.”

“The aggressive plans were outlined yesterday by a Democratic member of Congress at a roundtable for Washington reporters. The member said Congress plans interviews with new witnesses, and may go back to earlier witnesses who ‘stonewalled’ under the Republican majority.”

“The reporters, many of them steeped in the special counsel’s investigation, came away realizing that House Dems don’t plan to depend on Robert Mueller for the last word on interference in the 2016 election.”


Heavy! Dramatic! Aggressive! Steeped! Great. Seriously, great news. 100% A+ would vote again. But at the same time just letting it play out is super weak tea for this surrealistic affront to Everything We Hold Dear. I mean - as Americans we want it now and some bunting around it declaring our unbeatable sale prices wouldn't be amiss either. Whatever - just fix the kid situation, restore the environment, tax the superrich, build the roads, let justice be done though the heavens fall and never let this happen again.
Then cake.
posted by petebest at 5:25 AM on February 13, 2019 [30 favorites]


BBC North American editor Jon Sopel goes into grim detail about the attack on his colleague at Trump's el Paso rally and assesses its significance: Why the Attack On Our Cameraman Was No Surprise
If you've never been to a Trump rally let me describe what it's like.

At some rallies at the end of the election campaign there were police officers posted on the access points to each press riser (the platforms where our cameras are mounted towards the back of the venue); even if there were no police they were confined areas.

There was no security last night, and the attack on Ron was stopped by a Trump-supporting blogger. Law enforcement were slow to get involved.

At some point in the president's remarks he will point a finger to where we are filming and you know then the fun is about to begin. "Have you seen a group of more dishonest people? They are fake news; they are the enemies of the people."[…]

All of my colleagues have stories of occasions when they've been jostled; some have been spat at. Last night Ron heard the words 'CNN sucks' and '[expletive] the media' before he was taken down.

President Trump interrupted his speech and checked that Ron was OK. But there was no condemnation. No statement that this was unacceptable. The Trump campaign issued a two-line statement on the incident, but equally did not condemn what happened. What conclusion should we draw from that? What message does it send to people who feel hostile towards the media?
And as a reminder, a Penn study showed an increase in violence in cities hosting Trump rallies during the 2016 campaign.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:45 AM on February 13, 2019 [59 favorites]


Despite Trump’s torrential dishonesty—nearly 8,500 false or misleading statements, at last count—close to half of his supporters say he has never lied...Nineteen percent of U.S. adults said he had never lied.

"Never lied." I doubt there's anything anyone can do to counteract this level of ignorance (willful or not) or collective insanity or cultish worship or whatever it is. I can't imagine trusting anyone more than my wife, and I don't trust her as much as these people apparently trust Trump. It's literally incredible.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:25 AM on February 13, 2019 [55 favorites]


Inspired by that, I propose a progressive registration fee for presidential candidates:

* Fee is calculated as 2% of the candidate's net worth


Who do you think will more sharply feel the loss of 2% of their net worth? A billionaire or someone who has to decide whether to buy their insulin or pay their rent? Also, in the typical terminology of taxes, what you propose is a flat tax, not a progressive one: it is the same percentage for everyone.

I get what you're driving at but this ain't it.
posted by phearlez at 7:25 AM on February 13, 2019 [19 favorites]


A reminder that Trump doesn't really care about American jobs, he just cares about optics and messaging: Since Trump tariffs, solar jobs have atrophied -- Solar jobs slip for the second year in a row, says The Solar Foundation annual report. (Megan Geuss for Ars Technica, Feb. 12, 2019)
This week, an advocacy group called The Solar Foundation released its ninth annual solar jobs report. In 2018 the industry contracted, shedding 8,000 solar jobs, or a loss of about 3.2 percent from 2017. The solar industry employed 242,343 people in 2018, the report said.

The solar industry is the largest renewable energy employer in the US and the second largest energy employer behind the oil and gas industry. Wind and coal trail far behind solar in terms of the number of people employed. (For comparison, coal mining lost 2,000 jobs between 2016 and 2017 [Ars Technica], although that industry employs only slightly more than 50,000 people.)
Emphasis mine, because to do a damned thing about coal other than speed up its demise, safely shuttering mines, while providing education and skill training for those remaining in the industry.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:37 AM on February 13, 2019 [16 favorites]


Inside The Largest And Most Controversial Shelter For Migrant Children In The U.S. (NPR, February 13, 2019)
Thousands of migrant children continue to arrive at the Southern border every month, without their parents, to ask for asylum. The government sends many of them to an emergency intake shelter in South Florida. That facility has come under intense scrutiny because it's the only child shelter for immigrants that's run by a for-profit corporation and the only one that isn't overseen by state regulators.

The Homestead "temporary influx facility" is the biggest and most controversial shelter for migrant children in the country. Critics say the government is warehousing kids in a makeshift prison camp. But on a recent tour, the shelter director took pains to show a different perspective.

The kids, ages 13 to 17, live in sand-colored dormitories, amid palm trees and bougainvillea, inside a fenced campus next to Homestead Air Reserve Base, south of Miami. The tour guide showed off the soccer field, the phone-home room, the medical clinic and the school classrooms. She described holiday parties, talent shows and pizza and ice cream for good behavior.

The young immigrants, mostly from Central America, receive health and dental checkups, new clothes and hygiene kits. They're assigned a case manager with whom they work to get released to an adult sponsor.

Discipline is strict. The teenagers walk single file in groups of 12, escorted by a youth-care worker. They smile at a visitor and call out "hola" when greeted.

But that's all a reporter ever hears.

On these stage-managed visits, journalists are not permitted to record anything, take photographs, or speak to the children. It's for the minors' privacy and protection, officials say.
Emphasis mine -- because if you want to say "this isn't a prison for children whose 'crime' is seeking refuge in the United States," saying the kids get pizza parties for "good behavior" is not the way to do it.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:42 AM on February 13, 2019 [27 favorites]


The Much-Heralded End of the Mueller Investigation (Mikhaila Fogel & Benjamin Wittes, The Atlantic)
"No one knows when it will actually “wrap up”—or what it will mean when it does."


But there’s actually a bigger problem than the possibility that all this eager Mueller-is-wrapping-up chatter may be wrong, just the latest instance of overly hasty anticipation of the Muellerpocalypse: No one knows what Mueller’s “wrapping up” actually means.

Consider your own reaction to the news: When you learned that Mueller was wrapping up, did you immediately assume that meant things were coming to a confrontation, or did you assume it meant the president was getting away with everything? Did you assume it meant that Mueller’s investigation was petering out and that he would file some kind of report? That he would “clear” the president? That he would produce a dramatic spree of final indictments? Or did you assume it meant that Mueller was getting ready to issue some kind of devastating written work product that ends up driving an impeachment? All of these are consistent with “wrapping up,” but they are radically different outcomes.

It seems a bit weird to speculate breathlessly that we are careening toward some kind of finality without actually knowing either whether the endpoint is near or what we mean when we say that we are reaching it.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:49 AM on February 13, 2019 [6 favorites]


Who do you think will more sharply feel the loss of 2% of their net worth? A billionaire or someone who has to decide whether to buy their insulin or pay their rent?

Phearlez, this fee is only paid by someone who wants to run for US President.

My assumption is that anyone who is routinely choosing between paying rent or buying insulin is probably not in a position to run for president.
posted by duoshao at 7:58 AM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


My assumption is that anyone who is routinely choosing between paying rent or buying insulin is probably not in a position to run for president.

But why shouldn't they be? This is America, where anyone can run for president. Sure, there's a de facto financial barrier in place now, but we should strive to tear it down rather than entrench it. I'm confident that if I selected one random American who has to choose between rent and insulin, that person would have a better understanding of this country's problems and challenges than any randomly selected billionaire.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:05 AM on February 13, 2019 [50 favorites]


Public financing of elections, and not vast pools of anonymous cash, would sure help this.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:10 AM on February 13, 2019 [24 favorites]


Offload it onto that campaign rather than the individual, in that case. A promising working-class candidate is going to have an easier time raising 2% of their net worth to cover this fee than your average billionaire.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 8:11 AM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


Ignoring the recommendations of the Tennessee Valley Authority, President* And Allies Push To Save A Very Specific Coal Plant. Outside of the obvious environmental reasons, there's not even an economic argument for keeping this plant open, except the economics of giving money to Murray Energy Corp.
posted by mcstayinskool at 8:17 AM on February 13, 2019 [12 favorites]


Inside The Largest And Most Controversial Shelter For Migrant Children In The U.S. (NPR, February 13, 2019)

Arrrrrgh.OK, I was ready to launch into another "another NPR fail" rant. But... the reporter, John Burnett, is really good at his job.

And this story structure -- open with the color, the tangible, we-were-there anecdote -- is pretty much a journalism staple. But... in this case it really doesn't work.

The point of the story is that this facility is a travesty, a money-making kiddie prison with a pretty face. But it spends so much time on the pretty face, right from the outset, that casual readers will absorb just the first impression, miss the main points, or give up before they get there.

You want to open with an anecdote? Fine. Take the attorney's account of the kids prohibited from touching each other, even giving a hug goodbye, lest they get "written up and it could affect their immigration case."

And while I give them tons of credit for digging into the finances, something my former colleagues don't do enough, the story sadly, infuriatingly, succumbs to the drumbeat that this is somehow normal and acceptable, instead of hammering the heart of all this: It is evil to separate children from their parents.

Sigh. There was some good reporting there, NPR, but you ddn't stick the landing.
posted by martin q blank at 8:21 AM on February 13, 2019 [39 favorites]


Mod note: One deleted; if we want to pursue alternative campaign-finance stuff, probably better to make a separate thread where there's room for a deeper dive on that and working through pros and cons.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:30 AM on February 13, 2019 [10 favorites]


David Fahrenthold / WaPo -

Two of Trump’s biggest hotel guests look to get major business deals approved by government:

T-Mobile CEO John Legere and Murray Energy Corporation CEO Bob Murray have been seeking government approval for key deals at their respective businesses — and they’ve both been frequent guests at Trump’s Washington, D.C. hotel
posted by growabrain at 8:32 AM on February 13, 2019 [22 favorites]


President Trump installed a room-sized golf simulator at the White House (David Fahrenthold and Josh Dawsey, WaPo)
Players can play on a digital copy of the famous St. Andrews course in Scotland, or on fictional courses made up just for the game. One offers the chance to play nine holes among “temples, volcanoes and dinosaur skeletons” in a South American jungle.
posted by box at 9:00 AM on February 13, 2019 [17 favorites]


Also, given the actual millions of dollars we have paid to send Trump and his security team golfing over the last two years, $50,000 is a fucking steal.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:17 AM on February 13, 2019 [39 favorites]


Trump’s system cost about $50,000, and was put in during the last few weeks

It was put in during the shutdown when he couldn't fly to Mar a Lago.
posted by Sophie1 at 9:31 AM on February 13, 2019 [36 favorites]


Richard Burr (R-NC) repeatedly denied evidence of Russian meddling on behalf of Trump even after briefings from the intelligence community. As a member of the Gang of Eight and the Gang of Twelve, Burr was repeatedly presented with evidence showing that Russian agents had hacked the Democratic National Committee, were working to help Trump win, and were targeting state-level voting systems. Nevertheless, on Oct. 3, 2016, he said that “I have yet to see anything that would lead me to believe” that Russia was meddling in the election to help Trump. Burr was also the only person who joined the Trump campaign who was privy to intelligence showing that members of the Trump campaign may have been colluding with Russia.

Who is Richard Burr?
posted by growabrain at 9:31 AM on February 13, 2019 [22 favorites]


The best way to resist Trump? Beto and El Paso show us how it's done (Amanda Marcotte, Salon)
"Thanks to Beto O'Rourke and the people of El Paso, Trump's first big rally of 2019 was a bust. Resistance, learn!"


Trump's trolling can create a seemingly impossible conundrum for progressives. No one wants Trump to hold his rallies without the community standing up to reject his hate and show that his bigotry will not go unanswered. But how does the resistance speak its mind forcefully, without inadvertently creating photos that will be used to whip up racial resentment?

Well, on Monday night, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke and the fine people of El Paso created an elegant solution that allows progressives to speak out without feeding the Trump propaganda machine: Instead of a protest, hold a counter-rally.

Dubbed the "March for Truth" and organized by more than 50 local groups, the counter-rally did much more than protest the hate fest being held by Trump a few blocks away. It uplifted the city with heartening images showcasing the community of El Paso, and rejecting Trump's efforts to demean border residents with racist stereotypes.


The rally, held outdoors with the lovely desert sky of West Texas as a backdrop, created a compelling counterpoint to the ugliness inside the arena where Trump held his rally. Photos of the handsome, charismatic O'Rourke standing with a diverse crowd of cheerful, determined progressives competed successfully in the news cycle with photos of the Trump rally.


Even though many outlets, especially Politico, tried to cram the story into their horse-race model — "Beto O’Rourke finally looks like a 2020 candidate" read the headline — the framing still makes clear that the counter-rally successfully hijacked the media narrative. Trump isn't used to that, and undoubtedly hates it.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:42 AM on February 13, 2019 [38 favorites]


Guardian: Trump administration still separating families at border, advocates say
The Trump administration is still tearing young children away from their parents when they cross the US-Mexico border unlawfully, despite formally ending the policy of family separations last summer, according to immigration advocates in Texas. [...]

Taylor Levy, legal coordinator for Annunciation House, [...] said Annunciation House receives one or two calls a week about new cases of family separations – and that is just cases their agency knows about in the El Paso area. [...]

Trump officially ended the policy in June amid growing uproar over scenes of distress as families were torn apart, adults harried through criminal courts and children, including babies and toddlers, kept in often harsh detention facilities.

Trump said at the time that he made the executive order to end the policy because: “I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated.”

But there is plenty of evidence, including from a government report, that families had been separated months before the official implementation of the policy in May 2018, and that families have continued to be separated since, all while the government has had difficulty reuniting children they had removed.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:19 AM on February 13, 2019 [20 favorites]


It's not clear that the Democratic Party nominee will necessarily be outspent by Trump -- the downside to constant grifting is that you don't always spend money as effectively as a non-grifting campaign would -- but $500 million is $500 million.

They also have free advertising in the form of every second of Fox News and whatever repeats of the Comey letter/empty podium idiocy we get from the rest of the news media in 2020.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:27 AM on February 13, 2019 [9 favorites]


Henry Giroux, the author of “American Nightmare: Facing the Challenge of Fascism”, in another passionate conversation with Ian Masters -
The US Not Immune to a Fascist Takeover By a Demagogue
posted by growabrain at 10:30 AM on February 13, 2019 [8 favorites]


Reuters: Banks Weigh Whether to Embrace or Avoid Progressive Firebrand Ocasio-Cortez "The Democratic Socialist and Wall Street critic joined the 60-member House Financial Services Committee in mid-January and more than a dozen lobbyists interviewed by Reuters say the 29-year-old activist and former bartender is too high-profile to ignore."

The money quote, so to speak: “The fear is, it’s like going in to talk to the FBI, anything you do or say can be used against you,” said one lobbyist for a major bank.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:33 AM on February 13, 2019 [33 favorites]


Bill de Blasio heads to New Hampshire as he stokes 2020 speculation (Erin Durkin, The Guardian)
“He wants to make sure ideas like Pre-K for All, paid personal time and mental health are on the table as Democrats debate the party’s vision for the future,” said [his communications director Michael] Casca, who joined De Blasio’s team after working on Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential race.

De Blasio has said he won’t rule out jumping into the already crowded Democratic primary field. “I never rule things out, because you never know what life brings,” he said during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union last month.

The trip, first reported by Politico, is the latest foray into national politics for a mayor who has tried to establish a profile as a national progressive champion throughout his two terms in office, to sometimes frustrating results.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:35 AM on February 13, 2019


How about Bloomberg create a superpac with 100MM that is run by people who are nothing like him (disabled, POC and/or queer), then he volunteers at a soup kitchen until 2021.
posted by rhizome at 10:35 AM on February 13, 2019 [50 favorites]


Vox: Dems pushing to get back pay for federal contractors included in budget deal.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:28 AM on February 13, 2019 [28 favorites]


Vox: Dems pushing to get back pay for federal contractors included in budget deal.


Good, but that's still not enough. Government employees and contractors incurred all kinds of costs because of the Republicans once again throwing a tantrum, from payday loan interest to late fees on bills to selling possessions to pulling money from savings and/or retirement funds, and they deserve, every one, to be made completely whole.

Belatedly paying what they would have cost anyway isn't enough. If the Republicans cut off government workers, the act should come with a very real cost that falls on them, not their preferred mode of other people. Bonuses and compensation for workers is a start. (I'd say make it mandatory, but the Democrats should really be engineering laws so that shutdowns simply never happen -- automatic CR plus inflation plus 5%, for example.)
posted by Gelatin at 11:38 AM on February 13, 2019 [10 favorites]


They are? Here's Mark Warner's bill. "This bill would keep the government running in the case of a lapse in funding by automatically renewing government funding at the same levels as the previous fiscal year, with adjustments for inflation."
posted by Chrysostom at 12:03 PM on February 13, 2019 [10 favorites]


A record number of US workers went on strike in 2018 (Alexia Fernández Campbell, Vox)
Last year’s labor unrest started with a teachers strike in West Virginia and ended with Marriott workers picketing across four states.

A record number of US workers went on strike or stopped working in 2018 because of labor disputes with employers, according to new data released Tuesday by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. A total of 485,000 employees were involved in major work stoppages last year — the highest number since 1986, when flight attendants, garbage collectors, and steelworkers walked off the job.

The increasing number of workers involved in labor strikes suggests that average Americans are not experiencing the “economic miracle” that President Donald Trump has described. They see the economy expanding and profits growing, but this doesn’t extend to their paychecks.

Frustrated public school teachers were behind the year’s largest walkouts, but hotel housekeepers and steelworkers also organized strikes that lasted for days. Working-class Americans haven’t been this fed up with their employers since the 1980s, as this chart shows:
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:08 PM on February 13, 2019 [22 favorites]


Ilhan Omar Drags Elliott Abrams to Hell for Being a War Criminal:
First, Omar pointedly noted that Abrams was deeply involved in the Iran-Contra scandal (he was pardoned by George H.W. Bush), adding, “I fail to understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful.”

When Abrams tried to respond, Omar cut him off, saying, “That was not a question.”

She then raised his dismissal of the 1981 El Mozote massacre, in which U.S.-trained Salvadoran soldiers murdered more than 800 civilians—part of a civil war Abrams described later as a “fabulous achievement.”

“Yes or no,” Omar pointedly asked Abrams. “Do you think that massacre was a fabulous achievement, that happened under our watch?”

Calling it a “ridiculous question,” Abrams insisted, “I’m not going to respond to that kind of personal attack, which is not a question.”

“Yes or no,” Omar, undeterred, continued. “Would you support an armed faction within Venezuela that engages in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, if you believe they were serving U.S. interests, as you did in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua?”

Smirking, Abrams responded that, “I don’t think this entire line of questioning is meant to be real questions, and so I will not reply.”

Elliot Abrams should almost certainly be in jail for the crimes he helped facilitate. But it gives some measure of comfort to see him so brutally uncomfortable while getting chewed out by at least one woman who’s sick of his bullshit.
She is amazing.
posted by Ouverture at 12:13 PM on February 13, 2019 [130 favorites]


>> the Democrats should really be engineering laws so that shutdowns simply never happen -- automatic CR plus inflation plus 5%, for example.

> ... Mark Warner's bill: ... automatically renewing government funding at the same levels as the previous fiscal year, with adjustments for inflation.


And that's a bad idea for Democrats, because it doesn't account for population growth, for example. If Republicans wanted to slowly but surely strangle good governance, they could do worse than endorsing any such bill, even one indexed to inflation. Without the terrible optics of a shutdown, there wouldn't even be any pressure on them to ever allow another budget to be passed.

Are you on board with e.g. the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health funded at the exact current proportion of the Federal budget? I want my future elected representatives to be able to adjust our future spending for our future needs!

(And with a generous enough automatic expansion - I don't really want the Pentagon to be even more bloated, thank you!)

No, the response to another shutdown should be an immediate general strike - or at least, a total strike by unpaid Federal workers. None of this "maybe we'll get grudging back pay and be left with mountains of late fees and loan interest charges" - no pay, no work.
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:16 PM on February 13, 2019 [6 favorites]


Vox: Dems pushing to get back pay for federal contractors included in budget deal.

Politico Playbook: "This is not a partisan issue. Several Republicans have been supportive of this effort. But there’s definite disagreement among Republicans and Democrats whether they can squeeze this in."

WaPo's Seung Min Kim: "On including back pay for federal contractors in the spending deal, Blunt tells reporters: “I’ve been told the president won’t sign that.”"

Cruelty is the point.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:22 PM on February 13, 2019 [22 favorites]


If we were rewriting the constitution, the answer to a failure to pass a budget would be a collapse of the administration/government and new elections.

Or, we should make congress passing a budget not require the President since it's entirely a power of the legislature and not the executive to appropriate funds. Congress would pass a budget and the executive (and judicial and legislative) branch would get the money they get in the pots that are allotted. This would massively disempower the executive, but I consider that a bonus.

However, both of these would be constitutional changes. As far as passing a law to prevent this happening in the future, I have no idea what would be a permanent fix.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 12:22 PM on February 13, 2019 [6 favorites]


from "Who is Richard Burr, Really?" linked above

It’s a remarkable feat that Burr has held the position of overseeing the Senate’s Russia investigation given what was known at the time he assumed the role. ... At his own campaign rally in Gastonia, North Carolina in late October 2016, Burr told the crowd, “There’s not a separation between me and Donald Trump.”

...From Aug. 11 to Sept. 6, 2016, the C.I.A. organized “a series of urgent, individual briefings for [the] eight top members of Congress.” The C.I.A. informed Burr and the others that the U.S. intelligence community had discovered the Kremlin was working to help elect Trump and that “unnamed advisers to Mr. Trump might be working with the Russians.”

With this information in hand, Burr decided not only to join the Trump campaign and tie his political fate to Trump. Burr also took the now difficult-to-explain step of publicly repudiating suggestions that the Russians were acting in support of Trump.


and "no direct evidence" from all of two days ago

"If we write a report based upon the facts that we have, then we don't have anything that would suggest there was collusion by the Trump campaign and Russia," said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in an interview with CBS News last week.

...Burr, in the CBS interview, said the motivations behind the Trump campaign's interactions with Russians were in some cases impossible to discern.


Beyond intellectually dishonest or disingenuous. Flat out corrupt lying from Burr. Yeah who could tell what they meant by "give us the dirt on HIllary I love it" and "let's only change the Ukraine section of the RNC position" it's like baffling BREAKING: RIchard Burr is a lying piece of shit and corporate news has dug us this fcuking hole out of malevolent control, spite, or incompetence. Thank dog we've got a few new voices in the house arguing the obvious for us on occasion.
posted by petebest at 12:26 PM on February 13, 2019 [29 favorites]


BuzzFeed, Adolfo Flores, Kids Trying To Seek Asylum In The US Are Being Blocked By Mexican Authorities
Mexican authorities have been apprehending unaccompanied migrant children as they are escorted by attorneys to United States border crossings to request asylum, in some cases placing the kids in protective services where their only options are to request refuge in Mexico or be deported back to their home country.

Mexican immigration agents started detaining children assisted by lawyers near the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry on the California border in November, said Nicole Ramos, the Tijuana-based director of the border rights project at legal service provider Al Otro Lado. Previously, lawyers were able to walk minors traveling without their parents to ports of entry to request asylum from US immigration officials, one of the last remaining methods for unaccompanied minors to seek protection.

"I don't know when they decided this was the best strategy and if there is a new policy we have not been made aware of it," Ramos told BuzzFeed News. "Mexican immigration...snatches them up when they are on the precipice of safety. How does that benefit the children? That is a political move, and children are the victims."
posted by zachlipton at 12:27 PM on February 13, 2019 [4 favorites]


FEMA Administrator Brock Long is out, per multiple sources. Sure, he'd been accused of (and investigated for) hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of personal travel on the taxpayers' dime, but this has nothing to do with any of that.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:29 PM on February 13, 2019 [7 favorites]


"This bill would keep the government running in the case of a lapse in funding by automatically renewing government funding at the same levels as the previous fiscal year, with adjustments for inflation."

We've discussed here on the Blue that automatic increases for inflation are necessary, so it's good they're in there, but I have come to doubt they are sufficient. I doubt we should make the default position in case of Republican intransigence the status quo; instead, a lapse in a formal budget should create a condition that Republicans do not want -- rate of inflation multiplied by a population factor plus 2%, say.

The more painful we make not passing a budget for Republicans, the less likely they are to resort to shenanigans. That way, the government is always robustly funded, and if the Republicans want to effectively or actually cut the budget, they can make their case to the american people. In general, they fail to do so.
posted by Gelatin at 12:35 PM on February 13, 2019 [6 favorites]


Guys, if you have the votes in Congress, or ever get the votes in Congress in future years, you’ll still be able to appropriate money and increase budgets as needed. The anti-shutdown bills just change the fallback funding levels from 0% to like 98-100%, depending on duration.

Might the Republicans be less likely to agree to sufficient funding if they could cut it slowly? Sure. But they could also just cut funding, like they sometimes do now, in the regular budgeting process.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 12:41 PM on February 13, 2019 [12 favorites]


But they could also just cut funding, like they sometimes do now, in the regular budgeting process.

If an auto-funding measure existed by default, the Democrats could have more leverage even in the minority, as long as a Senate filibuster existed (and the Republicans held less than 60 seats). Republicans would have to accommodate Democrats in at least some areas, or the budget wouldn't pass, ensuring no budget cut at all.

which is, by the way, the way things used to work before Newt Gingrich strove to turn Congress into a parliamentary system. Individual Congresspeople would protect their own prerogatives and local constituencies. It wasn't a perfect system, but it's better than Rand Paul or Susan Collins casting useless "protest" votes when their caucus has a nomination or law in the bag.
posted by Gelatin at 12:50 PM on February 13, 2019 [5 favorites]


Might the Republicans be less likely to agree to sufficient funding if they could cut it slowly? Sure. But they could also just cut funding, like they sometimes do now, in the regular budgeting process.

This.

Safety nets are not moral hazards.
posted by Etrigan at 12:51 PM on February 13, 2019 [11 favorites]


Everyone Is Getting the Amy Klobuchar Story Wrong:
These questions are absurd. In what other job would we ask whether we should scrutinize the way a boss treats their staff? How could it not “matter” if a boss treats their staff like shit, whether they’re a politician or not? It sure as hell matters for the staff. This is the classic, Cillizza-esque analytical approach of politics reporters: Feeling unable to weigh in on whether something is actually good or bad, because that wouldn’t be Objective, they stick to analyzing whether it’ll affect electoral outcomes. That’s how you end up in the position of wondering how it’ll play in Peoria if Amy Klobuchar throws stuff at her staffers.

What if, instead of approaching this story as a matter of political intrigue, we treated this story as it should be treated—as a labor story, a story of a shitty boss and workers who deserve better? In the American workplace, the boss has outsized power and workers have increasingly less. This is far more pressing in low-wage jobs, but it is also true in Congress, where staffers are underpaid and overworked and the boss is a member of the ruling elite. It says something important about Klobuchar’s understanding of labor rights—and her politics—if she abuses the power she has over her staff to demand they complete her menial personal errands, or screams at staffers for tiny errors. Does she think that other bosses have a right to treat their staffers the way she allegedly does? Does she understand how power operates in the workplace at all?
posted by Ouverture at 1:11 PM on February 13, 2019 [21 favorites]


To go along with that one:

Jennifer Palmieri, The Hidden Sexism Behind the Amy Klobuchar Reports: It’s not just that male and female bosses get different coverage. It’s that women in politics still face higher expectations—and more pressure.
Imagine if it was reported that a female politician was prone to bouts of “purple rage” or that she expected staff to skip weddings and family vacations, and be available to her “25/8.” She would not be admired for the hard-charging zeal she brought to the job. She would be seen as unhinged. She would not be considered a formidable leader. She would be someone who was not able to stand on her own two feet without staff constantly holding her hand.

Staff can be part of the problem. We too often embrace the notion that working for demanding men shows how tough we are. It shows we can handle life in the big leagues. It makes us cool. Working for a difficult and demanding woman isn’t seen as cool. Working for a difficult and demanding woman is seen as humiliating.

There is another, subtler and deeper sexism at work in the reports about Klobuchar. I know from firsthand experience that it is hard to work for a woman in politics. That’s different from saying women are hard on their staffs. Rather, it is an acknowledgment that women are held to different and often higher standards than their male counterparts—by their colleagues, by the media, by the public. The pressure these women feel gets internalized by their staffs.
posted by zachlipton at 1:14 PM on February 13, 2019 [28 favorites]


We don't scrutinize the way a boss treats their staff in any other job, because we assume that person is a man. It only comes up when it's a woman in a position of power, who is in a position to achieve more power.

Trump treats his staff like shit and everyone trips all over themselves to explain "what it really means". They certainly never asked, "Does he understand how power operates in the workplace at all" like this is his first fucking job out of college.
posted by Autumnheart at 1:16 PM on February 13, 2019 [48 favorites]


The coverage of Klobuchar is sexist AND her behavior towards staff has been terrible. It's both.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:19 PM on February 13, 2019 [57 favorites]


We don't scrutinize the way a boss treats their staff in any other job, because we assume that person is a man. It only comes up when it's a woman in a position of power, who is in a position to achieve more power.
This doesn't track with how many of the biggest #MeToo cases involved workplace harassment and abuse nor with how much coverage has been focused on male CEO's at tech companies and how poorly they treat their employees. There has been a lot more focus and coverage on workplace abuse and I think that is a really important thing!

An old union saying is that "a boss is a boss is a boss is a boss is a boss". Some of the coverage around Klobuchar is sexist, but I would much rather believe workers about how poorly they are treated than their boss, even if that boss happens to have a marginalized identity.
posted by Ouverture at 1:26 PM on February 13, 2019 [5 favorites]


I’ll give a shit about the Klobuchar stuff when I see even remotely comparable coverage of Sanders.

Part of the sexism is the way this — being mean, sometimes — is treated as a BIG HUGE ISSUE. It’s...really really not. It’s not pleasant, but the White House has never been a pleasant place to work. There are whole books with legendary anecdotes about male Presidents doing outrageous things, and those get treated as evidence of what a character he was, etc etc. it’s fucking bullshit.

Being a dick hasn’t been disqualifying for any other President; anyone who’s pretending its disqualifying now, when it’s a woman, isn’t being honest with us or themselves.
posted by schadenfrau at 1:28 PM on February 13, 2019 [59 favorites]


Max Boot: "Disgraceful ad hominem attacks by @IlhanMN on my @CFR_org colleague Elliott Abrams. She doesn't seem to realize he is a leading advocate of human rights and democracy--not a promoter of genocide! More evidence of the loony left I caution Democrats about."

Please spare us any more talk about NeverTrump Max Boot being an ally. Here he defends genocide, the same as any loyal Trumpist.

NeverTrumpers love Trump's policies. They just think saying it out loud damages the Republican brand.
posted by JackFlash at 1:30 PM on February 13, 2019 [12 favorites]


Mod note: If folks want to really dig into the Klobuchar stuff, best to move it to its own thread now.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:32 PM on February 13, 2019 [7 favorites]


Not to dig into the Klobuchar stuff (except to say where are you going to find a human who doesn't lose their temper and behave badly under stress sometimes? She's no LBJ)...

But the knock against Kamala Harris is pretty much the opposite of the knock against Klobuchar. "At one point, her lawyers argued that the state couldn’t release some prisoners because it would deplete its pool for prison labor — but Harris quickly clarified that she was not aware her office was going with that argument until it was reported by media."

People responded to that by saying that Harris SHOULD know what her staff was doing, the buck stops with her, etc.

So Harris is too hands-off and Klobuchar is too controlling. It feels like it's impossible to win.
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:39 PM on February 13, 2019 [17 favorites]


NBC: 'Whistleblower' Seeks Protection After Sounding Alarm Over White House Security Clearances—Tricia Newbold says her supervisor "repeatedly mishandled security files and has approved unwarranted security clearances."
The complaint, which was obtained by NBC News, alleges Newbold raised concerns with Kline about a security clearance for an individual as early as July 2017. The complaint does not identify the person, but sources familiar with the situation told NBC News that it was Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser.

In the complaint, Newbold says Kline "repeatedly mishandled security files and has approved unwarranted security clearances."[…]

Newbold’s complaint says she raised concerns with Kline again on the same individual, identified by sources as Kushner, on Aug. 21, 2017. The complaint states that Kline “advised I should ‘watch myself.’"

Months later, Kline approved top-secret clearance for Kushner, overruling the determination by Newbold and one other career White House security specialist, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
Kline sounds like a piece of work—when NBC News contacted him about his being the subject of an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint, he texted back, "I don't care."
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:42 PM on February 13, 2019 [32 favorites]


Please spare us any more talk about NeverTrump Max Boot being an ally. Here he defends genocide, the same as any loyal Trumpist.

I'm not going to link to it, but in response to calls for Virginia's governor and lt. governor to resign, Boot wrote a column that essentially said, "so much for the tolerant left." I'm assuming that, like Erick Erickson, he's on his way to letting us know that he'll be voting Trump in 2020 because radical leftists made him do it.
posted by peeedro at 1:43 PM on February 13, 2019 [6 favorites]


The 'Worst Bosses' in Congress?

Lists the percentage of turnover, and who holds the top 10 spots, in both the House and Senate. Amy Klobuchar has the highest at 36%, followed by Maria Cantwell at 30% and Joe Manchin at 28%.

In the House, Sheila Jackson Lee led the pack at 62%, followed by Raul Ruiz at 60% and Mark Sanford at 54%. In fact, all 10 spots for the House were at 42% or higher levels of turnover.

BTW these figures only take senior staff members into account, not junior, who are apparently not expected to stick around long.

Then we have the 2017 list for the Senate. The senators with the highest turnover were Mike Bennet, Mike Enzi, and Ted Cruz in descending order, for the top 3 spots. Ted Cruz had a turnover rate of about 28%, with Enzi and Bennet at about 32% and about 34% respectively.

In the House in 2017, the top 3 were Keith Rothfus, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Thomas Massey. The top 21 positions listed all had turnover rates of 40% or higher.
posted by Autumnheart at 1:43 PM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


Mod note: But really, again, separate thread if people want to dig on Klobuchar, bad congressional bosses, coverage sexism, etc.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:47 PM on February 13, 2019 [10 favorites]


Union demands apology after seeing Confederate book displayed in congressman's office (CNN)
Members of a federal labor union visiting a Georgia Republican's congressional office Monday said they discovered a 19th-century book on display that they considered "racially offensive." The American Federation of Government Employees is asking Rep. Drew Ferguson for a formal, public apology after its members said they found the book "General Robert Edward Lee; Soldier, Citizen and Christian Patriot," which presents Confederate ideology.

Union members said that the book -- published in 1897 -- was displayed open to a page reading, "The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially, and physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their instruction as a race, and, I hope, will prepare and lead them to better things."

...that they considered "racially offensive." Okay. "Union members said" -- union members helpfully took pictures of the display, actually.
The union's pushing for a public apology; apparently the congressman (who missed the appointment because "there was some scheduling confusion between the union and and his office," according to one of the union reps) fell over himself apologizing on the phone, and has removed the book. (No word on the glass display case housing the book.)

TheRoot.com has the full text of the page:
In this enlightened age there are few, I believe, but will acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a political and moral evil in any country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages. I think it, however, a greater evil to the white than to the black race, and while my feelings are strongly interested in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are strongly for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially, and physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their instruction as a race, and, I hope, will prepare and lead them to better things. How long their subjection may last is known only by a wise and merciful Providence.
"The. Book. Was. Inside. A. Glass. Case. Open. On. That. Page.

"It must be noted that it disproves the prevailing notion that people from the past didn’t consider slavery to be as evil as we do now. No, they definitely knew slavery was wrong. They just didn’t care because white people were more important. This is the very definition of white supremacy."
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:52 PM on February 13, 2019 [84 favorites]


Ouverture: Ilhan Omar Drags Elliott Abrams to Hell for Being a War Criminal
...
She is amazing.


And if you need a reminder, she's the first Somali-American politician elected to legislative office in the United States, the first naturalized citizen from Africa elected to the United States Congress, the first woman of color to serve as a U.S. representative from Minnesota, and along with Rashida Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. And this is her second month in office. [Wikipedia]


Exceptional_Hubris: FEMA Administrator Brock Long is out, per multiple sources.

As reported from NPR: FEMA Administrator Brock Long Says He Will Step Down (February 13, 2019 at 4:20 PM ET)
Brock Long, who led the Federal Emergency Management Agency during 220 declared disasters since 2017, announced his resignation Wednesday.

In a statement, Long, 43, said "While this has been the opportunity of the lifetime, it is time for me to go home to my family — my beautiful wife and two incredible boys."

William "Brock" Long has led FEMA since June 2017. A former state emergency management director in Alabama, Long was faced with immediate challenges in the federal post, including hurricanes Harvey in Texas and Maria in Puerto Rico. FEMA's response to Maria was widely criticized as slow and inadequate.

Long was also found by the Department Of Homeland Security's inspector general to have improperly used government vehicles and resources to travel back to his North Carolina home.
...
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Deputy Administrator Pete Gaynor will become acting FEMA administrator upon Long's departure. It's not clear how much longer Long will remain at his position.
Gaynor was formerly the director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, per Executive Gov dot com, who reported on his confirmation as deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, waay back in October 2018.

Good luck scaling up, Gaynor.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:15 PM on February 13, 2019 [6 favorites]


Max Boot: "Disgraceful ad hominem attacks by @IlhanMN on my @CFR_org colleague Elliott Abrams. She doesn't seem to realize he is a leading advocate of human rights and democracy--not a promoter of genocide! More evidence of the loony left I caution Democrats about."

Oh my! Someone making an ad-hominem attack on a person who is testifying! This is unheard of!
posted by srboisvert at 2:29 PM on February 13, 2019 [2 favorites]


Gaynor spent 20+ years in the Marines; [a]t one point, he was the executive officer responsible for the security of Camp David.
He may not need luck.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:31 PM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


And millionaire Rick Scott has introduced a bill to eliminate Congressional pensions, which would guarantee that only millionaires could serve.
posted by NoxAeternum at 2:47 PM on February 13, 2019 [6 favorites]






And millionaire Rick Scott has introduced a bill to eliminate Congressional pensions, which would guarantee that only millionaires could serve.

Congressional pensions should be based on your wealth and income prior to your first Congressional election. The more you have, the less you get.
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:56 PM on February 13, 2019 [10 favorites]


THR, Fox News Rejects National Ad For Oscar-Nominated Anti-Nazi Documentary
Fox News has rejected a national advertising buy for a 30-second spot that warns viewers about the potential dangers of American fascism after an ad sales representative said network leadership deemed it inappropriate, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The spot doubles as a promotion of this year's Oscar-nominated documentary short A Night at the Garden, which recounts a 1939 Nazi rally in New York City, and a warning — "It Can Happen Here" — to Hannity's largely conservative viewers about the potential dangers of President Donald Trump's brand of populism.
...
A Fox News national ad sales representative told the distributor's media-buying agency on Wednesday that C.E.O. Suzanne Scott ("our CEO") said the ad was "not appropriate for our air," according to email correspondence viewed by THR.
You can watch the ad, and the filmmakers can now use "banned by Fox News" as a the centerpiece of their Oscar campaign.
posted by zachlipton at 3:24 PM on February 13, 2019 [72 favorites]


said the ad was "not appropriate for our air,"

The only inappropriate audience for that ad is Nazis.
posted by Rust Moranis at 3:33 PM on February 13, 2019 [18 favorites]


@ShimonPro: We have a ruling. Judge Amy Berman Jackson has decided that Paul Manafort “intentionally made multiple false statements to the FBI, the OSC and the grand jury concerning matters that were material to the investigation.” She especially noted the lies about Kilimnik.

@emptywheel: Effectively Amy Berman Jackson just ruled that, by a preponderance of the evidence, Paul Manafort lied about conspiring with Konstantin Kilimnik DURING the campaign and in early days of Trump Admin.

Here's the court order

"The Office of Special Counsel is no longer bound by its obligations under the plea agreement, including its promise to support a reduction of the offense level"

Whatever he's got up his sleeve to beg for a pardon, now's the time.
posted by zachlipton at 3:41 PM on February 13, 2019 [56 favorites]


538 plays VP draft for 2020. Some... interesting picks. And, as Nate says, interesting is code for bad! Note these are guesses for who will be the VP pick rather than who should be. I feel like that gets conflated a lot. My top 4 would consist of Beto, Harris, Klobuchar, and Castro which I think is pretty close to Nate's top 4, so I feel good about that.
posted by Justinian at 3:42 PM on February 13, 2019


my @CFR_org colleague Elliott Abrams

Always good to be reminded that war criminals in the US get rehabilitated into lifelong sinecures while outspoken opponents of foreign intervention... don't. Blob's gonna blob. The new Dem intake is (for now) shocked by DC, and has no fucks to give about the collegiality granted to Mr Death Squads.
posted by holgate at 3:46 PM on February 13, 2019 [16 favorites]


Max Boot: "Disgraceful ad hominem attacks by @IlhanMN on my @CFR_org colleague Elliott Abrams. She doesn't seem to realize he is a leading advocate of human rights and democracy--not a promoter of genocide! More evidence of the loony left I caution Democrats about."

I watched the testimony on video linked above. She recounted the atrocious history of the policy, then quoted his praise of the policy. Not seeing an ad. hom.

However, from experience I will offer this observation. Some people are wired up so that any criticism of their behaviour is seen as a personal attack on them, rather than criticism of the behaviour.

I leave it to the reader to decide if, and if, to what degree that is dysfunctional behaviour.
posted by mikelieman at 3:51 PM on February 13, 2019 [12 favorites]


Lyndon LaRouche Jr., conspiracy theorist and presidential candidate, dies at 96 (WaPo)

I assume it’s all just part of the Queen’s plot.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 3:56 PM on February 13, 2019 [25 favorites]


Well Manafort is in jail so he didn't murder Larouche, which we have to rule out cuz Manafort just keeps on criming.
posted by vrakatar at 4:03 PM on February 13, 2019 [2 favorites]


Rick Scott is not a "millionaire" - his net worth is prob. $500M
posted by growabrain at 4:05 PM on February 13, 2019


"The Office of Special Counsel is no longer bound by its obligations under the plea agreement, including its promise to support a reduction of the offense level"

This is simply a fabulous development. A lying liar gets caught lying and oh boy, I hope he pays big time.
posted by bluesky43 at 4:31 PM on February 13, 2019 [31 favorites]


@emptywheel: As a reminder: SCO says that Manafort lied about passing polling data to Kilimnik bc if he told the truth Trump wouldn't pardon him.

This is a key point. Mueller's office directly said that Manafort may have lied to preserve his chance of a pardon. I mean, I wouldn't bet spending the rest of my life in jail on least-loyal-man-in-the-world Donald Trump, but Manafort is the only one here who really knows all the goods he has on Trump.
posted by zachlipton at 4:41 PM on February 13, 2019 [17 favorites]


Yep. From Vox with some more on that. The whole article is worth reading but here's the punchline.

What does it all mean?
For one, Manafort’s plea deal clearly wasn’t the game-changing Mueller probe development that some hoped for. Prosecutors have made clear they think he was of no real use as a witness, and that they think he was still hiding the truth from them on many topics.

But the back-and-forth has revealed new areas of the investigation. In particular, the accusation that Manafort shared private Trump campaign polling data with Kilimnik during the campaign is arguably the closest Mueller has come to alleging outright collusion.

Still, there are are a variety of potential explanations for what happened there. Manafort could have handed over the data without Trump’s knowledge — or with it. Manafort could have handed it over in hopes of impressing wealthy Ukrainian patrons — or he could have been providing data that would aid the Russian government’s election interference efforts.

As for Manafort’s own future, it’s been widely speculated that he’s hoping for a pardon from President Trump, and Mueller’s team even said in court that this could be a potential motivation for his false statements. Trump has conspicuously declined to rule out such a move.

For now, though, the former Trump campaign manager remains in jail, where he’s resided for eight months. His sentencing in Washington will take place on March 13, and his sentencing in Virginia currently has no scheduled date.
posted by bluesky43 at 4:46 PM on February 13, 2019 [6 favorites]


I watched the testimony on video linked above. She recounted the atrocious history of the policy, then quoted his praise of the policy. Not seeing an ad. hom.

However, from experience I will offer this observation. Some people are wired up so that any criticism of their behaviour is seen as a personal attack on them, rather than criticism of the behaviour.


This absolutely is an ad hominem attack. The thing is though it is not part of a logical argument about something else. It is a specific commentary on the character of the man. So it is not a fallacy. Pointing out a person's behavior is 100% the point of judging their character - "To the person" is exactly what you should be doing.
posted by srboisvert at 4:55 PM on February 13, 2019 [20 favorites]


Still, there are are a variety of potential explanations for what happened there. Manafort could have handed over the data without Trump’s knowledge — or with it. Manafort could have handed it over in hopes of impressing wealthy Ukrainian patrons — or he could have been providing data that would aid the Russian government’s election interference efforts.

He gave the campaign data to the Russian spy at a meeting where they discussed sanctions relief. You don't get sanctions relief unless you help Trump and Trump knows you helped him.
posted by diogenes at 4:59 PM on February 13, 2019 [19 favorites]


You know, I don't know if we're going to survive as a species, but Ilhan Omar is like a fucking Marvel superhero going against some ancient evil, and I am going to find some way to work it in my decidedly non-political class because after that action with Omar and Abrams I was practically yelling STRONGER FASTER HARDER at the screen. It is incredibly compelling.
posted by angrycat at 6:14 PM on February 13, 2019 [35 favorites]


Still, there are are a variety of potential explanations for what happened there. Manafort could have handed over the data without Trump’s knowledge — or with it. Manafort could have handed it over in hopes of impressing wealthy Ukrainian patrons — or he could have been providing data that would aid the Russian government’s election interference efforts.

You know...the "what if Obama did it" standard is rarely useful, but this is an exception.

Imagine that in 2008, David Plouffe was found to have handed over internal Democratic campaign data and voter information to Iran, while at the same time Iran had hacked into the RNC and Condaleeza Rice's private email account and dumped those emails online. And had been credibly accused of attacking election systems.

Forget FOX News, how would CNN have treated the Obama administration? Would they really be sitting back and waiting for Special Counsel Al Gore to finish his investigation? It's a national scandal that no serious person, anywhere outside of the Democratic party, and a precious minority within it, even believes a Republican is even capable of being caught in any kind of scandal, no matter how treasonous. Washington isn't just hardwired for Republican rule, it's been actively pushing us towards Republican authoritarian despotism for 40 years, and getting more eager and impatient to have us all subjugated by the day.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:25 PM on February 13, 2019 [90 favorites]


CNN, Daughter and son-in-law of AG nominee leaving the Justice Department

Well that makes sense. He's set to be confirmed as AG tomorrow, so to avoid a conflict of interest they're surely going to take private sector—
Mary Daly, Barr's oldest daughter and the director of Opioid Enforcement and Prevention Efforts in the deputy attorney general's office, is leaving for a position at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Treasury Department's financial crimes unit, a Justice official said.
Ok, at least that's another cabinet agency. I bet Barr's son-in-law will make sure to uphold the highest ethical—
Tyler McGaughey, the husband of Barr's youngest daughter, has been detailed from the powerful US attorney's office in Alexandria, Virginia, to the White House counsel's office, two officials said.

It's not clear if McGaughey's switch is a result of Barr's pending new role, and the kind of work he'll be handling at the White House is not public knowledge.
Another son-in-law will still be working in the Justice Department's National Security Division.

So Barr sends a 19-page unsolicited memo arguing that the President didn't obstruct justice without knowing any facts, gets appointed AG which oversees the investigation, and now his son-in-law is moving to the White House counsel's office. This all seems totally on the up-and-up.
posted by zachlipton at 6:58 PM on February 13, 2019 [68 favorites]


The widest circle that you can draw from court documents without excessive speculation is that people who were either Russian intelligence or strongly connected to Russian intelligence had access to I-1's polling data via Manafort, Clinton's analytics via the AWS hack, at least some registration data dumped from state boards, inside access to an election software vendor, and the capacity to spearphish county election officials with malware while posing as that vendor.

Is that a lot? That seems like a lot.
posted by holgate at 7:00 PM on February 13, 2019 [48 favorites]


That sure seems like enough.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:05 PM on February 13, 2019 [22 favorites]


It's a bit late in the thread, but I do want to lol a bit at Max Boot coming to the defense of Elliot Abrams. I mean, Boot's most recent claim to fame was his realization that Goldwater really was an extremist because he finally read his actual book, instead of just relying on conservative hearsay. Do you think in 40 years we're going to hear back from Boot like "Oh yeah, my bad. Abrams totally was a war criminal. I realized this once I actually looked into what he did in Central America instead of just, y'know, believing whatever all the other conservatives say about him,"?
posted by mhum at 7:22 PM on February 13, 2019 [9 favorites]


>"The Office of Special Counsel is no longer bound by its obligations under the plea agreement, including its promise to support a reduction of the offense level"

>This is simply a fabulous development. A lying liar gets caught lying and oh boy, I hope he pays big time.


It seems that Manafort played a high stakes game of withholding information assuming he could bargain for a pardon from Trump. But this ruling means Manafort's ongoing value to Mueller is zero. He destroyed his credibility as a possible witness and Mueller has the information he needs from other sources.

But for Manafort, if his value to Mueller is zero, then his silence on behalf of Trump is also worthless. Trump has no reason to pardon him as he has nothing of value to offer Trump. Manafort gambled and lost. He's totally screwed.
posted by JackFlash at 7:37 PM on February 13, 2019 [15 favorites]


But for Manafort, if his value to Mueller is zero, then his silence on behalf of Trump is also worthless. Trump has no reason to pardon him as he has nothing of value to offer Trump. Manafort gambled and lost. He's totally screwed.
Unless he has recordings, receipts, e-mails, or other evidence to offer. He may still be a long way from "totally screwed" - we simply have no way of knowing at this point.
posted by Nerd of the North at 7:49 PM on February 13, 2019


What's stopping Trump from pardoning Manafort? Please don't tell me we're counting on public outrage.
posted by xammerboy at 7:58 PM on February 13, 2019 [1 favorite]


> What's stopping Trump from pardoning Manafort? Please don't tell me we're counting on public outrage.

Once you're pardoned, you lose the Fifth Amendment defense against self-incrimination, so Manafort would have to testify to all the details that he's been holding out on, on pain of jail for contempt of court. (And yeah, Trump could pardon that, and so on ad infinitum, but that's about as direct as Trump could get on obstruction of justice.)

So, chances are, Trump doesn't actually pardon Manafort, just holds out the prospect of a pardon to buy his continued silence. See also: Bush, Cheney, and Scooter Libby.

(Oh, and for extra fun, Libby was pardoned in April 2018 by I-1 himself. Not too subtle on the signaling.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:08 PM on February 13, 2019 [11 favorites]


I think it's that once Trump starts handing out the pardons the Mueller thing goes into its endgame. And while Trump probably rides that out, better for him to delay it as long as possible since his odds go up re: impeachment the closer we get to the 2020 election.

Nobody will have appetite to impeach Trump in September of 2020.
posted by Justinian at 8:09 PM on February 13, 2019 [6 favorites]


What exactly is the mechanism of somebody being pardoned and then not being able to plead the fifth? Trump pardons Manafort, then they somehow get him into a court room and he just sits there and answers everything they throw at him? I don’t get it.
posted by gucci mane at 8:11 PM on February 13, 2019


Because part of a pardon is that you're admitting guilt to whatever you're being pardoned for. There is no more self-incrimination available.

EDIT: whoops, technicality
posted by rhizome at 8:16 PM on February 13, 2019 [2 favorites]


You can plead the fifth and say you might be exposed to state crimes by testifying, but if that's true then I suppose there may be some interested states' AGs.
posted by BungaDunga at 8:27 PM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


What exactly is the mechanism of somebody being pardoned and then not being able to plead the fifth? Trump pardons Manafort, then they somehow get him into a court room and he just sits there and answers everything they throw at him? I don’t get it.

Criminal contempt of court, requiring another pardon, ad infinitum.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:31 PM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


I would very much like Law Twitter to expound on how inability to plead the 5th after a pardon interacts with the possibility of state prosecution. Because that really seems like a sticking point to me.
posted by Justinian at 9:43 PM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


One way to think about Manafort's actions is that he's in a Joint Defence Agreement with someone who lies about everything all the time. This means I-1's lawyers need as much information from every other witness or target as possible, and also need to elicit as much from Mueller possible. Taking things to trial means getting discovery; pleading out and lying during the "cooperation" hearings means having to provide evidence he was lying.

However, that process is pretty much done, and the ex parte chunk of that hearing is the stuff that Mueller's team doesn't want passed on to the White House.

A rosier but less likely hypothesis about why the truth of the Kilimnik meeting in August (as perceived by Mueller) would hurt Manafort's pardon prospects is that it would take out the pardon-granter.
posted by holgate at 10:27 PM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


CREW: Why President Trump Can’t Pardon His Way Out of the Special Counsel and Cohen Investigations
[at 6] There is not a state counterpart for every crime charged in the Manafort and Gates indictments; for example, the requirement to disclose political work done for a foreign government is only imposed by the federal government.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:33 PM on February 13, 2019 [5 favorites]


What's stopping Trump from pardoning Manafort?

Firstly, it might be considered further evidence of obstruction of justice. But I suspect that the real reason is Trump's aversion to paying his debts. It doesn't matter what the nature of the debt is; he just enjoys screwing people over even when it wouldn't cost him anything to treat them generously. Remember when Trump met the Pope, but wouldn't let very-Catholic Sean Spicer tag along? The pettiness is part of his modus operandi; he's not going to pardon anyone except himself and maybe the Family.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:38 PM on February 13, 2019 [17 favorites]


JustSecurity: When the Pardon Furthers the Conspiracy: Limits to the Pardon Power
While concerns about the lengths to which Trump will go to protect himself and his inner circle from accountability are well-founded, there are important limits to the pardon power. The president’s pardon power cannot be used to: (1) pardon state crimes, (2) remove federal civil liability, (3) pardon impeachment, or (4) pardon crimes that have not already occurred.

The first three limitations and their application to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation have been thoroughly explored, including in a detailed report by Noah Bookbinder, Norman Eisen, Caroline Frederickson, and Conor Shaw. But the fourth limitation has not received similar attention.

This fourth limitation is important because it constrains Trump’s ability to protect co-conspirators from federal criminal liability for a conspiracy that involves the use of the pardon power. A conspiracy to obstruct the investigation that includes the use of the pardon power could not be subsequently pardoned by Trump; a pardon can only apply to actions that occur before it is issued, but in this case any obstructive pardon would be a continuation of the conspiracy, so the crime would be ongoing. Put another way: you cannot pardon a crime when the pardon itself continues the crime.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:47 PM on February 13, 2019 [13 favorites]


NBC: Presidential Pardons Might Not End Russia Prosecutions
According to a source with knowledge of one state attorney general’s preparations, the office is already studying its potential state jurisdiction for Russia-related crimes. The source told MSNBC that state investigators typically defer to federal inquiries, but there is a perception the Russia inquiry may not turn out to be a typical situation.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:54 PM on February 13, 2019 [5 favorites]


Trump’s DHS Guts Task Forces Protecting Elections From Foreign Meddling (Erin Banco, Betsy Woodruff / Daily Beast)
One of the task forces is now half the size it was a few months ago, according to two DHS officials familiar with the task forces, and there’s no indication that DHS senior political leadership will staff it up or sustain it. Instead, there are concerns it will completely wither away. The other task force also shrank significantly shortly after the midterms, according to that official, and before its members produced a thorough assessment of what happened during the 2018 elections..

..Inside DHS, staffers are frustrated that emphasis on election security has dwindled as the focus on border security has exploded. One staffer told The Daily Beast that officials working on election security have discussed ways to get the message to the White House, but found no one willing to bring it up directly with Trump.

“It’s very clear which direction we’re headed in DHS,” one staffer told The Daily Beast. “Everything, it seems, is dictated by someone higher up the chain who is making it abundantly clear to the rest of us that immigration and border security are the real focuses.”
posted by p3t3 at 1:45 AM on February 14, 2019 [40 favorites]


Evan Mcmullin's Twitter account has been suspended, anyone know what that's about?
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 4:33 AM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Fox News Bans Ad For Documentary About American Nazi Rally in 1939 (Matt Novak, Gizmodo)
Fox News has refused to air an ad for the short documentary film A Night at the Garden, according to a new report from the Hollywood Reporter [link].

The 7-minute movie [Vimeo], which was recently nominated for an Academy Award, explores the terrifying day on February 20, 1939 when thousands of American Nazis held a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. The CEO of Fox News reportedly claims that an ad for the anti-Nazi movie is “not appropriate for our air.”

The 30-second ad, titled “It Can Happen Here,” was supposed to run during the Sean Hannity Show earlier this week. The title of the ad is a reference to the 1935 novel It Can’t Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis which predicted a rise of fascism in the United States during the 1930s. But Fox News apparently doesn’t want anti-Nazi content on its channel.
...

Trumpism isn’t literal Nazism. But it doesn’t have to be in order to create dangerous conditions in the United States. It can happen here. And Sean Hannity knows that better than most people.
posted by ZeusHumms at 4:51 AM on February 14, 2019 [32 favorites]


Max Boot: "Disgraceful ad hominem attacks by @IlhanMN on my @CFR_org colleague Elliott Abrams. She doesn't seem to realize he is a leading advocate of human rights and democracy--not a promoter of genocide! More evidence of the loony left I caution Democrats about."

I watched the testimony on video linked above. She recounted the atrocious history of the policy, then quoted his praise of the policy. Not seeing an ad. hom.


It isn't an ad hominem at all to say that an advocate of terrible and inhumane foreign policy has no standing to lecture Congress on foreign policy. It might be if Abrams were testifying on another subject, say, net neutrality, but his support of murderous Central American dictatorships -- "democracy," my eye -- is directly relevant to the topic. It's just inconvenient to neoconservatives like Boot for the American people to be reminded of their dirty track record. And Boot is smart enough to know what ad hom means, so his usage here shouldn't be seen as anything other than intellectually dishonest.
posted by Gelatin at 5:02 AM on February 14, 2019 [19 favorites]


McCabe Ordered Obstruction of Justice Probe Into Trump (CBS News, via)

“Soon after speaking to President Trump about the firing of his boss James Comey, Andrew McCabe, who became the bureau’s acting director, began obstruction of justice and counterintelligence investigations involving the president and his ties to Russia. In his first television interview since his own firing, McCabe tells 60 Minutes he wanted those inquiries to be documented and underway so they would be difficult to quash without raising scrutiny.”

Said McCabe: “I was very concerned that I was able to put the Russia case on absolutely solid ground, in an indelible fashion. That were I removed quickly, or reassigned or fired, that the case could not be closed or vanish in the night without a trace.”


Republican McCabe was publically denied his penson by being fired just before retirement, following the "mysterious" Devin Nunes memo, in case anyone corporate news outlets think this was too complicated to be understandable.
posted by petebest at 5:27 AM on February 14, 2019 [51 favorites]


McCabe also says that there were meeting at the Justice Department to discuss removing Trump via 25th amendment.
posted by diogenes at 5:31 AM on February 14, 2019 [9 favorites]


The 7-minute movie [Vimeo ], which was recently nominated for an Academy Award, explores the terrifying day on February 20, 1939 when thousands of American Nazis held a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. The CEO of Fox News reportedly claims that an ad for the anti-Nazi movie is “not appropriate for our air.”

That movie is chilling. I can't help but compare with the footage someone posted above of Trump looking on while a photographer was mauled at the El Paso rally -- he was at his most Mussolini'esque there.
For Fox News, this banning needs to be a huge scandal. Come on now all the rest of the media.
posted by mumimor at 6:09 AM on February 14, 2019 [34 favorites]


Steve Benen: True to form, Trump finds a way to stiff contractors (again)
Democrats, led by Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), pushed a provision to include back pay for federal contractors as part of the spending deal, but when reporters asked Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) yesterday whether it would be included, the senator replied, “I’ve been told the president won’t sign that.”

The issue could, in theory, be addressed through a separate bill, but its prospects are unclear at this point.

It’s worth noting who’ll be hurt by this. Some may hear “government contractor” and think of a giant defense contractor that already has considerable resources.

But in this case, we’re actually talking about a very different kind of workforce. As Vox recently explained, in reference to those adversely affected by the shutdown, “Up to 580,000 contractors, including cafeteria workers, security guards, developers, and IT consultants, could be missing out on back pay because of the impasse, according to NYU public service professor Paul Light.”

Federal officials could approve their back pay. The president doesn’t want to.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:12 AM on February 14, 2019 [35 favorites]


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says ‘Shock Doesn’t Begin To Cover’ This Lobbying Tactic (Lee Moran, HuffPo)
The freshman lawmaker called out lobbyists and others who pay people, including some who are homeless, to wait in line for them outside committee hearings. [@AOC Tweet]
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:29 AM on February 14, 2019 [23 favorites]


From The Atlantic, an excerpt from McCabe's new book The Threat: Every Day Is a New Low in Trump's White House (page title "When James Comey Was Fired", which is the actual content of the piece and hence a better headline in my view).

It's chock full of Individual-1 at his Individual-Onniest, basically asking McCabe to assure him how much everyone in the FBI hated Comey and how happy they must be that he was gone. After the fired Comey travels home on a government plane and McCabe tells Trump he made the decision to allow it, potus is furious and tells him to "look into it" even though there's nothing to look into, which is his management style to a tee.

He pushes hard for a meeting with the FBI (presumably akin to his weird CIA speech) that ended up not happening (McCabe doesn't know why, but he recalls assenting to it and feeling deja vu about his interactions with a mob boss called Dimitri Gufield, about whom Internet info is scant). Plus Don (as he calls himself here for some reason) taunts McCabe to his face about his "loser" wife. As usual, he can't resist sadism even when he'd be better off at least trying to play nice.

It also reveals something I hadn't known, which is that McCabe was the one to advise Rosenstein to appoint a special counsel. He specifically referenced the Hillary case, arguing that the politics of it had "twisted the FBI into knots" regarding how to announce a result without charges, and if they'd used a special counsel instead, the heat on the FBI itself would be reduced and the process could unfold with more independence.

I don't know how I'd feel if that had been done -- the optics would probably have hurt her worse earlier on (evoking Whitewater and the Valerie Plame incident), but there also probably wouldn't have been the October surprise, because a hypothetical not-Comey investigator would (unworried about Republicans grilling him/her under a presumed President Clinton) keep their damn mouth shut.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:44 AM on February 14, 2019 [6 favorites]


“I’ve been told the president won’t sign that.”

I don't understand this reasoning. Let him not sign it then. Trump has vetoed a total of none bills in his tenure.
posted by runcibleshaw at 6:44 AM on February 14, 2019 [38 favorites]


(ITY2017, that link goes 404, looks like there's a trailing number needed - Atlantic Andrew McCabe book excerpt link fixed)
posted by petebest at 6:54 AM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


Max Boot: "Disgraceful ad hominem attacks by @IlhanMN on my @CFR_org colleague Elliott Abrams.

@KevinMKruse:
I guess I should state for the record that if any of my academic colleagues enable a genocide in Guatemala or illegally run guns to rebels in Nicaragua or get busted lying to Congress, I'm actually not going to offer kind words about them on Twitter when they look for a new job.
Lots of great replies.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:02 AM on February 14, 2019 [42 favorites]


Daily Beast: Trump’s DHS Guts Task Forces Protecting Elections From Foreign Meddling—‘It’s very curious why the leadership has not committed resources to prepare for the 2020 election,’ one Homeland Security official tells The Daily Beast.
Two teams of federal officials assembled to fight foreign election interference are being dramatically downsized, according to three current and former Department of Homeland Security officials. And now, those sources say they fear the department won’t prepare adequately for election threats in 2020.

“The clear assessment from the intelligence community is that 2020 is going to be the perfect storm,” said a DHS official familiar with the teams. “We know Russia is going to be engaged. Other state actors have seen the success of Russia and realize the value of disinformation operations. So it’s very curious why the task forces were demoted in the bureaucracy and the leadership has not committed resources to prepare for the 2020 election.”

The task forces, part of the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), were assembled in response to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. One focuses in part on securing election infrastructure and the other focuses on foreign influence efforts, including social media disinformation campaigns.[…]

Inside DHS, staffers are frustrated that emphasis on election security has dwindled as the focus on border security has exploded. One staffer told The Daily Beast that officials working on election security have discussed ways to get the message to the White House, but found no one willing to bring it up directly with Trump.

“It’s very clear which direction we’re headed in DHS,” one staffer told The Daily Beast. “Everything, it seems, is dictated by someone higher up the chain who is making it abundantly clear to the rest of us that immigration and border security are the real focuses.”
Yesterday, CISA Director Chris Krebs told the House Homeland Security Committee that DHS is planning another national tabletop cybersecurity exercise for state election officials this summer. We'll see how that goes with a gutted task force.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:03 AM on February 14, 2019 [16 favorites]


feeling deja vu about his interactions with a mob boss called Dimitri Gufield, about whom Internet info is scant)

Indeed. I just went down the rabbit hole on this. Turns out that dockets for United States v. Gufield, No. 98 CR. 435 (E.D.N. Y. Mar. 31, 1998), aff'd 242 F.3d 268 (2d Cir.2000) aren't google-able.

I got that cite from a US Attorney's Bulletin from 2006, the story is on p. 42

Which of course, had Trump's Mirror, where Gufield tried to corner the market in nyc prostitution by sex trafficking in woman.
posted by mikelieman at 7:04 AM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


We've discussed here on the Blue that automatic increases for inflation are necessary, so it's good they're in there, but I have come to doubt they are sufficient. I doubt we should make the default position in case of Republican intransigence the status quo; instead, a lapse in a formal budget should create a condition that Republicans do not want -- rate of inflation multiplied by a population factor plus 2%, say.

The more painful we make not passing a budget for Republicans, the less likely they are to resort to shenanigans. That way, the government is always robustly funded, and if the Republicans want to effectively or actually cut the budget, they can make their case to the american people. In general, they fail to do so.


From a bit higher in the thread, but I am very concerned that the conservative hostage taking antics is paying off exactly as they wanted - never having to pass a budget again. As society gets more connected and complex, the need for additional regulations logically follows. And these regulators and safety nets ought to be paid for by those who are "winning" with increases to productivity, by increased taxes and budgets.
posted by 6ATR at 7:22 AM on February 14, 2019 [5 favorites]


Turns out that dockets for United States v. Gufield, No. 98 CR. 435 (E.D.N. Y. Mar. 31, 1998), aff'd 242 F.3d 268 (2d Cir.2000) aren't google-able.

His dockets are online in Pacer, but most of the entries are not linked to related documents (by itself not unusual for cases in 1998). But the ones that are linked (which includes his indictment) are sealed. He was released from federal custody in December, 2015.
posted by adamg at 7:26 AM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


More on Elliot Abrams

The diplomat came before Congress and was told that he could not be trusted.

“I have to say to you, and I’m sorry to say this, that as one who feels very strongly that we must begin from this point forward to rebuild a bipartisan foreign policy,” his questioner said, “that I’m afraid there’s too much in the record at this point for you to be able to effectively play that role.”

The diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams, answered, “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

The exchange occurred in 1987 during congressional hearings on the Iran-contra affair, as lawmakers probed secret efforts by the Reagan administration to aid the Nicaraguan rebels. “Someone is not being honest with us,” Abrams was warned.


The issue of ad hominem argument is difficult for me. Too often we see Republicans engaging in it when they have no other valid criticisms. Here it seems the opposite. Among the many reasons to reject the Trump administration's policy in Venezuela is that they've chosen someone to lead it who has lied to Congress about supporting brutal dictators.
posted by Emmy Noether at 7:26 AM on February 14, 2019 [12 favorites]


Congress Sprints To Pass Border Security Package With Trump's Support Unclear (NPR, February 14, 2019)
Congressional leaders are prepared to vote Thursday on a $333 billion bipartisan spending package to avoid the threat of a partial government shutdown, despite mixed signals from President Trump.

The legislation (PDF), which was released in the early hours of Thursday morning, includes $1.375 billion in funding for border fencing and increases in additional border security funding. The legislation also funds a number of unrelated agencies that have become part of the overall spending fight.

Top congressional negotiators say the compromise ("Joint Explanatory Statement," PDF) includes carefully tailored border spending, allowing both parties to selectively celebrate portions of the bill.

Republicans, like Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., have focused heavily on the investment in 55 miles of new border fencing.

"This legislation makes a significant down payment on the border wall," Shelby said in a statement. "I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this package so we can demonstrate to the American people that we are here to work together and do our jobs."

Democrats say the money falls far short of Trump's original demand for $5.7 billion for a border wall. The bill has restrictions on where the fencing can be built, including explicit protections for sites like a butterfly refuge in the Rio Grande Valley.

House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-NY, point to new spending on humanitarian aid at the border and increases border technology as victories in the bill.

"This agreement denies funding for President Trump's border wall and includes several key measures to make our immigration system more humane," Lowey said in the statement. "It also rejects the President's irresponsible budget cuts and instead invests in priorities that will strengthen our families, communities, and economy, like public safety, support for small businesses, environmental protection, transportation, housing and robust American global leadership."
...
Deputy White House Communications Director Adam Kennedy told NPR's Morning Edition Trump "doesn't want his hands tied on border security" and his support is contingent upon learning further details of the bill.

"I think the president is going to fully review the bill," Kennedy said. "I think he wants to review it before he signs it."
The big question is, how many pictures does it include? And how often does it mention Donald Trump by name? I'm worried, because on first skim it includes neither, and those seem like things that would keep him engaged in reading this 609 page document.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:40 AM on February 14, 2019 [9 favorites]


The NYT's Maggie Haberman reports from Trumpworld: Trump Puts Best Face on Border Deal, as Aides Try to Assuage an Angry Right
[…]Mr. Trump offered no acknowledgment on Wednesday that his pressure tactics had failed even as aides sought to minimize the damage by tamping down criticism on the right.

One call was made to Lou Dobbs, a favorite of Mr. Trump’s whose Fox Business Network show he often tries to catch live. Another was placed to Sean Hannity, the Fox host who regularly talks with the president. The message: Mr. Trump deserved support because he still forced concessions that he would never have gotten without a five-week partial government shutdown.[…]

Mr. Meadows and his allies were among those targeted by the White House in hopes of avoiding a more threatening conservative revolt. A meeting with members of his Freedom Caucus in the Oval Office was partly aimed at urging them to hold their fire in television interviews when talking about the bill, according to a person briefed on the effort.

And indeed, despite his complaints about the bill, Mr. Meadows made a point on Wednesday of not blaming Mr. Trump. “I think he handled it as well as anybody could handle it, given a dysfunctional Congress,” Mr. Meadows told reporters.

Among those involved in the outreach, according to the person briefed on the discussions, was Bill Shine, a White House deputy chief of staff and former Fox executive who in the West Wing is seen as adept at getting some hosts at Fox to respond to White House concerns.[…]

Mr. Trump and his aides claimed victory because they had gotten more than Ms. Pelosi’s zero dollars, and they noted that the agreement also included $23 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, an increase from $21 billion last year. But Democrats said much of the increase would go to their priorities, like more customs agents and humanitarian aid, not to Mr. Trump’s.

Either way, his aides are now focused on finding pots of money that, with the president’s traditional discretion, can be reprogrammed toward the wall. If that is not enough, he could still declare a national emergency to bypass Congress, although such a move is opposed by many Republicans and would invariably draw a court challenge.
The Fox News–Trump White House-Freedom Caucus axis is alive and well, even as it spins this setback to sympathetic journalists.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:11 AM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


This was the piece that suggested Rosenstein had wanted to, but did not, wiretap the president, which McCabe has not (to the extent that I've seen in his book) confirmed, and would have been in a position to confirm or deny.

McCabe Says Justice Officials Discussed Recruiting Cabinet Members to Push Trump Out of Office
As a clip from the interview with Scott Pelley was released, Mr. Pelley said on “CBS This Morning” that Mr. McCabe had confirmed a New York Times report that the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, had suggested wearing a wire in meetings with Mr. Trump and that Justice Department officials discussed recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:11 AM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


This was the piece that suggested Rosenstein had wanted to, but did not, wiretap the president, which McCabe has not (to the extent that I've seen in his book) confirmed, and would have been in a position to confirm or deny.

The WaPo's coverage says McCabe has confirmed the discussion about wearing a wire and rejects the assertion that Rosenstein was just joking around:
[CBS reporter Scott] Pelley said McCabe disputes the assertion, advanced by defenders of Rosenstein, that the deputy attorney general was not serious about wearing a wire. Pelley said McCabe took the idea to FBI lawyers for a discussion afterward.
Also that the discussion of the 25th Amendment between McCabe and Rosenstein went so far as "counting noses", speculating on where various Cabinet members might stand on the question.
posted by peeedro at 8:12 AM on February 14, 2019 [6 favorites]


“I’ve been told the president won’t sign that.”

I don't understand this reasoning. Let him not sign it then. Trump has vetoed a total of none bills in his tenure.


Senate Republicans know that if they force Trump's hand, there's a chance he'll stop sending them 35-year-old assholes to pack the courts for the next half-century.
posted by Etrigan at 8:14 AM on February 14, 2019 [19 favorites]


So two Republican justice department officials thought the 25th amendment necessary and began counting. Two REPUBLICANS inside the administration began that effort how long ago?

It's like, how much more could possibly be needed to end this national nightmare?
posted by Slackermagee at 8:29 AM on February 14, 2019 [15 favorites]


Let him not sign it then. Trump has vetoed a total of none bills in his tenure.

Didn’t he veto the original spending bill back in November/December, leading to the shutdown? Or, am I misremembering the events?
posted by Thorzdad at 9:00 AM on February 14, 2019


Didn’t he veto the original spending bill back in November/December, leading to the shutdown? Or, am I misremembering the events?

Nope. He said he would, and then Paul Ryan sat on it and let it die when the Congress ended. There was never a House vote on that bill.
posted by jackbishop at 9:02 AM on February 14, 2019 [18 favorites]


> Didn’t he veto the original spending bill back in November/December, leading to the shutdown?

No, he made grumbly noises and the House passed a bill with $25 billion in wall funding, which the Senate was unable to pass. Thus, shutdown, no veto. (What a perfect way for Paul Ryan to exit.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:02 AM on February 14, 2019 [5 favorites]


There's still a lot that was weird about that report, which felt a lot like a hit piece on Rosenstein -- it framed things as if the reader's concern should be with Rosenstein's purported actions and not, you know, with anything that Trump might have done to precipitate them.

Yeah seriously. It's astonishing the way they'll try to spin this to make it seem like Rosenstein is the problem when the whole point is that the president's actions are causing all of this! The president is the fucking problem, not the people deciding whether to punish him.
posted by Liquidwolf at 9:08 AM on February 14, 2019 [12 favorites]


"This legislation makes a significant down payment on the border wall," Shelby said in a statement. "I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this package so we can demonstrate to the American people that we are here to work together and do our jobs."

A 2.8% downpayment, but if Shelby can gaslight Trump, I'm all for it.
posted by mikelieman at 9:10 AM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


there's a chance he'll stop sending them 35-year-old assholes to pack the courts for the next half-century.

This national turd circus cannot be over until this has been remediated. Contrary to some opinion these judges can be - must be - removed. Boof is #1 on that list.
posted by petebest at 9:13 AM on February 14, 2019 [32 favorites]


Trump will probably sign anything put on his desk. However, even Republicans aware of this don't want to risk the small chance of creating the ideal primary ad: "Let's kick out ___ -- he voted for a bill so terrible that it merited Fearless Leader's very first veto".
posted by InTheYear2017 at 9:20 AM on February 14, 2019


We're not going back to a pre-2016 "normal" regardless of what happens to this White House. The social divisions aggravated by this regime and the full-tilt propaganda shitshow will still leave lasting resentment even if the whole crew in the White House goes to jail. Many of his supporters are openly fine with the treason and the institutional child abuse.

Things can get better, and I have to believe they will, but we're also going to have stupid fights like this for a long time to come. Fixing all this is going to require much more than getting rid of the regime.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:20 AM on February 14, 2019 [47 favorites]


Contrary to some opinion these judges can be - must be - removed.

Well, how? Impeachment is the only remedy I know of, and it's not designed for "this person shouldn't have been confirmed in the first place"? Theoretically I suppose a Congress could use it like that, but, there's that darned old Republican Senate, who were the same ones who were supposed to not confirm unqualified Judges.
posted by thelonius at 9:32 AM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


> Didn’t he veto the original spending bill back in November/December, leading to the shutdown?

This is the first time I've thought to be thankful for Herr Twitler's obvious lack of knowledge of the U.S. Constitution.  I can only imagine how excited he'd be if he knew of the pocket veto.  The will-he, won't-he breathless coverage it'd engender is just the type of publicity he imagines to be good.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 9:35 AM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


BuzzFeed, Hamed Aleaziz, Being An Immigration Judge Was Their Dream. Under Trump, It Became Untenable.
“I can’t do this anymore,” she told friends. “I felt that I couldn’t be ‘Rebecca Jamil, representative of the attorney general’ while these things were going on.”

In many ways, her resignation underscores the tenuous position of immigration judges, who are overseen by the attorney general and susceptible to the shifting winds of each administration. To avoid potential conflicts, the union that represents the judges has long called for its court to be an independent body, separate from the Department of Justice.

The Trump administration has undertaken a monumental overhaul of the way immigration judges, which total around 400 across the country, work: placing quotas on the number of cases they should complete every year, ending their ability to indefinitely suspend certain cases, restricting when asylum can be granted, and pouring thousands of previously closed cases back into court dockets. In the meantime, the case backlog has jumped to more than 800,000 under the administration and wait times have continued to skyrocket to hundreds of days.

The quotas in particular have made judges feel as if they were cogs in a deportation machine, as opposed to neutral arbiters given time to thoughtfully analyze the merits of each case.
posted by zachlipton at 9:38 AM on February 14, 2019 [38 favorites]


thelonius The problem isn't really so much what impeachment was designed for, as that removal from office takes a 2/3 majority in the Senate and there is absolutely no way that even if you could get all the Democratic and caucusing with Democrats Senators to agree to vote to remove Kavanaugh, or any other horrible Republican judge, there is no way that you'd get even one Republican Senator to sign on, much less the 20 it'd take to actually remove any of them.

The idea that we can actually remove any of the judges Trump has appointed is pure fantasy, they are in office until they retire or die of old age.
posted by sotonohito at 9:40 AM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


We need a law that simply says "only Article III courts are considered to have legal authority."
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:42 AM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


I remember when Trump proposed another "remedy" for lifetime judicial appointments in front of an crowd of thousands of jeering, squealing swine.

Being appointed by a bloodthirsty fascist to do bloodthirsty fascists' work is reason enough to remove judges . If that's still impossible then the judiciary needs to be sidelined, constitution or no, tho the heavens fall etc. If we have a permanently poisoned judicial branch for the rest of our lives then we simply don't have a legitimate judiciary and should stop behaving as such, and if that means the death of America then look around you and tell me it ain't already dead.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:45 AM on February 14, 2019 [15 favorites]


Pseudomoderate Republican Congressman Peter King on MSNBC saying that he welcomes a public Mueller report because there was, to his knowledge, “no collusion”. By what rationale does the Congressman discount the revelations of the Manafort/Kilimnik Secret Cigar Room Meeting? “Well, that was very late in Manafort’s tenure as Campaign Manager.”

That’s right. The meeting happened after Manafort had been the Manager of the Campaign for a while. It happened late in his tenure, i.e., closer to the election than it might have otherwise occurred. Therefore, so sayeth the very sensible and moderate Representative King, it is irrelevant. No collusion.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:51 AM on February 14, 2019 [26 favorites]


I don't understand this reasoning. Let him not sign it then. Trump has vetoed a total of none bills in his tenure.

He has even signed completely blank papers. Which is consistent with his formal platform.
posted by srboisvert at 9:55 AM on February 14, 2019 [5 favorites]


There are 870 federal judgeships. Trump has appointed 85. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water and remove key checks on stupid states and federal action because we don’t like some of them.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:09 AM on February 14, 2019 [7 favorites]


And Obama appointed 329 federal judges.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 10:13 AM on February 14, 2019 [6 favorites]


(That's only the Article III judges, BTW.)
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 10:16 AM on February 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


The senate has confirmed William Barr as attorney general.
posted by StrawberryPie at 10:27 AM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


"Collusion" is a headfake because TMK it's only defined in terms of anti-trust, and in that way, he's (and Trump, and...) is right.

What would be nice is if the questioners would follow up with "what about conspiracy?"
posted by rhizome at 10:28 AM on February 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


Yesterday CNN reported, in an exclusive, that Barr is gearing up to take the reins on Mueller probe and pick a top deputy.
Barr, expected to win Senate confirmation later this week, has been consulting with top Justice Department officials on outlines of plans to handle an anticipated investigative report from special counsel Robert Mueller on the Russia investigation in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the discussions. The most pressing question Barr will face is how much information should be included in a report to Congress based on the findings from Mueller.[…]

Barr has also begun discussions on a successor to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has overseen the Mueller probe for most of its existence. Whitaker's predecessor as attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself and Rosenstein appointed Mueller to conduct an independent investigation.

Jeffrey Rosen, the deputy transportation secretary who was confirmed by the Senate in 2017, has emerged as the top contender for the job, multiple sources familiar with the discussions tell CNN. Rosen previously served as general counsel at the Transportation Department and in the Office of Management and Budget in the administration of President George W. Bush.
Coincidentally, Ken Dilanian doubled down on the Mueller Report, writing for NBC today: You May Be Disappointed By the Mueller Report—The special counsel operates under rules that severely constrain how much information can be made public.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:28 AM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


Ignoring the recommendations of the Tennessee Valley Authority, President* And Allies Push To Save A Very Specific Coal Plant. Outside of the obvious environmental reasons, there's not even an economic argument for keeping this plant open, except the economics of giving money to Murray Energy Corp.

Update: @eilperin: Sometimes Trump's tweets don't work: Tennessee Valley Authority's board of directors voted today to retire the remaining coal unit at the Paradise power plant in Muhlenberg County, KY, by a vote of 7-1. The one dissenter was a former coal industry executive appointed by Trump.

Great. Now close the rest.
posted by zachlipton at 10:30 AM on February 14, 2019 [45 favorites]


thelonius: Impeachment is the only remedy I know of, and it's not designed for "this person shouldn't have been confirmed in the first place"? Theoretically I suppose a Congress could use it like that, but, there's that darned old Republican Senate, who were the same ones who were supposed to not confirm unqualified Judges.

Initiating, and succeeding, in impeaching sitting judges is not unheard of in recent times (Wikipedia article "Impeachment investigations of the United States federal judges," linking to 21st century).

Impeachment has been initiated five times since 2000, and as is easier to see on the Ballotpedia article on Impeachment of federal judges, which notes there was one successful impeachment and another judge resigned. Wikipedia notes that there was a second resignation in 2014, of Mark Fuller, who abused his wife.

And neither list includes Federal Judge Kozinski, who retired following sexual harassment allegations (NPR, Dec. 18, 2017).

In other words, Impeachment isn't the only remedy. Public outcry and political pressures can lead to judges resigning or retiring.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:31 AM on February 14, 2019 [12 favorites]


Meanwhile, Federal Watchdog Issues Scathing Report On Ed Department's Handling Of Student Loans (Cory Turner for NPR, February 14, 2019)
A critical new report (PDF)from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General finds the department's student loan unit failed to adequately supervise the companies it pays to manage the nation's trillion-dollar portfolio of federal student loans. The report also rebukes the department's office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) for rarely penalizing companies that failed to follow the rules.

Instead of safeguarding borrowers' interests, the report says, FSA's inconsistent oversight allowed these companies, known as loan servicers, to potentially hurt borrowers and pocket government dollars that should have been refunded because servicers weren't meeting federal requirements.
Senators To DeVos On TEACH Grant Debacle: 'Urgent That These Mistakes Are Fixed' (Cory Turner and Chris Arnold for NPR, July 2, 2018)
The U.S. Department of Education is in the midst of a top-to-bottom review of a troubled federal grant program for public school teachers. The effort follows reporting by NPR that found many teachers had their grants unfairly converted to loans, leaving some with more than $20,000 in debt. In June, 19* U.S. senators signed a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, citing NPR's reporting and saying "it is urgent that these mistakes are fixed."

Now, documents obtained by NPR reveal that a previously unreported plan to fix the program was problematic from the start and did nothing for the vast majority of people involved.
*19 Democratic senators: Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Margaret Hassan (D-N.H.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Robert Casey Jr. (D- Pa.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Thomas Carper (D-Del.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), lead by Senator Tina Smith (D-MN).

If you need to get good and fired up, read the letter. I'm not going to pull-quote anything, because good damn, it's all infuriating.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:43 AM on February 14, 2019 [35 favorites]


And responding to my earlier comment where I quoted NPR's article titled: Congress Sprints To Pass Border Security Package With Trump's Support Unclear, I should point out that this isn't a border security package, I should have emphasized the first line: it's a a $333 billion bipartisan spending package to avoid the threat of a partial government shutdown with $1.375 billion in funding for border fencing and increases in additional border security funding.

Based on my calculation, that "Border Security Package" is less than one half of one percent of the total $333 billion spending package.

Way to up-sell the border wall element, NPR.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:48 AM on February 14, 2019 [13 favorites]




Didn’t they (or a related dept) do the same thing in NJ a year or two back?
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 11:17 AM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


> Didn’t they (or a related dept) do the same thing in NJ a year or two back?

Yes, this was the University of Farmington. The NJ one was University of Northern New Jersey.
posted by papercrane at 11:29 AM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


Update: @eilperin: Sometimes Trump's tweets don't work: Tennessee Valley Authority's board of directors voted today to retire the remaining coal unit at the Paradise power plant in Muhlenberg County, KY, by a vote of 7-1. The one dissenter was a former coal industry executive appointed by Trump.

Of note: 3 of the 7 directors voting in favor are also Trump appointees. [WaPo]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:41 AM on February 14, 2019 [7 favorites]


@jakesherman: ALERT: McConnell says from the floor trump will sign bill and issue national emergency declaration. WOW.. McConnell interuppted grassley speech to announce the vote and national emergency. Grassley just SCREAMED at McConnell: “you’re rude. You’re just simply rude.” Said it would’ve taken 5 minutes for him to finish.
posted by zachlipton at 12:11 PM on February 14, 2019 [61 favorites]


McConnell says from the floor trump will sign bill and issue national emergency declaration. WOW.. McConnell interuppted grassley speech to announce the vote and national emergency.

The fact that the leader of the Senate, a co-equal branch of government, did not use the occasion of announcing the president's obviously bad-faith and blatant attempt to subvert the will of Congress as expressed in the bill they just sent to him with "and therefore, I will urge my fellow Senators to support the articles of impeachment that I am sure are forthcoming from the House for this affront to the rule of law" shows how depraved the Republican Party has become.
posted by Gelatin at 12:19 PM on February 14, 2019 [71 favorites]


There isn’t an (immigration) emergency. But there is a deepening constitutional crisis. Let’s not let the firehose of criminality and immorality distract us from the fact that this is one step closer to authoritarianism. This is bad.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:28 PM on February 14, 2019 [24 favorites]


Senate Confirms William Barr As Next Attorney General (Philip Ewing for NPR, February 14, 2019)
The Senate voted 54-45 on Thursday to confirm William Barr as attorney general, returning him to a post he first occupied in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Barr was scheduled to be sworn in at the White House on Thursday afternoon by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Barr's confirmation followed an earlier vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance him after a committee hearing in which members pressed him about the Russia investigation.

Republicans, including the panel's chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., say they're satisfied that Barr will not interfere with special counsel Robert Mueller.

They have accepted his commitments about making public whatever Mueller issues when his work is complete, so long as it is consistent with the law or regulations.

Democrats worry that Barr might be a spy for President Trump at the Justice Department and they say that Barr hasn't promised unconditionally that he'll release a report by Mueller if the special counsel's office completes one.
If you're looking to see how everyone voted, here's the Roll Call Vote 116th Congress - 1st Session -- the Nomination (Confirmation William Pelham Barr, of Virginia, to Attorney General) (Senate.gov)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:30 PM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


McConnell: Trump will sign the bill and declare a national emergency (CNN with embedded video clip, Feb. 14, 2019) -- Here's what McConnell said:
"I've just had an opportunity to speak with President Trump, and he would, I would say to all my colleagues, has indicated that he's prepared to sign the bill. He will also be issuing a national emergency declaration at the same time. And I've indicated to him that I'm going to prepare -- I'm going to support the national emergency declaration. So for all of my colleagues, the President will sign the bill. We'll be voting on it shortly."
WTF - why both? I mean, great -- not another shutdown. But why the national emergency? Not to freak out, but this vague pre-declaration is kind of worrisome: What the President Could Do If He Declares a State of Emergency -- From seizing control of the internet to declaring martial law, President Trump may legally do all kinds of extraordinary things. (Elizabeth Goitein, Feb. 2019 issue of The Atlantic)
This edifice of extraordinary powers has historically rested on the assumption that the president will act in the country’s best interest when using them. With a handful of noteworthy exceptions, this assumption has held up. But what if a president, backed into a corner and facing electoral defeat or impeachment, were to declare an emergency for the sake of holding on to power? In that scenario, our laws and institutions might not save us from a presidential power grab. They might be what takes us down.
Seems ... premature to escalate the rhetoric? But what do I know?
posted by filthy light thief at 12:36 PM on February 14, 2019 [13 favorites]


I'm a little surprised to see Sinema as one of three Democratic Yays alongside Manchin and Doug Jones.
posted by contraption at 12:36 PM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


McConnell says from the floor trump will sign bill and issue national emergency declaration.

If there's ever another Democratic president, the first day in office they have the obligation to declare a national health care emergency to institute single payer and a national climate emergency to institute the Green New Deal. Next is the wealth inequality national emergency, etc.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:36 PM on February 14, 2019 [89 favorites]


The Manafort Case Proves Collusion (NYMag)

Here we have, in this case alone, every single element one would need to establish collusion. There was a meeting between Trump’s campaign manager and a Russian operative; the discussion of something Russia would gain from a Trump victory (a favorable Ukraine settlement); the exchange of information that would assist Russian campaign intervention (polling data that would allow Russia to target its social-media attacks). Also, they left the meeting place via separate entrances. This isn’t merely suspicious. It’s a scene from The Americans.

And perhaps most curious of all, you have the interest of the president. If Manafort was just running a side hustle behind Trump’s back, Trump would have little reason to care about him getting caught. Prosecutors have already charged that Manafort maintained secret contacts with the White House as recently as 2018. Howard Fineman reported last year that, according to “friends and aides” of the president, Trump believes Manafort “isn’t going to ‘flip’ and sell him out.”


Witch hunt? No! Collusion!
posted by petebest at 12:36 PM on February 14, 2019 [34 favorites]


If there's ever another Democratic president, the first day in office they have the obligation to declare a health care emergency to institute single payer and a climate emergency to institute the Green New Deal. Next is the wealth inequality national emergency, etc.

My thoughts exactly. If this be autocracy, make the most of it!
posted by non canadian guy at 12:38 PM on February 14, 2019 [11 favorites]


Ever since the possibility of him calling a national emergency was raised, it was a foregone conclusion. It’s like Checkov’s Gun. It’s Checkov’s National Emergency.
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:40 PM on February 14, 2019 [45 favorites]


Because it's this stupid . . . CNN has reports 'WH aides less certain he'll sign bill averting shutdown'. This orange guy is all drama.
posted by Harry Caul at 12:42 PM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Nancy pelosi just challenged trump to declare a national emergency on gun violence and it was kinda epic.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:42 PM on February 14, 2019 [55 favorites]


The problem with declaring a national emergency is that you still can't spend funds that haven't been appropriated. You have to raid other buckets. That's fine for Trump, who doesn't care that disaster aid for Puerto Rico is being diverted for the wall (or whatever). Democrats, by contrast, aren't going to sign up for that and probably shouldn't.
posted by BungaDunga at 12:42 PM on February 14, 2019 [13 favorites]


If this be autocracy, make the most of it!

Let's not. It won't end well.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:42 PM on February 14, 2019 [10 favorites]


"I've just had an opportunity to speak with President Trump, and he would, I would say to all my colleagues, has indicated that he's prepared to sign the bill. He will also be issuing a national emergency declaration at the same time. And I've indicated to him that I'm going to prepare -- I'm going to support the national emergency declaration. So for all of my colleagues, the President will sign the bill. We'll be voting on it shortly."

Well, that's nice, Mitch. But the Democrats in the house won't forget that the President is declaring a nonexistent emergency in order to keep the gasbags on Fox News from rightly pointing out that Trump folded not once but twice on the border wall, and they control the nation's purse strings.

Still, no one should be surprised. Trump has governed from Day One with utter contempt for the government of the people, like installing cabinet heads whose agenda clearly runs counter to the mission of the departments they ostensibly run. His oath of office was a bad joke. I absolutely agree that if the Republicans want the president to rule as he pleases, the next Democrat in office should do exactly that (and if it happens in 2020, she'll likely have a Democratic congress on her side anyway).

Let the message be that "bipartisanship" no longer means "do what the Republicans want," and the Democrats will work with Republicans the minute Republicans are willing to bargain in good faith, which will be the first time in decades.
posted by Gelatin at 12:45 PM on February 14, 2019 [17 favorites]


Ever since the possibility of him calling a national emergency was raised, it was a foregone conclusion.

Yes, because Trump made clear that he'd make the declaration not in response to an actual emergency -- in which time would be of the essence -- but rather wait to see if he got what he want, and use the declaration if he didn't. It's obviously phony, so much so that one wonders if he intends to have the courts shut it down.
posted by Gelatin at 12:47 PM on February 14, 2019 [5 favorites]


And for everybody expecting the Supreme Court to say no to the national emergency, remember that Trump idolizes Andrew "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it" Jackson over any other president. If there's one thing that Trump will try to assume truly dictatorial powers over the SC for, it's the wall.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:47 PM on February 14, 2019 [7 favorites]


But why the national emergency?

Because he's a demented malignant narcissist, and he needed something to assuage the narcissistic injury of not getting his way.

I'm hoping this is also a reaction to the McCabe interview pre-leaks about DOJ officials recruiting cabinet members to maybe invoke the 25th post-Comey firing, because if not, we've probably got more stupidity coming.

Nancy pelosi just challenged trump to declare a national emergency on gun violence and it was kinda epic.

"So you're saying we can take all the guns next time we win?"

This is...not a good development, and I hope it gets smacked down in court or we're all fucked.
posted by schadenfrau at 12:50 PM on February 14, 2019 [10 favorites]


Pelosi clarified that she meant merely that if he wanted to address a real emergency, that there is one out there thats not fake. She said she didnt think any president should subvert congress but also that republicans should be wary of the precedent.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:54 PM on February 14, 2019 [25 favorites]


> I'm a little surprised to see Sinema as one of three Democratic Yays alongside Manchin and Doug Jones.

I'm not surprised at all. Her record in the House was about as conservative as you can get without a (R) next to your name, and now she has to defend her seat state-wide in a state Trump won by ~4 percentage points. I don't see her being as much of a pain in the ass as Manchin, but I'm baking some of these sorts of breaks with the party into my expectations.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:59 PM on February 14, 2019 [7 favorites]


Building any of the wall without a law from Congress saying you have to makes it pretty easy for the next Dem president to just tear it down. Sell off the scrap steel and dip into federal property upkeep funds to pay for the crews and just tear that shit out in the first month, it'll come down a lot faster than it went up.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:02 PM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


If the House votes to terminate the emergency under the National Emergencies Act, doesn't that mean the Senate will have to take a vote on it? I'm not under any illusion that it'd actually pass the Senate but I'd like to tie Trump around every Republican's neck as much and as explicitly as possible.
posted by whuppy at 1:02 PM on February 14, 2019 [11 favorites]




Let's not. It won't end well.

If the Republicans don't pay a price for their behavior, they have no incentive to stop. And the state of the national health insurance system and gun violence are much more arguably genuine national emergencies than Spanish-speaking people immigrating to the US.

It's the job of Congress to act as a check on the president, but that fact simply can't only be true when a Democratic president is poised to deliver on policies popular with the American people and not benefiting billionaires and Donald Trump.
posted by Gelatin at 1:10 PM on February 14, 2019 [19 favorites]


Sightline Institute, Believe It or Not, Trump Put a Huge Tax on Parking Lots, Maybe by Mistake, in which the tax bill now requires companies to pay taxes on their parking (this is about corporate tax, not tax-free commuter benefits on the individual tax side) and everyone is freaking out. Of course, the IRS is trying to water it down, so that the corporate tax exemption for transit benfits would disappear, but would still apply in many cases to driving.

There's an opportunity to submit comments to the IRS in the next week.
posted by zachlipton at 1:14 PM on February 14, 2019 [8 favorites]


jason_steakums: Building any of the wall without a law from Congress saying you have to makes it pretty easy for the next Dem president to just tear it down. Sell off the scrap steel and dip into federal property upkeep funds to pay for the crews and just tear that shit out in the first month, it'll come down a lot faster than it went up.

Looking at the the legislation (PDF, correct link to 1,159 page document; in my prior comment, I mis-linked the legislation to the Joint Explanatory Statement PDF), you can see what's actually allowed. The Joint Expanatory Statement is written in more natural language, and summarizes that
The conference agreement provides $2,515,878,000 for procurement, construction, and improvements, an increase of$674,330,000 above the request. Of the total, $870,656,000 is available until September 30, 2021, and $1,645,222,000 is available until September 30, 2023.

The agreement includes $1,375,000,000 for additional pedestrian fencing to include $345,000,000 for approximately 11 miles oflevee pedestrian fencing and $1,030,000,000 for approximately 44 miles of primary pedestrian fencing in the Rio Grande Valley Sector of Texas.
So first, this is a very limited authorization of construction. And second, depending on where it's propoposed to actually go, there's already significant resistance (Houston Chronicle with interviews of potentially impacted land owners, Dec. 14, 2018).

So the chances are that even if something is approved, lawsuits will slow down construction long enough that 1) Trump might not even be in office, and if he is, 2) the funding authority may have lapsed.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:16 PM on February 14, 2019 [7 favorites]


So the chances are that even if something is approved, lawsuits will slow down construction long enough that 1) Trump might not even be in office, and if he is, 2) the funding authority may have lapsed.

Not that I approve of this tactic wholesale, but there's also the option of pulling a McConnell and just never getting around to putting the money in the account. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
posted by Autumnheart at 1:20 PM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


If Trump declares one, every other country in the world should issue advisories warning their citizens against traveling to the United States due to the state of emergency, which is ongoing, indefinite and totally a real thing.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:20 PM on February 14, 2019 [42 favorites]


The problem with declaring a national emergency is that you still can't spend funds that haven't been appropriated. You have to raid other buckets. That's fine for Trump, who doesn't care that disaster aid for Puerto Rico is being diverted for the wall (or whatever). Democrats, by contrast, aren't going to sign up for that and probably shouldn't.

I hear Defense has some pretty big, deep buckets.
posted by emjaybee at 1:25 PM on February 14, 2019 [11 favorites]


It's obviously phony, so much so that one wonders if he intends to have the courts shut it down.

The nice thing about being the party of permanent victimhood is that it's a win either way.

Get your stupid racist physical thing that also lets you steer graft to contractors who make the right deposits in offshore accounts (or maybe they make bitcoin transfers to specified addresses; give a different one to each 'customer' and you can see when they pay you).

Get smacked down in court? Time for yet another fundraising email and a bunch of speeches yelling about obstructionist dems and "so-called" judges.
posted by phearlez at 1:30 PM on February 14, 2019 [8 favorites]


WaPo, Democrats allow candidates to qualify for presidential debates with grass-roots donor numbers
The expansive new qualification requirements are designed to allow an historically large group of candidates to make the stage at events that are likely to be split over two consecutive nights to accommodate the crowded field.

Candidates can qualify either by attracting campaign donations from at least 65,000 people, including at least 200 people from at least 20 states, or by registering at least 1 percent in three state or national polls from a list of surveys approved by the party.
...
Given the large primary field, Democratic National Committee Chariman Tom Perez has promised not to play favorites with positioning on the debate stage or by creating two tiers of debates based on polling, as Republicans did in 2016. Assuming a large field of qualifying candidates, the networks will oversee a process for randomly sorting the candidates onto the stages over two consecutive nights.
10 candidates on stage at a time max; if there's more than 20, they'll take the top 20. The debates will start in June with NBC/MSNBC/Telemundo, followed by CNN in July. All will take place on weeknights in prime-time and will be streamed online for free. There will be at least 12 debates this cycle, plus unsanctioned town halls where more than one candidate can't appear on stage at the same time.

That's an extraordinarily expansive set of debate rules, especially with the option to grassroots fundraise your way in.

The Republican party has no plans to stage any debates.
posted by zachlipton at 1:40 PM on February 14, 2019 [17 favorites]


If Trump declares one, every other country in the world should issue advisories warning their citizens against traveling to the United States due to the state of emergency, which is ongoing, indefinite and totally a real thing.

If other countries wanted to issue advisories because of ongoing active US national emergencies, they are 31 too late.
posted by sideshow at 1:42 PM on February 14, 2019 [15 favorites]


Nancy Pelosi can initiate a process that may end up *forcing* the GOP Senate to vote on it

There are no norms anymore. What if the Senate just ignores the law?

The act (50 U.S. Code § 1622 - National emergencies) says that each House "shall" meet within six months to consider a vote on terminating the state of emergency. There are no consequences for the Senate if they ignore this requirement; the legislation says that the requirement to meet merely has the status of other Senate rules; and the legislation specifically says that it recognises the constitutional right of the Senate to change its rules at any time. So if the Senate does nothing I expect there will be no consequences, abd McConnell will subsequently say that the Senate's inaction is equivalent to having met, and voted against taking action. And maybe it is. There are no norms anymore.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:44 PM on February 14, 2019 [8 favorites]


edeezy: SCOTUS will just say if Congress didn't agree there was an emergency they would have voted it down.

They are in the process of voting it down, where "it" means the wall funding that is supposedly the main implementation of the emergency powers. They're not yet in a position to "vote down" the emergency, but their intent is obviously not one of agreement with the president or they'd have funded whatever fraction of the wall his current brain termites are desiring.

Maybe there will be a congressional attempt to undo the emergency declaration and maybe it fails. In that case there's an argument for congress implicitly "supporting" the emergency idea. But a "You should have stopped him beforehand" argument couldn't possibly fly (except insofar as, yeah, SCOTUS can make anything fly if it wants).
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:49 PM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]


it seems to me that if the House votes to terminate the emergency and the Senate doesn't, this is basically the Senate and the Presidency colluding to deprive the House of its ability to appropriate funds
posted by BungaDunga at 2:01 PM on February 14, 2019 [19 favorites]


Buzzfeed's Paul McLeod reported from Capitol Hill an hour ago:
"It would be a pretty dramatic expansion of how this was used in the past," says GOP senator Ron Johnson of Trump declaring a state of emergency.

Marco Rubio: "It's a bad idea."

Republicans seem very caught off guard by this.

There are police here on the hill circling politicians when they come in for the vote, keeping reporters away from them. This is not normal.

An officer smashed right into NBC's Lee-Anne Caldwell who was walking with a senator. Another reporter, who is pregnant, says she was also shoved. Lots of yelling between reporters and cops here, who are clearly blocking reporters from getting near senators.

This is fucked. The police say they're just "escorting" the senators to the vote. In effect, they're shielding them from taking questions. Never seen this before.
Somehow, this really is beginning to feel like a national emergency.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:02 PM on February 14, 2019 [116 favorites]


Terry Gross interviews Atlantic journalist Franklin Foer about how American real estate became a "giant magnet" for Russia's kleptocratic fortunes after lobbyists pushed to allow anonymous shell companies to buy properties. (41:35M)
posted by growabrain at 2:08 PM on February 14, 2019 [19 favorites]


Buzzfeed's Paul McLeod reported from Capitol Hill an hour ago:

Apparently, Mike Stark made some sort of ass of himself this morning, which is his thing, and the Capitol Police took it out on the press corps.
posted by zachlipton at 2:12 PM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Nancy Pelosi is not having any of Trump/McConnell's bullshit:
Declaring a national emergency would be a lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency and a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that @realDonaldTrump broke his core promise to have Mexico pay for his wall.

It is yet another demonstration of @realDonaldTrump’s naked contempt for the rule of law. This is not an emergency, and the President’s fearmongering doesn’t make it one.

.@realDonaldTrump couldn’t convince Mexico, the American people or their elected representatives to pay for his ineffective and expensive wall, so now he’s trying an end-run around Congress in a desperate attempt to put taxpayers on the hook for it.

The Congress will defend our constitutional authorities.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:27 PM on February 14, 2019 [123 favorites]


Farther down in the US Code for Congressional review of emergencies:
(3) Such a joint resolution passed by one House shall be referred to the appropriate committee of the other House and shall be reported out by such committee together with its recommendations within fifteen calendar days after the day on which such resolution is referred to such committee and shall thereupon become the pending business of such House and shall be voted upon within three calendar days after the day on which such resolution is reported, unless such House shall otherwise determine by yeas and nays.
So it looks like a Senator could probably get it on to the floor, and force at least some vote. The real problem is that the joint resolution would have to become law to end the emergency, which means either the President signs it or they go back and override a veto.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 2:46 PM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


NPR is reporting that a tweet by Trump remembering the Parkland shooting had the words “gun violence” changed to “school violence” several hours after it was posted.
posted by misterpatrick at 3:54 PM on February 14, 2019 [17 favorites]


WaPo, Greg Miller, Andrew McCabe’s disturbing account of working for Sessions and Trump
He didn’t read intelligence reports and mixed up classified material with what he had seen in newspaper clips. He seemed confused about the structure and purpose of organizations and became overwhelmed when meetings covered multiple subjects. He blamed immigrants for nearly every societal problem and uttered racist sentiments with shocking callousness.

This isn’t how President Trump is depicted in a new book by former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe. Instead, it’s McCabe’s account of what it was like to work for then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The FBI was better off when “you all only hired Irishmen,” Sessions said in one diatribe about the bureau’s workforce. “They were drunks but they could be trusted. Not like all those new people with nose rings and tattoos — who knows what they’re doing?”
...
Inevitably, the book includes disturbing new detail about Trump’s subservience to Russian President Vladimir Putin. During an Oval Office briefing in July 2017, Trump refused to believe U.S. intelligence reports that North Korea had test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile — a test that Kim Jong Un had called a Fourth of July “gift” to “the arrogant Americans.”

Trump dismissed the missile launch as a “hoax,” McCabe writes. “He thought that North Korea did not have the capability to launch such missiles. He said he knew this because Vladimir Putin had told him so.”
...
Logs on the electronic tablets used to deliver the President’s Daily Brief to Sessions came back with no indication he had ever punched in the passcode. The attorney general’s views on race and religion are described as reprehensible.

Sessions “believed that Islam — inherently — advocated extremism” and ceaselessly sought to draw connections between crime and immigration. “Where’s he from?” was his first question about a suspect. The next: “Where are his parents from?”
...
There is one area, however, in which he is considerably more forthcoming than Comey. He acknowledges that the bureau made major miscalculations in its handling of the Clinton probe in 2016 and its decision to discuss it publicly.

“As a matter of policy, the FBI does everything possible not to influence elections,” he writes. “In 2016, it seems we did.”
Coretta Scott King told us Sessions is really darn racist. Sen. Warren tried to repeat her warning. They were right.
posted by zachlipton at 4:00 PM on February 14, 2019 [107 favorites]


WaPo: Trump referred to ‘gun violence’ in his Parkland remembrance. Hours later, he changed it to ‘school violence.’
[O]n the anniversary of that wrenching tragedy, when 14 students and three faculty members lost their lives in Parkland, Fla., the White House released a lengthy statement from Trump offering his condolences and listing the ways his administration had “made tremendous strides” in protecting students from school violence.

Missing from that list is anything to address gun violence, except for his administration’s ban on bump stocks, a device that attaches to firearms to make them trigger faster. The only direct reference to gun violence comes at the end of his statement: “Melania and I join all Americans in praying for the continued healing of those in the Parkland community and all communities where lives have been lost to gun violence.”

Except hours later, in the image Trump tweeted out about his statement, he changed the reference from “gun violence" to “school violence,” a bizarre and telling tweak. {Pic}
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:04 PM on February 14, 2019 [24 favorites]


Pelosi : @realDonaldTrump couldn’t convince Mexico, the American people or their elected representatives to pay for his ineffective and expensive wall, so now he’s trying an end-run around Congress in a desperate attempt to put taxpayers on the hook for it.

The Congress will defend our constitutional authorities.


Now is the time, and I hope the democrats, and any republicans with any shred of loyalty left for the country they serve, to resist this with whatever means possible.
posted by bluesky43 at 4:27 PM on February 14, 2019 [19 favorites]


Reminder that one easy way to contact your elected officials is via ResistBot. I wrote to my Rep today to demand he support Speaker Pelosi in terminating a National Emergency order should Trump, in fact, make one. I've also used it to write to my Senators and Reps on other topics and have gotten topic specific replies from each of them, so they do read the things you send at least in depth enough to know which policy letter to send you.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:32 PM on February 14, 2019 [9 favorites]


Well, they don’t, but interns do.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 4:43 PM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Lawsuit Promised if President Trump Makes Emergency Declaration

WASHINGTON, DC – Protect Democracy and the Niskanen Center have prepared a lawsuit and will file it if President Trump issues a declaration of national emergency. There is no legal basis for issuing such a declaration and its issuance will injure specific parties and communities on the border, including the County of El Paso and the Border Network for Human Rights, who we will represent in litigation if it becomes necessary.
posted by bluesky43 at 4:45 PM on February 14, 2019 [9 favorites]


National emergency will be blocked by courts temporarily, DOJ warns White House

The Justice Department has warned the White House a national emergency declaration is nearly certain to be blocked by the courts on, at least, a temporary basis, preventing the immediate implementation of the president's plan to circumvent Congress and build the wall using his executives powers, ABC News has learned.

However, a senior White House official tells ABC News that the administration is confident it could ultimately win the case on appeal.
/of course they say that...
posted by bluesky43 at 4:51 PM on February 14, 2019 [7 favorites]


Throwing it to the courts is not what I'd call a positive development. Trump is going to have every judge-shopping lawyer make recommendations, and beyond that there's been enough court-packing that I'd wait until appeals are exhausted to exhale. A couple weeks ago we saw where Justice Kegstand is planting his future, so there's a whole Buckaroo Banzai tightrope to go still, assuming that Trump doesn't run away from the idea.
posted by rhizome at 5:07 PM on February 14, 2019 [7 favorites]


Re: Sinema--she's clearly meeting resistance from her Democratic colleagues as well, as evidenced by this interaction during the SOTU.
posted by exlotuseater at 5:08 PM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


Except that Rosen didn't say "watch your ass", that's a right-wing fake news thing. She said "right to try", which is what Sinema was applauding.
posted by Justinian at 5:26 PM on February 14, 2019 [10 favorites]


Throwing it to the courts is not what I'd call a positive development.

That remains to be seen. I think legal moves plus political opposition - in other words, every avenue available - is exactly the way to go forward.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:37 PM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


National emergency will be blocked by courts temporarily, DOJ warns White House
Lawyers at the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and at the Pentagon have been working for weeks to iron out different options the president would have to obtain funds for his border wall.

By declaring a national emergency at the border, the president could potentially free up billions of dollars to begin work on construction of a southern border wall. Much of that money would be pulled from the Department of Defense.
Emphasis mine -- while it's somewhat good to hear that the DOJ is ready to say "this is bullshit, you can't just bypass all norms for this non-emergency" and the fact that DHS and the Pentagon have been working to find ways to cut their own budgets to fund this monument to racism and fearmongering, it's still astonishing that we're even discussing these efforts to turn a ridiculous, disastrous situation into something resembling normalcy.

Meanwhile, McConnell is enabling this bullshit to ensure the GOP can keep pushing their priorities for a few more months, before we're mired in full-blown Election Season and/or ramping up investigations from Mueller and House Dems.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:39 PM on February 14, 2019 [7 favorites]




So, uh, the House is poised to pass the spending bill (the vote is still open, but it has enough) and the funny thing is that a majority of Republicans are going to vote no. Which probably makes this all look like a better deal for Democrats than it really is and threatens to set off Trump.

It looks like they're holding the vote open while Pelosi tries to get to 218 Democrats, since being able to show that Democrats can do this on their own is reasonably important to the party's future negotiating credibility.
posted by zachlipton at 6:00 PM on February 14, 2019 [7 favorites]


Nope, didn't get there.

@MEPFuller: House passes the funding bill 300-128, with 109 Republicans voting no, 19 Democrats voting no, 87 Republicans voting yes, and 213 Democrats voting yes. They were well short of a majority of Republican votes, and Democrats didn’t get to 218. They needed Republican votes.
posted by zachlipton at 6:05 PM on February 14, 2019 [12 favorites]


We’re entering a new phase of the Trump-Russia investigation (David Ignatius, WaPo)
“There are no red lines except what’s necessary to protect the country,” Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said during an interview Monday. Schiff, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, told me he plans to request information, perhaps by subpoena, from Deutsche Bank, a major Trump lender, and that “our work on Trump’s finances has already begun.”

A Deutsche Bank subpoena would be especially sensitive. Trump was enraged by a December 2017 report that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III had subpoenaed the bank’s records about its dealings with Trump, telling his then-lawyer John Dowd, “This is bull----!,” according to Bob Woodward’s book Fear. […]

Sorry, Mr. President, but that red line is turning blue. As investigators move into the once-forbidden zone, the likelihood grows that the public will finally learn the truth.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:07 PM on February 14, 2019 [20 favorites]


House passes the funding bill 300-128, with 109 Republicans voting no, 19 Democrats voting no, 87 Republicans voting yes, and 213 Democrats voting yes. They were well short of a majority of Republican votes, and Democrats didn’t get to 218. They needed Republican votes


Which — with 87 Republicans on board — makes it solidly bipartisan legislation, which may be much more important at this stage, in terms of the moral authority behind it.
posted by darkstar at 6:07 PM on February 14, 2019 [8 favorites]


the fact that DHS and the Pentagon have been working to find ways to cut their own budgets

Doesn't the fact that you can find money in your budget to do unplanned large projects self-evidently show your budget is too big? I mean, if you can live without that money, why'd you ask for it? Might as well call the waste, fraud, and abuse hotline on yourself.
posted by ctmf at 6:17 PM on February 14, 2019 [6 favorites]


Chairman [Richard] Burr—who was a national security adviser to the Trump campaign—gave an unusually lengthy interview to CBS about the committee's ongoing work and its ever-lengthening timeline

From this interview:
One key witness whom the committee had been unsuccessful in engaging, Burr said, was Christopher Steele, the British former intelligence officer who authored the controversial, partially verified dossier, which described links between Trump associates and Russia and played a part in triggering the FBI's counterintelligence investigation.[…]

Burr would only say that Steele remained of interest, but out of reach.

"We've made multiple attempts," to elicit a response, Burr said, but declined to surmise why Steele would not enga
Now the Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand finds that isn't the case at all:
Some Democratic aides were also confused at Burr’s recent claim that a key witness in the probe, former British spy Christopher Steele, had not responded to the committee’s attempts to engage with him. In fact, Steele submitted written answers to the panel last August, two people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the investigation told The Atlantic.

The Senate’s subpoena for his testimony was dropped shortly thereafter—indicating that they were satisfied enough with his responses that they weren’t planning to compel further testimony.[…]

Another contention in the Senate’s inquiry is the extent to which Steele has cooperated with the committee. The retired MI6 officer, who authored a collection of memos known as the Trump-Russia dossier in 2016, submitted written answers to the committee last August, sources said. The committee had prepared a subpoena for Steele's testimony in March 2018, but withdrew it after he provided his testimony. Investigators who have traveled to London since then have not approached Steele for an interview, according to Steele’s lawyer, who declined to be identified due to sensitivities surrounding the probe. Burr suggested in an interview with CBS last week that Steele remained out of reach. “We've made multiple attempts,” to elicit a response, Burr said.

Steele’s lawyer said that was “flatly not true,” and that the committee had actually agreed in writing not to seek further information from Steele after he submitted his written testimony. The panel has not reached out to request another interview, the lawyer said.

The Republican committee aide did not dispute that the panel had received Steele’s statements. But the aide said the committee had “made clear to Mr. Steele and his attorney that there is no substitute for a face-to-face interview when it comes to answering some of the Committee's most pressing questions.” A spokesperson for Warner confirmed that the committee “would like to speak with Mr. Steele.” The committee did not respond to Steele’s lawyer’s comments.
The unanswered question is if Burr has only lately been eroding the Senate Intel Committee's trustworthiness or if he's always been working behind the scenes to impede it.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:19 PM on February 14, 2019 [18 favorites]


I reverently pray that these obstructionists get perp walked on national tv.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:25 PM on February 14, 2019 [21 favorites]


House passes the funding bill 300-128, with 109 Republicans voting no, 19 Democrats voting no, 87 Republicans voting yes, and 213 Democrats voting yes. They were well short of a majority of Republican votes, and Democrats didn’t get to 218. They needed Republican votes.

If I were in Congress, given the timing of Trump's announcement I'd have been, at minimum, strongly tempted to vote against any bill that didn't explicitly state that immigration through the U.S.-Mexico border is not an emergency and no funds are being appropriated for a wall or other physical barrier there.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:27 PM on February 14, 2019 [5 favorites]


For everyone maybe thinking, "Well, if he pulls "emergency" money from the DoD, what's the big deal, they got more than enough", be aware that the terms of the law that might allow him to do this pulls funding from military construction projects where the money has been budgeted but not yet distributed - military construction projects like child care centers, housing, and hospitals.

MSN/WaPo explainer.

Trump won't be reducing the number of $600 toilets or short-changing hardware boondoggle pork projects - he'll be fucking over actual serving soldiers' lives.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:52 PM on February 14, 2019 [46 favorites]


The WaPo's Trump whisperers have their tick-tock of the dealmaking process, ‘Off the rails’: Inside Trump’s attempt to claim victory in his border wall defeat.

The takeaway is basically the entire government is paralyzed by a volatile man-child and his precious fee-fees and, absent any leadership or strategic goals, republican lawmakers are reduced to walking on eggshells while declaring any deal a victory.
posted by peeedro at 6:56 PM on February 14, 2019 [12 favorites]


White House official says that Trump will use emergency powers to spend $8 billion on his wall. That ain't chump change. It will be interesting to see how many Republican congress members go along with this audacious power grab. That's pretty much how Julius Caesar transformed the Roman republic to a dictatorship. The Roman Senate just quietly averted their eyes as Caesar stripped away their democratic rights.
posted by JackFlash at 7:16 PM on February 14, 2019 [12 favorites]


That's pretty much how Julius Caesar transformed the Roman republic to a dictatorship.

Well, in almost exactly a month, there's a whole day think about how well that turned out for ol' Julius in the end.
posted by sideshow at 7:21 PM on February 14, 2019 [54 favorites]


@brianschatz (Sen D:HI)
Yanking money from the Military Construction budget is a violation of the law and the constitution, and an abdication of our obligation to responsibly fund the military. As Ranking Member of the MilCon VA Subcommittee, I will fight this in every way that I can.
• If they really try to raid Military Construction money there will be a historic floor fight in the United States Senate.
posted by chris24 at 7:27 PM on February 14, 2019 [38 favorites]


That's pretty much how Julius Caesar transformed the Roman republic to a dictatorship.

Not to get into a whole derail about how the US isn't Rome, but keep in mind that we are a fundamentally different country (not an militaristic expansionist slave-owning empire that limits the vote to residents of one territory and then engages in blatant vote-buying which everyone is fine with, yes we are kind of those things but not anywhere close to the Roman incarnation). I think better and more useful parallels can be found in many more of the democratic collapses scattered throughout the 20th and 21st century. We have ongoing usurpation of power at varying stages by democratically elected leaders in countries like Hungary, Venezuela, Russia, the Philippines, Uganda, Turkey, and lots more. Look to those for just as scary & more instructive examples.
posted by saysthis at 7:35 PM on February 14, 2019 [12 favorites]


Mod note: We can probably drop the Rome Analogy, Y/N? stuff.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:50 PM on February 14, 2019 [13 favorites]


it's still astonishing that we're even discussing these efforts to turn a ridiculous, disastrous situation into something resembling normalcy.

It's the natural reaction to constant crisis. It does not excuse the corporate news media from what they're doing, though.

>>The unanswered question is if Burr has only lately been eroding the Senate Intel Committee's trustworthiness or if he's always been working behind the scenes to impede it.

As the article on Burr yesterday revealed in glaring detail; he's way in on it. He's made it the central pillar of the rest of his political life. It's totally an answered question: he'll do anything to derail Russiagate ever being discovered or believed. He's known more than anyone except the SCO how far it's gone and for how long. His recent rote pronouncements of what "his" committee have found are outrageously untrue. Everyone around him has to know that. And they probably think they're the final, quivering latch holding this ever-expanding cabinet of slime back from finally deluging all of the status quo.
posted by petebest at 7:54 PM on February 14, 2019 [13 favorites]


You might recall that after winning a seat by a single vote, the Alaska GOP looked they had achieved their sole state chamber flip by taking the House. But they couldn't put a coalition together, and after a very lengthy foofaraw, and a Dem/indy/rebel GOP coalition will now have control. This also means that the GOP does not have a trifecta in AK.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:41 PM on February 14, 2019 [60 favorites]


Am I right that the Supreme Court needs to either issue an injunction or uphold another's to stop Trump's wall building? And if the Supreme Court refuses to do that, doesn't that mean that Trump will continue to build his wall while any cases wind their way through the courts over the next couple years? Could this end up being like Trump's hotels, where everyone knows they are in violation of the Emoluments clause, but it doesn't matter because the court system will probably never get around to making a decision?
posted by xammerboy at 8:54 PM on February 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


I know there is a thread for the measles outbreak already but this is in regards to Russia and how should I put it, social media attacks? Social engineering attacks? Malcolm Nance is on Brian Williams tonight and has talked about how Russia is spreading anti-vaccination tropes a lot, since it weakens the target country's health.

I will just say that CNN said the Clark County measles outbreak was traced to a child who came from the Ukraine, and I think Russia is really hitting Ukraine hard with propaganda among other things. (When I first heard "Ukraine" and had not yet heard "child" nor realized that Russia was propagandizing about this in Ukraine, I thought maybe it had been an insertion by Russia of a sick person to a known low-vaccination area to do a trial run of infecting. I KNOW that's tinfoil hat thinking, but look at everything else in this timeline...I mean they've already used nerve agents in Britain.)

I guess what I'm saying is, expect the unexpected. Of course.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 9:05 PM on February 14, 2019 [19 favorites]


Am I right that the Supreme Court needs to either issue an injunction or uphold another's to stop Trump's wall building?

NAL but I'm guessing there'll be a stay in pursuit of an injunction, which'll cut off that source of money even if it doesn't shut Trump up.
posted by rhizome at 9:07 PM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Well, constitutionally, as I understand it, the military can’t just show up in your backyard and build a thing. They still have to claim the land through court cases which they may lose, and they have to fairly compensate landowners who have property seized. So, that takes a while. Especially cases like the butterfly sanctuary, and the church older than Texas. The church case in particular is going to be a really interesting, I think.

But, I’m just a rational being in an irrational world, and I don’t speak law, so For all I know, the green berets are dropping into west Texas as we speak. I’m frankly fucking terrified. The GOP are a terrorist organization bound on terrifying normal American moms like me, and they should stop. They are bad, and they should feel bad, and they should stop this maurading toddler in his dementia laden tracks. If there were any honor left in the Republican party they would join hands with the Democrats and depose this faux news petty tyrant.

There must be so much kompromat. So much. They must all be dirty. Nothing else makes sense.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 9:14 PM on February 14, 2019 [44 favorites]


Is the United States going to declare war on the Tohono O'odham Nation?
posted by MrVisible at 9:17 PM on February 14, 2019 [6 favorites]


Especially cases like the butterfly sanctuary, and the church older than Texas. The church case in particular is going to be a really interesting, I think.

Those are safe for now. Rep Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) inserted language in the funding bill that prevents border barrier to be built through the National Butterfly Center, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, The Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and La Lomita chapel's land.
posted by peeedro at 9:30 PM on February 14, 2019 [50 favorites]


Willie Nelson just posted a pic on FB of him on his tour bus, being visited by Chris Hays and Beto. First, the comments from many of Willie’s ‘fans’ are astonishing (and where have y’all been now, seriously?). Second, nevermind inhaling, Beto has been on Willie Nelson’s tour bus.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:31 PM on February 14, 2019 [31 favorites]


‘They deserve to know if Donald Trump is an agent of the Russian Federation’: Democratic senator makes case for Trump being compromised
“I’m talking about the entirely legitimate question of whether Donald Trump could be compromised by the Russian government,” he says in prepared remarks for a floor speech he just began. “It’s more than a legitimate question.”
This is from Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)   Well holy shit, but they're actually finally addressing the elephant in the White House directly on the Senate floor.   About goddam time it made it into the official record.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 11:06 PM on February 14, 2019 [104 favorites]


Some updates from Warsaw, which isn't getting a lot of attention given all of our domestic emergencies, but shows what a joke we've become internationally.

WaPo, Anne Gearan and Carol Morello, Pence urges Europeans to withdraw from nuclear deal with Iran as tensions with allies grow
Vice President Pence on Thursday launched a broadside against some of the United States’ closest allies, calling on European countries to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran and accusing them of attempting to break U.S. sanctions against “that vile regime” in Tehran.

Officials from Britain, France and Germany — all countries that negotiated and signed the 2015 landmark agreement from which President Trump withdrew the United States last year — were in the audience as Pence accused their countries of essentially siding with Washington’s enemy.

Pence threatened to impose more U.S. sanctions against Iran and praised countries that are moving to reduce their oil imports from the country “to zero.”
...
The convening of the conference has been a cause of tension from the start, and efforts by the United States to assuage the concerns of European allies did little to improve the situation.

Major European powers were not consulted before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the conference last month. The agenda was broadened after allies suggested that the Trump administration would end up showcasing division rather than unity over Iran, European and U.S. diplomats said. The United States and Poland also shelved tentative plans to circulate an agreement that conference attendees would all sign, two diplomats said. But several nations nonetheless sent only lower-level officials despite the presence of Pence and Pompeo.
Jared's already checked out and moved on to doing what he does best: not achieving peace in the Middle East (the Palestinians have refused to talk to him for over a year).
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, briefed diplomats at the conference here on a peace plan he has been tasked with formulating to create what Trump has called the “deal of the century” between Israelis and Palestinians. But he said that the plan would not be released until after Israeli elections on April 9 and that it would be “unhelpful” to share details before then, according to a diplomat who was in the room and spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the closed-door event.
Slate, Fred Kaplan, Coalition of the Unwilling: The U.S., not Iran, is the country that looks isolated and marginalized at this week’s conference in Warsaw.
There’s a saying among lawyers: Don’t take a case to the Supreme Court unless you’re sure you’ll win. Diplomats follow a similar rule: Don’t call a large international summit unless it promotes your agenda. By that measure, the 60-nation summit in Warsaw, Poland, this week has been a disaster—another sign of the shallow thinking and clueless incompetence that has marked U.S. foreign policy since Donald Trump entered the White House.
...
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the delegates that “regime change” was not U.S. policy toward Iran. But his assurances were drowned out by the appearance of Rudy Giuliani bellowing the contrary to a crowd of activists outside the meeting hall. (Giuliani stressed that he was representing Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, an anti-Iran militia, for which he has long lobbied, but he is, of course, also Trump’s personal lawyer, so if the administration were serious about messaging, he could have been blocked from attending.)

Then there was the video that national security adviser John Bolton released on Monday, in which he said, as if addressing Iranian leaders on the 40th anniversary of their revolution, “I don’t think you’ll have many more anniversaries to enjoy.”
Politico, David Herszenhorn and Nahal Toosi, Iran tries to run out the clock as Trump bears down
The Trump administration is warning Iran’s Islamist rulers that, after 40 years, their time in power is almost up. But the Iranian government is betting Trump will be gone first.
...
“Both sides are waiting and hoping for regime change in one another’s countries, but the clock in Washington is running faster than the clock in Tehran,” said Ali Vaez, an Iran analyst with the International Crisis Group.
posted by zachlipton at 12:07 AM on February 15, 2019 [14 favorites]


It's going to be really hard to reassure the world in 2020 or whenever that W. and Trump were significant deviations from the norm when some of these familiar faces (John Bolton, Elliot Abrams) are holding significant power and not like, in jail.
posted by angrycat at 12:24 AM on February 15, 2019 [59 favorites]


Even more so, there's no erasing the fact that so many Americans endorsed with their votes the quiet parts said out loud. Invading Iraq to deal with W's daddy issues, it's at least barely believable that the populace was misled by the centralized efforts of those in authority. But people putting their votes behind "take the oil" en masse, that we're going to explicitly use our most expensive standing military in the world for piracy? No one else needs to take it the least bit seriously any more, if they ever did in the first place, when we say war is a last resort or that they don't need nuclear weapons to protect themselves from us.
posted by XMLicious at 1:53 AM on February 15, 2019 [9 favorites]


As per @RVAwonk the declaration will take billions of dollars from the drug interdiction budget. I was going to make a joke about it, but you know what, fuck that bullshit. I'm not that far from Kensington, and whether or not heroin laced with fentanyl is seized or not makes a difference, body-count wise.
posted by angrycat at 3:39 AM on February 15, 2019 [12 favorites]


Kyle Griffin (MSNBC)
Interesting optics on Friday as Trump, according to the W.H. schedule, declares a national emergency at the southern border and then jets off to Mar-a-Lago a few hours later.

- - -

Nothing says true emergency like a golf vacation.
posted by chris24 at 3:57 AM on February 15, 2019 [85 favorites]


SecretAgentSockpuppet : If there were any honor left in the Republican party they would join hands with the Democrats and depose this faux news petty tyrant.

There must be so much kompromat. So much. They must all be dirty. Nothing else makes sense.


Kompromat is the optimistic hypothesis, and while I think some does exist, it's only as a failsafe and hardly necessary for explanation of sycophancy.

I honestly can't conceive of any timeline where Trump wins the nomination/president and then faces genuine strong resistance from his own party. He's a narcissistic authoritarian with an explicit demand for loyalty, and he's so manifestly terrible that nobody can afford to be "kinda" on his side, it's all-or-nothing. That's how it works. In each case they are rallying around the flag either because they truly love Trumpism, or they have, over time, learned to love it.

As Alexandra Erin put it: Every time a sports team gets a shot at the playoffs, the Discourse around them becomes full of "Well, look who jumped on the bandwagon." Nobody's going, "Hmm. Seems to me you said the team was garbage but now you're cheering them on. Interesting. Could you be......compromised?"
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:20 AM on February 15, 2019 [17 favorites]


Second, nevermind inhaling, Beto has been on Willie Nelson’s tour bus.

For the sake of everyone’s historical memories Terry McAuliff was on the bus (w a jar of Willies Reserve on display no less) and maintained that he didn’t even cop a contact high.

But yeah, I’ll never get tired of willies “fans” finally catching on to his politics.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 5:08 AM on February 15, 2019 [11 favorites]


There must be so much kompromat. So much. They must all be dirty. Nothing else makes sense.

Never assume malice when stupidity can explain something (though Trumpism demonstrates that you might need to simply prioritize - primarily stupidity, also malicious) and never assume conspiracy and extortion when simple venality and greed will do. There may well be politicians who'd prefer it not be revealed how much russian money they have relied upon over the years, but their primary driver is the acquisition and maintenance of power.
posted by phearlez at 6:17 AM on February 15, 2019 [5 favorites]




All the best to former Libertarian VP nominee and Governor Bill Weld, but I'm a Massachusetts native and I must say I'm getting a little tired of Bay State politicians' penchant for running for President, which smacks more than a little of entitlement. The record hasn't been stellar (Dukakis of course, Romney, whose loss pleased me even though I babysat for his family occasionally as a teenager, and Kerry, who broke my heart when he was swift-boated into defeat). That said, I'll work hard for Senator Elizabeth Warren if she prevails (or, for that matter, long shot candidate Representative Seth Moulton if he jumps in). Everyone wants to be JFK.

Also, Weld ran for Governor of New Jersey and keeps switching parties, while Romney decamped for Utah. What is it with all the carpetbaggery by former Massachusetts GOP governors?
posted by carmicha at 6:53 AM on February 15, 2019 [5 favorites]


Weld, whatever his chances, sounds like he understands the enormity of Trump’s presidency: “Our president is simply too unstable to carry out the duties of the highest executive office in the land. […] I'm here because I think our country is in grave peril and I cannot sit any longer quietly on the sidelines. […] We have a president who openly praises and encourages despotic and authoritarian leaders abroad while going out of his way seemingly to insult and even humiliate our Democratic allies.”

He continues, “They say the president has captured the Republican party in Washington, as he himself might tweet, "Sad!" It's even sadder that Republicans in Washington, many of them, exhibit all the symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome, identifying with their captor.”

We’ll see if the mainstream media is willing to pay as much attention to him as they do Howard Schultz.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:00 AM on February 15, 2019 [38 favorites]


It is interesting to me that it is Senator Robert Menendez addressing the elephant in the room. After all, it is only last week that an ethics panel closed its investigation into Menendez, who appears to be a pretty sleazy character. I was sad he wasn't defeated in the Democratic primary and assumed the guy would be useless. But he's doing things like berating the Trump administration for ignoring a deadline it had to release a report identifying who was behind Khashoggi's murder. Dunno what's up but I like it.
posted by Bella Donna at 7:01 AM on February 15, 2019 [15 favorites]


Also, I believe that 45 is about to speak on what the White House has dubbed "the National Security & Humanitarian Crisis on Our Southern Border." No mention of him speaking about the many crises inside our border. Sigh. As always, let us take our hot takes to chat and elsewhere.
posted by Bella Donna at 7:07 AM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


There must be so much kompromat. So much. They must all be dirty. Nothing else makes sense.

I wouldn't rule that out, necessarily, but there's no need to blackmail people into doing something that they'd be happy to do willingly.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:13 AM on February 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


Speaking of humanitarian crisis: ICE Halts Force-Feeding Of Detained Hunger Strikers In Texas (Richard Gonzales for NPR, Feb. 15, 2019)
Immigration officials have stopped, for now, the force-feeding via nasal tubes of nine Indian immigrants who were conducting a hunger strike inside an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas.

In a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement late Thursday night, "there are 12 individuals on a hunger strike — nine citizens of India and three from Cuba — in the custody of [ICE]." While ICE goes on to say that at least two of the nine men in detention have been on a hunger strike since late December of last year, "No hunger strikers housed in El Paso are currently being fed pursuant to court orders at this time."

Late last month, eleven immigrants were refusing food in protest over the length and conditions of their detention. Six were being force-fed (NPR). That number grew to nine, according to the El Paso Times and the Texas Monthly.

The case has drawn international attention. Last week the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed its concern that the force-feeding of hunger strikers could be a violation (The State) of the U.N. Convention Against Torture. The American Medical Association also opposes the practice.
Per Texas Monthly, the nine Sikh men are members of a religious minority in the Punjab region of India who have long faced persecution. The men, some who have been in ICE custody more than a year while fighting deportation, were protesting the length and conditions of their detention.

I know "END ICE" is broad statement to make, but right about now, it seems really appropriate. Pull out the parts of the agency that aren't involved with detaining and deporting people, or setting up fake universities to target people, or anything else that is so very contrary to The New Colossus and what I envision as the welcoming message of the United States. End the hate.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:16 AM on February 15, 2019 [24 favorites]


WaPo, Brady Dennis, Critics say EPA action plan on toxic ‘forever chemicals’ falls short
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced what officials called a historic effort to rein in a class of long-lasting chemicals that pose serious health risks to millions of Americans. But environmental groups and residents of contaminated communities said that the agency’s “action plan” is short on action, saying ample evidence exists to regulate the chemicals in the nation’s drinking water.

The EPA promised in the spring to devise a plan to address the widespread contamination caused by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, or PFAS, which have been detected in numerous communities and military bases. The agency’s leader at the time, Scott Pruitt, called the problem “a national emergency.”
...
But environmental advocacy groups, Democrats in Congress and residents of communities that have lived for months or years on bottled water said the measures fall short of the aggressive action needed to tackle the problem. They have long urged the agency to set a national threshold for PFOS and PFOA in drinking water — something several states have begun to do in the absence of federal regulation.
posted by zachlipton at 7:35 AM on February 15, 2019 [4 favorites]


Well so far he passes the 'sniff' test for speaking when he might be nervous about it, LOL.
posted by Harry Caul at 7:45 AM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


Yamiche Alcindor reports that there are no teleprompters for Trump's Rose garden speech, which means he's wingin' it. Daniel Dale is live tweeting.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:45 AM on February 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


Will The National Emergency in the White House use the Presidential Emergency Text Alert to announce this "National Emergency" I wonder?
posted by HyperBlue at 7:55 AM on February 15, 2019 [6 favorites]


A lot of sniffing in this speech. Very rambling. He's once again lamenting that we don't just put all drug dealers to death.
posted by mikepop at 7:57 AM on February 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


He's absolutely winging it. He started with a lengthy update on foreign policy topics, because nothing says "national emergency" like coming out to ramble on about unrelated topics. He takes the usual diversions to say stuff about the economy and women with tape on their mouths, and generally sounds uncharacteristically not confident of himself.

Of national emergencies, he says, "it's rarely been a problem, they sign it, nobody cares." He briefly says something about declaring a national emergency, then launches into a long rant about drugs and the death penalty for drug dealers, doing a strangely racist President Xi impression with bad grammar to discuss how China is cracking down on Fentanyl. After a few more words on the emergency, he's back to rambling on about the economy.

As Trump calls on "angel moms" to stand up and complains about how the press doesn't cover them:

@cmarinucci: Just wondering: Do the Parkland parents also get this "angel moms" designation?

@brianschatz: Anyone else out there playing emergency golf this weekend?

@djlavoie: There is no good reason why the headlines of every major paper tomorrow should be anything other than: "President Rambles Incoherently in Bizarre National Emergency Declaration Press

@pbump: Honestly I'd like to take someone who only pays casual attention to politics, show them this speech and ask what the emergency is on which Trump is acting.Conference." It is horrifying to watch and refusing to acknowledge it is an unacceptable choice.
posted by zachlipton at 7:59 AM on February 15, 2019 [69 favorites]


He's all over the place in this announcement. Wall, North Korea, China, stock market. Everything is "tremendous."

Weirdly claims the cost of the wall will be offset by laying off his "very fine" border patrol officers, then points them out sitting in the front row. WTF?!
posted by zakur at 8:01 AM on February 15, 2019 [10 favorites]


This feels like an inflection point, historically-speaking.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:01 AM on February 15, 2019 [10 favorites]


I do not know if any of you have ever had a nasal tube put into your stomach, for feeding or otherwise, for a sustained period of time.

I have, and it was awful, even though in my situation, it was being done with my consent, in an attempt to deal with complications arising from surgery and avoid further surgery.

The procedure is done without anesthesia and analgesics. I cannot describe how it feels to have the tube put your nose, and then slide further and further and further -- the deep, mammal part of my brain was convinced that I was going to die, there and then. Even though this was a procedure that I consented to, they ended up having to hold me down. It took three people. After it was done, I began begging for my mother. After twelve hours, I began hallucinating for the first time and hopefully last time in my life. I became convinced that through Spotify, my phone was broadcasting mind control messages.

When I came out of the hallucination, I realized I had pulled almost two feet of the tube out of me. I cannot describe my sense of fear and despair when I thought they were going to have to re-insert. This time, they would have probably had to strap me to the bed, then probably keep my hands strapped to the bed until the tube was removed.

I know that it's not a fairly common medical procedure, and others have different experiences with it. But based on my experience, if it was this bad for me, as a medical procedure to which I consented, at a renowned hospital specializing in my condition, where I had a private room and private insurance and my mother driving at 90 miles per hour to come hold my hand and intercede with the nurses for ice chips to suck on and vaseline for my lips -- if it had been done to me without my consent, it would absolutely have been torture.

And now we are doing it to people protesting their already inhumane treatment.

End ICE.
posted by joyceanmachine at 8:02 AM on February 15, 2019 [124 favorites]


I feel like this is the most naked he's been to a huge audience. Like probably how he is in these meetings we read and hear about. Just a rambling, childish bully.
posted by Harry Caul at 8:05 AM on February 15, 2019 [6 favorites]


Here's some video of Trump singing a song about the court proceedings that will happen following this emergency declaration. It's...odd...Like one of those "steamed hams but the pitch gets higher every 5th word" videos.
posted by zachlipton at 8:07 AM on February 15, 2019 [15 favorites]


Do look for the clip of his sing-song voice as he talks about how this might make its way through the courts.
posted by mikepop at 8:07 AM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


Speaking to the wall, which is the focus of his Natl. Emergency Declaration,

"I didn't need to do this, I just want to get it done faster."

What a farce of a country we live in these days.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:10 AM on February 15, 2019 [49 favorites]


"I didn't need to do this" - pretty much admitting it's not an emergency.
posted by mikepop at 8:11 AM on February 15, 2019 [42 favorites]


Well at least "our real country" will appreciate it.
posted by mazola at 8:15 AM on February 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


That's the "He just....tweeted it out" moment for the army of Democratic lawyers currently drafting motions for preliminary injunction.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:18 AM on February 15, 2019 [39 favorites]


I'm looking forward to SCOTUS' declaration that it can't look at what the President does or says, and must acquiesce to the determination that there's an emergency regardless of what literally everyone everywhere knows.
posted by BungaDunga at 8:19 AM on February 15, 2019 [12 favorites]


Wow...

"Can you speak to any of the conservative individuals that helped influence your decision?"

"Well, Sean Hannity has been very supportive of me. And Rush Limbaugh, the guy can talk for 3 hours without taking a question, you should try that sometime. It's very hard."


He's onto Anne Coulter now.
[real]
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:19 AM on February 15, 2019 [18 favorites]


Mod note: Folks, aim more for digest and less for livebloggy one-liners please.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:19 AM on February 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


Now we're praising Rush Limbaugh and how he can go three hours without taking calls: "try doing that...taking calls is easy, I'll answer this one, I'll answer that one." He also says he doesn't have time to talk to Ann Coulter and says she's, ugh, "off the reservation" even as he says he likes her.

Bonus news on something tucked into the funding bill: Funding deal blocks ICE from arresting adults taking in undocumented children: "The government funding bill bars the administration from detaining or moving to deport undocumented immigrants based solely on information provided by Health and Human Services, which runs the unaccompanied children program, unless it provides evidence of a past child abuse-related felony or potential human trafficking."
posted by zachlipton at 8:21 AM on February 15, 2019 [25 favorites]


From The WaPo's Trump whisperers have their tick-tock of the dealmaking process, ‘Off the rails’: Inside Trump’s attempt to claim victory in his border wall defeat.
After three weeks of pained negotiations to keep the federal government open, President Trump almost blew the whole thing up again on Thursday.

Headed for another defeat on his signature promise to make Mexico pay for a southern border wall, the president was frustrated after a briefing by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and others on details of the final deal to avoid a shutdown, according to officials involved in the discussions. Trump threatened not to sign the legislation, the officials said, putting the government on the brink of another damaging shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was on the phone with Trump at least three times during the course of the nerve-racking day, pressing him to stay the course and asserting that Democrats had actually lost the spending fight, two people familiar with the conversations said.

“We thought he was good to go all morning, and then suddenly it’s like everything is off the rails,” said one senior Republican aide.

By midafternoon, however, Trump was back on board — agreeing to sign the legislation with the caveat that he would also declare a national emergency in an attempt to use existing government funds to pay for wall construction. It was an option that Republican leaders had urged him to avoid but eventually accepted as necessary to escape the corner in which Trump — and his party — were trapped. McConnell promised Trump he would encourage others to support the emergency in a bid to get the president to sign, according to people familiar with the conversations.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:23 AM on February 15, 2019 [5 favorites]


I feel like this is the most naked he's been to a huge audience. Like probably how he is in these meetings we read and hear about. Just a rambling, childish bully.

He rarely does morning public events unless he's travelling or giving some bland teleprompter thing. There's a reason why Executive Time lasts until 11am or later. This is who he is. This is who he is when he's forced to skip Fox & Friends. This is who he is when given his intelligence briefing.

If this were a friend or relative you'd be making calls.
posted by holgate at 8:31 AM on February 15, 2019 [42 favorites]


Button, not butt.

He also made Ban sound a heck of a lot like Band. Like, he had a BAND and then the COURTS...
posted by bootlegpop at 8:31 AM on February 15, 2019 [4 favorites]


"my butt is bigger than yours, and my butt works" - what exactly is that a reference to? Was that tweeted at some point? Did I somehow entirely miss that one?

Button. He also said that saying that stopped Kim from "flying rocket ships over japan."
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:31 AM on February 15, 2019 [4 favorites]




Plus there's the added bonus of screwing over California and Puerto Rico.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:39 AM on February 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


Mod note: A few things removed, let's not do the "well, I know exactly what will fix this, X should say Y" and the inevitable arguments about the plausibility/viability/etc of that scheme.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:42 AM on February 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


A lot of sniffing in this speech. Very rambling. He's once again lamenting that we don't just put all drug dealers to death.

He must've been stiffed by his connection
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:45 AM on February 15, 2019 [9 favorites]


From the podium at the White House just now, in the course of spinning some racist theory about immigration just being the result of conspiracies involving foreign governments, he said, “If I were in charge of a country...” He literally forgot that he's supposed to be the leader of the United States while he was announcing his use of the powers of the Presidency to declare a national emergency.
posted by XMLicious at 8:48 AM on February 15, 2019 [100 favorites]


He’s still going on? NPR cut away early, so I guess I should up my contribution as an expression of gratitude.
posted by notyou at 8:50 AM on February 15, 2019 [4 favorites]


Last night I gave NPR another chance. I sat through an interview with Matt Schlapp of the American Conservative Union by, I think, Mary Louise Kelly, about the budget deal and border wall stuff. He was on the attack most of the time, claimed there was a humanitarian crisis at the border. To support that he talked about NPR's coverage of the family separation practice and said that NPR sure framed that as a crisis.

At no point did she note who created that crisis. None. No challenge. In fact, no challenge to much of anything he said. Dude claimed that Congresspeople in border districts support the wall, which has been widely and clearly shown to be the opposite of reality. The closest she got to a challenge was asking at the end, "Isn't this more about fulfilling a campaign promise than resolving a crisis?" to which he answered that it's good when politicians live up to their campaign promises.

It's easy enough to write that off as "Yeah, we know, NPR does a bad job," but I feel like it's more than that. We're two years into this mess (more if we include the election) and much of our media is still so bad at this. They still don't challenge. They still don't call out blatant bullshit. The emperor isn't the only one running around naked, and so much of our media still shrugs that off like it's totally reasonable to say nudity is the same as clothing.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:52 AM on February 15, 2019 [56 favorites]


somebody called out "what about the 25th amendment" as Trump walked away
posted by angrycat at 8:59 AM on February 15, 2019 [65 favorites]


The reporter who asked the question after Jim Acosta (sorry didn't get his name) tried to press Trump for where he got his facts and statistics. When Trump replied that the press and the media have the same numbers he has, and worse numbers in fact (instead of statistics that show that illegal border crossings are going down, most drugs come through ports of entry, etc.), the reporter's expression was everything. His mouth fell open, his eyes bugged out. He was in total and complete shock and expressed his disbelief in the most naked way I've seen yet by a member of the media on live TV. If the entire US country doesn't react to that rambling, incoherent speech exactly the same way (and sadly we all know it won't) there is something seriously wrong in the USA.
posted by sardonyx at 9:01 AM on February 15, 2019 [32 favorites]


It's easy enough to write that off as "Yeah, we know, NPR does a bad job," but I feel like it's more than that. We're two years into this mess (more if we include the election) and much of our media is still so bad at this. They still don't challenge.

Since November 2016 NPR has only been competent at giving nonconfrontational airtime to fascists. If you're weak enough for long enough then you're de-facto controlled opposition.

I remember a time when I associated fond solidarity with NPR and lowkey revulsion with Juggalos, and not the other way around.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:06 AM on February 15, 2019 [57 favorites]


Lara Seligman of Foreign Policy, via Twitter:
BREAKDOWN of the $8B @POTUS is diverting for the wall:
-$3.6B in milcon funds that would have gone to hospitals, improving infrastructure, etc
-$1.375B in the forthcoming approps bill
-$600M in Treasury forfeiture funds
-$2.5B in DOD funds for counterdrug activities

A linked article notes that much of that military construction was marked for base housing and repairs--affecting dependents as well as active duty. More than a few military bases have lead contamination in their water along with a whole lot of other problems (also I seem to remember hearing of a place called Flint that has somehow never been in an emergency...).
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:09 AM on February 15, 2019 [52 favorites]


...he said, “If I were in charge of a country...” He literally forgot that he's supposed to be the leader of the United States while he was announcing his use of the powers of the Presidency to declare a national emergency.

I'm pretty sure, in Trump's mind, when he says "If I were in charge of a country..." he's actually imagining along the lines of "If I were running things like Putin." He knows he's POTUS. It's just that he wishes he were more like S(trongman)OTUS.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:19 AM on February 15, 2019 [19 favorites]


So here's a thing. The author is noted NSA historian James Bamford.

The Spy Who Wasn't
The U.S. government went looking for someone to blame for Russia's interference in the 2016 election—and found Maria Butina, the perfect scapegoat.
With anti-Russia fervor in the United States approaching levels directed at Muslims following the attacks of September 11, 2001, it was easy for prosecutors to sell the story of Butina as a spy to the public and the press. But is she really? Last February, Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the Russia probe, indicted 13 Russian spies for interfering with the 2016 election. And in July, two days before Butina was arrested, Mueller charged twelve more Russians with hacking into email accounts and computer networks belonging to the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. It is not inconceivable that Butina is among their ranks.


Yet a close examination of Butina’s case suggests that it is not so. Butina is simply an idealistic young Russian, born in the last days of the Soviet Union, raised in the new world of capitalism, and hoping to contribute to a better understanding between two countries while pursuing a career in international relations. Fluent in English and interested in expanding gun rights in Russia, she met with Americans in Moscow and on frequent trips to the United States, forging ties with members of the National Rifle Association, important figures within the conservative movement, and aspiring politicians. “I thought it would be a good opportunity to do what I could, as an unpaid private citizen, not a government employee, to help bring our two countries together,” she told me.


The government’s case against Butina is extremely flimsy and appears to have been driven largely by a desire for publicity. In fact, federal prosecutors were forced to retract the most attention-grabbing allegation in the case—that Butina used sex to gain access and influence. That Butina’s prosecution was launched by the National Security Section of the District of Columbia federal prosecutor’s office, led by Gregg Maisel, is telling in itself: According to a source close to the Mueller investigation, the special counsel’s office had declined to pursue the case, even though it would have clearly fit under its mandate.

posted by scalefree at 9:29 AM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm immediately skeptical of any piece that says "the most attention-grabbing allegation" against Butina was the sex stuff and not the back-channel between the NRA and Putin's government.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:33 AM on February 15, 2019 [47 favorites]


Sad, Trump’s company officially halts hotel expansion (WaPo):
President Trump’s company officially shelved plans Friday to create two hotel chains aimed at reaching customers mostly in places where the president has become politically popular.

The president’s eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who took over the company when Trump entered the White House, cited political attacks and negative media coverage in announcing the decision.

The brothers announced plans for the two lower-cost chains in a reception at Trump Tower shortly after Trump took office. Since then, the company has come under near-constant scrutiny from ethics officials and congressional Democrats over its business practices. After initially saying the company had dozens of deals in the works, no hotels, under the chain names of Scion and American Idea, have opened.
posted by peeedro at 9:33 AM on February 15, 2019 [13 favorites]


Last night I gave NPR another chance. I sat through an interview with Matt Schlapp of the American Conservative Union by, I think, Mary Louise Kelly, about the budget deal and border wall stuff. He was on the attack most of the time, claimed there was a humanitarian crisis at the border. To support that he talked about NPR's coverage of the family separation practice and said that NPR sure framed that as a crisis.

At no point did she note who created that crisis. None. No challenge. In fact, no challenge to much of anything he said.


That interview was disgusting (flagged your comment as fantastic, by the way). Schlapp claimed that the deaths of two children in government custody proved there was a crisis and justified Trump's actions. Kelly did not point out, then or any other time, that said crisis was entirely of Trump's making and the result of Republican policy. Nowhere did she mention the Republican base's hostility to Spanish-speaking immigrants.

Booking Schlapp in the first place was a mistake. But failing to be prepared for and pushing back hard on him using deaths of children caused by Trump's policy to justify Trump's policy was shameful, and Kelly and her producers should be fired from hosting their flagship evening program for this embarrassing fiasco of an interview.

Here's the interview, if you can stomach it.
posted by Gelatin at 9:34 AM on February 15, 2019 [24 favorites]


Booking Schlapp in the first place was a mistake.

A mistake if you treat NPR as a good-faith actor.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:38 AM on February 15, 2019 [24 favorites]


In the "accuracy of stopped clocks" department:

Apparently Ann Coulter tweeted that the national emergency was so Trump could "scam the stupidest people in his base for 2 more years". (Link goes to someone else posting a screencap of Coulter's tweet, not to her Twitter feed directly, you're safe)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:40 AM on February 15, 2019 [25 favorites]


With anti-Russia fervor in the United States approaching levels directed at Muslims following the attacks of September 11, 2001

"Anti-Russia fervor" is a straaaange way to describe the situation, and the article just gets odder from there with the misty-eyed description of Butina.
posted by diogenes at 9:42 AM on February 15, 2019 [22 favorites]


With anti-Russia fervor in the United States approaching levels directed at Muslims following the attacks of September 11, 2001

Good lord, he does remember we briefly interned several hundred Muslims? Have there been any anti-Russian hate crimes? Is the FBI staking out Russian Orthodox churches?
posted by BungaDunga at 9:44 AM on February 15, 2019 [33 favorites]


I agree with Trump that there is a national emergency.
We just have different responses to what we deem to be a crisis.
He favors a wall.
I favor impeachment.
posted by growabrain at 9:48 AM on February 15, 2019 [25 favorites]


It's easy enough to write that off as "Yeah, we know, NPR does a bad job," but I feel like it's more than that. We're two years into this mess (more if we include the election) and much of our media is still so bad at this. They still don't challenge. They still don't call out blatant bullshit. The emperor isn't the only one running around naked, and so much of our media still shrugs that off like it's totally reasonable to say nudity is the same as clothing.

Every once in a while NPR airs a blurb saying they receive funding from the Kochs. I think that explains a lot of the reason why they don't challenge the wing nut stuff--at least not in the moment. Their seeming complicity has been bought.
posted by fuse theorem at 9:51 AM on February 15, 2019 [16 favorites]


The Spy Who Wasn't

The writer here appears infatuated with Butina, whom he describes as "[s]lim and stylish, with long red hair flowing halfway down her back", for which he's earned this "exclusive".

And in July, two days before Butina was arrested, Mueller charged twelve more Russians with hacking into email accounts and computer networks belonging to the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. It is not inconceivable that Butina is among their ranks.


"You keep using that word." Seriously, though, Butina was busted in a completely separate investigation than the Special Counsel's and is being prosecuted separately by the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office. This piece is a return to the New Republic's reflexively contrarian tradition, but other news outlets are pushing back on this innocent version of her.

Daily Beast, Betsy Woodruff and Spencer Ackerman: Boyfriend’s Email: Butina ‘Manipulated’ Russian Spy Agency for NRA Trip—According to her boyfriend, Russian agent Maria Butina had major sway with the FSB officers ‘assigned’ to her.
The boyfriend of confessed Russian agent Maria Butina wrote that she “manipulated” a Russian spy agency when arranging NRA bigwigs’ trip to Moscow, The Daily Beast has learned.

Paul Erickson, Butina’s boyfriend, made this claim on Nov. 25, 2015 in an email to a trip participant. The light-hearted, chummy tone of the email, which was subsequently read to The Daily Beast, contrasts significantly with how Erickson characterized Butina’s relationship with the FSB to The New Republic: tense, bordering on hostile.

It also shows that at least one trip attendee was led to believe that Russia’s FSB—whose predecessor was the KGB—helped lay the groundwork for the trip.[…]

“Miss Butina has (apparently) moved heaven and earth and manipulated the Russian FSB (the current incarnation of the old KGB) and gotten you cleared for a tour of one (1) Russian arms factory the day before the NRA delegation arrives in Moscow,” [Erickson wrote to hen-incoming NRA President Pete Brownell]. “She found a way to shrink a normally 3-week process into about 3-days (probably because most of the FSB agents ‘assigned’ to her want to marry her).”
And in the Atlantic, former clandestine CIA officer Joseph Augustyn writes: Maria Butina Is Not Unique—For years, countries including Russia and China have used their citizens who study in the U.S. as an intelligence-gathering resource.
One thing the public should know about Butina is that she was not a “spy” in the traditional sense, but rather what the intelligence community would call an access agent. (Perhaps this is what she meant when she told The New Republic, in a piece published on Monday, “If I’m a spy, I’m the worst spy you could imagine.”) Her job, if the allegations are true, was to use her wits to gain access to organizations and individuals of particular interest to Moscow and to provide information to the real spies who might leverage that knowledge to promote Russia’s agenda. Another thing to know about her is that, whether by training or accident, she was spectacularly successful. Her handlers could not have imagined that she would be able to establish a working relationship with the National Rifle Association, pose for pictures with prominent politicians, and even ask foreign-policy questions of Donald Trump when he was a presidential candidate.
If nothing else, the Trump-Russia scandal is furnishing the public with prime examples of all the different types of intelligence assets/agents in the espionage game.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:02 AM on February 15, 2019 [21 favorites]


If nothing else, the Trump-Russia scandal is furnishing the public with prime examples of all the different types of intelligence assets/agents in the espionage game.

Personally I worry that the ubiquity is going to help feed the everyone does it sort of rationalization for a lot of folks. Oh well, all these countries are constantly trying to do this stuff, so what if Trump Co took their money and time? It's the "it's okay if they took bribes so long as they didn't actually deliver/what they did is what they would have done anyway" sort of rationalization.

Not that I believe they didn't grift hard, but it's on that whole line of it being okay that there's a conspiracy so long as they don't pull it off. And a shocking number of people accept that fallacy.
posted by phearlez at 10:12 AM on February 15, 2019 [5 favorites]




As Marcy Wheeler notes, referring to a court transcript, it was Bamford's contact with Butina while the case was subject to a gag order that got her put back in solitary confinement. He doesn't mention this. (Solitary confinement is a terrible thing.)
posted by holgate at 10:23 AM on February 15, 2019 [15 favorites]


For Donald Trump, there's an emergency: Democrats are winning and he's in trouble (Amanda Marcotte, Salon)
'There is no "national emergency," and it's not about the wall. Trump is trying to invalidate the 2018 elections.'


We have no idea who the next Democratic president will be, but it's nearly certain the party won't nominate a narcissistic authoritarian who believes it's a national emergency when the opposition party wins some seats in Congress. As such, Republicans likely view the national emergency as a pacifier they're shoving in Trump's mouth, rather than a precedent to be seized by future Democratic presidents.

There's also no good reason to think Republicans, who have spent the past couple of decades trying to gut voting rights and campaign finance laws, are much interested in preserving democracy. If anything, they're tickled to have Trump in office to do their dirty work, while they make sad faces at reporters but refuse to lift a finger to stop him.

Whatever the long-term impacts of this bogus emergency may be, the short-term reality is this: As many people have noted since the campaign, Trump is an authoritarian by nature and an opponent of democracy. The wall is a lengthy project with many legal obstacles that likely won't be hammered out until well after he's out of office. The real issue here is much bigger than that wall: What kind of damage is Trump doing by declaring a national emergency for the sole purpose of invalidating a free and fair election? The answer to that question remains shrouded in terrifying darkness.
Substitute "the will of the people" for "2018 election" or "free and fair election".
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:23 AM on February 15, 2019 [16 favorites]


Two U.S. citizens claim in lawsuit that feds detained them for speaking Spanish [WaPo]

The women — Ana Suda and Martha “Mimi” Hernandez — say the May 16, 2018, incident began after the nursing assistants finished work, put their children to bed and went to the gym together. They then decided to pick up milk and eggs at the Town Pump, a store in the small town about 35 miles south of the Canadian border. That’s when they say a border agent approached them and commented on Hernandez’s accent, asking where they were born, according to the lawsuit, which the American Civil Liberties Union filed against CBP on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Great Falls, Mont.

The women told the agent they were from Texas and California; Suda then made a video of the agent after he sought to see their identification cards.

“Ma’am, the reason I asked you for your ID is because I came in here, and I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here,” the agent says in the video, which the ACLU has released.
[...]
Suda wrote in an online post that after the women provided their driver’s licenses, the agent got on his car radio and asked for backup, “as if two moms holding a carton of eggs were a threat.” Other uniformed agents then arrived, including a supervisor, she wrote. “When I asked him whether we would have been detained for speaking French, he said, ‘No, we don’t do that.’ ”
[...]
Suda was born in Texas and moved to Montana with her husband in 2014. Hernandez was born in California and has been living in Montana since 2010. Both are certified nursing assistants who work at an assisted-living center.

Suda said her 8-year-old daughter is now afraid to speak Spanish in public, asking, “Mommy, are you sure we can speak Spanish?” When she speaks with her daughter in Spanish, her child answers her in English, “because she is scared.”

Suda added: “This changed our lives, I believe, forever.”

The women said they brought the lawsuit to stand up for their rights and make sure that the same thing doesn’t happen to other U.S. citizens. Hernandez said a friend commented to her that the agents picked the wrong person. She replied: “No, they picked the right person — the person who is going to stand up for the next one.”

In some ways, it would have just been easier to stay quiet about the incident, Suda wrote.

But, she wrote, “I want my children to not only be proud of being bilingual, but I also want them to know that they live in a country where people can’t just be stopped and interrogated based on how they look and sound.”
posted by Emmy Rae at 10:37 AM on February 15, 2019 [129 favorites]


One thing the public should know about Butina is that she was not a “spy” in the traditional sense, but rather what the intelligence community would call an access agent. (Perhaps this is what she meant when she told The New Republic, in a piece published on Monday, “If I’m a spy, I’m the worst spy you could imagine.”)
Yes, that's because the dudes in trenchcoats going "Psssst! The chair... is against the wall. I repeat, the chair is against the wall" get rolled up pretty quickly, so intelligence agencies start hiring people who don't look like spies and training them not to act like spies. If anything, "being a stereotypical spy" is pretty much the best cover possible at this point, because that trenchcoat dude would be totally ignored nowadays.
posted by Etrigan at 10:39 AM on February 15, 2019 [6 favorites]


The Supreme Court just announced it will hear argument on the citizenship census question in April. That means the case will be decided by June 30.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:40 AM on February 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


There may be some jargony technical name more correct than "spy" for what Maria Butina was (I have seen the term "access agent" but I don't find that link particularly helpful.) I think for for us laymen, "spy" is close enough.

If I can quote from my own site:
She was trying to build a resume that would give her access to officials who were the target of a Russian government influence campaign. Her goal was to establish “back channel” communications with American politicians. Her efforts appear to have been approved by the Kremlin.
...
The president of the National Rifle Association and his wife enlisted Butina’s help in a scheme to broker the sale of five million barrels of Russian jet fuel. Later, he attempted to set up a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Butina was taking orders from Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of Russia's central bank and a former Russian senator[...] At one point during the 2016 campaign, Butina and Alexander Torshin tried unsuccessfully to broker a meeting between Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Separately, her romantic partner Paul Erickson wrote an email to Jeff Sessions' former Chief of Staff, then working for the Trump campaign. “Putin is deadly serious about building a good relationship with Mr. Trump,. He wants to extend an invitation to Mr. Trump to visit him in the Kremlin before the election. Let’s talk through what has transpired and Senator Sessions’s advice on how to proceed.”
...
She tried to arrange a meeting for a delegation of high-ranking members of the National Rifle Association with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov [...] In 2014, she traveled to Crimea to promote the arming of pro-Russian separatists.
I mean... That sounds like spy-stuff to me.

Links to source reporting at the site. You have to scroll down to the number 11.
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:40 AM on February 15, 2019 [31 favorites]


I just watched the one minute clip of the speech the New York Times provided, and that's literally what Trump says: I didn't have to declare the wall a national emergency to get it built. I needed to declare it an emergency to get it built faster, because Democrats are saying they can beat me in the coming election.

Remember when Trump admitted to obstructing Justice when he said he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation? He just said out loud in his speech that there's no emergency, but he's creating one for purely political reasons.
posted by xammerboy at 10:41 AM on February 15, 2019 [71 favorites]


It's just like how the President of the United States and his first National Security Advisor, while in office, are/were “intelligence assets” and the latter registered as a “foreign agent” for tax purposes, but if someone describes them as “spies” you know what they're talking about and it's really not very hyperbolic even if taken literally.
posted by XMLicious at 10:52 AM on February 15, 2019 [7 favorites]


You call a spy an "access agent" for the same reasons you rename the KGB the FSB.
posted by xammerboy at 11:01 AM on February 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


I think Butina was in Putin's marketing department, but when a sale was to be made, I have no doubt someone else took the order.
posted by M-x shell at 11:04 AM on February 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


Missouri's second worst senator is literally arguing in court that he's above the law.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 11:05 AM on February 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


I forget who it was, maybe Tom Clancy, who wrote something to the effect of: Our guys are Officers or Analysts, and they manage Intelligence Assets. The bad guys are Spies.
posted by mikelieman at 11:19 AM on February 15, 2019 [18 favorites]


Matt Latimer (a former speechwriter for W. Bush):
Trump’s National Emergency Is Great News for Future President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
posted by growabrain at 11:29 AM on February 15, 2019 [20 favorites]


The reporter who asked the question after Jim Acosta (sorry didn't get his name) tried to press Trump for where he got his facts and statistics.

This was Playboy Magazine's White House correspondent Brian Karem. The WaPo walks through the back and forth with both Acosta and Karem. Mediate has the video of the exchange with Karem.
posted by peeedro at 11:49 AM on February 15, 2019 [15 favorites]


CNN's Shimon Prokupecz reports Bill Barr's hiring: "Brian Rabbitt, formerly of the SEC, is Barr’s Chief of Staff, according to justice officials. Additionally, an official says Barr is expected to announce his pick for deputy attorney general and associate attorney general in the coming weeks."

The LAT's Quentin Wilbur: "FMR Acting AG Matthew Whitaker has NOT left the building. He is serving as a senior counselor in the office of Associate AG. There is no associate AG or acting associate AG. Principal Deputy Associate AG Jesse Panuccio remains in his post. He had served as acting associate AG."

U Alabama law prof Joyce Alene: "Subtext: Whitaker can’t find a job outside of DOJ & can’t get confirmed for a senior position within it. He becomes counselor to the empty Associate AG spot vacated when Rachel Brand left in February 2018."
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:01 PM on February 15, 2019 [10 favorites]


Playboy's Brian Karem is also the guy who asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders, "Don't you have any empathy?" re: family separations and imprisoning kids.

He's not the only one to push hard, even in that clip (leading with Jill...?). But I feel like it's worth noting we're in a timeline where outlets like NPR flub interviews with third-string douchebags while freakin' Playboy has a journalist out here doing real work.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:04 PM on February 15, 2019 [71 favorites]


I can't help wondering if the new job was handed to Whitaker to delay him from writing his tell-all book.
posted by BungaDunga at 12:05 PM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


Or to save Trump hiring him for some BS RNC/campaign/consulting job at $15,000 a month like his old security guard.
posted by chris24 at 12:07 PM on February 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


We've seen a lot of truly good reporting from unexpected sources. Rolling Stone, Esquire, Playboy, and Teen Vogue have all been doing political reporting vastly better than many of the supposedly more serious and news oriented publications like the NYT or NPR. Likewise Comedy Central is doing a better job of political reporting than CNN or MSNBC.

Hell, even clickbait type publications like Buzzfeed often do a better job than the staid old establishment newspapers and TV news shows.

Maybe since they never had much of a political reporting setup before they're less ossified and better able to deal with the shift from normal to Trump?
posted by sotonohito at 12:16 PM on February 15, 2019 [29 favorites]


Ian Masters in conversation with Daniel Ziblatt, co-author of “How Democracies Die” (14 Min)
posted by growabrain at 12:43 PM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]




The SCO has submitted its status report for Manafort: "The government is prepared for sentencing at the Court’s earliest convenience."

And Buzzfeed's Zoe Tillman reports Roger Stone won't face a full gag order: A Judge Ruled Roger Stone Can Still Talk to the Press, Just Not In Front of the Courthouse “Stone's lawyers, prosecutors, and lawyers for witnesses are barred from making statements to the press or in public "that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case."”
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:14 PM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


We've seen a lot of truly good reporting from unexpected sources. Rolling Stone, Esquire, Playboy, and Teen Vogue have all been doing political reporting vastly better than many of the supposedly more serious and news oriented publications like the NYT or NPR. Likewise Comedy Central is doing a better job of political reporting than CNN or MSNBC.

Hell, even clickbait type publications like Buzzfeed often do a better job than the staid old establishment newspapers and TV news shows.

Maybe since they never had much of a political reporting setup before they're less ossified and better able to deal with the shift from normal to Trump?


They don't have access to lose.
posted by jaduncan at 1:16 PM on February 15, 2019 [50 favorites]


I don't know if it's worthy of much followup, but the Comet Ping Pong arsonist has been arrested after assaulting a US Park Police officer while trespassing on the closed Washington Monument grounds. The 22 year old actor from California was charged with the arson after a paramedic recognized his distinctive jacket from the Comet surveillance video (also worn in his headshot and demo reel on IMDB). The arson is likely related to the Pizzagate conspiracy as the suspect left behind a diaper and baby food at the bar before setting the fire.
posted by peeedro at 1:18 PM on February 15, 2019 [19 favorites]


Rolling Stone and Playboy have been reporting on politics since before you and I were born, sotonohito. It may be that their different reporting cycles and willingness to break from standard horserace traditions (see: Thompson, Hunter S) gives them a resilience to this norm-shattering administration. But they're not by any means new to this.
posted by phearlez at 1:21 PM on February 15, 2019 [51 favorites]


Ralph Gants, the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the state's highest), made his annual visit to the Islamic Society of Boston mosque today. In his remarks, he said:
I come each year because it is the clearest way I know to communicate the continued commitment of the judiciary to protect your constitutional rights, and the rights of every resident in this Commonwealth, citizen and non-citizen, regardless of religion, skin color, or national origin. I would like to believe that there will come a time when you no longer need to be reassured of that commitment, when you can be confident that the rights of Muslims in this country will be honored and respected by those in power in our nation's capital, when only a handful of people on the fringe proclaim hate and ignorance. But that time is not yet here, so I continue to come.
posted by adamg at 1:25 PM on February 15, 2019 [93 favorites]


Frustrated Trump lashes out after border defeat. President Donald Trump met his day of defeat with a list of grievances. (Politico)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 1:35 PM on February 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


The worst person you know just made a great point -

Ann Coulter: 'The Only National Emergency Is That Our President Is an Idiot’
posted by growabrain at 1:45 PM on February 15, 2019 [21 favorites]


I'm confused by Coulter's reaction to this. My understanding is that her biggest problems with Trump were (a) not pushing the wall hard enough (she made a lot of remarks about how no ground had been broken and such) and (b) his just generally not being quite cruel enough in pursuit of white supremacy. Or as I'd put it before, she didn't realize the leopards would spare some faces.

National support for the idea of this declaration, at like 31%, is pretty much 1:1 with hardcare Trumpism. To them, it looks like him "finally getting tough". So what's her objection? The fact that he's not pairing it with a believable promise to maintain the shutdown at the same time?
posted by InTheYear2017 at 1:53 PM on February 15, 2019 [6 favorites]


This is prime: evidence in Roger Stone's case was found in accounts that were searched for the GRU case, in which 11 Russian military officers were charged with a conspiracy to interfere in the election.

In other words, the SCO got to Roger Stone through the Russians. He was talking directly to Guccifer 2.0, and to Wikileaks, and prosecutors found that evidence in the Russians' files and email accounts.

I believe this means that Roger is going away.
posted by suelac at 1:53 PM on February 15, 2019 [52 favorites]


The worst person you know just made a great point -

Ann Coulter: 'The Only National Emergency Is That Our President Is an Idiot’


No. Stop posting that Ann Coulter or Tucker Carlson made a good point, even prefaced with "she's bad but." This is part of their entirely knowing adoption of left-wing rhetoric to peel off marginal left support and make themselves appear a legitimate third-way alternative to liberalism and conservatism. This is what Strasserist fascism does. Do not fall for it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:56 PM on February 15, 2019 [65 favorites]


I wouldn't oversell it. We knew Stone was DMing Guccifer (and WikiLeaks). The Special Counsel's office is now saying that they searched the Russians stuff through a whole bunch of warrants and Stone came up somehow (this is their argument that the cases are related and should be heard by the same judge), but they're pretty carefully not saying anything more about what they found. There's something there, and a hint that we may eventually learn more, but the fact that the warrants turned up the communications we knew existed isn't that revolutionary.
posted by zachlipton at 2:01 PM on February 15, 2019 [6 favorites]


From that CNN article about Sanders being interviewed by the special counsel: “As Mueller wraps up his Russia probe ... ”

Seems like it’s just a hotkey they press to begin a new paragraph. Still waiting for evidence to support this Cobb/Giuliani/Etc. talking point. Just for reference, this from Time on December 4, 2017: Donald Trump's Lawyers Keep Saying the Russia Investigation Will End Soon. Here's Why.
posted by young_simba at 2:01 PM on February 15, 2019 [9 favorites]


Don’t want to abuse the edit window, but to clarify: In the article linked to above, Time was skeptical of what the lawyers were saying. But not skeptical enough not to report it.
posted by young_simba at 2:03 PM on February 15, 2019


Politico, Cummings: 2 Trump attorneys may have lied about Cohen payments
House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings said on Friday that his panel received new documents showing that two attorneys for President Donald Trump may have lied to government ethics officials about Trump fixer Michael Cohen’s payments to women alleging affairs with the president ahead of the 2016 election.

“It now appears that President Trump’s other attorneys — at the White House and in private practice — may have provided false information about these payments to federal officials,” Cummings (D-Md.) wrote in a letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone.

Cummings named Sheri Dillon and Stefan Passantino as the two attorneys who might have made false statements to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), citing documents the committee obtained from the office.
...
In a separate letter, Cummings revealed that the Trump Organization refused to comply with the committee’s request for documents. The letter was addressed to Alan Futerfas, who represents the Trump Organization and Donald Trump Jr.

Cummings quoted Futerfas as saying he would not provide documents because they “have previously been provided to, and are currently in the possession of, the authorities.”
posted by zachlipton at 2:06 PM on February 15, 2019 [29 favorites]


LOL at Sarah Huckabee Sanders actually having to answer questions
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:39 PM on February 15, 2019 [90 favorites]


From the Politico article above w/r/t the recent Trumpolalia party at the rose garden:

Trump even vented frustration that his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, was given the Nobel Peace Prize — “He was there for about 15 seconds and got the Nobel prize” — while he will likely never get one for the current administration’s work with North Korea.

“With me, I probably will never get it,” he said wistfully.

...After 45 minutes of remarks, Trump announced he would not answer more questions. Just before he left the Rose Garden, he turned to his new attorney general, William Barr, who was seated in the front row on his first full day on the job.

“Enjoy your life. Bill,” he said.


I'm starting to think he's not that well qualified for the job.
posted by petebest at 2:53 PM on February 15, 2019 [13 favorites]


New Jersey Attorney General Subpoenas Trump Inaugural (NYT (via))

New Jersey’s attorney general has stepped into the investigation of President Trump’s $107 million presidential inaugural fund, issuing an administrative subpoena for the fund’s financial records, including any that document fund-raising in the state.

The New Jersey subpoena also demands records of any contributions made on behalf of foreigners, who are barred from contributing to inaugural funds, campaigns or political action committees in the United States. It also covers audits, contracts with vendors, documents related to the nonprofit organization’s tax status, and any records of advertisements, direct mailings or fund-raising events in New Jersey.


Motion to utilize the previously approved "Omnigate" nomenclature for all scandals in the current fiscal year.
posted by petebest at 3:05 PM on February 15, 2019 [22 favorites]


The worst person you know just made a great point -
Ann Coulter: 'The Only National Emergency Is That Our President Is an Idiot’

No. Stop posting that Ann Coulter or Tucker Carlson made a good point


Everything Rust Moranis said is right. It's also not even true that it's a "good point." It's not original or insightful for these hacks to acknowledge what is painfully obvious to everybody outside the Trump cult, it's only notable when they say it because it represents a shift in positioning.
posted by contraption at 3:07 PM on February 15, 2019 [13 favorites]


Mod note: I think we're all aware of the many different ways in which Ann Coulter is wrong and don't need to detail them at length.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 3:23 PM on February 15, 2019 [11 favorites]


Rep Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) inserted language in the funding bill that prevents border barrier to be built through the National Butterfly Center, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, The Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and La Lomita chapel's land.

You think now that there's a National Emergency some language in a funding bill means anything? That bill will not fund the parts that are excluded, true, but the NE can find other funding.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 3:41 PM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


background on the census citizenship question case includes this recent scathing opinion by u.s. district judge furman. (reposting link from last megathread)
posted by 20 year lurk at 3:47 PM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


The first Cummings letter includes this great nugget:

On June 14th, 2017, the President filed his financial disclosure report... His report made no mention of any liability owed to Mr. Cohen for payment to women alleging affairs.

I like the idea of somebody putting "for payment to women alleging affairs" on a disclosure form.
posted by diogenes at 3:48 PM on February 15, 2019 [4 favorites]


My favorite line from the second letter:

I write to correct your fundamental misunderstanding of the role of Congressional oversight...
posted by diogenes at 3:51 PM on February 15, 2019 [29 favorites]


Backing up to yesterday's budget vote,
House passes the funding bill 300-128, with 109 Republicans voting no, 19 Democrats voting no, 87 Republicans voting yes, and 213 Democrats voting yes. They were well short of a majority of Republican votes, and Democrats didn’t get to 218. They needed Republican votes.
I figured the No votes might have to do with protesting funds for anti-immigrant stuff, and in at least some cases, it looks like that was correct.

I checked out Rep. Omar's page today after reading Ilhan Omar Drags Elliott Abrams to Hell for Being a War Criminal (posted by Ouverture above), and saw this Joint Statement from Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley and Tlaib on the FY 2019 Government Funding Package:
“In this country, our diversity is our greatest strength. Immigrants fuel our nation’s economy, enrich our nation’s culture, and enhance our social fabric. Quite simply, we are a better nation because of our immigrants.

“And yet, this Administration continues to threaten the dignity and humanity of our immigrant population. The Department of Homeland Security has separated thousands of children from their parents, denied asylum to those fleeing danger, and used taxpayers dollars as a slush fund to incite terror in immigrant communities. The efficacy of a government agency must be determined by assessing ‘outcomes.’ By any reasonable measure, Donald Trump’s weaponization of ICE and CBP has been a failure. The Department of Homeland Security does not deserve an increase in funding, and that is why we intend to vote no on this funding package.

“The funding bill on the floor today does not address any of our concerns and instead, gives more money to these abusive agencies ...

“We want to be abundantly clear: this is not a rebuke of federal workers or those who depend on the services they provide, but a rejection of the hateful policies, priorities, and rhetoric of the Trump Administration.”

Emphasis in the original.

I am really, really glad Minnesota has Ms. Omar representing them.
posted by kristi at 4:00 PM on February 15, 2019 [43 favorites]


It's interesting to think about the purposes behind those codes, xammerboy. They are essentially there for white moderates to have plausible deniability on policies which benefit them but they ostensibly are against. I'm reminded of Dr. King's words...
"I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice"
posted by chaz at 4:02 PM on February 15, 2019 [12 favorites]


@AliVelshi

BREAKING: In the Eastern District of VA case against Paul Manafort, Robert Mueller’s prosecutors are asking for a jail sentence of between 19 & 24 years in prison, a fine range of up to $24 MILLION, restitution of more than $24 MILLION, and forfeiture of more than $4 MILLION
posted by bluesky43 at 4:56 PM on February 15, 2019 [83 favorites]


Here's Meuller's full sentencing memo for Manafort (PDF).

“In the end, Manafort acted for more than a decade as if he were above the law, and deprived the federal government and various financial institutions of millions of dollars. The sentence here should reflect the seriousness of these crimes, and serve to both deter Manafort and others from engaging in such conduct.[…]

“For a decade, Manafort repeatedly violated the law. Considering only the crimes charged in this district, they make plain that Manafort chose to engage in a sophisticated scheme to hide millions of dollars from United States authorities. And when his foreign income stream dissipated in 2015, he chose to engage in a series of bank frauds in the United States to maintain his extravagant lifestyle, at the expense of various financial institutions. Manafort chose to do this for no other reason than greed, evidencing his belief that the law does not apply to him. Manafort solicited numerous professionals and others to reap his ill-gotten gains. The sentence in this case must take into account the gravity of this conduct, and serve to both specifically deter Manafort and those who would commit a similar series of crimes.”

Mueller is not fucking around.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:04 PM on February 15, 2019 [86 favorites]


Houston Chronicle, Lomi Kriel, Advocates call Trump’s policies at border ports ‘a wall’ for asylum seekers
Imprisoned for two weeks inside a cold, vacant factory in Piedras Negras, with armed Mexican police blocking their exit, many in the latest caravan of Central American migrants had begun to despair.

Only several hundred with humanitarian visas granted by the Mexican government were allowed to leave the fenced property, but they could not seek asylum at the nearby Eagle Pass port of entry as they had hoped. New concertina wire lined the bridge where Customs and Border Protection agents in riot gear turned them away, and hundreds more Border Patrol agents and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers parked their vehicles along the Rio Grande, powering their headlights onto the Mexican side at night.

Federal customs agents were processing only about a dozen asylum seekers a day, though as many as 1,600 sought placement on a Mexican-run waiting list with 300 people already on it.Riots erupted in the shelter and some with humanitarian visas were trying to go elsewhere as the situation teetered on chaos.

“People are becoming desperate,” said Obed Cuellar, a Dominican missionary helping the city’s effort to shelter migrants.
...
“They stopped preventing people on U.S. territory from asking for asylum and did something legally murkier, which a lot of people still say is illegal, and just don’t let you step foot on U.S. territory,” said Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin. “From Tijuana all the way to Matamoros, this became kind of the standard response.”
...
Customs agents have repeatedly said they can only allow in as many asylum seekers as they can process. But that number has dropped dramatically across the southern border since last summer, to about 10 migrants a day in Brownsville, two in Laredo, and several dozen in El Paso, Leutert said.
posted by zachlipton at 5:05 PM on February 15, 2019 [10 favorites]


On Chris Hayes' show, Gavin Newsome just joined fellow Californians Barbara Lee and Dolores Huerta in endorsing Kamala Harris.
posted by pjenks at 5:12 PM on February 15, 2019 [11 favorites]


Judge Amy Berman Jackson has also just released the redacted transcript of Manafort's sealed hearing on Wednesday. It's 68 pages long and has lots of interesting bits (see threads by Andrew Prokop and Marcy Wheeler). One funny thing:
@FoundMyCarKeys: Love how in the Paul Manafort hearing transcript, this is the last sentence before 15 pages of pure redactions
ABJ: The only thing I have left to talk about is the dispute over the redactions [15 PAGES REDACTED]
posted by pjenks at 5:23 PM on February 15, 2019 [46 favorites]


Border communities begin legal challenges to Trump’s emergency declaration, wall construction (WaPo)
EL PASO — Within hours of President Trump signing a national emergency declaration on Friday, county authorities here filed a lawsuit to block his border wall gambit, beginning what probably will be a parade to courthouses across the country as jurisdictions, organizations and individuals try to challenge his efforts to bypass Congress.

El Paso County joined three nonprofit organizations in filing suit in federal court in Washington on Friday, arguing that the declaration violates the nation’s bedrock concept of separation of powers and that it will unnecessarily damage this border community.

... California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday said his state also plans to file a lawsuit challenging Trump’s emergency declaration; numerous other lawsuits are expected in the coming weeks, and Trump said Friday that he fully anticipates court action.

Numerous residents and organizations along the border already have challenged Trump administration efforts to survey land for the wall, and many others have vowed to fight any eminent domain claims the federal government might make to secure private property for the barriers. Such court fights can take many years.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:41 PM on February 15, 2019 [27 favorites]


5 ways Trump’s national emergency declaration could be stopped
(Li Zhou & Emily Stewart, Vox)

1) A joint resolution of termination contesting the status of the emergency
2) Congressional Dems sue the White House
3) Landowners sue the White House
4) Liberal activist groups sue the White House
5) California and other states sue
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:06 PM on February 15, 2019 [19 favorites]


I think it likely such a resolution gets majority support in Congress. But that isn't enough; it would have to override a Trump veto. An absolute majority of both Houses declaring the President is usurping power unconstitutionally but the President vetoing that declaration strikes me as... bad.
posted by Justinian at 6:08 PM on February 15, 2019 [4 favorites]


My prediction: The lawsuits over this action drag on for years and the next Democratic President in 2020 rescinds the declaration of emergency and wall funding on essentially day 1, at which time the Supreme Court punts the case as moot.
posted by Justinian at 6:11 PM on February 15, 2019 [27 favorites]


Of course I'm all for rescinding the state of emergency, but in the car today the idea struck me: what could he use this as cover for? Like, the SoA is the goal, and the wall was the means, and so now what does the SoA allow? I'm under the impression that the legal weight of the SoA is somewhat fuzzy, but if there are any limitations (I doubt it) I'd like to hear of them.

We've had a lot of "oh shit, that's not actually a law!" with Trump, and my intuition says that he is going to root out everything that the law doesn't require him to do. I'd like to hear some "OK, so this is the legal territory, and this is the by-convention territory that we should not get (or should not have gotten) too used to carrying weight."
posted by rhizome at 6:17 PM on February 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


I'm a lot less concerned about this state of emergency bullshit, he's using already existing authority to move already appropriated, but not disbursed, money around. He can't create new money, and he has to take away from something else, like upkeeping housing for the troops Republicans love so much. No, the next Democratic president can't use this 'precedent' to do Medicare for All without Congress. This isn't the Enabling Act (yet?), it's a way to let the Orange Man Baby feel better about losing the shutdown he started to Nancy Pelosi, and letting him keep pretending on FOX News that he isn't her bitch now.

In a perfect world, Congress would use this opportunity to revisit why the president needs this emergency authority at all, especially since we're still technically in a state of "emergency" from the Iran hostage crisis in 1979.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:37 PM on February 15, 2019 [3 favorites]


A Weak and Rambling President Declares a Fake National Emergency
(John Cassidy, The New Yorker)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 6:56 PM on February 15, 2019 [48 favorites]


That John Cassidy article is the real deal — thank you for posting it, Barack Spinoza.

It’s the way national reporters should be talking about this business. Contextualizing it all in the white nationalist demagoguery that is driving it, parenthetically debunking each false statement as it’s reported, and spotlighting the incoherence and weakness and bankruptcy of the President’s whole position.

I strongly recommend folks read it, and agreeing with others that the two Elijah Cummings letters linked further upthread by zachlipton are also fantastic.

With the above, and Mueller’s sentencing memo for Manafort, it helps to restore a sense that responsible, competent adults are at work in Congress, in the Press, and in Federal law enforcement.
posted by darkstar at 7:36 PM on February 15, 2019 [7 favorites]




I love, love, love living in the internet age where we can read court rulings as easily as Twitter comments. pjenks's post above of the redacted transcript of Manafort's sealed hearing on Wednesday is really interesting.

If you want to know how a court answers "how do you know if someone was lying?", this is a great read. The court says, over and over, that Manafort's defense said he just, y'know, had trouble remembering specifics, and over and over, the court says, yeah, but he never said I don't remember - he said one thing, and then he changed his story to something else, and then he changed it again to this other thing, and THAT, folks, looks like material and intentional lying, not just trouble remembering.

Judge Berman also notes that the defense asked the judge to take into account the effects that solitary confinement had on Manafort's health, and goes on to say, but when I asked the defense for specifics, you didn't give me anything, and notes that all twelve of Manafort's debriefings took place before he first publicly complained about his health on October 19th, so there's just no actual evidence that his health affected his ability to remember during the time when he was actually being debriefed - on the contrary, when he pled guilty on Sept. 14, after the first 3 debriefings, "He stood at the lectern without difficulty, made no request for assistance during the plea colloquy concerning his mental state. He indicated that he was not taking any medication that could affect his ability to understand. I'm not saying he wasn't already diagnosed with gout at that time, but as of that date, September 14th, he hadn't demonstrated or, at least, expressed any concerns regarding physical or mental impairment."

I hope someday in the future we get to see the unredacted versions of these rulings. It's all really interesting, and I'm fascinated to see how judges make sense of this stuff.
posted by kristi at 7:49 PM on February 15, 2019 [43 favorites]


That's the first I've heard Manafort's condition was gout. Had to look up "gout" for the sake of it.

Gout was historically known as "the disease of kings" or "rich man's disease".


Huh.
posted by petebest at 8:19 PM on February 15, 2019 [13 favorites]


Gout is largely genetic with added risk factors being diet and diabetes. So yes, eating very rich food can trigger gout- if you have the predisposition. But the poorest diabetic can also get gout from processed foods they are forced to eat due to poverty, so lets not go down this route please.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 8:33 PM on February 15, 2019 [53 favorites]


A recipe for disaster’? Trump’s border emergency drags the GOP into a risky fight ahead of 2020 (WaPo)
President Trump’s decision to unilaterally attempt to build his promised wall at the Mexico border is pulling his party into a tailspin of drama and unease — a move that could help his own 2020 reelection effort even at the expense of fellow Republicans, numerous GOP officials said on Friday.

Trump’s bid to circumvent Congress puts GOP lawmakers — including many vulnerable senators up for reelection in the next cycle — in the position of having to choose between their party’s leader and their self-described opposition to executive overreach.

If they back Trump’s emergency declaration, many lawmakers worry, they will be greenlighting a White House power grab that infringes on Congress’s constitutional power over spending. But if they oppose it, they risk attracting the wrath of Trump’s political base — and perhaps a primary challenge.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:50 PM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


> kristi: If you want to know how a court answers "how do you know if someone was lying?", this is a great read. The court says, over and over, that Manafort's defense said he just, y'know, had trouble remembering specifics, and over and over, the court says, yeah, but he never said I don't remember - he said one thing, and then he changed his story to something else, and then he changed it again to this other thing, and THAT, folks, looks like material and intentional lying, not just trouble remembering.

When (and if) The Donald’s day in court arrives, may his judge — citing Manafort’s case as a precedent — apply the same Damoclean logic to Trump's outright lies, self-serving denials, convenient memory lapses, blame shifting, and other juvenile evasions.
posted by cenoxo at 9:14 PM on February 15, 2019 [10 favorites]


Donald Trump gets a dog (Alexandra Petri, WaPo)
He is at first aware of it only as something persistently underfoot, like a Roomba with ideas of its own. Then he is aware of it as something that has done a deal on the carpet — in the golf room, the new golf room! Of all the places!

Can we send it to a farm upstate, he wants to know, where they’ll take care of it? That might be better than to have this wagging beast that will sometimes ruin a pair of Ivanka Trump heels, almost as if it gnawed on them on principle. No, the farm, he thinks, might be best. It would be happier on the farm.

It is Jared who takes it on himself to explain about farms upstate, and Trump responds by shouting that HE KNEW THAT (OF COURSE HE KNEW THAT), but when he goes to bed that night, he lies awake, rigid with horror. So there was never a farm. So all the farms where the dogs were taken care of were just nowhere. He must have known that. Then maybe there is no place where you can just send things out of mind to be safe?

Not that it matters to him. He has the greatest, best health of any president, according to his doctor, and that is all because of remaining the cleanest president. Dogs are dirty.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:14 PM on February 15, 2019 [16 favorites]


Trump’s bid to circumvent Congress puts GOP lawmakers — including many vulnerable senators up for reelection in the next cycle — in the position of having to choose between their party’s leader and their self-described opposition to executive overreach.
Heavens! However will they resolve this conflict?
The suspense is simply unbearable.
posted by Nerd of the North at 9:31 PM on February 15, 2019 [37 favorites]


TPM:
Top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are opening an “immediate investigation” into President Trump’s move Friday morning to declare a national emergency to fund the construction of a border wall.

In a letter to Trump on Friday afternoon, the Democrats requested that he make available to them individuals involved in the decision — including White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and officials at the Department of Justice — for “a hearing in the coming days.” The Democrats are also seeking a slew of documents related to the decision-making process.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:39 PM on February 15, 2019 [45 favorites]


OK I wonder if it’s because I’m not an American but I believe I’ve missed some crucial legal clue in the Manafort sentencing....

So I thought SCO transferred these crimes to the state system in EDV and SDNY because state crimes can’t be pardoned?

So now I’m hearing Manafort is still lying and we see with Muller team reports they believe it may be because he’s expecting a pardon. But he can only be pardoned for Federal crimes and he’s still going to prison on the state crimes, what am I missing? He’ll still be in prison, right? Scratching my head now, even after faithfully watching Rachel....
posted by Wilder at 3:12 AM on February 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


EDV (Eastern District of Virginia) and SDNY (Southern District of New York) are federal prosecution offices, not state.
posted by michswiss at 3:38 AM on February 16, 2019 [8 favorites]


He probably has state criminal liability too, there sure were a lot of crimes, but currently there's no state charges against him that I know of. It'd have to be a whole new investigation/prosecution by the NY or VA attorney general.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:46 AM on February 16, 2019 [6 favorites]


Trump's emergency declaration is unconstitutional – ask his lawyers (LLoyd Green, Guardian)
Once upon a time, Trump and his legal minions brayed against unilateral executive actions, calling them tyrannical. Not any more. Barack Obama is out of the White House. Hail Caesar, hello his praetorian.

Take Jay Sekulow, Trump’s personal lawyer. In April 2016, in a brief to the supreme court attacking Obama’s unilateral expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, Sekulow painted Obama as a despot.

Echoing James Madison, founding father and fourth president, Sekulow thundered that the “accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands … may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny”. He also compared Obama and his executive order to Harry Truman’s unconstitutional seizure of America’s steel mills during the Korean war.

According to Sekulow, Truman “violated controlling precedent and abdicated [his] constitutional duty to faithfully execute the law”.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:00 AM on February 16, 2019 [12 favorites]


WaPo: Trump’s border wall is a departure from the 31 other current emergencies
President Trump said Friday that a crisis at the southern border amounts to a national emergency that requires constructing a border wall — a declaration that would mark the country’s 32nd ongoing emergency.

None, though, are comparable to the building of more barriers between the United States and Mexico.

Nearly all national emergency declarations under the 1976 National Emergencies Act relate to sanctions or export restrictions, according to a list kept by the Brennan Center for Justice. Under that act, presidents must formally declare an emergency and offer a legal rationale to use emergency powers.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:20 AM on February 16, 2019 [10 favorites]


NYT: Presidents Have Declared Dozens of Emergencies, but None Like Trump’s
“On the surface, this ‘Oh, other presidents do this, too’ line seems logical,” said Chris Edelson, an American University government professor and author of a 2013 book, “Emergency Presidential Power: From the Drafting of the Constitution to the War on Terror.” “But there is no example where a president asked for funding for something from Congress, Congress said, ‘No,’ and the president said, ‘I’ll use emergency powers to do it anyway.’”
posted by Little Dawn at 6:27 AM on February 16, 2019 [31 favorites]


Under that act, presidents must formally declare an emergency and offer a legal rationale to use emergency powers.

I was curious what the actual stated legal rational is, so: the official declaration (white house.gov). Spoiler: it doesn't really give a legal rationale. Let's break it down (dont' worry, it's only a few sentences, and obviously not written by donald):
The current situation at the southern border presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency. The southern border is a major entry point for criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics.
The first sentence is just announcing things. The second is really debatable, and could only technically be true if you count legal ports of entry and have a really fuzzy definition of "major".
The problem of large-scale unlawful migration through the southern border is long-standing, and despite the executive branch’s exercise of existing statutory authorities, the situation has worsened in certain respects in recent years.
A) It wasn't really a problem, B) It hasn't worsened, and C) It can't be both an emergency and a long-standing situation.
In particular, recent years have seen sharp increases in the number of family units entering and seeking entry to the United States and an inability to provide detention space for many of these aliens while their removal proceedings are pending. If not detained, such aliens are often released into the country and are often difficult to remove from the United States because they fail to appear for hearings, do not comply with orders of removal, or are otherwise difficult to locate.
None of these are problems that weren't created by the trump administration's policies.

Anyway, that's it, that's the whole stated legal rationale straight from the official emergency declaration. By the power vested in me and by the authority of being a goat, I hereby declare it laughable.
posted by mrgoat at 7:47 AM on February 16, 2019 [26 favorites]


In particular, recent years have seen sharp increases in the number of family units entering and seeking entry to the United States and an inability to provide detention space for many of these aliens while their removal proceedings are pending.

Gee, I wonder why it has increased: America's cocaine habit fueled its migrant crisis
posted by Omon Ra at 8:11 AM on February 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


I was curious what the actual stated legal rational is, so: the official declaration (white house.gov). Spoiler: it doesn't really give a legal rationale.

This is nothing new. Trump imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada based on a national security loophole in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. There was no stated legal rationale. Republican congress members did absolutely nothing about this obvious circumvention of congressional power.

But there is a lawsuit filed by steel importers that was argued before the United States Court of International Trade in New York. Oral arguments were in December so there should be a ruling coming out very soon.
posted by JackFlash at 8:19 AM on February 16, 2019 [12 favorites]


Rampant speculation:
As far as I am aware, the general assumption about Trump's Wall is that the motivating factor is primarily his racism and that of his racist base. But if I had to pick two words to describe Trump the one that would accompany "racism" would be "grift". How likely is that Trump or friends make any money off the wall? How likely is it that he appropriates some funds and they end up disappearing into a hole--a hole that is set just off to the side of the the normal recipient holes for our gigantic military budget?

It's definitely possible that the wall is a selfless act of racism. Trump has never been one for ideological purity, though. It's not like Trump is going to care if the actual wall is built if he gets the funding--he just needs a few photo ops, shadowy liberal elites to own, and darker-skinned Others to spread lies about.

Bonus: A pedantic digression into the difference between two words I never even realized were separate words
posted by ropeladder at 8:46 AM on February 16, 2019 [19 favorites]


Elsewhere, someone on Twitter just tweeted a photo of Trump at the omelette bar at Mar-a-gofuckyourself. I'm not gonna post it but the hash tag is #fakenationalemergency
posted by bluesky43 at 8:51 AM on February 16, 2019 [13 favorites]


NYT: Presidents Have Declared Dozens of Emergencies, but None Like Trump’s

I think it's time for Congress to examine this process, assess the status of any ongoing events, and then pass legislation to remedy any potential for exploitation.
posted by mikelieman at 8:52 AM on February 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


Here in the UK, graft means hard work, which obviously does not apply in the executive branch of the US of A
posted by Myeral at 9:02 AM on February 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


If not detained, such aliens are often released into the country and are often difficult to remove from the United States because they fail to appear for hearings, do not comply with orders of removal, or are otherwise difficult to locate.

IIRC didn't Trump end a policy that worked so well it had ridiculously high rates of people in these situations showing up for their hearings?
posted by jason_steakums at 9:15 AM on February 16, 2019 [9 favorites]


As Manafort stews behind bars, pundits have spent all week wondering why he would make the seemingly insane move of lying to Mueller’s investigators after he had signed an agreement to cooperate with them “fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly” concerning what he knew about the Trump campaign’s contacts with the Russian government. If you look back with me for a moment at what we have learned about Manafort over the last three years, maybe it’s not such a mystery at all...

Why did Manafort keep lying? (SLSalon)
posted by growabrain at 9:24 AM on February 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


> If not detained, such aliens are often released into the country and are often difficult to remove from the United States because they fail to appear for hearings, do not comply with orders of removal, or are otherwise difficult to locate.

>IIRC didn't Trump end a policy that worked so well it had ridiculously high rates of people in these situations showing up for their hearings?


Yes, something like 95% to 98% of refugees seeking asylum showed up for hearings under the Obama administration. It's important to distinguish refugees seeking asylum from migrant workers who routinely cross back and forth from jobs in the U.S. They have different agendas and different practices.

Refugees are seeking permanent residence based on asylum law and to do so they know they have to follow the legal process and show up at hearings. They are highly motivated to comply with requests and be highly visible to establish their legal residence.

Migrant workers are much the opposite. They survive by working under the radar, keeping quiet, and staying out of the legal system. The Trump administration deliberately conflates the two separate groups in their propaganda.
posted by JackFlash at 9:42 AM on February 16, 2019 [54 favorites]


The WSJ has published a fascinating graph of WSJ/NBC News polling data, noting "When asked how immigration affects the U.S., a growing majority of Americans say they feel it helps more than it hurts." It can be accessed through the Drudge Report link titled "Promised to 'Build That Wall,' Then Ran Out of Time and Options...," and I haven't been able to find it quickly via the more easily accessible NBC News or other sources.

But I'm filing it under "hope of the day," because despite how cautious I am about polling data, and hyperaware of how correlation does not imply causation, I find it reassuring to see that the "helps more than hurts" line has skyrocketed since 2016, and the "hurts more than helps" line has plummeted and continues to fall. It's almost as if Trump's virulent racism is having the opposite of the intended effects, and the WSJ article seems to imply that public opinion may have contributed to GOP resistance while they held majorities in the House and Senate.
Yet “build the wall” chants continue to resound at the president’s public appearances. Among Mr. Trump’s political base, polls show that 96% support the border wall. More broadly, a majority of Americans oppose such a barrier, the same Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found in January.

During the 2016 Republican primary race, Mr. Trump called his build-the-wall campaign promise, “My best line.”
posted by Little Dawn at 10:05 AM on February 16, 2019 [7 favorites]


As far as I am aware, the general assumption about Trump's Wall is that the motivating factor is primarily his racism and that of his racist base. But if I had to pick two words to describe Trump the one that would accompany "racism" would be "grift". How likely is that Trump or friends make any money off the wall?

Grift and profiteering on the wall can be taken for granted. Every one of Trump's buddies and allies hoping to make a buck off of the wall is also someone who understands scams fall apart and deals fall through. They know sometimes you have to cut and run. The fixation on the wall is absolutely about racist politicians trying to placate their racist base, because without their racist voters they don't have a hope in hell of keeping their jobs.

The same is even more important for Trump. Being president is the only thing keeping him out of prison. We might well see him bumped out of office and then never criminally prosecuted--try counting up how many torturers went to jail in the last 20 years, or how many bank execs were prosecuted for the 2008 meltdown. Whoever/whatever replaces Trump may decide it's important to "move on" for the sake of "healing" and all that bullshit. But that's no sure thing, and right now what's for sure keeping Trump out of criminal court and out of jail is his seat in the White House and he doesn't want to give that up.

Also there's the matter of his ego and his sense of "winning." That's more important to him than anything you or I would call logic, let alone what's good for the country. The money from grift is important, sure, but it's far from the most important factor in play.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:12 AM on February 16, 2019 [8 favorites]


Pence’s Greeting From Trump To International Conference Met With DEAD Silence
posted by growabrain at 10:13 AM on February 16, 2019 [61 favorites]


Pence’s Greeting From Trump...

wow. I'm normally underwhelmed by the 'sick burnz' and 'oooooh, he got served!' that goes with these kinds of clips but... damn. It's truly impressive.

And reflective of how Europe (if you go by what you read in the press) Trump feels about Trump: (there is this biting phrase in German (that I've probably mentioned before) "He is not a serious person" which generally precedes being cut off from all communication and Trump is viewed as an un-serious man. They're all just treading water until he goes away. An impressive turn-around from Obama's administration.
posted by From Bklyn at 10:42 AM on February 16, 2019 [15 favorites]


They're all just treading water until he goes away. An impressive turn-around from Obama's administration.
I love Obama as much as anyone, but remember he was embraced so strongly by US allies because he was not Bush.
And this is worse.
posted by mumimor at 11:02 AM on February 16, 2019 [7 favorites]


They're all just treading water until he goes away

Nobody is treading water except for maybe Mike Pence. The rest of the world is doing what the world has always done throughout history: gone on with its business. This is the rest of the world (or Western world, I'm not sure who's at that conference) leaving the US behind.

American business needs the rest of the world. They do, and the rest of the world also knows this. Trump is not going to e.g. shut down US commerce for whatever temper tantrum he's coming up with this month like he is trying to shut down the southern border, because the multinational companies with big footprints all over the world will call in their chits (they always have more chits) with Congress and we'll see the impeachment train really gain steam if something like that happens.

There are many companies that have more global power, more national power, more local power than Trump has. They have more power than Trump thinks he has, more than he can imagine. Trump and Miller and Parscale and Bannon and yadda yadda appear to be able to do two things: pull on the tiger's tail, and brag to the people who mill around to watch. Trump's camp thinks they're punching up, but they're just starting shit, and even on the playground the bully eventually, usually, gets ostracized. Usually.

And a leopard can't change its spots, and Trump has always been about starting shit with people, about feuding, and one thing I learned about bullies is that if they're not targeting you, you can just walk away. Like the world is doing to the US right now (and probably the UK, too).

Kendzior would say this is a process of isolation, much like an intimate abuser will wage upon their partner, and I fully agree that that is probably at least a subconscious intent (where are Trump's high school girlfriends, if any?), but that intent does not (yet) exist in a vacuum and the rest of the world is fully able to apply friction, pushback, whatever you want to call it: force that walks right past Trump's ego and shit-talking.
posted by rhizome at 11:14 AM on February 16, 2019 [35 favorites]


The WaPo reports on the rebranding exercise happening ahead of 2020, ‘Finish that wall’: Trump seeks to turn his failure to build the wall into campaign rallying cry. This part about the president disagreeing with reality jumped out:
The president has complained repeatedly about news coverage that has depicted the wall as not being built and has told his campaign and communications officials they have to convince people more of the wall is being built.

He has sought to meet with contractors about the wall, even giving specifics on how tall the wall should look.
I'm no branding expert, but "finish that wall" seems akin to asking voters to chant "keep your promises," something more of an attack on wavering republicans not democrats. And secondly, who cares how tall the wall is as long as it looks tall, right?
posted by peeedro at 1:11 PM on February 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


It is seriously impressive. I also noticed that Mike followed up that stunning silence with what appears to have been an ad-libbed Bible verse in an attempt to chide the audience for that snub?
The most impressive thing is, how could they not know that the Europeans are not fans of Trump, and also not fans of bible-quoting, American Evangelical Style? I mean, I know they are in a bubble, but I thought they were angry about European snobs or something and thus were aware of being in a hostile setting.
posted by mumimor at 1:27 PM on February 16, 2019 [6 favorites]




It is seriously impressive. I also noticed that Mike followed up that stunning silence with what appears to have been an ad-libbed Bible verse in an attempt to chide the audience for that snub?

Kevin M. Kruse: "Bitte klatschen."
posted by PenDevil at 1:32 PM on February 16, 2019 [24 favorites]


David Wallace-Wells, NYT Op-Ed, Time to Panic: The planet is getting warmer in catastrophic ways. And fear may be the only thing that saves us.
This, to me, is progress. Panic might seem counterproductive, but we’re at a point where alarmism and catastrophic thinking are valuable, for several reasons.
...
I know the science is true, I know the threat is all-encompassing, and I know its effects, should emissions continue unabated, will be terrifying. And yet, when I imagine my life three decades from now, or the life of my daughter five decades now, I have to admit that I am not imagining a world on fire but one similar to the one we have now. That is how hard it is to shake complacency. We are all living in delusion, unable to really process the news from science that climate change amounts to an all-encompassing threat. Indeed, a threat the size of life itself.

How can we be this deluded? One answer comes from behavioral economics. The scroll of cognitive biases identified by psychologists and fellow travelers over the past half-century can seem, like a social media feed, bottomless, and they distort and distend our perception of a changing climate. These optimistic prejudices, prophylactic biases and emotional reflexes form an entire library of climate delusion.

We build our view of the universe outward from our own experience, a reflexive tendency that surely shapes our ability to comprehend genuinely existential threats to the species. We have a tendency to wait for others to act, rather than acting ourselves; a preference for the present situation; a disinclination to change things; and an excess of confidence that we can change things easily, should we need to, no matter the scale. We can’t see anything but through cataracts of self-deception.
posted by zachlipton at 3:16 PM on February 16, 2019 [20 favorites]


The most impressive thing is, how could they not know that the Europeans are not fans of Trump, and also not fans of bible-quoting, American Evangelical Style?

He wasn't saying that part to the people in the room.
posted by Etrigan at 3:21 PM on February 16, 2019 [8 favorites]


Pence’s Greeting From Trump To International Conference Met With DEAD Silence

Counterpoint, via Aaron Rupar: "Ivanka Trump is the only person in audience who doesn’t applaud after Angela Merkel points out the absurdity of Trump claiming German cars are a national security threat"
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:22 PM on February 16, 2019 [28 favorites]


The youth climate strike people with the signs “START SAYING SORRY TO YOUR GRANDKIDS” are at the level we need to get on
posted by The Whelk at 3:24 PM on February 16, 2019 [60 favorites]


@meridithmcgraw of ABC News: Just in: Acting Sec of Defense Shanahan just told reporters he hasn’t determined if there is a military necessity for a border wall or how much money Defense will even spend. Shanahan said he hasn’t yet spoken to President Trump.

Um. Wow.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 3:44 PM on February 16, 2019 [66 favorites]


The youth climate strike people with the signs “START SAYING SORRY TO YOUR GRANDKIDS” are at the level we need to get on

November 7, 2018: Trudeau Apologizes for Canada’s Turning Away Ship of Jews Fleeing Nazis (NYT)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood in Parliament on Wednesday and apologized for Canada’s decision to turn away a steamliner full of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany on the eve of the Holocaust 79 years ago, saying it reflected years of regrettable anti-Semitic foreign policy.

The Canadian government at the time, run by the same Liberal party that Mr. Trudeau leads today, refused to allow the steamliner, the St. Louis, to land in June 1939 after it had been blocked from docking at its original destination, Havana. The boat was filled with more than 900 passengers, most of them Jews who had fled Germany four months before World War II began.

“We apologize to the mothers and fathers whose children we did not save, to the daughters and sons whose parents we did not help,” Mr. Trudeau said.
April 10, 1999: Jewish refugees were sent back to die; Refused: In 1939, the liner St. Louis, full of immigrants desperate to escape the war in Germany, was denied entry in the United States (Baltimore Sun)
Plans by Clinton administration officials to move 20,000 Kosovo refugees to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay have now been aborted. But their consideration recalls painful memories of the 1939 "Voyage of the Damned," when 930 Jewish refugees aboard the Hamburg-American liner St. Louis were denied entry into the United States.

It's a sad chapter in U.S. history that is recalled in a new exhibit opening Monday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

What happened to the St. Louis and its human cargo, coupled with the indifference of the Roosevelt administration to act, may have influenced President Clinton's decision in offering help to the Kosovars.
February 16, 2019: With Trump’s Tough Deterrents, Many Asylum Seekers on the Border are Giving Up (NYT)
Mr. Trump resorted on Friday to declaring a national emergency after he failed to secure funding from Congress for a border wall that he said would block migrants from entering the United States. But the data from Mexican officials suggested that harsh policies he has introduced to crack down on asylum seekers may already be achieving some of its intended effects.

Added this week to new policies that are bearing down on asylum seekers — which include tight limits on the number of people who can apply for the status each day and a heightened standard of proof to qualify — was the extension of a rule that certain asylum seekers must wait in Mexico for the full duration of their legal cases, which can take years.

The requirement originally applied only to adults, but the Department of Homeland Security expanded it to include families with children as well.
posted by Little Dawn at 4:05 PM on February 16, 2019 [21 favorites]


@meridithmcgraw [statement attached]: Heather Nauert withdraws herself from consideration for UN Ambassador

I'm guessing this nomination was going over pretty badly in the Senate just on the general grounds of her qualifications, but perhaps there's a more ridiculous backstory waiting to come out here.
posted by zachlipton at 4:47 PM on February 16, 2019 [10 favorites]


Ah, that didn't take long, and yep, rather ridiculous.

@JenniferJJacobs: Heather Nauert's nomination began to falter after the White House was alerted that a problem had cropped up in her background check —Trump’s pick for UN ambassador had employed a nanny who was in US legally but didn’t have a US work permit, sources tell me and @nwadhams.

So the President's company can employ scores of undocumented workers for decades, Jared gets a security clearance despite a billion red flags, but the UN Ambassador's nanny is a showstopper for her background check?
posted by zachlipton at 5:09 PM on February 16, 2019 [36 favorites]


This is a good article about what needs to happen on the ground if the Green New Deal is gonna work.

Climate change and the border wall are more connected than you might think.
(Will Meyer, Longreads)
In his book Storming The Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security (2017), journalist Todd Miller points out that those countries that are the biggest polluters are also militarizing their borders the fastest. He argues that border militarization — since Clinton first began building fences and expanding security technology there — has been an affirmation, not a denial, of climate change. Yet, as wealthy nations double down on “securing” their territory in obvious anticipation of refugees displaced by climate-related changes, they continue to build up fossil fuel infrastructure with haste.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:35 PM on February 16, 2019 [23 favorites]


The US military have never been in denial about climate change.
posted by um at 7:42 PM on February 16, 2019 [18 favorites]


Climate change and the border wall are more connected than you might think.

In short: the wall is the conservative solution to climate change. Or the bones of it, before the weaponized drones and minefields are added. Demarcations between who lives and who dies will be the rule in one of the two possible futures.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:07 PM on February 16, 2019 [36 favorites]


Hmmm...I guess that's why there's no talk of securing their northern border.
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:25 PM on February 16, 2019 [2 favorites]


Meh.

The right isn’t scared of heat.

They are scared of color.
posted by notyou at 8:32 PM on February 16, 2019 [20 favorites]


I don't read Japanese, but apparently the Trump administration pressured the Japanese government to submit a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Trump.

... how is this our reality?

Cite.
posted by suelac at 9:24 PM on February 16, 2019 [10 favorites]


apparently the Trump administration pressured the Japanese government to submit a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Trump

Abe has been willing to (appear to) suck up to Trump from the get-go. I figure it didn’t take much pressure.
posted by Etrigan at 10:13 PM on February 16, 2019 [2 favorites]


Abe's just shining him on, waiting him out. Japan is an old country, he knows it's just the way things go sometimes. "Well I guess we'll be doing this for a while now."

And isn't the NPP one of the ones for which anybody can be "nominated?" Trump is waging schoolyard hijinks, "dude, tell them you want me to get it."
posted by rhizome at 10:40 PM on February 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


Abe has been willing to (appear to) suck up to Trump from the get-go. I figure it didn’t take much pressure.

There is no confirmation from the Japanese government that such a nomination was actually made, just that Trump pressured Abe to make it.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 10:46 PM on February 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


On Pfieffer / Medicare for All - can someone better informed than me explain the difference between this and what PSA are pushing for, a public option? Would this not obviate the need for fundraising in the same way? I don't have a great grasp of the nuance on this stuff.
posted by ominous_paws at 11:10 PM on February 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


Finding out Dan Pfeiffer of Pod Save America has ties to GoFundMe, which makes a bulk of money off medical fundraising, is opposed to Medicare for all is just ....full on I bought the red car so I could dismantle it cartoonish. Why is this reality?

I'm sorry, but no. We are not going to fire up the circular firing squad because someone the left doesn't like and who hasn't gone all in on a preferred slogan worked for a company, one that doesn't even charge a fee anymore (beyond credit card costs) on personal crowdfunding, for two years.

If this theory made any sense, surely Pfeiffer would have been out there supporting the AHCA and calling for Obamacare to be dismantled so that GoFundMe would have more customers? He's supposed to be cartoonishly evil insofar as it allows people to confirm their existing positions in today's ideological purity contest, but only exactly that much?
posted by zachlipton at 11:16 PM on February 16, 2019 [37 favorites]


Would this not obviate the need for fundraising in the same way? I don't have a great grasp of the nuance on this stuff.

A "public option" doesn't cover everybody automatically since it's an option and has no guarantee of actually being good if you can have it. There would still be a need for medical gofundmes in a public option America and not in an actual universal-coverage America.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:17 PM on February 16, 2019 [5 favorites]


A "public option" would mean the government would offer health care plans that people could pay for like private insurance, which would compete against for-profit private insurance in the current marketplace. Medicare for All would be a program of automatic universal coverage paid for by the government, which would remove the need for health insurance as we know it.
posted by contraption at 11:21 PM on February 16, 2019 [10 favorites]


From Nancy Pelosi on Twitter: Mexico said NO. Voters said NO. Congress – armed with the exclusive constitutional power of the purse – said NO. Trump is trashing our Constitution by abusing his executive power with #FakeTrumpEmergency. This is a naked power grab that “didn’t need” to happen. It won’t work.

From Refinery 29: "If the president can declare an emergency on something that he has created as an emergency, an illusion that he wants to convey, just think of what a president with different values can present to the American people," she said on Thursday. "You want to talk about a national emergency? Let's talk about today," she said, referring to February 14, 2019, the day that marked one year since the school shooting in Parkland, FL, where 17 people were killed.

...Democratic presidential candidates Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren joined Pelosi in calling attention to the actual emergencies the U.S. is facing: the family separation crisis created by Trump, the potentially catastrophic outcome if we don't deal with climate change, the opioid crisis, and the epidemic of mass shootings.


Meanwhile, those scary 44 judicial nominees are still heading our way and we still need to push back. From Mother Jones: There’s no Supreme Court decision more widely celebrated than Brown v. Board of Education, the unanimous 1954 ruling that abolished school segregation. But this month, when Neomi Rao appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing on her nomination to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, she refused to say whether she thought the case had been correctly decided.

Asked by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) whether the court had made the right decision in Brown, Rao replied, “As a judicial nominee, I think it’s not appropriate for me to comment on the correctness of particular precedents.” Blumenthal asked her for a yes or no, but Rao would say only that Brown is “an incredibly important decision of the Supreme Court”—a dodge she twice repeated when pressed further.

In normal times, the moment might have been extraordinary. During the Trump administration, it’s par for the course. Rao is one of at least 10 Trump nominees to the federal courts in the past year who have refused to offer an opinion on Brown. ...Until Trump took office, refusing to endorse Brown as a judicial nominee would have been unthinkable.


From Slate: Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee mashed a record-smashing 44 Trump-nominated judges through committee for a vote. As Democratic Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono said at that hearing, over 80 percent of Trump’s judicial nominees have come from the Federalist Society, even though less than 4 percent of all American lawyers are Federalist Society members. As California Sen. Kamala Harris noted at the same hearing, those 44 judges alone, if confirmed, will make up one-twentieth of all lifetime-appointed federal judges in the country. He’s building his team and he’s not wrong when he says this is all that matters.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:29 AM on February 17, 2019 [24 favorites]


Well, this is hilarious:
Aayla (In English, По-русски) @PunishedAayla
Putting an Adam Smith quote over AOC and dropping it into a libertarian right group is the fastest way to prove that even libertarians have no idea what they stand for
[picture of AIC looking Lenin-esque with the following Adam Smith quote superimposed: "Government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all."]

Libertarian bros were predictably incandescent at the "nincompoop" "flap[ping] her lips".
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:53 AM on February 17, 2019 [42 favorites]


Some Brexit crossover...

Mueller questions Cambridge Analytica director Brittany Kaiser
A director of the controversial data company Cambridge Analytica, who appeared with Arron Banks at the launch of the Leave.EU campaign, has been subpoenaed by the US investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

A spokesman for Brittany Kaiser, former business development director for Cambridge Analytica – which collapsed after the Observer revealed details of its misuse of Facebook data – confirmed that she had been subpoenaed by special counsel Robert Mueller, and was cooperating fully with his investigation.

...

Damian Collins, chairman of parliament’s inquiry into fake news, said it was “no surprise” that Kaiser was under scrutiny by Mueller because “her work connected her to WikiLeaks, Cambridge Analytica and [its parent company] SCL, the Trump campaign, Leave.EU and Arron Banks”.
posted by Buntix at 4:41 AM on February 17, 2019 [24 favorites]


Politico: Week 91: Mueller’s Case for Collusion Comes Into View (Jack Shafer)
Until Friday, Mueller’s team had been coy about directly connecting any Trump campaign associate to a 12-member Russian GRU military intelligence team it indicted in July 2018 for hacking emails from the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton presidential campaign. It had secured guilty pleas from such scandal participants as former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Trump campaign executive Rick Gates, campaign back-bencher George Papadopoulos, and others, and convicted campaign director Paul Manafort on an array of financial fraud charges connected to his politicking and lobbying for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.

But the two seemingly parallel investigations never really intersected. Self-described dirty trickster Stone, who worked on the early Trump campaign and remained close to Trump and his aides after departing, wanted the court to say the investigations were separate. He requested a new judge, saying the charges against him had nothing to do with the Russian hackers case, also being prosecuted before Judge Amy Berman Jackson. But the judge tossed Stone’s request, accepting Mueller’s line of argument that Stone directly interacted with the Russians and Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks, the middleman for the hacked emails.

Now that the two investigations are one, what remains to be gleaned is how wide and deep the Trump campaign’s connections to the Russians and WikiLeaks were.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:32 AM on February 17, 2019 [16 favorites]


Former Gov. Paul LePage and his staff members paid for more than 40 rooms at Washington, D.C.’s Trump International Hotel during a two-year period, spending at least $22,000 in Maine taxpayer money at a business owned by the president’s family.

Documents recently obtained by the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram show that the LePage administration paid anywhere from $362 to more than $1,100 a night for rooms at the luxury hotel during trips to meet with President Trump or his inner circle, attend White House events or talk to members of Congress.

Receipts from those dozen trips also show the Republican governor or his administration spending hundreds of dollars on filet mignon or other expensive menu items at the restaurant in the Trump hotel. Those expenditures are likely to draw additional scrutiny from attorneys who have cited LePage’s previously disclosed stays at the D.C. hotel in a federal lawsuit alleging the president is improperly profiting from the business.

The spending levels at the Trump hotel were so high that they were flagged by a worker in the state controller’s office, who sought guidance on state regulations for reimbursing such expenditures. ... the former governor’s office failed to provide detailed travel records for LePage and his staff despite repeated requests from the newspaper over the course of 18 months. It was not until after LePage had left office – and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills was sworn in – that documents originally requested in March 2017 and subsequently were finally provided to the Press Herald.

posted by Bella Donna at 6:33 AM on February 17, 2019 [46 favorites]


This part of the Jack Shafer piece linked above may help explain why there have been so few White House press briefings lately:
After we sort out the whole Russian mess, the task will be assigned to someone to tally up the saga’s greatest lies. One contender for the crown might be White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, who told CNN on Friday that she was interviewed by Mueller’s team late last year. Because Sanders has been loquacious on the investigation topic since taking the press secretary job in July 2017, Mueller would want to know what sort of input Trump provided. Did he feed her the sort of lies that could be read as obstruction to justice?
posted by Little Dawn at 6:43 AM on February 17, 2019 [2 favorites]


Mod note: Several deleted. Sorry, but for in-depth hashing out of Medicare for All / Public Option, please do that in the All Care for All People thread. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 7:00 AM on February 17, 2019 [12 favorites]


From author A.R. Moxon: If one wants to critique The Green New Deal’s policy, it needs to be within the larger context of a firm commitment to a robust and prioritized response to climate change, and a willingness to engage in the significant disruption that will cause. Otherwise it’s just using the challenge of the problem as a reason not to start. ...

It’s one of the slyest tricks of opposition there is, to deny a clearly needed solution to an obvious problem, not because the need for a solution is great, but because the route hasn’t been charted thoroughly enough, because all of the potential problems haven’t been identified, because every last correction hasn’t been made. But leadership comes BEFORE governance. ...

This is the reason that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (for example) has so many people who oppose her obsessed and frightened, by the way. Whenever someone arrives who actually makes bold and needed compass statements, people respond. And, it reveals all the people who have been refusing to make them. She’s showing us the magic trick. Once you know the trick, you can see it everywhere.

Who’s going to PAY for Medicare for All?
Magic trick. “Medicare for All” is a compass statement. We WILL care for everybody’s medical needs, because that is what a civilized society does.

The country won’t accept gun control, it can’t happen here.
Magic trick. We WILL minimize gun violence. Letting our schools become war zones is unacceptable.

A 70% marginal tax rate is socialism run amok!
Magic trick. We ARE going to address the scourge of wealth disparity, hording and corrupt billionaire welfare.

The Green New Deal is flawed!
Magic trick. We ARE going to drop literally everything else to address a potential extinction-level crisis, because of course we are, my god, what the hell is wrong with you?

This is going to matter in 2020. Remember that leadership is the compass, governance is the navigation. Both are important, but one comes ahead of the other, and you can make adjustments on the way.

posted by Bella Donna at 7:18 AM on February 17, 2019 [91 favorites]


But leadership comes BEFORE governance. ...
YES! I like this
posted by mumimor at 7:29 AM on February 17, 2019 [13 favorites]


These ideas might be good material for a MeTa. It might be hard to keep the temperature of such a discussion low enough for the blue.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:38 AM on February 17, 2019 [5 favorites]


Newsweek: Russia May Absorb Belarus: 'We’re Ready to Unite,' President Says. Putin, who could hypothetically bypass the Russian constitution's term limits in a new Russia-Belarus union, took a minute to troll the US and EU:
“There, the European Parliament makes more binding decisions for all members than the Supreme Soviet of the USSR once took such decisions for the Union republics. Is it not a dependency?” Putin asked.

Putin also suggested that U.S. military deployments in Europe have undermined nation sovereignty there. “Do you think someone from European countries wants U.S. medium-range missiles to appear in Europe?” he asked.

“No one wants that. But they sit, they keep quiet. Where is their sovereignty? But apparently they believe that in the ultimate, general calculation, they are interested in such an organization in which they have invested part of their sovereignty,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pence's diplomatic efforts in Munch went dismally: Trump foreign policy under attack from all sides at European security conference (WaPo)
The vice president’s speech was met with disdain by some European officials who say they have no intention of abandoning the Iran nuclear deal and felt his aggressive tone would only stir up more opposition.

Gathered shortly after, a group of senior European military officers observed with surprise that Pence made relatively little mention of Russia, the major security concern for many of the conference’s attendees.

Other officials joked that Europe’s eagerness to have more U.S. troops on their soil was increasing — to defend against the whims of the White House.
And of course, Russia Today ran a gleeful headline, "Munich Brawl: Pence Clashes With Merkel and Mogherini Over Iran Deal, Russian Pipeline"
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:46 AM on February 17, 2019 [8 favorites]


I can't help but feel that the issue of people staying at Trump's hotels is small potatos. The true grift is in the billions, not thousands.
posted by M-x shell at 9:26 AM on February 17, 2019 [5 favorites]


I can't help but feel that the issue of people staying at Trump's hotels is small potatos. The true grift is in the billions, not thousands.

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff appears to agree, via Politico: ‘Evidence in plain sight’ of Trump collusion with Russia, Schiff says
In an interview on CNN, Schiff rejected Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr’s statements from earlier this month, in which Burr said evidence shows no collusion by the Trump campaign and Russia.

“Chairman Burr must have a different word for it,” Schiff told host Dana Bash on “State of the Union,” pointing to communications between Russia and Donald Trump Jr. and former Trump aides George Papadopoulos and Michael Flynn.

“You can see evidence in plain sight on the issue of collusion, pretty compelling evidence,” Schiff said, adding, “There is a difference between seeing evidence of collusion and being able to prove a criminal conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Schiff said special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on potential Russian government meddling in the 2016 election might not be the final word on the matter.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:34 AM on February 17, 2019 [16 favorites]


This morning, @realDonaldTrump attempted to bandage his narcissistic injuries by bragging about his approval ratings, and Daniel Dale shows every number Trump tweeted is a lie: ") Trump is not at 52% anymore even in outlier Rasmussen. He’s been back to 50% there every day since Monday. 2) He’s not at 93% with Republicans. Consistently in the high 80s. 3) Even 93% with Republicans wouldn’t be a record. Bush was in the high 90s for months after 9/11."

Meanwhile, Alec Baldwin's SNL version of Trump's Friday news conference touched a nerve: "Nothing funny about tired Saturday Night Live on Fake News NBC! Question is, how do the Networks get away with these total Republican hit jobs without retribution? Likewise for many other shows? Very unfair and should be looked into. This is the real Collusion!" and "THE RIGGED AND CORRUPT MEDIA IS THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!"

The WaPo's Karen Tumulty comments: "A State of Emergency for the First Amendment: The President of the United States has declared a comedy show should be "looked into" for making fun of him, and raised the possibility of "retribution." Let's just let that sink in for a moment, America."
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:38 AM on February 17, 2019 [85 favorites]


"Let's just let that sink in for a moment, America."

And this, from three teachers writing at WaPo:
“You know what I love? I love seeing some young conservatives because I know it’s not easy. (Crowd applauds and shouts.) Keep up that fight. Bring it to your schools. You don’t have to be indoctrinated by these loser teachers that are trying to sell you on socialism from birth. You don’t have to do it. Because you can think for yourselves. They can’t.” (Crowd applauds and shouts again.) – Donald Trump Jr. in Texas on Feb. 11, 2019

For teachers around the globe, this was a chilling moment.

In a stadium filled with people chanting “USA, USA,” the son of the president of the United States called for hostility toward teachers because of their so-called political leanings. This is a message you would expect in an authoritarian regime, not at a rally for the U.S. president.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:01 AM on February 17, 2019 [77 favorites]


This is a message you would expect in an authoritarian regime

Right, which is why we should expect it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:11 AM on February 17, 2019 [59 favorites]


This is a message you would expect in an authoritarian regime

If you take Trump's argument for declaring a state of emergency seriously, he's arguing for authoritarianism. He's literally saying something along the lines of the president doesn't need an emergency to declare a state of emergency. He can declare a state of emergency for no reason or any reason to do whatever he wants if congress won't let him.

This to me is part of the conundrum that will face the Supreme Court, which is not can the president on his own decide there is a national state of emergency, but can the president tell the people there is not an emergency and declare a state of national emergency at the same time. This is also kind of the question that was in front of the supreme court during the travel ban. Can the president ban immigrants from coming to the country for security reasons while telling the country he's doing it for racism?
posted by xammerboy at 11:07 AM on February 17, 2019 [24 favorites]


Lots of insider stuff involving recent rulings on health insurer lawsuits from Charles Gaba, who follows healthcare policy: The contract insurance carriers sign when they offer policies on the ACA exchanges is to cover a chunk of low-income enrollee deductibles, co-pays and other out-of-pocket costs which would normally be the enrollees' responsibility. These are called Cost Sharing Reductions (CSR). The carriers then submit their CSR invoices to the federal government, which is supposed to reimburse the insurance carriers every month.

Donald Trump cut off contrctually-required CSR reimbursement payments to insurance carriers in October 2017...and hasn't made any payments since. (I'm not going to rehash how Trump was able to cut off those payments with a Thanos-like snap of his fingers; suffice to say it's connected to a lawsuit filed so long ago that John friggin' Boehner was still Speaker of the House at the time). ...

Judge Sweeney just ordered that Community Health Choices is entitled to be reimbursed for all of the CSR funds they paid out in 2018 even though they jacked up their premiums to cover that amount. ... This ruling just went from one carrier to, by my count, 92 different insurance carriers across multiple states.

posted by Bella Donna at 11:55 AM on February 17, 2019 [7 favorites]


For comparison on how emergencies have been handled. The day after Pearl Harbor, FDR addressed a joint session of Congress asking them to declare war against those nations who had (1) attacked us and (2) declared war against us.

So, I don't see any reason for any "emergency powers"
posted by mikelieman at 12:12 PM on February 17, 2019 [11 favorites]


The NYT reports more dismay about Trump from US allies and more gloating from the Russians: Rift Between Trump and Europe Is Now Open and Angry
A senior German official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on such matters, shrugged his shoulders and said: “No one any longer believes that Trump cares about the views or interests of the allies. It’s broken.”

The most immediate danger, diplomats and intelligence officials warned, is that the trans-Atlantic fissures now risk being exploited by Russia and China.

Even the normally gloomy Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, happily noted the strains, remarking that the Euro-Atlantic relationship had become increasingly “tense.”

“We see new cracks forming, and old cracks deepening,” Mr. Lavrov said.[…]

“It’s very odd to talk of American leadership of the alliance when it’s Trump who has caused the crisis,” said Marietje Schaake, a Dutch member of the European Parliament. “The Trump administration is seen by many Europeans as chiefly responsible for the tensions and the weakening of the West.”
Patrick Shanahan's appearance at the NATO meeting went better: Acting Pentagon Chief Backs NATO, Despite Trump's Past Criticism (Reuters)
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:46 PM on February 17, 2019 [13 favorites]


The problem in Europe is that someone should take on the leadership and direct the course now that the US is gone. But Merkel has resigned, Macron is struggling, and May is... I don't even know. As for the other big EU nations, none of them are anywhere near anything. Maybe this will look better after the EU elections in May, maybe it won't. Spain is in chaos, so is Italy. Poland and Hungary are close to fascism. Russia is as usual having a great time.

When I read the European news, the main problem seems to be a huge lack of focus. The journalists and commentators don't seem able to address the main agendas and if they do, to keep on track. So it's no surprise that more or less crazy populists are winning attention. (And yes, then they get Russian assistance).
posted by mumimor at 1:14 PM on February 17, 2019 [12 favorites]


Yes, the populists are everywhere now - Trump is a symptom, and there is plenty of populist discontent across the European continent. Yes, it will be nice to have Trump gone for all kinds of reasons, but President Harris (or whoever) is going to be mopping up a hell of a mess, and the European countries will have their own big fish to fry.

That's the problem with saying "U.S. Out of < wherever >! America can't be World's Cop!" There are and have been many problems with US leadership, but when it is gone, who or what will rush in to fill the vacuum? Somehow I doubt the answer is "Unicorn Gumdrop Land!"

Of course, the Russian leadership just loves this vacuum, and somehow I don't think that its influence is preferable.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:41 PM on February 17, 2019 [10 favorites]


We don't have a world government, and we won't have one until we have leaders at the national and below level that want that. We cannot hope that there will suddenly be something above the United States (or the UK, or Japan, or Brazil, or Russia) that will save it. The only chance is from below. We will need leaders at the national level and the only way to get those is to organize and act at the sub-national level. Throw away your dreams for a benevolent one-world government. It will not exist until it's job is very easy to do anyway. I say this as someone who yearns for universal unification.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 1:55 PM on February 17, 2019 [8 favorites]


Even the normally gloomy Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov

Huh. Earlier today it was "saturnine."
posted by reductiondesign at 1:59 PM on February 17, 2019 [5 favorites]


MoJo: A Scientist Who Resisted Trump Administration Censorship of Climate Report Just Lost Her Job
For several years, climate change scientist Maria Caffrey led a trailblazing study outlining the risks of rising seas at national parks. She’s now out of a job.

Caffrey, who worked under a contract with the National Park Service, resisted efforts by federal officials to remove all references to human causes of climate change in her scientific report. After Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting reported the attempts at censorship, Democratic members of Congress called for an investigation, and in May, the park service released the report with all the references reinstated.

Caffrey’s contract expired Friday. Park service officials told her last year they would hire her for a new project. But they notified her Thursday that no funding is available for the work.

Caffrey said she asked her supervisor at the park service, “Is this because of the climate change stuff?” She said he told her, “I don’t want to answer that.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:01 PM on February 17, 2019 [60 favorites]


I guess this is what happens if it takes too long for Trump to get to the point:

CBS Goes With ‘The Price Is Right’ Over Conclusion Of President Trump’s Emergency Speech (Bruce Haring, Deadline Hollywood)

They cut out apparently at 1:30 PM Eastern.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:04 PM on February 17, 2019 [38 favorites]


"You don’t have to be indoctrinated by these loser teachers that are trying to sell you on socialism from birth. You don’t have to do it. Because you can think for yourselves. They can't."

Just want to point out that while this may have reached a new level of endorsement as a rallying point deployed by the son of a President... this is exactly how a lot of the Republican party has talked about public schools and teachers for decades. As if public education is itself a socialist plot, an illegitimate authority, a waste of money, as if teachers are leeches who couldn't hack it at a real job. And that's just the rhetoric: there've been and still are a variety of policy attempts to privatize education. And of course, bring to the masses exactly the level of educational opportunities that the Trump family did with its private education offerings.

As with most things Trump, he and his provide a certain unalloyed presentation, but there's little new here, except for those who for some reason couldn't see this is who the GOP has been for a long time.
posted by wildblueyonder at 2:17 PM on February 17, 2019 [41 favorites]


Whoops, typo correction, I was talking about Libertarian Municipalism.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:17 PM on February 17, 2019 [1 favorite]


Piggy backing on that, Murray Bookchin was the ideological basis for Abdullah Ocalan, who in turn was the ideological basis for the Kurdish regions in Northern Syria that Erdogan wants to bury alive. How My Father’s Ideas Helped the Kurds Create a New Democracy

I also want to mention this article from The Guardian: A new wave of dissidents in the east can turn back Europe’s populist tide

For those of us in America (and I guess maybe Western Europe?), we should be looking at how other people around the world are resisting totalitarianism and fascism.

And we don’t need to go down the “but we’ll never have a mass-mobilization”/“people can’t take off work to protest” derail, we can just start a new post on this topic.
posted by gucci mane at 2:18 PM on February 17, 2019 [14 favorites]


From AP: Iowa was in the forefront of a national effort to reduce partisanship in the courts nearly 50 years ago when it decided to stop electing judges and instead rely on nominations by a panel of citizens and lawyers. In all, about three dozen states adopted similar systems aimed at emphasizing legal expertise over politics.

But now Republicans who control the governor’s office and the Legislature say it’s time to give politicians greater control. House and Senate leaders are moving to change how judges are chosen after being repeatedly frustrated by court rulings on topics like gay marriage and abortion.

“Over the last 20 years there’s been more and more judicial activism where the Supreme Court justices are trying to legislate from the bench,” Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver said days before the legislative session began.

The Iowa proposal appears to be part of a national effort in conservative states to bring the courts into sync with the other branches of GOP-led government.

Iowa is among at least four states where Republican lawmakers are trying to lessen the role of attorneys on judicial nominating panels, a move that some critics say could lessen public faith in the judiciary.


Statehouses are vitally important. Oh man oh man oh man.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:21 PM on February 17, 2019 [22 favorites]


WBUR: ICE Detainees In Boston Jail Refuse Meals.

ICE rents space in a jail run by the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department. In 2016, when running against an opponent who said he'd cancel the contract and stop housing ICE detainees, incumbent Steve Tompkins said he'd consider the idea. Then he got re-elected and hasn't mentioned it since.
posted by adamg at 2:27 PM on February 17, 2019 [11 favorites]


Trump threatens to release ISIS fighters if EU doesn’t take them
US president’s tweet drew confusion and some outrage from European officials.
@realDonaldTrump The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial. The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them........
MUNICH — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to release 800 ISIS fighters captured in Syria unless European allies agree to accept them and put them on trial.

Trump’s threat, characteristically in a tweet, drew confusion and some outrage from European officials and security experts gathered Sunday at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Trump has previously unnerved allies by announcing a unilateral pullout of U.S. forces in Syria and in recent days Trump allies, including Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Lindsey Graham, have said during the Munich conference that the president expected European forces to take over for the withdrawing American troops.

Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell was among the European officials to quickly say they had no intention of meeting Trump’s demand for additional troops.

“Requests between countries aren’t made in press releases or conference comments,” Borrell told reporters in Munich on Saturday. “Spain and the majority of countries aren’t prepared to step in for the U.S. after a withdrawal that was decided in a unilateral way, by surprise.”

Trump’s demand regarding the 800 fighters complicates an already tense debate about what European countries should do regarding combatants who have been captured fighting for the Islamic State, some of whom are European citizens.
posted by scalefree at 2:48 PM on February 17, 2019 [21 favorites]


Trump threatens to release ISIS fighters if EU doesn’t take them

I seem to remember some conventions in Geneva that discussed these issues way back around World War I
posted by mikelieman at 3:38 PM on February 17, 2019 [11 favorites]


We don't have a world government, and we won't have one until we have leaders at the national and below level that want that.

As a practical matter, how would we keep someone like a Trump or a Putin from a becoming the head of that world government?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 4:04 PM on February 17, 2019 [8 favorites]


It would be a failure if it had a single head policymaker, but a single head administrator (akin to a city manager or weak mayor system) who serves at the pleasure of the policymaking body is of value.

Where it breaks down is when that administrator is allowed to make significant decisions on budgeting, policy, or the like. That function should be left to direct democracy or an elected committee or whatever such that no single person or group can commandeer the process.
posted by wierdo at 4:31 PM on February 17, 2019 [4 favorites]


Andrew McCabe: The full 60 Minutes Interview (CBS)
Former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe tells 60 Minutes about taking over for James Comey, starting investigations of President Trump, interactions with the president and his own firing.

Of note, here's what he says about Rod Rosenstein's infamous wire meeting:
Andrew McCabe: I can't describe to you accurately enough the pressure and the chaos that Rod and I were trying to operate under at that time. It was incredibly turbulent, incredibly stressful. And it was clear to me that that stress was— was impacting the deputy attorney general. We talked about why the president had insisted on firing the director and whether or not he was thinking about the Russia investigation and did that impact his decision. And in the context of that conversation, the deputy attorney general offered to wear a wire into the White House. He said, "I never get searched when I go into the White House. I could easily wear a recording device. They wouldn't know it was there." Now, he was not joking. He was absolutely serious. And in fact, he brought it up in the next meeting we had. I never actually considered taking him up on the offer. I did discuss it with my general counsel and my leadership team back at the FBI after he brought it up the first time. […] I think the general counsel had a heart attack. And when he got up off the floor, he said, "I, I, that's a bridge too far. We're not there yet."
And the 25th Amendment discussions:
Andrew McCabe: Discussion of the 25th Amendment was simply, Rod raised the issue and discussed it with me in the context of thinking about how many other cabinet officials might support such an effort. I didn't have much to contribute, to be perfectly honest, in that— conversation. So I listened to what he had to say. But, to be fair, it was an unbelievably stressful time. I can't even describe for you how many things must have been coursing through the deputy attorney general's mind at that point. So it was really something that he kinda threw out in a very frenzied chaotic conversation about where we were and what we needed to do next.
The question lingering over McCabe's interview, though, is why he's throwing Rod Rosenstein under a bus. The DoJ is staying tight-lipped about his version of events: “In response to our interview, the Justice Department gave us a carefully worded statement. It says McCabe's story is "inaccurate and factually incorrect." "The deputy attorney general never authorized any recording" [of the president.] "Nor was the deputy attorney general in a position to consider invoking the 25th Amendment."”
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:47 PM on February 17, 2019 [21 favorites]


As was said during the Comey days, Rod Rosenstein "is a survivor." It could be that RR is capable of taking the hit in favor of protecting others, or it could be that he wants out, possibly also protecting others.
posted by rhizome at 5:08 PM on February 17, 2019 [3 favorites]


Limbaugh denies influence over Trump: 'I don’t make policy' (Politico, 02/17/2019 12:30 PM EST)
“If these people in the media, Chris, really thought that I was telling Trump what to do and when, they’d be calling me, they’d be asking me about it, they’d want to get down to the dirty details,” Limbaugh told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”
Trump quotes Limbaugh: Mueller investigators 'ought to be in jail'... (Daily Mail, via Drudge Report)
@realDonaldTrump: "These guys, these investigators, ought to be in jail. What they have done, working with Obama intelligence agencies, is simply unprecedented. This is one of the greatest political hoaxes ever perpetrated on the people of this Country, and Mueller is a coverup." Rush Limbaugh

4:32 PM - 17 Feb 2019
posted by Little Dawn at 5:11 PM on February 17, 2019 [3 favorites]


Guardian: Trump ally Graham will subpoena McCabe and Rosenstein over 'coup'
Shortly after the Comey firing, Trump told NBC he had acted because of “this Russia thing”, meaning Comey’s involvement in the investigation of Russian election interference and links between Trump aides and Moscow.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:20 PM on February 17, 2019 [1 favorite]


The fact that Mike Pence at the Munich Security Conference received absolutely no applause for praising and bringing greetings from Trump is very amusing, but the fact that Mike Pence's office released a transcript with the word "(Applause)" in it is substantially more amusing
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:00 PM on February 17, 2019 [51 favorites]




(As many *regulations*)
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:23 PM on February 17, 2019 [6 favorites]


From that link about no one applauding when Pence brought greetings from the president: "The vice president was also supposed to introduce House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (and wait for her applause) but he ended up skipping that introduction."

Do you think he skipped it so she wouldn't get more (any) applause than Trump? (rhetorical; of course he did...)
posted by Weeping_angel at 6:29 PM on February 17, 2019 [20 favorites]


AP: Ex-FBI official: 'Crime may have been committed' by Trump
McCabe also said in the interview with "60 Minutes" that the FBI had good reason to open a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was in league with Russia, and therefore a possible national security threat, following the May 2017 firing of then-FBI Director James Comey.

"And the idea is, if the president committed obstruction of justice, fired the director of the of the FBI to negatively impact or to shut down our investigation of Russia's malign activity and possibly in support of his campaign, as a counterintelligence investigator you have to ask yourself, "Why would a president of the United States do that?" McCabe said.
posted by Little Dawn at 6:37 PM on February 17, 2019 [8 favorites]


Limbaugh's remark about "the media" -- saying, to the face of an interviewer, that nobody's asking him for comments -- is very typical of the genre. "I can't believe all this stuff I'm seeing on the TV/paper/computer-box. Why doesn't the media report it?"
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:39 PM on February 17, 2019 [16 favorites]


It could be that RR is capable of taking the hit in favor of protecting others, or it could be that he wants out, possibly also protecting others.

A more cynical interpretation is that McCabe is paying back Rosenstein for authoring the memo that furnished Trump with the rationale for firing Comey (McCabe's boss and colleague—a fellow FBI man, unlike Rosenstein).

Here's McCabe's account of Rosenstein writing that fateful memo:
McCabe: Rod was concerned by his interactions with the president, who seemed to be very focused on firing the director and saying things like, "Make sure you put Russia in your memo." That concerned Rod in the same way that it concerned me and the FBI investigators on the Russia case.

Scott Pelley: He didn't wanna put Russia in his memo.

McCabe: He did not. He explained to the president that he did not need Russia in his memo. And the president responded, "I understand that, I am asking you to put Russia in the memo anyway."
Trump's firing Comey appears to have been the tipping point for Rosenstein—who was now involved in it, thanks to his memo—and Trump's remarks to NBC's Lester Holt and Lavrov in the Oval Office about doing it to take the heat off the Russia investigation pushed him to consider the extreme measures of wiretapping Trump or invoking the 25th Amendment on him. (Meanwhile, McCabe had ordered two investigations of Trump to determine (a) if he was obstructing of justice and (b) if he was compromised by Russia.) The next question is if he was the only one among the DoJ/FBI people who appreciated the enormity of the situation or if McCabe et al. are willing to point to him as a scapegoat.

Meanwhile, Lindsay Graham, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, and the rightwing noise machine are all foaming at their mouths over McCabe's interview and demanding his head and Rosenstein's.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:51 PM on February 17, 2019 [9 favorites]


Scott Dworkin:
How much does it cost to buy Lindsey Graham?
Apparently $870,500.

Below is my report that contains evidence outlining Graham’s links to Russian oil money.
And has exclusive video of him with the donor who made his billions off a Putin-led Russian oil deal
posted by growabrain at 7:18 PM on February 17, 2019 [44 favorites]




McCabe explains that Trump believed Putin over US intel about NK missiles:
"Intel officials [told Trump his position] was not consistent with any of the intel our govt possesses.
To which POTUS replied, 'I don't care. I believe Putin.'"

posted by growabrain at 9:37 PM on February 17, 2019 [31 favorites]


white house response to 60mins interview:
"...everyone knows [andrew mccabe] has no credibility." - sarah sanders

the other time i laughed out loud was circa 9:03 when scott pelley, with amazed incredulity, asked "are you saying that the president is in league with the russians?" but then with exasperation and a pointed glance at my wristwatch.

it is not very nice laughter.
posted by 20 year lurk at 10:00 PM on February 17, 2019 [6 favorites]


The US military have never been in denial about climate change.

During George W. Bush's administration I once interviewed a top official at an oceanfront military facility. He proudly told me all about the various construction projects in the works to protect the facility from sea level rise. I asked, "Given the administration's stance on climate change, how are you getting all of this approved and funded?" "Oh," he replied, "This has nothing to do with climate change. This is a hurricane protection project."

Then he winked.
posted by carmicha at 10:09 PM on February 17, 2019 [117 favorites]


I'm sorry, but no. We are not going to fire up the circular firing squad because someone the left doesn't like and who hasn't gone all in on a preferred slogan worked for a company, one that doesn't even charge a fee anymore (beyond credit card costs) on personal crowdfunding, for two years.

Especially when it's being pushed by a very specific segment of the left- the overwhelmingly young white male fans of a "rival" podcast whose hosts are a bunch of mostly white Male millionaires who are frequently sexist and ableist and are mad that PSA is more popular. Seriously.
posted by asteria at 10:45 PM on February 17, 2019 [36 favorites]


Finally a solid resource on chemical weapon use in Syria: from the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute a PDF report, Nowhere to Hide: The Logic of Chemical Weapons Use in Syria. A comprehensive analysis of the 336 chemical weapons attacks they have evidence of.

98% Assad regime, 2% Daesh. The regime usually used chlorine and sarin, Daesh used mustard gas. After Trump's big showy expensive missile launch in 2017 there were still dozens of further attacks.

Eastern Ghouta campaign categorised as either chlorine or "unknown" as the agent and comprising exclusively attacks by the regime. NPR's highlights here.
posted by XMLicious at 12:23 AM on February 18, 2019 [11 favorites]


Why Trump and his team want to wipe out the EU
by Natalie Nougayrède, The Guardian
The opinion piece is longish, and thoughtful, so it's hard to find a single defining quote. It points to Bolton as the ugly brain behind Pompeo.
posted by mumimor at 1:11 AM on February 18, 2019 [11 favorites]


"This has nothing to do with climate change. This is a hurricane protection project."

It also works to call it "protection from sea level fluctuations" which makes it sound totally normal and non-controversial. I mean, not that it will "fluctuate", but it could, you know?
posted by ctmf at 1:20 AM on February 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


Tradition of nonpartisan selection of judges may end in Iowa
Iowa was in the forefront of a national effort to reduce partisanship in the courts nearly 50 years ago when it decided to stop electing judges and instead rely on nominations by a panel of citizens and lawyers. In all, about three dozen states adopted similar systems aimed at emphasizing legal expertise over politics. But now Republicans who control the governor's office and the Legislature say it's time to give politicians greater control.
[...] When asked if the change would be perceived as a partisan move, Gov. Kim Reynolds said, "Let's not make it about that. Let's make sure we're representing all Iowans. I think that's what they're trying to do."
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 3:24 AM on February 18, 2019 [8 favorites]


Trump Receives Report on U.S. Security Threat of Car Imports
By Andrew Mayeda and Jenny Leonard at Bloomberg
President Donald Trump has received the findings of a probe into whether imported vehicles pose a national security threat, which could lead the U.S. to impose tariffs.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has submitted his recommendations to Trump, the department said in a statement on Sunday in Washington, without offering any insights into the findings. Trump has 90 days to decide whether to act on the findings.
posted by mumimor at 6:14 AM on February 18, 2019 [3 favorites]


News You May Have Missed for 17 Feb including pipeline protests, cow deaths, and why Haiti is having riots.
posted by joannemerriam at 7:01 AM on February 18, 2019 [8 favorites]


Remember all the Republican projection about "paid protestors"? Looks like the Trump 2020 campaign is paying "supporters", specifically to gin up the horny guy vote.

An acquaintance of mine on Facebook shared a screenshot from an adult entertainment website (I believe it's called ExtraLunchMoney.com) that showed someone recruiting sex workers/cam girls to make non-explicit pro-Trump videos supporting him in 2020.

Text of the ad says, "40-60 second video in cute outfit stating why you support President Trump in 2020. If you already did this video for me in the past, I DO NOT need a 2nd video at this current time. I will provide some things to say, it will be super easy. Nothing too sexual, video will be on YouTube, which means no nudity or anything too sexual. Thank You (Other Video)." Posted on February 16.
posted by Sublimity at 7:17 AM on February 18, 2019 [15 favorites]


There is a new Hyucking Hyuck thread on MeTa, for all of your wry observation, witty banter, and crude pun needs.
posted by jedicus at 7:20 AM on February 18, 2019 [7 favorites]


An acquaintance of mine on Facebook shared a screenshot from an adult entertainment website (I believe it's called ExtraLunchMoney.com) that showed someone recruiting sex workers to make non-explicit pro-Trump videos supporting him in 2020.

This appears to be the ad in question (warning: that link is *extremely* NSFW).
posted by jedicus at 7:23 AM on February 18, 2019 [7 favorites]


Especially when it's being pushed by a very specific segment of the left- the overwhelmingly young white male fans of a "rival" podcast whose hosts are a bunch of mostly white Male millionaires who are frequently sexist and ableist and are mad that PSA is more popular. Seriously.

Thank you for drawing this connection, I could NOT figure out where the bizarrely overheated and disingenuous anti-PSA hate was coming from...but the source being Chapo-bros make a LOT more sense.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:34 AM on February 18, 2019 [12 favorites]


It also works to call it "protection from sea level fluctuations" which makes it sound totally normal and non-controversial. I mean, not that it will "fluctuate", but it could, you know?
posted by ctmf at 4:20 AM on February 18 [+] [!]


An unnamed source familiar with Cookiebastard's thoughts spent last fall working as field director on a series of "Sea Level Rise" candidate forums. Worked with over a hundred candidates for office from Congressional to Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor. This was in a certain wang-shaped coastal state notorious for having a Governor who forbade their Department of Environmental Protection from using the term "climate change."

The funder for the project was a big-money foundation whose main purpose was to drag fucking Republicans, kicking and screaming, into a world that deals with the practical matters of climate change. Call it Fluctuations, Sea Level Whoopsies, whatever, but get them talking about it. This is a state whose coastal communities experience sunny-day flooding on the regular. The funder wouldn't let the forum organizers use the words "climate change" in any marketing or promotion, for fear of scaring off Republican candidates.

And goddamn it all to hell - not a single Republican candidate for office who attended these forums that ever uttered the words "climate change" or implied that, like, carbon emissions might have something to do with this mysterious "sea level rise" won their Primary. The couple of sitting R members of the Climate Caucus whom were invited were no-shows.

The military might be serious about climate change, but the rest of the government, at the federal, state, and local level, wherever Republicans are in charge, continues to be in deep, deep denial.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:36 AM on February 18, 2019 [56 favorites]


The North Carolina State Board of Elections hearing into irregularities in the NC-09 election is this morning, and there has been some really eye-popping stuff so far. Sam Levine (HuffPost) is live tweeting if you want to watch it unfold.

At this point, I'd be kind of surprised if they didn't call for a fresh election, especially since NC law doesn't require that the fraud be enough to call the election outcome into question.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:47 AM on February 18, 2019 [24 favorites]


The military might be serious about climate change, but the rest of the government, at the federal, state, and local level, wherever Republicans are in charge, continues to be in deep, deep denial.

Spoke at length with a coworker last week who does long-term capital planning for an organization you have heard of, embedded within a three-letter agency you know. The organization is enormously popular with the public, considered heroic; the three-letter agency less so.

Anyway, my point is that the coworker admitted that they continue to plan for climate change, they're just not allowed to say the words. "Sea level rise" is the language everyone uses, and even the political appointees admit that the sea is rising. They won't admit or address the causes of sea level rise, but some of them will take action to protect the hundred of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure put at risk by sea level rise.

... it's something, anyway. Sigh.
posted by suelac at 9:02 AM on February 18, 2019 [24 favorites]


Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton on Twitter: "The United States thanks the Government of Colombia for hosting thousands of Venezuelan refugees and for boldly standing behind Juan Guaido. It is time for the rest of the world to demonstrate the same generosity and support."

Colombia has resettled about 1 million refugees from Venezuela. The equivalent number of admitted refugees for a population the size of the U.S. would be 7 million refugees. How many refugees did the U.S. actually admit in total from all countries last year -- 21,000.
posted by JackFlash at 9:18 AM on February 18, 2019 [51 favorites]


ABC: Lawmakers launch new probe into 'complex web' of alleged ties between NRA, Russians -- House Democrats expressed concern about NRA members' 2015 trip to Moscow.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:23 AM on February 18, 2019 [43 favorites]




Why even have a second election if he got caught cheating the first time? He should be banned from holding office and McCready should be put in there.
posted by gucci mane at 10:49 AM on February 18, 2019 [9 favorites]


I don't think it's a done deal yet. It's a multi-day hearing still underway. Open link incognito unless you want to be bugged relentlessly about allowing ads.
posted by yoga at 10:55 AM on February 18, 2019


If you were wondering how the wall grift would come in:

Trump border wall could bypass competitive bids under emergency declaration, experts say
posted by bluecore at 11:07 AM on February 18, 2019 [34 favorites]


Trump border wall could bypass competitive bids under emergency declaration, experts say

I'll call this...#1
posted by rhizome at 12:47 PM on February 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


Continuing the march towards increased kleptocracy: Interior Dept.'s Push To Limit Public Records Requests Draws Criticism (Nate Hegyi for NPR, February 17, 2019)
When Ryan Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, left his post as U.S. Interior Department secretary on Jan. 2, he was under fire on multiple fronts.

There was an ongoing federal investigation into Zinke's role in a real estate deal between his family foundation and the head of oil giant Halliburton. Rumors swirled that his office tried to replace the head of Interior's internal watchdog with a Trump political appointee. Some of these investigations came about because of public records requests to Interior from media outlets and environmental protection groups.

One frequent requestor was Western Values Project, a non-profit government watchdog group based in Zinke's hometown of Whitefish, Mont. Zinke called out Western Values specifically, criticizing the group during a Fox News interview shortly before he resigned.

"They're operatives from the Democratic Party," he said. "They're hacks, they've always been, and they need to be investigated."

Now a new rule proposed by Interior in December appears designed to make it harder for groups like Western Values Project to get those public records. The rule would give the agency greater discretion over how it handles public records requests. For instance, the agency would require individuals or organizations to be more specific in which documents they want. It also allows a cap on the number of documents Interior processes for individuals and organizations every month.
Emphasis mine -- on one hand, I recognize that really broad requests can be fishing trips, like "provide every document and email related to [this 500 mile Interstate highway]," and FOIA requests require staff stop working on other projects to gather this requested information.

But on the other hand, how does an outsider know what to look for when all they know is that something suspicious is proposed in a giant swath of land, and no one is saying anything; and at this point, agencies should use the expectation of FOIA requests to hire staff specifically to archive and index files, not just for public discovery, but also because public agencies are not well organized, and this sort of work could streamline communications, even internal communications, particularly when it's related to a project that may have a decade or more of history.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:00 PM on February 18, 2019 [17 favorites]


I’m enjoying this new BBC Radio drama: Mueller: Trump Tower Moscow. Fact-based, but I’m most enjoying the saucy imaginings of what’s going on with Mueller’s team behind the scenes. (I’m in the US and listening to it via BBC Sounds; link is to playable Web version.)
posted by young_simba at 1:16 PM on February 18, 2019 [6 favorites]


Blast from the past - Remember Pamela Taylor, the Clay County, WV official who called Michelle Obama a racist name way back in 2016? Well, it turns out that - surprise surprise! - she's a con artist and grifter. She has pleaded guilty to FEMA fraud and faces up to 30 years in prison.

Small potatoes, yes, I know, but it gives me satisfaction to know that even a small-time racist Trumpkin grifter got nabbed.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:17 PM on February 18, 2019 [64 favorites]


Re: the Roger Stone/crosshairs thing: the square cross interlocking with a circle is also a common white supremacist symbol (per the ADL’s hate symbol database).
posted by donatella at 1:28 PM on February 18, 2019 [8 favorites]


Oh NYT, you guys should try looking in a fucking mirror sometimes.

NYT: Elizabeth Warren’s Native American Ancestry Draws a Shrug
Interviews with Democrats found disinterest in the candidate’s ancestry, reflecting a disconnect between some voters and Washington insiders. ... In interviews over the last month with about three dozen Democratic voters, many in early primary states, almost all of them expressed far more interest in Ms. Warren’s policy ideas than her ancestry and said that they were exhausted or uninterested by the story line. They described it as overblown, reflecting a disconnect between voters in the party’s base and some political elites, media commentators and conservatives who have been preoccupied with the issue.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:30 PM on February 18, 2019 [48 favorites]


Elizabeth Warren’s Native American Ancestry Draws a Shrug

"But don't worry, we're still going to run the same story attacking her over it for the next 600 days anyway"
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:32 PM on February 18, 2019 [91 favorites]


On that same note, David Weigel, WaPo: The Trailer: What We Learned About Harris 2020 This Weekend:
If any theme has emerged, it's that the Democratic electorate showing up to meet its candidates is far less ideological and skeptical than the one that lives on social media. Some days, the gulf between the discussion on Twitter and the discussion at campaign events is a mile wide... Warren has received just two questions from voters about the controversy around her past claim of Native American heritage. Gillibrand has received just one about her role in encouraging Al Franken to resign from the Senate. Harris has received no questions about her criminal justice record...
In other words, the juicy morsels that Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Daily Kos et al chew over endlessly doesn't even register (so far) with actual flesh-and-blood voters. It makes me wonder how much of Twitter (and Reddit and message boards like Daily Kos commentary sections) has been taken over by bots, or at least trolls. And I am completely cynical about what most pundits (not Bouie, Blow, or Krugman) have to say.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 1:57 PM on February 18, 2019 [35 favorites]


Hmm. Rhode Island is expected to lose one of our two rep seats after the census. Today, Rep. Cicilline has posted on social media about how RI is the only one of the 13 colonies not to run someone for POTUS or VP and we should change that soon. I expected Cicilline to be the rep that stays on since he's part of House leadership, but it looks like he's aiming for VP instead. (It seems odd to mention VP otherwise, and I think he knows it's going to be a female led ticket.)
posted by Ruki at 1:59 PM on February 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


What's that called when you mention a thing by saying you're not going to mention it? Oh yeah, Apophasis. NYT being clever by half.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:00 PM on February 18, 2019 [7 favorites]


Speaking in FL Trump, after railing against socialism, claimed that Maduro is "a puppet of Cuba" and threatened regime change in both countries.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:40 PM on February 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


HuffPost, Jonathan Cohn, Elizabeth Warren To Unveil Sweeping Plan For Universal Child Care
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will unveil a major new initiative on Tuesday designed to make sure every family can afford high-quality child care, according to several people who have heard about the proposal or seen material describing it in the past week.

The plan seeks to make access to child care universal, the sources told HuffPost, by offering federal funds to providers that offer care at their facilities on a sliding income scale.

No family would have to spend more than 7 percent of its household income on child care, no matter the number of kids. Families with incomes below twice the poverty line, which is roughly $50,000 a year for a family of four, would pay nothing.
7% of income is, conveniently enough, the HHS definition for "affordable" child care.
posted by zachlipton at 2:41 PM on February 18, 2019 [54 favorites]


I've heard that after Medicare, the idea was to start a similar program for children up to 5, nicknamed "Kiddiecare", but Vietnam kind of got in the way. This seems like a revival of the same idea: who could object to taking care of the elderly? Who could object to taking care of little kids?
Then you just keep burning the candle at both ends until everyone winds up with healthcare, and we're living in a nightmare socialist dystopia like Sweden.
It's worth a shot.
posted by uosuaq at 2:53 PM on February 18, 2019 [43 favorites]


In other words, the juicy morsels that Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Daily Kos et al chew over endlessly doesn't even register (so far) with actual flesh-and-blood voters. It makes me wonder how much of Twitter (and Reddit and message boards like Daily Kos commentary sections) has been taken over by bots, or at least trolls. And I am completely cynical about what most pundits (not Bouie, Blow, or Krugman) have to say.

The danger though is that major media now accepts Twitter and social media as a proxy for actual popular opinion (much like they let Drudge Report drive the agenda for a while). Predict the laziest possible thing for most MSM pundits and you probably won't be far off the mark.
posted by srboisvert at 3:59 PM on February 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


It's much more insidious than that, they won't cover actual policy details because they're seaching for the next 'thing' the can push against each candidate instead to drag down the Democrat to Trump's level and help him get reelected. They don't want to highlight or detail Democratic policy, because if those policies were enacted, their corporate owners would pay higher taxes, and Boring President Democrat-to-be-named wouldn't sell them as many papers as Trump does.

The media broadly wanted Trump elected, and they still want him reelected. The media ownership class really Trump elected, and they still really want him reelected. Nothing has changed. They will EMAILS any Democratic candidate to death again, and they're workshopping the next EMAILS against all the top contenders to see what catches on.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:16 PM on February 18, 2019 [35 favorites]


Stone has now filed an apology to the judge with the court, which certainly doesn't seem unwarranted, but is just plain unusual.

@Popehat: I've been doing federal criminal law for 24 years and I've never seen anything like this. This is not normal.
posted by zachlipton at 4:29 PM on February 18, 2019 [39 favorites]


18 USC 115 carries a 10 year sentence, which could be imposed consecutively on whatever else Stone is convicted of.

Comment from my public defender friend: "I've represented a lot of really stupid criminals, but man was that stupid."
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:38 PM on February 18, 2019 [27 favorites]


Law prof and former federal prosecutor Joyce Alene observes: "This is completely out of bounds. The cross hairs will likely lead prosecutors to ask for revocation of his pre-trial release. At best, this is a cheap stunt designed to get the judge to recuse, at worst, an outright threat." and "Posting this photo was a bid by Stone to get the judge to take action he could use to argue she should be disqualified from hearing his case. Predictable (and clearly untruthful) he would argue it was not meant to be threatening. This is a classic Stone ploy."

Stone has since pulled the offending Instagram post, but not before sending a recalcitrant statement to reporters ("I do not believe I have violated any order of the court and that these sentiments for within my first amendment rights." {sic}).

Note, though, that Stone's attention-grabbing post was a fund-raising plea for his legal costs, and his rat-fucker antics have suckered the media into signal-boosting it. It's also interesting that he resorted to such extremes following the revelation that Mueller has his communications with Wikileaks/Guccifer 2.0 through their GRU documents. Stone—who has been taken to court many times before but never by the feds, to my knowledge—may be feeling rather desperate.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:41 PM on February 18, 2019 [18 favorites]


Stone has now filed an apology to the judge with the court, which certainly doesn't seem unwarranted, but is just plain unusual.

Epic use of the passive voice in that apology.

"Mr. Stone recognizes the impropriety and had it removed."
posted by diogenes at 4:43 PM on February 18, 2019 [10 favorites]


I've heard that after Medicare, the idea was to start a similar program for children up to 5, nicknamed "Kiddiecare", but Vietnam kind of got in the way. This seems like a revival of the same idea: who could object to taking care of the elderly? Who could object to taking care of little kids?
Then you just keep burning the candle at both ends until everyone winds up with healthcare, and we're living in a nightmare socialist dystopia like Sweden.
It's worth a shot.


35 million children were enrolled in CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) or Medicaid as of last November.

Here in Illinois, our CHIP program (branded as All Kids) transitions to low-premium, low-cost-sharing levels well into the middle class (a family of four earning as much as 75K/year can still be eligible).

So yeah, increasing the eligibility age for this program by one year each year would eventually lead to pretty affordable care for nearly everyone, and as you suggest also lowering the Medicare age incrementally. (I feel like there was a recent Presidential candidate who suggested the latter.)
posted by tivalasvegas at 4:49 PM on February 18, 2019 [17 favorites]


"Mr. Stone recognizes the impropriety and had it removed."

Mr. Stone recognizes that basically nothing is ever really removed from the Internet, particularly after it has made headlines. Mr. Stone planned that all along.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:07 PM on February 18, 2019 [21 favorites]


Don't be surprised if Stone tries to argue here and as to his text messages that somebody else was in control of his accounts.

He's already claimed an intern posted the image originally.
posted by suelac at 5:26 PM on February 18, 2019


Mr. Stone and Mr. Manfort seem to have never ever had to be accountable for their actions. Until now.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:31 PM on February 18, 2019 [11 favorites]


16 states file for injunction against Trump emergency declaration.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:34 PM on February 18, 2019 [54 favorites]


Trump's repeal of light bulb standards will increase pollution, cost billions (Igor Derysh, Salon)
The Trump administration plans to roll back efficiency standards for light bulbs in a move that is projected to pump millions of tons of pollution into the atmosphere while costing American families billions.

The Department of Energy said in that it plans to undo two rules that were put in place in the final days of the Obama administration, which expanded the types of light bulbs subject to stricter efficiency standards under a George W. Bush-era law. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 required manufacturers to increase efficiency of home lighting by 27 percent within seven years, Reuters reported. The Obama administration expanded the law to apply the standards to other types of lighting.

The proposal would remove three-way bulbs, candle-shaped bulbs used in chandeliers, reflector bulbs used in recessed lighting, and others from having to comply with the new efficiency standards, which were set to go into effect next year.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:56 PM on February 18, 2019 [15 favorites]


Unnamed “Justice Department officials” are telling NBC and CNN that Rod Rosenstein will be leaving in mid-March. (The timing of this news following McCabe’s revelations on 60 Minutes about the aftermath of Comey’s firing looks suspicious to say the least.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:54 PM on February 18, 2019 [6 favorites]


via the Guardian:
[McCabe] told CBS: “Rod was concerned by his interactions with the president, who seemed to be very focused on firing the director and saying things like, ‘Make sure you put Russia in your memo.’ That concerned Rod in the same way that it concerned me and the FBI investigators on the Russia case.

“If Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein listed the Russia investigation in his memo to the White House, it could look like he was obstructing the Russia probe by suggesting Comey’s firing. And by implication, it would give the president cover.”

Rosenstein, McCabe said, “explained to the president that he did not need Russia in his memo. And the president responded, ‘I understand that, I am asking you to put Russia in the memo anyway.’”
posted by Little Dawn at 8:46 PM on February 18, 2019 [6 favorites]


Klobachar on CNN tonight sounded not that different than Howard Schultz, only not stupid. She's against pretty much the whole progressive agenda, M4A, free college, citing the national debt. Hedges on the GND as "aspirational" but no endorsement or alternative. She's making an aggressive play to be the centrist before Biden can declare.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:23 PM on February 18, 2019 [13 favorites]


Klobuchar's a cop late Boomer. Oh well.

(That Dem senators from Minnesota are beholden to Medtronic in the same way Dem senators from Delaware are beholden to that little tax haven with toll roads is another reason why the Senate sucks.)
posted by holgate at 9:34 PM on February 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


16 states and 3 NGO's are suing the administration. I'm curious, has any sitting prez been hit with that many lawsuits over a single issue before? And if so, how often do cases of this nature prevail? And is my home state (Mass) not a party to this suit so it can be part of some other challenge, should all 19 fail?

I want an answer.
posted by vrakatar at 9:35 PM on February 18, 2019 [3 favorites]


I would assume the Dem Rep from Delaware is also beholden to Delaware.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:38 PM on February 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


From Andy Kroll @ Rolling Stone:
How Trump’s Swamp Works Now
The new Washington, D.C., is awash in foreign money and shady lobbyists — and Elliott Broidy fits right in
posted by growabrain at 9:38 PM on February 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


I didn't watch the Klobuchar thing myself, but the online commentary is that she came off as very impressive and sharp. This is not a judgement on her policy stances, just that she seemed formidable.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:39 PM on February 18, 2019 [3 favorites]


Senator Klobuchar does a really fantastic job on the Senate judiciary committee. She's nothing if not competent.
posted by dbx at 9:50 PM on February 18, 2019 [3 favorites]


16 states and 3 NGO's are suing the administration. I'm curious, has any sitting prez been hit with that many lawsuits over a single issue before?

The Obama administration faced 26 Republican state attorneys general who joined in the 2012 challenge to the legality of Obamacare in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services. This was decided, mostly, in favor of the Obama administration by the Supreme Court.

Another 20 Republican state attorneys general tried again in the 2018 Texas case that declared Obamacare unconstitutional. This case is pending appeal, but is somewhat different because it is barely being defended by the Trump Justice Department, so 16 Democratic states are joining in on the defense. Lots of states involved on both sides.
posted by JackFlash at 10:03 PM on February 18, 2019 [9 favorites]


Hate is ‘creeping back’ into America:
Right now footage from the doc “A Night at The Garden” is being projected on the outside of Madison Square Garden. The Nazi rally that took place there 80 years ago this week is a reminder that we need to be vigilant about hate creeping back into the mainstream in America.
posted by growabrain at 10:03 PM on February 18, 2019 [21 favorites]


PHOTOS: Presidents Day protests decry Trump's emergency declaration (Yahoo)
Activists in Washington, Chicago and dozens of other U.S. cities protested on Monday's Presidents Day holiday against President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to secure funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:07 PM on February 18, 2019 [3 favorites]


NYT, Becoming Greta: ‘Invisible Girl’ to Global Climate Activist, With Bumps Along the Way
All this attention, she said out of earshot of the others, is great. It means “people are listening.” But then, a knife-blade flash of rage revealed itself.

“It’s sometimes annoying when people say, ‘Oh you children, you young people are the hope. You will save the world’” she said, after several grown-ups had told her just that. “I think it would be helpful if you could help us just a little bit.”
posted by zachlipton at 10:30 PM on February 18, 2019 [70 favorites]


Noted without comment: Bernie's running again.
posted by box at 4:50 AM on February 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


The socialist perspective on this is that I've heard most often is that Sanders identifies as a democratic socialist, and his philosophy and goals are explicitly anticapitalist in nature. Warren, while admirable, identifies as a capitalist and a reformer. While some reforms would be nice about now, her goal is to render capitalism acceptable again. Socialists see capitalism as unjust and unacceptable on a fundamental level, so this is a pretty key difference in the two candidates.

I suspect that if Sanders' run fails to gather steam that he'll probably put his full support behind Warren, as will most of the left.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 5:38 AM on February 19, 2019 [11 favorites]


as will most of the left.

That’s a pretty sweeping statement with no supporting evidence based on a poorly defined grouping of people.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 5:52 AM on February 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


Mod note: One deleted. Sorry we don't the space here to get into discussion / debate of everyone's predictions of the candidates / primaries. If folks want to discuss the Sanders announcement more in depth (keeping in mind issues with how we handle this on Mefi), a new thread is probably the way to go with that.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:03 AM on February 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


Mod note: post on Sanders announcement upcoming from cjelli
posted by taz (staff) at 6:14 AM on February 19, 2019 [10 favorites]


The Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand interviewed the former acting FBI director at length: Andrew McCabe Couldn’t Believe the Things Trump Said About Putin—The former deputy director of the FBI explains why the bureau felt obligated to investigate the president—and how the Mueller probe might end.

Once more, McCabe signals his extreme ambivalence about Rosenstein:
Bertrand: Rosenstein really seems to have taken the lead here in throwing out these highly controversial ideas—wearing a wire, invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, etc. How do you square that with his writing the memo that was used later by Trump to justify Comey’s firing?

McCabe: It was a huge conflict, and one that I struggled with at the time. Rod is the guy that volunteered to write the memo firing Jim Comey, and then, in the days after, he asked me to put him in touch with Jim Comey to discuss the special-counsel selection. So these things were in complete conflict. But at the time, I had to focus on the work we knew we needed to get done and needed to get done quickly. What was important to me was to ensure that we got a special counsel appointed and we put the investigation on as solid ground as we could.
And he makes a point about the Mueller probe and a mafia investigation:
McCabe: So do I think the case into Trump is open or closed? There’s absolutely no reason for me to believe that it’s closed. And you can certainly look at what Mueller’s done so far to say he is doing exactly what we would do with the investigation of a cartel or an organized-crime family.

Bertrand: So Trump strikes you as someone who runs his organization, and now is running his administration, like the mob.

McCabe: Well, that was my own experience with him, right? That kind of overwhelming or overriding focus on loyalty and sorting everybody out immediately—like, you’re either with us or you’re against us. Those are all traits that you see in organized-crime enterprises.
As for the Mueller probe's conclusion, he simply says, "He’ll explain his findings in the report, and then if he’s called upon to testify about it, he’ll certainly do that. But he is always the guy who will say less than more. He’ll seek less attention than more attention. He is perfectly happy to do his job and to do it fully and completely. And then, when it’s all said and done, he’ll lock the door behind him and go home."
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:32 AM on February 19, 2019 [27 favorites]


Republicans pin their 2020 hopes on tricking voters into fearing the 'radical' Democrats in Congress (Kelly Macias, Daily Kos)
Republicans have made their strategy for the 2020 elections crystal-clear: going after the newly serving Democratic women of color in Congress. Given this, we can only anticipate conservatives becoming even more rabid over the next two years, ramping up their claims that progressive Democrats in the House are all socialists, who also happen to be anti-Semites that get a kick out of murdering unborn children. The New York Times reports that this is how Republicans hope to appeal to voters, and that they have unabashedly claimed this as their plan for victory going forward.

Of course, it’s always super fun for the GOP to make false claims about Democrats and paint them as out-of-control lefties who threaten the American way of life. But this time, it isn’t just business as usual. By pinning their hopes on this as a viable campaign and fundraising opportunity, Republicans are also hoping they can “strangle the new Democratic majority in its infancy.”

Donald Trump used his State of the Union address as a test case, pointing to Democrats and their calls to adopt socialism in our country (not true) while also stating that recent abortion legislation in New York and Virginia that has been supported by Democrats would permit “a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth” (also not true). Unbothered by the tactic of using outright lies to dupe its voters, the rest of Trump’s party has gleefully jumped on the bandwagon— subsequently running digital ads and sending fundraising emails warning about the dangers of radical Democrats, especially Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:47 AM on February 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


Mod note: One deleted. Sorry, but trying to thread the needle between being aware of the upsurge in hate speech, and not actually bringing alll of it here, or featuring it as a "here, read this" quoting verbatim on the site kind of thing can be difficult. If we need to link to the worst things people are saying, let's at least try to keep from inadvertently broadcasting it even more. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:50 AM on February 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


Did you tell the “Gang of Eight” that you had opened a counterintelligence investigation into President Trump? @savannahguthrie asks Andrew McCabe

Andrew McCabe: Congress was aware of the counter-intelligence investigation Pres Trump. Investigating the president wasn’t something you “could do by yourself.”

McCabe: “The purpose of the briefing was to let our congressional leadership know exactly what we had been doing.“

/ This is really going to up the paranoia at the WH.
posted by bluesky43 at 6:54 AM on February 19, 2019 [18 favorites]


Republicans pin their 2020 hopes on tricking voters into fearing the 'radical' Democrats in Congress (Kelly Macias, Daily Kos)

I know that ginning up the Republican base worked for Trump in 2016, but going back to the well of demonizing Democrats can only provide diminishing returns because they've been mashing that button hard since the '90s (and only slightly less frequently before that). I doubt there are many voters who can be persuaded by Republicans screaming "Socialism!!1!", especially now that everyone knows that Republicans do, in fact, want to take our health insurance away, along with a host of other unpopular policy positions.

Even the one thing they managed to achieve, a tax cut for the rich, is a dud with rank and file voters who are discovering the cost as they file their returns. Of course Republicans play the politics of fear, but that's because they have literally nothing else to offer.
posted by Gelatin at 6:54 AM on February 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


Trump's tweeted a Hannity quote accusing McCabe of plotting a coup. He adds the word "Treason!" at the end. This is kind of a big deal...

@realDonaldTrump: “The biggest abuse of power and corruption scandal in our history, and it’s much worse than we thought. Andrew McCabe (FBI) admitted to plotting a coup (government overthrow) when he was serving in the FBI, before he was fired for lying & leaking.” @seanhannity @FoxNews Treason!
posted by xammerboy at 6:57 AM on February 19, 2019 [9 favorites]


Donald Trump Has a Cash Problem (Russ Choma, Mother Jones)
"The failure of his sons’ new hotel chains hints at financial issues."

It’s not known if Trump will attempt to self-finance his reelection—self-financing was a key plank of his 2016 campaign—but with a brutally expensive 2020 race looming, and with no major real estate sales, no new Deutsche Bank cash, no new big franchise fees from overseas hotels, and now no new smaller franchise fees for [his son's] downmarket chains, Trump may be beginning to worry about his finances more. As he groused to the New York Times last week, “I lost massive amounts of money doing this job. This is not the money. This is one of the great losers of all time.”
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:07 AM on February 19, 2019 [10 favorites]


I doubt there are many voters who can be persuaded by Republicans screaming "Socialism!!1!"

I wish I shared even your incomplete certitude.
posted by jammer at 7:08 AM on February 19, 2019 [16 favorites]


Treason!

The President of the United States has just accused a U.S. citizen of a capital crime on Twitter. This is normal.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:08 AM on February 19, 2019 [70 favorites]


The President of the United States has just accused a U.S. citizen of a capital crime on Twitter. This is normal.

I hope the repercussions of this transgression are as mighty as the times he called on the Department of Justice to attack his political enemies. Or the times he called the press the enemy of the people. Or the times he denied that an adversary attacked our election despite knowing that they did. Or the times he obstructed investigations into his own crimes.
posted by diogenes at 7:28 AM on February 19, 2019 [48 favorites]


Judge to Roger Stone: Apology not accepted
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:35 AM on February 19, 2019 [80 favorites]


I wish I shared even your incomplete certitude.

In the 2018 elections, Republicans were playing defense on health care, trying to divert attention from their votes to take health care away from their constituents by saying nonsense like "of course I care about people with preexisting conditions and it's awful that you suggested I don't care!"

But care or not, they still voted to take away their health care.

Republican positions are not popular, and they've lost any claim to the moral high ground. Of course screaming "Socialism!" will inflame their base, but for who else is that really a winning argument? (NPR using it for he-said-she-said doesn't count.)
posted by Gelatin at 7:38 AM on February 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Law prof Steve Vladeck on a significant rumbling at the Supreme Court today:
Justice Thomas's opinion concurring in the denial of certiorari in McKee v. Cosby is terrifying:

He's urging #SCOTUS to revisit New York Times v. Sullivan (and the idea that the First Amendment requires actual malice for libel against a public figure):

https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/021919zor_2dp3.pdf
Here's Thomas's concurrence:
Like Justice White, I assume that New York Times and our other constitutional decisions displacing state defama- tion law have been popular in some circles, “but this is not the road to salvation for a court of law.” Gertz, 418 U. S., at 370 (dissenting opinion). We did not begin meddling in this area until 1964, nearly 175 years after the First Amendment was ratified. The States are perfectly capable of striking an acceptable balance between encouraging robust public discourse and providing a meaningful remedy for reputational harm. We should reconsider our jurisprudence in this area.
Trump has of course repeatedly called for a review of US libel laws.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:53 AM on February 19, 2019 [20 favorites]


State's rights for the states that are conservative in the way we like, federal constraints and no expense deductions for the filthy heathen lefties.
posted by phearlez at 7:55 AM on February 19, 2019 [15 favorites]


Of course screaming "Socialism!" will inflame their base, but for who else is that really a winning argument?

I've seen this move win over most Americans my entire life. A lot of older Americans believe the United States primary mission is to fight socialism, which they believe is a short bridge to fascism or totalitarianism. Do not underestimate the power of this label to derail the national policy discussion.
posted by xammerboy at 8:13 AM on February 19, 2019 [22 favorites]


This is the gang of eight (intelligence). and yes, McConnell was there.

United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence:
Adam Schiff (D-CA-28), Chair
Devin Nunes (R-CA-22), Ranking Member
United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:
Richard Burr (R-NC), Chair
Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chair
Leadership in the United States House of Representatives:
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), Speaker of the House
Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23), Minority Leader
Leadership in the United States Senate:
Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Minority Leader
posted by bluesky43 at 8:14 AM on February 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


NBC: Flynn-backed Plan To Transfer Nuclear Tech To Saudis May Have Broken Laws, Say Whistleblowers—Investigators fear President Trump is still considering the plan, which was pushed by Flynn and Trump friend Tom Barrack.
Whistleblowers from within President Donald Trump's National Security Council have told a congressional committee that efforts by former national security adviser Michael Flynn to transfer sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia may have violated the law, and investigators fear Trump is still considering it, according to a new report obtained by NBC News.

The House Oversight Committee has formally opened an investigation into the matter, releasing an interim staff report that adds new details to previous public accounts of how Flynn sought to push through the nuclear proposal on behalf of a group he had once advised. Tom Barrack, a prominent Trump backer with business ties to the Middle East, also became involved in the project, the report says.
Remember Judge Sullivan's remarks to Flynn at his sentencing hearing: “Arguably, you sold your country out.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:18 AM on February 19, 2019 [16 favorites]


We did not begin meddling in this area until 1964, nearly 175 years after the First Amendment was ratified.

Let's not forget that the underlying case in NY Times v. Sullivan was part of a concerted effort by racist southerners to sue out-of-state newspapers that ran stories favorable to the Civil Rights movement. Defamation suits were being used by racist officials as a political weapon against oppressed groups, to the tune of $300 million (approximately $2.5 billion in 2018 dollars).

It is no coincidence that Trump, a racist official, wants to undo that case.
posted by jedicus at 8:21 AM on February 19, 2019 [39 favorites]


I think, though, that "OMG SOSHULIZM" has had diminishing returns over the past five or ten years. The really hard-core older generation - raised on the "Evil Empire" and "domino theory" and all the rest of it - is slowly, but surely, being replaced by people who just do not have that imprinting. I know that California is more liberal than the nation as a whole, but people my age here (50's) and younger don't see SOSHULIZM as the big bad bogeyman anymore. In fact, my local DSA is thriving.

And it's not really about SOSHULIZM ZOMG as it is about not wanting young women of color to have any political power. That actually might frighten the base more than socialism. I doubt, however, that it will make any new converts from former Democrats and independents. I want the Democratic party to stand by Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, and other of our new intersectional Democratic bench and not throw them under the bus.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 8:22 AM on February 19, 2019 [22 favorites]


I always thought the US was fighting communism and that socialism was the thing that Europe had that was bad because “look at their gas prices!”/it could never work here because of [ambiguous reasons/“those countries are smaller than ours”/high taxes/“they don’t have as much diversity as we do”]
posted by gucci mane at 8:31 AM on February 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


A lot of older Americans believe the United States primary mission is to fight socialism, which they believe is a short bridge to fascism or totalitarianism.

And those people already vote Republican, despite the fact that their generation enjoys much more robust benefits of society than younger ones do -- and those younger generations have noticed. (How could they not? Meanwhile, even Republicans don't dare actually try to cut Medicare or Social Security, opting instead to push against the Overton window by bringing it up every now and then.)

Do not underestimate the power of this label to derail the national policy discussion.

I do not underestimate the power of any conservative argument, no matter how nonsensical, devoid of factual basis, or outright made in bad faith, to derail the so-called "liberal" media.

But again, how many more votes is that going to get them? Republican policy positions cost them in 2018 (even before the costs of the tax cut became obvious this year), they have no actual good policies to offer, and the Fox tail wagging the dog means that they're painted into a corner as far as offering anything that might appeal to voters. After all, the "socialism" blade cuts both ways, and would be much more effectively deployed against a Republican from a primary opponent, in that that audience actually takes the characterization seriously. For most loyal Americans, so-called "socialist" policies actually seem to poll pretty well.

Democrats made the mistake in the '80s of conceding far too much to the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan. But things are different now -- Hillary Clinton won nearly three million more votes, and Trump hasn't made himself popular among anyone other than his base. But appealing to the base proved a disaster for the Republicans in '18, and while the media won't portray their yelling "Socialism!" as the act of desperation it is, we should see it as such, and press harder.
posted by Gelatin at 8:48 AM on February 19, 2019 [13 favorites]


I always thought the US was fighting communism and that socialism was the thing that Europe had that was bad because “look at their gas prices!”

There is this, but there is also a generation or two that legitimately remember socialist ideals used disingenuously by power mad dictators to set up totalitarian states.
posted by xammerboy at 8:53 AM on February 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


But again, how many more votes is that going to get them?

Pod Save American recently discussed why Schultz' presidential run is important. It's important because it could swing 1% percent of the vote in Trump's favor. Swinging the vote by 1% (or less) could give Trump 6 or 7 states and win him the 2020 election. The 2020 election is not in the bag. It is razor thin close.
posted by xammerboy at 8:59 AM on February 19, 2019 [18 favorites]


Oh, this is great. CNN has hired Sarah Isgur as their political editor to direct their coverage of the 2020 election.

Isgur has no experience in journalism, but has a long career in the Republican Party as a spokesperson. Most recently she was spokesperson for Jeff Sessions and trotted out regularly to defend the administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy. Before that she worked for the Carly Fiorina campaign and before that for Mitt Romney.

Excellence in journalism.
posted by JackFlash at 9:23 AM on February 19, 2019 [66 favorites]


CNN has hired Sarah Isgur as their political editor to direct their coverage of the 2020 election.

Isgur has no experience in journalism, but has a long career in the Republican Party as a spokesperson.


Not even handing your election coverage over to a Republican operative will make conservatives stop calling CNN "liberal media" and "fake news" when the coverage isn't favorable to them. Many people should be fired for this terrible decision.

Still, it's another interesting admission of how desperate the Republicans are to stack the deck in their favor.
posted by Gelatin at 9:31 AM on February 19, 2019 [23 favorites]


Mod note: Couple deleted; let's not go further into the (totally understandable) general reactiony "ugh these fuckers at CNN/mainstream press" stuff.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:38 AM on February 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


A lot of older Americans believe the United States primary mission is to fight socialism, which they believe is a short bridge to fascism or totalitarianism.

A lot of younger Americans believe that the United States' primary mission should be "let's figure out how to get people like us jobs, housing and food, get us out of debt, and maybe not give every fucking thing to a handful of rich Americans."

The messaging trick is to get them to realize "the government can help us by taking a fair share from those who already have too much," rather than "the government can help us by taking it away from the undeserving who are getting too much now."
posted by delfin at 9:38 AM on February 19, 2019 [31 favorites]


Just in case you thought political discourse in this country couldn't get any worse, an Alabama newspaper publisher is calling for the KKK to return, apparently to lynch democrats.
posted by TedW at 9:44 AM on February 19, 2019 [12 favorites]


More on this from the WaPo.
posted by TedW at 9:47 AM on February 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


I will add that the fact that Nunes was briefed makes everything Nunes has done all the more suspicious, and everything Nunes has done already looked extremely suspicious.

Natasha Bertrand is posting some more details from her McCabe interview and his book:
—[H]ere is what McCabe writes about the [Gang of 8] briefing: "No one interrupted. No one pushed back. The mood in the room was sober. Schumer had been nodding his head and looking at me very directly throughout. On McConnell’s side of the table, I sensed a great deal of resignation."
—We had to cut this for length, but McCabe told me that his guess is that the White House "immediately knew the steps I took after Jim got fired, and the cases I opened" because of Nunes. "When I was surprised to see Nunes at the briefing, I knew it would happen very quickly."
—And here is what McCabe says about this in the book: "Now that the Gang of Eight was a crowd of two dozen in the room, I thought, the chance of this not getting back to the president was basically zero. Then Devin Nunes walked in, and the chance was less than zero."
—McCabe, in his book, on the Gang of 8 briefing: "Rosenstein went to talk to Nunes, came back, told me, Nunes is staying, he says he’s not recused from this, he refuses to leave...At the end of the day it’s his recusal, I can’t enforce it. We can’t kick him out of the room."
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:28 AM on February 19, 2019 [29 favorites]


Trump administration launches global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality (Josh Lederman, NBC News)
The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it's still illegal to be gay, U.S. officials tell NBC News, a bid aimed in part at denouncing Iran over its human rights record.

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is leading the effort, which kicks off Tuesday evening in Berlin. The U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality — mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.
...
Narrowly focused on criminalization, rather than broader LGBT issues like same-sex marriage, the campaign was conceived partly in response to the recent reported execution by hanging of a young gay man in Iran, the Trump administration’s top geopolitical foe.
...
Yet by using gay rights as a cudgel against Iran, the Trump administration risks exposing close U.S. allies who are also vulnerable on the issue and creating a new tension point with the one region where Trump has managed to strengthen U.S. ties: the Arab world.

In Saudi Arabia, whose monarchy Trump has staunchly defended in the face of human rights allegations, homosexuality can be punishable by death, according to a 2017 worldwide report from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). The report identified 72 nations that still criminalize homosexuality, including eight where it’s punishable by death.
posted by mcdoublewide at 10:31 AM on February 19, 2019 [10 favorites]


Say fellows, I was reading an article over on the 2 Hyuck thread and it made an interesting obswervation:

Adelson's wife, Miriam, who served as a finance vice-chairwoman for Trump's inauguration was recently awarded the highest civilian honour attainable in the US - the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

That's Trump Inauguraiton Under Investigation by both NY and NJ AG offices' MegaTrumpDonorWife Miriam Adelson. Awwwk-warrrrd!
posted by petebest at 10:40 AM on February 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


NYT (Haberman, Schmidt): Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him
As federal prosecutors in Manhattan gathered evidence late last year about President Trump’s role in silencing women with hush payments during the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump called Matthew G. Whitaker, his newly installed attorney general, with a question. He asked whether Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York and a Trump ally, could be put in charge of the widening investigation, according to several American officials with direct knowledge of the call.

Mr. Whitaker, who had privately told associates that part of his role at the Justice Department was to “jump on a grenade” for the president, knew he could not put Mr. Berman in charge, since Mr. Berman had already recused himself from the investigation. The president soon soured on Mr. Whitaker, as he often does with his aides, and complained about his inability to pull levers at the Justice Department that could make the president’s many legal problems go away.
And that’s just the opening two paragraphs. The article continues:
An examination by The New York Times reveals the extent of an even more sustained, more secretive assault by Mr. Trump on the machinery of federal law enforcement. Interviews with dozens of current and former government officials and others close to Mr. Trump, as well as a review of confidential White House documents, reveal numerous unreported episodes in a two-year drama.

White House lawyers wrote a confidential memo expressing concern about the president’s staff peddling misleading information in public about the firing of Michael T. Flynn, the Trump administration’s first national security adviser. Mr. Trump had private conversations with Republican lawmakers about a campaign to attack the Mueller investigation. And, there was the episode when he asked his attorney general about putting Mr. Berman in charge of the Manhattan investigation.
The lengthy article has other bombshells, but it’s as important that it represents the Gray Lady’s effort to provide its readers with a comprehensive overview of Trump’s obstruction after its prior disparate coverage in chunks of breaking news.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:45 AM on February 19, 2019 [17 favorites]


Oh boy. Judge Amy Berman Jackson doesn't seem happy with Roger Stone.

He's been ordered to show cause why his conditions of release shouldn't be revoked after his little stunt. Hearing is Thursday.
posted by azpenguin at 10:51 AM on February 19, 2019 [26 favorites]


Libby Watson: Guy Who Lost to AOC Achieves Final Form
Remember Joe Crowley, the ol’ fella Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat out to become the youngest woman in the House of Representatives ever? Have you wondered what he’s been up to? Well, now we have an answer: My man Joe has secured a wonderful new job at Squire Patton Boggs, the county’s fourth-biggest lobbying firm, which logged more than $24 million in lobbying income last year. It’s a big get for the firm and we wish them all the best!!!

Crowley’s reliance on lobbyist fundraising was a key part of Ocasio-Cortez’ campaign against him. As the Intercept reported last June, lobbyists were among those who were most supportive of Crowley in the dark times after his defeat:
“Joe Crowley is a great guy to have pint of Guinness with,” lamented Republican lobbyist John Feehery on Twitter. “For me, personally, it’s losing a mentor and a best friend,” Mervyn Jones, a former Crowley staffer who is now a lobbyist for Anheuser-Busch InBev and other clients, told Politico. “All my best to the Crowley staff,” tweeted Rory Cooper, a Republican at lobbying firm Purple Strategies.
In recent months, Squire Patton Boggs has represented such sweet and charming clients as Amazon, the ammo company Battle Born Munitions, and the Ad Hoc Coalition for Fair Access to Credit, which represents payday loan vultures.
posted by zombieflanders at 10:59 AM on February 19, 2019 [25 favorites]


Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him

I guess it's good that the NYT is putting this information into a narrative, but for those of us who have been paying attention, most of it seems like comically old news. For example, they tell us that that Trump "asked Mr. Comey to end the F.B.I.’s investigation into Mr. Flynn, and that Mr. Flynn was a good guy." Yeah, no kidding. That was like 500 bombshells ago.
posted by diogenes at 11:05 AM on February 19, 2019 [15 favorites]


I guess it's good that the NYT is putting this information into a narrative, but for those of us who have been paying attention, most of it seems like comically old news

And a lot of the “old news” in the NYT’s article originally broke in their pages. But the Gray Lady consistently held back from drawing conclusions about patterns, much less stating plainly that Trump’s obstructing justice. This piece is only a partial improvement in that respect—Haberm and and Schmidt leave it up to Georgetown law prof Julie O’Sullivan to say that there’s ample public evidence of Trump’s “corrupt intent” to obstruct the Mueller investigation instead of putting it up front—but it feels as though the new Dem House investigations are shifting the balance of their Trump-tilting reporting a little bit.

But the weirdness about Trump ordering Spicer to say he asked for Flynn’s resignation without affirming that was true when Spicer pushed back is an intriguing new detail (and coincides with the new details about Flynn’s nuclear deal with the Saudis).
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:27 AM on February 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him

That's a lot of words to avoid saying "obstruction of justice."
posted by Gelatin at 11:30 AM on February 19, 2019 [16 favorites]


Just in case you thought political discourse in this country couldn't get any worse, an Alabama newspaper publisher is calling for the KKK to return, apparently to lynch democrats.
posted by TedW at 11:44 AM on February 19 [7 favorites +] [!]


More on this from the WaPo.
posted by TedW at 11:47 AM on February 19 [1 favorite +] [!]


At first I thought was more evidence for my developing belief that much of what you see is a toxic combination of mental decline with fox news propaganda coupled with click chasing but nope. If you read the WaPo link around midway through you start getting the hints that maybe the quality reporting that the guy was lauded for was actually his wife and now that she is dead he is..... well.... what you see.
But by 2015, the Democrat-Reporter, like so many other small papers, was fighting for its life. Sutton had been forced to move out of the building across the street from the county courthouse where he had been based since 1965. “His office now is in a former barbecue restaurant a block away, where pieces of paper are taped to windows carrying the paper’s name,” the Advertiser reported. While the paper had more than 7,000 subscribers in 1998, circulation had fallen to roughly 3,000. Making matters worse, Jean, his managing editor and wife of 39 years, died in 2003 of complications from cancer.

“It was hard for me to go home during that time,” he told the Advertiser. “I was like a zombie for several years after I lost Jean. I didn’t know what to do.” Jean had been the one who first started digging into the rumors of corruption at the sheriff’s office, AJR reported, but since she hated to be in the spotlight, she refused to have her name appear on any of her stories and gave the credit to her editor husband instead.

The AJR profile — which showed Sutton fishing for crawfish and mentioned that Jean liked to bake chocolate chip cookies for the sheriff’s deputies — portrayed the couple as charming, small-town muckrakers. But at some point, the paper turned away from investigative journalism and began publishing more and more racist screeds. Sutton’s “racial references in headlines and stories” had upset many of his readers, the Advertiser acknowledged in 2015, noting that one front-page story about a murder described the perpetrators as “Selma black thugs.”
posted by srboisvert at 11:32 AM on February 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


There are still gaps in the narrative, and perhaps the aim of that piece is to draw attention to the gaps. (It's always kremlinology.) The exchange with Spicer on the backstory for Flynn's firing -- "But was that true, Mr. Spicer pressed." -- is a strong hint that it wasn't true, but the NYT isn't saying what actually happened. Maybe the reporting team doesn't know; maybe they don't have it locked down, but the circumstances of Flynn's ouster are still murky.

(Let's also go back to obvious anagram Reince Priebus asking McCabe and Comey for a background FBI refutation of reporting about contacts between the campaign and Russians a couple of days after Flynn's resignation.)
posted by holgate at 11:33 AM on February 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


That's a lot of words to avoid saying "obstruction of justice."

Allegation of criminal behavior is defamation per se in every state in the union AFAIK. Unlike the word "lie" there's actually a pretty valid reason to avoid ascribing behavior as criminal activity, even with a public figure like Trump.
posted by phearlez at 11:35 AM on February 19, 2019 [12 favorites]


Mr. Trump called Matthew G. Whitaker, his newly installed attorney general, with a question. He asked whether Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York and a Trump ally, could be put in charge of the widening investigation, according to several American officials with direct knowledge of the call.

If true, would seem to mean that Whitaker perjured himself before House Judiciary when he testified that "At no time has the White House asked for nor have I provided any promises or commitments concerning the special counsel's investigation or any other investigation." Is there wiggle room around "promises or commitments?" Maybe. But either the Times story is wrong or Whitaker was misleading at best.
posted by zachlipton at 11:53 AM on February 19, 2019 [21 favorites]


I feel like this story about the Saudi nuclear plants isn't getting the attention it deserves. The gist of it, to my understanding, is that Michael Flynn, while he was national security advisor to the campaign and then the transition, was working on behalf of an organization formed by a group of retired generals, IP3, to develop a plan to sell American nuclear technology to the Saudis for their personal gain. (Flynn described himself in his disclosures as an advisor to IronBridge Group, a subsidiary of IP3). There are of course a lot of rules and regulations surrounding the sale of nuclear secrets, including one about congressional oversight, and not surprisingly, the plan involves circumventing these regulations so that Saudi Arabia won't have to commit to not using the technology to develop nuclear weapons.

After Trump was inaugurated, the IP3 folks ghost-wrote memos for Trump to sign informing agency heads that Tom Barrack would take the lead in implementing this plan. Tom Barrack, of course, was the head of the inaugural committee and presumably oversaw lots of illegal donations to the inaugural committee from overseas. (He also recommended Paul Manafort as campaign manager, and tried to set up a secret meeting between Manafort and the Crown Prince.) One of the memos, ghostwritten on behalf of Flynn for Trump, said, "Tom Barrack has been thoroughly briefed on this strategy and wants to run it for you. He’s perfect for the job. Rex [Tillerson] and Jim [Mattis] are supportive of Tom’s focus on this also."

Interestingly, the nuclear company that Politico describes as "the only U.S. firm that could readily build reactors" in Saudi Arabia, Westinghouse Electric Company, is now a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, the firm that bailed out Jared Kushner's bad investment in 666 Fifth Avenue.

The thing is, after Flynn went down, IP3 and members of the Trump administration kept pushing for this plan, as recently as last week, when a bunch of them met at the white house. Now Rick Perry is involved. Derek Harvey, a Flynn underling who was brought on to pressure the admin in favour of this deal, continued working on it after Flynn was fired, until he himself was fired in July 2017. He then joined the staff of Devin Nunes.

To my untrained eye, it seems like a significant faction of Trump-adjacent cronies have been and still are working to sell nuclear secrets to Saudi Arabia for their own financial gain, and Flynn's legal troubles hardly put a dent in it. Rep Cummings has been trying to investigate this deal for years now but Republicans obstructed his efforts while they were in charge of the house. The full staff report from Cummings is available here and it's definitely worth reading.
posted by Dr. Send at 11:55 AM on February 19, 2019 [71 favorites]


Allegation of criminal behavior is defamation per se in every state in the union AFAIK.

I hope you're not reporting from the near future after NYT v. Sullivan gets overturned, because currently, the constitutional standard for defamation of a public figure is
that the statement was made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard of whether it was true or false.
Reporters report, and newspapers and TV stations publish, allegations of criminal behavior all the time. They use weasel words like "allege" more to prevent the bother of being sued than because they think they'd lose.
posted by Etrigan at 12:29 PM on February 19, 2019 [10 favorites]


I hope you're not reporting from the near future after NYT v. Sullivan gets overturned

If I suspected the right wing of SCOTUS of any intellectual honesty at all, I'd be curious how they'd square such a ruling with their previously stated position that Fox News is allowed to lie to its viewers.
posted by Gelatin at 12:36 PM on February 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


I guess it's good that the NYT is putting this information into a narrative, but for those of us who have been paying attention, most of it seems like comically old news

And a lot of the “old news” in the NYT’s article originally broke in their pages.


I keep thinking there has to be some sort of value in re-issuing things that should've been huge but were buried under a new crisis five minutes later. The Trump family fortune is basically all tax evasion. The reporting on that was solid. Everyone forgot about it because of the timing. There's got to be some way to make sure something still matters even if it was initially glossed over.

I say this, of course, recognizing that every god damn day has included something that should've been a shitshow-stopper right from the moment Trump announced his candidacy with brazen racist paranoia...
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:42 PM on February 19, 2019 [9 favorites]


Reporters report, and newspapers and TV stations publish, allegations of criminal behavior all the time. They use weasel words like "allege" more to prevent the bother of being sued than because they think they'd lose.

There is some difference between reporting what someone else alleges and making an allegation oneself. The first is a statement of fact, the police say someone is suspected of doing something criminal, they relay that as news in itself. The second would be in suggesting someone did something or may have done something by one's own claim, not reported from a second party. News media does the first all the time, but rarely the second so as to avoid their idea of appearing biased if nothing else.
posted by gusottertrout at 12:48 PM on February 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


The Trump family fortune is basically all tax evasion. The reporting on that was solid. Everyone forgot about it because of the timing.

I think it would have had a bigger impact if it were released over time. The whole story came wrapped in a bow. It didn't "raise questions"; they had already dotted every i and crossed every t. There was nothing more to say.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 12:51 PM on February 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


The second would be in suggesting someone did something or may have done something by one's own claim, not reported from a second party. News media does the first all the time, but rarely the second so as to avoid their idea of appearing biased if nothing else.

That's orthogonal to the claim that alleging a crime is defamation per se, which the Supreme Court currently agrees is not the case.

And, frankly, that... isn't really the case either. Journalism can be a primary source. They report that "sources say X happened" not because they want to avoid bias, but because most of the time, they weren't there when X happened. If you rob a bank and your buddy Stu, who is a reporter, happens to be in the bank at the time, he is legally 100 percent clear to go on the news and say "gusottertrout robbed the First Steubenville Bank today." If you weren't convicted of the crime and you sued him, odds are you'd lose, because he reported something that, to the best of his knowledge, was true.

And you're not even a public figure. To link this back to the specific story cited above, if the NYT titled that story "How Trump Obstructed Justice", he may well sue them. But he'd probably lose, because he would essentially have to prove that it is a lie, not that it is an allegation. Or prove that the NYT wrote that headline with a reckless disregard for the truth, which also nah.
posted by Etrigan at 1:06 PM on February 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


I feel like this story about the Saudi nuclear plants isn't getting the attention it deserves.

Something happened in Saudi Arabia in May 2017 beyond sword dancing and The Orb™. The Cummings interim report leaves a gap between April 3rd and late November of that year. What else happened during that period? The Qatar blockade, Saad Hariri's resignation announcement from Riyadh and MbS's "anti-corruption" purge. Busy times.

The idea that I-1 and Crown Prince Jared might have sold the nation's nuclear secrets and technology for personal profit, with the assistance of insider cronies like Harvey and outsider cronies like Barrack, is not that far-fetched.
posted by holgate at 1:09 PM on February 19, 2019 [20 favorites]


There is some difference between reporting what someone else alleges and making an allegation oneself. The first is a statement of fact, the police say someone is suspected of doing something criminal, they relay that as news in itself.

Reporting from government publication is iron-clad protection against defamation. If you pay attention you will notice how often a story will fall back to reporting/quoting things out of court filings when potential defamation is on the table. Quoting officials and relaying what they allege or reporting what someone is charged with is the next best fallback.

"Trump's Two-Year Obstruction of Justice" would be the paper itself classifying the events, not reporting someone else's allegations.

I think framing this as would Trump win ignores the costs of dealing with the cost of defending even a garbage suit, both financial and reputation-wise. Though I am sure that the primary driver here is more institutional habit and convention. And while I think they should be more free with the term "lie" I think it's a pretty reasonable habit for papers to stay out of the habit of making calls on whether or not something is criminal activity.
posted by phearlez at 1:10 PM on February 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


The only way "How Trump Obstructed Justice" would be an inaccurate headline is that it implies that however detailed and well-sourced the information the story contains, it comprehensivelt describes the many ways Trump obstructed justice, and that'd be a tall order. "How Trump Obstructed Justice on At Least This One Particular Occasion," maybe.
posted by Gelatin at 1:12 PM on February 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported last week that in 2018 it issued so-called "emergency" approvals to spray sulfoxaflor—an insecticide that is "very highly toxic" to bees—on more than 16 million acres of crops known to attract bees.

source / via

These Boomers really don't give a fuck about their grandkids, do they?
posted by bluecore at 1:16 PM on February 19, 2019 [49 favorites]


CNN’s Kaitlan Collins has Trump’s reaction to the NYT article: “President Trump denies asking Matt Whitaker to put an ally in charge of the Cohen investigation. "No, I don’t know who gave you that," Trump said. "That's more fake news." He adds that he has a lot of respect for Whitaker, who has "done a great job" and is "a straight shooter."”

Haberman drily notes: “As often happens, White House was fully briefed on story’s reportage and did not choose to say anything ahead of publication. Then POTUS comments after.”

And tonight or tomorrow morning, there will be tweets.

(Incidentally, I’d swear that Trump pressuring Corey Lewandowski to fire Sessions is a scoop for the NYT, but it hardly registers these days.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:22 PM on February 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported last week that in 2018 it issued so-called "emergency" approvals to spray sulfoxaflor—an insecticide that is "very highly toxic" to bees—on more than 16 million acres of crops known to attract bees.

I posted the article in my worldwide beekeepers group and instantaneously got a "FAKE NEWS - admin remove" message. From a beekeeper in Oklahoma where over a million acres were sprayed.
posted by Sophie1 at 1:47 PM on February 19, 2019 [38 favorites]


Sophie1: "I posted the article in my worldwide beekeepers group and instantaneously got a "FAKE NEWS - admin remove" message. From a beekeeper in Oklahoma where over a million acres were sprayed."

What does that mean?
posted by schmod at 1:48 PM on February 19, 2019


Maybe post the direct links to the EPA notice?
posted by Floydd at 1:56 PM on February 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


In other words: “ These bee-eating tigers will never eat my bees’
posted by mach at 1:57 PM on February 19, 2019 [38 favorites]


Exactly, odinsdream. She doesn't want it to be true, so it's fake news. It's like a new trick that his supporters have all learned.
posted by Sophie1 at 1:57 PM on February 19, 2019 [20 favorites]


Oh, Floydd, I posted every single one from the Federal Register. Highlighted the one from OK. Trust.
posted by Sophie1 at 1:58 PM on February 19, 2019 [18 favorites]


Oh, of course you did. I know better. Sorry.
posted by Floydd at 1:59 PM on February 19, 2019 [6 favorites]


And tonight or tomorrow morning, there will be tweets.

All the crazed tweets this last weekend were probably in response to NYT informing them about it and asking for comment. We just didn’t know it yet.
posted by chris24 at 2:33 PM on February 19, 2019 [11 favorites]


It's like a new trick that his supporters have all learned.

I mean, it's a pretty old trick, we just usually grow out of it by age four or so
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:54 PM on February 19, 2019 [28 favorites]


It's a bit of a reverse standard that many of the same people live by: if you believe it to be true it must be a fact.
posted by meowf at 5:27 PM on February 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


CHUDs are the ultimate practitioners of mindless identity politics that they frequently project onto the left. There's nothing else to their ideology. It's what makes arguing with them, debating them, or trying to change their mind fruitless. Ideally they'll all die or stop voting at some point, but there's no changing their mind until then for the simple reason that their own supremacy is the only political issue that they care about.
posted by codacorolla at 6:00 PM on February 19, 2019 [9 favorites]


Lawyers for Smirkin' Nick Sandmann have filed a $250 million lawsuit against the Washington Post.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:48 PM on February 19, 2019


Axios: Trump nominates Jeffrey Rosen as deputy attorney general

“Rosen, who is currently deputy transportation secretary and has previously been confirmed by the Senate, will replace Rod Rosenstein, who is reportedly expected to step down by mid-March. Rosen previously worked for nearly 30 years at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, where recently-confirmed Attorney General William Barr also worked prior to his nomination.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:03 PM on February 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


That lawsuit is claiming that excerpts from a Post interview with Phillips (the Native American man) where he is directly quoted are false and defamatory. Is there an actual legal argument here against the paper?

They're also seeking $250m because...
In order to fully compensate Nicholas for his damages and to punish, deter, and teach the Post a lesson it will never forget, this action seeks money damages in excess of Two Hundred and Fifty Million Dollars ($250,000,000.00) – the amount Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, paid in cash for the Post when his company, Nash Holdings, purchased the newspaper in 2013.
posted by reductiondesign at 7:05 PM on February 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


Illinois enacts law to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2025.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:23 PM on February 19, 2019 [24 favorites]


@jimsciutto:
New: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated his ethics agreement and submitted a financial disclosure form that “was not accurate,” according to the Office of Government Ethics. Ross reported he had sold bank stock that other reports indicate he did not sell.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:57 PM on February 19, 2019 [24 favorites]


Trump Threatens To Cancel California's $929 Million High Speed Rail Grant (NPR)
In a statement Tuesday, [Governor] Newsom said the Trump administration's threat "is clear political retribution" tied to California's involvement in a lawsuit challenging the president's emergency declaration to build a border wall.

Trump himself connected the two issues in a tweet Tuesday.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:15 PM on February 19, 2019 [19 favorites]


Overton Window alert:
.@PeteButtigieg on court packing: “It’s no more a departure from norms than what the Republicans did to get the judiciary to the place it is today….Bold, ambitious ideas need a hearing right now."
posted by Chrysostom at 8:16 PM on February 19, 2019 [65 favorites]


Trump Has Publicly Attacked the Russia Investigation More Than 1,100 Times (NYT)
The attacks, which number nearly 1,200, are part of a strategy to beat back the investigations. They have also opened him to possible obstruction of justice charges. They include statements made on Twitter, in official speeches, at rallies and during news media interviews and other press events.

While it is highly unusual for anyone — let alone the president of the United States — to comment on continuing criminal investigations, Mr. Trump has done so at least once on 330 days, or more than 43 percent of his time in office as of Feb. 14.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:51 PM on February 19, 2019 [16 favorites]


In a statement Tuesday, [Governor] Newsom said the Trump administration's threat "is clear political retribution" tied to California's involvement in a lawsuit challenging the president's emergency declaration to build a border wall.

Hey go for it, man. Trump's run out of DC cubbies to hollow out, and what with the military funding the wall and snatching money from California he's having to start shit with people who have relevant power to him (vs. foreign leaders and toadies). If Gavin wants to prove some mettle and go toe-to-toe with Trump, which someone's gotta start doing, I'll temper my presidential predictions for him. Just gotta steer the plot some.
posted by rhizome at 10:41 PM on February 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


Lawyers for Smirkin' Nick Sandmann have filed a $250 million lawsuit against the Washington Post.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:48 PM on February 19 [+] [!]

That seems to be a very bad idea. They have a clearly racist 16-year old and are also a couple of ignorant MAGA-hats, and WP has a huge organisation and access to world class lawyers. It doesn't seem right to drag a child, even a racist child, through this.
posted by mumimor at 12:53 AM on February 20, 2019 [7 favorites]


The WaPo has access to world class lawyers but they have to pay those lawyers, while the conservative legal movement (which is undoubtedly driving this stunt) has essentially infinitely deep pockets. Perhaps their new strategy will be to bankrupt their journalistic enemies through endless expensive lawsuits. Thiel did it with Gawker, but they really did what he accused them of doing.

The thing is, lawyers are expensive even when you win. Hell, they cost the same amount either way when you're defending.
posted by Justinian at 1:33 AM on February 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


They are calling out Bezos himself. If he decides to enter, his pockets are the deepest. And it isn't only about deep pockets, it's also about skills. And they really seem to be a clown show, mimicking Avenatti without the flair. Just going through their twitter feed will be a field day for a real lawyer. (I am not a lawyer, but I have spent ten years of my working life in legal struggles).
posted by mumimor at 1:41 AM on February 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


And, getting back on track, they same applies to Trump's lawyers. I guess it comes with the basic fact-denying nature of current Republicanism. It's easy to see why those people need to get in their own judges.
posted by mumimor at 1:44 AM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


Oh, are the Sandmann lawyers a bunch of clowns too? I assumed they brought in some of the actual heavy hitters to go after WaPo. If this is just part 27 of the clown show then I retract my comment.
posted by Justinian at 1:50 AM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


re: Smirkin'smurf's $250M stunt lawsuit: Mr. McMurtry is a graduate of Covington Latin School,

Casual perusal suggests McMurtry is strictly small time (but wants to be otherwise), but who knows which judge he gets assigned to adjudicate the case.
posted by porpoise at 2:04 AM on February 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


AP: Source: FBI had backup plan to save Russia probe evidence
The FBI developed a backup plan to protect evidence in its Russia investigation soon after the firing of FBI Director James Comey in the event that other senior officials were dismissed as well, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.[…]

The goal was to ensure that the information collected under the investigations, which included probes of Trump associates and possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, would survive the firings or reassignments of top law enforcement officials. Those officials included special counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed eight days after Trump fired Comey in May 2017.

Andrew McCabe, who became acting director after Comey was fired, asked investigators to develop a plan to ensure evidence would be protected, said the person, who was not authorized to talk about those discussions publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. A plan was then created, according to the person, who would not provide specifics.

A second person familiar with the talks, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, also said the FBI discussed preserving evidence so that it would outlast any firing or effort to stymie the investigation.
McCabe’s book and tour seems to be rallying his allies for strategic leaks.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:52 AM on February 20, 2019 [32 favorites]


Just a guess, but: in the beginning of the Mueller investigation, it was useful that Trump could still at least dream he wouldn't be caught, while all the small fry were picked up. Now it may begin to be useful that the medium fry get to understand that there won't be pardons, because Trump won't be there to pardon, soon.
The cases against Trump and his crime family are already good and solid, but I'm thinking some people would like to get right to the bottom of this.
posted by mumimor at 4:02 AM on February 20, 2019 [6 favorites]


CNN's hiring of ex-Sessions spokeswoman stirs controversy (Brian Stelter, CNN Business)
The reaction has been strong. CNN employees are concerned, according to numerous people who reached out to me on Tuesday. They are asking what Isgur's role will be and questioning whether her sudden leap from the Trump administration to the CNN newsroom is an ethical breach.

The Daily Beast's Maxwell Tani is hearing the same questions. He reported that CNN staffers are "demoralized" by the news.

Isgur's hiring is also being questioned by journalists at other news organizations. While there is a long history of political aides moving into the media and vice versa, this is an abnormally fast spin of the so-called "revolving door." And it's even more unusual because Isgur is moving directly into a managerial role.
posted by ZeusHumms at 5:53 AM on February 20, 2019 [17 favorites]


And it's even more unusual because Isgur is moving directly into a managerial role.

"Coordinating" coverage of the 2020 campaign, no less. "Stirs controversy," indeed. As I said before, high ranking people at CNN need to lose their jobs for even considering this move.

Given that the story's quoted justification for her hiring was merely a pushback on the {straw man} claim that she isn't qualified -- the objections seem to be more along the lines of obvious bias -- it seems even CNN is hard pressed to justify her hiring in positive terms.
posted by Gelatin at 6:03 AM on February 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


"Had Trump lost the election, CNN would probably have returned to its previously scheduled struggle for survival. Instead, it has become more central to the national conversation than at any point in the network’s history since the first gulf war. And the man who is presiding over this historic moment at CNN happens to be the same one who was in some part responsible for Donald Trump’s political career. It was Zucker who, as president of NBC Entertainment, broadcast “The Apprentice” at a time when Trump was little more than an overextended real estate promoter with a failing casino business. That show, more than anything, reversed Trump’s fortunes, recasting a local tabloid villain as the people’s prime-time billionaire. And it was Zucker who, as president of CNN, broadcast the procession of made-for-TV events — the always news-making interviews; the rallies; debates; the “major policy addresses” that never really were — that helped turn Trump into the Republican front-runner at a time when few others took his candidacy seriously." Always good to remember how we got here, and who helped. April 2017 NYTMAg piece on Zucker's influence.
posted by Harry Caul at 6:10 AM on February 20, 2019 [50 favorites]


As I said before, high ranking people at CNN need to lose their jobs for even considering this move.

CNN worked harder than anyone to elect Trump. I don't understand why anyone thinks that isn't true, or why anyone thinks one single thing has changed since. CNN management and ownership want Trump in power and reelected as much as FOX does, they just take a different approach. Isgur's hiring is definitive proof that they're going to work even harder for him in 2020 than they have before. Expect every last rally to be aired in full, followed by commentary from a panel of 3 Trump campaign operatives; while a different panel of 3 Rick Santorums attacks the Democratic candidate who's speech they never show, much less discuss the policies. That's pretty much what we got last time, but it's surely what we're getting going forward too.

The American corporate media is working for fascism and tax cuts, and in practice, that means they're working for Trump and Republicans. We must clearly know the enemy in order to retake power in spite of their efforts, and that includes CNN, just not for the reasons Trump attacks them for.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:36 AM on February 20, 2019 [60 favorites]


Given that the story's quoted justification for her hiring was merely a pushback on the {straw man} claim that she isn't qualified -- the objections seem to be more along the lines of obvious bias -- it seems even CNN is hard pressed to justify her hiring in positive terms.

No, it's that CNN wants to cough out a perfunctory both-sides prior to handing all of their 2020 election coverage to the Republicans on a silver platter. This was preordained. It shall not be "true" or "accurate" in any sense other than what they define those as.

2016 US media consumption lessons status: Unlearned. Impact imminent.
posted by petebest at 6:56 AM on February 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


CNN's hiring of ex-Sessions spokeswoman stirs controversy (Brian Stelter, CNN Business)

In this piece Stelter also takes up the argument from CNN executives in favor of Isgur as "an exceptional person whose political experience will improve CNN's coverage." One even tried the excuse that "There are plenty of examples of people going from high profile political jobs to news networks", claiming without evidence that "She is highly qualified to do so."

Dismantling this line of thinking, Aaron Rupar posted a thread in which he reviews Isgur's Twitter post history and turns up examples of homophobia, conspiracy theories, false statistics, false equivalence (abortion/gun control), and big shout-out to Kelllyanne Conway for "showing America what real feminism looks like". Worse yet, he also turns up her involvement in the Seth Rich conspiracy theory case (NBC): "[Fox News conspiracist Ed] Butowsky was also in “regular contact” with White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and Department of Justice spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores “regarding his efforts relating to Seth Rich”", according to the lawsuit Rich's family filed (NBC).

Meanwhile on Twitter, Trump has doubled down on his attacks against the NYT: "The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!" and "The Press has never been more dishonest than it is today. Stories are written that have absolutely no basis in fact. The writers don’t even call asking for verification. They are totally out of control. Sadly, I kept many of them in business. In six years, they all go BUST!"
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:06 AM on February 20, 2019 [26 favorites]


The other thing about Isgur is that Trump & Co were reluctant to hire her because she’d criticized Trump during the campaign. She had to meet with him and pledge loyalty.

So the person driving what and how things gets covered during Trump’s reelection has sworn loyalty to him.

Also, if you were a CNN reporter, would you feel comfortable telling her your sourcing?
posted by chris24 at 7:13 AM on February 20, 2019 [56 favorites]


In light of the $250 million stunt lawsuit against the Washington Post by the Covington Catholic Klanskid, which given Justice Thomas' remarks earlier may be less stunt and a wedge suit to try and overturn decades of US libel law, Keith Wilson discusses his experiences with questioning the racism he encountered while growing up in Covington. CW: gaslighting, racism.
posted by sotonohito at 7:29 AM on February 20, 2019 [20 favorites]


She had to meet with him and pledge loyalty.

It's not just stupid Watergate and stupid Godfather II, it's now also stupid Superman II.
posted by condour75 at 7:33 AM on February 20, 2019 [34 favorites]


I'm curious to understand how this revisiting of the NYT vs Sullivan case would not result in the vast majority of right-wing news sources and talk radio hosts being immediately sued into oblivion? Seems like removing the actual-malice standard for public figures would present a huge roadblock to their demonization of the next Hilary Clinton.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:36 AM on February 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


lefty lucky cat Given how packed with right wing ideologues the courts are these days, I'm pretty sure they feel confident they can quash any libel suits from the left while bankrupting or silencing real news with frivolous libel suits from the right.

Sure, if the law was enforced evenly the hate radio types would be shut down almost overnight. But I don't think we can count on even or fair enforcement of the law.
posted by sotonohito at 7:43 AM on February 20, 2019 [9 favorites]


Politico: ‘Sustained and Ongoing’ Disinformation Assault Targets Dem Presidential Candidates—A coordinated barrage of foreign state actors.
A POLITICO review of recent data extracted from Twitter and from other platforms, as well as interviews with data scientists and digital campaign strategists, suggests that the goal of the coordinated barrage appears to be undermining the nascent candidacies through the dissemination of memes, hashtags, misinformation, and distortions of their positions. But the divisive nature of many of the posts also hint at a broader effort to sow discord and chaos within the Democratic presidential primary.[…]

An analysis conducted for POLITICO by Guardians.ai found evidence that a relatively small cluster of accounts — and a broader group of accounts that amplify them — drove a disproportionate amount of the Twitter conversation about the four candidates over a recent 30-day period.

Using proprietary tools that measured the discussion surrounding the candidates in the Democratic field, Guardians.ai identified a cohort of roughly 200 accounts — which includes both unwitting real accounts and other ‘suspicious’ and automated accounts that coordinate to spread their messages — pumped out negative or extreme themes designed to damage the candidates.[…]

A recent analysis from the social media intelligence firm Storyful detected spikes in misinformation activity over social media platforms and online comment boards in the days after each of the 2020 candidates launched their presidential bids, beginning with Warren’s announcement on Dec. 31.
Russia, North Korea, and Iran are the likely suspects, not necessarily working in a coordinated conspiracy but instead amplifying the total effect in a synergy of shitposting.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:49 AM on February 20, 2019 [27 favorites]


Why would Iran be supporting Trump?
posted by M-x shell at 7:55 AM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


> I feel like this story about the Saudi nuclear plants isn't getting the attention it deserves.

The Trump and Trump-adjacent crimes and scandals are like spokes on a wheel that is spinning so quickly it's no longer possible to make any of them out individually.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:01 AM on February 20, 2019 [13 favorites]




Why would Iran be supporting Trump?

They aren't trying to support Trump. They are trying to create tension and division to weaken us. We're in the unfortunate position that those goals align those of Trump and his allies.
posted by diogenes at 8:13 AM on February 20, 2019 [25 favorites]


Why would Iran be supporting Trump?

None of them are supporting Trump per se—they're promoting chaos in US politics, and Trump is the best agent of chaos in the field. We've seen Russian troll farms take both sides in various US debates such as the NFL-national anthem, gun control, Black Lives Matter. Iran seems to favor straight-up propaganda and spreading malware, as does North Korea, which also specializes in identity theft. The overarching problem is that they're learning from each other's efforts, picking up new techniques, and refining tactics.
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:15 AM on February 20, 2019 [32 favorites]


CHUDs are the ultimate practitioners of mindless identity politics that they frequently project onto the left. There's nothing else to their ideology. It's what makes arguing with them, debating them, or trying to change their mind fruitless. Ideally they'll all die or stop voting at some point, but there's no changing their mind until then for the simple reason that their own supremacy is the only political issue that they care about.
This dehumanizing rhetoric should not be tolerated on this site.
posted by LarsC at 8:17 AM on February 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


They aren't trying to support Trump. They are trying to create tension and division to weaken us. We're in the unfortunate position that those goals align those of Trump and his allies.

I'm inherently highly, highly skeptical of ill-defined claims from the federal government of dastardly foreign plots by oil producing states that aren't beholden to the US. See also: Pompeo claiming armies of Hezbollah in Venezuela
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:18 AM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


I'm inherently highly, highly skeptical of ill-defined claims from the federal government of dastardly foreign plots

Then it's a good thing that we're talking about "a review of recent data extracted from Twitter and from other platforms, as well as interviews with data scientists and digital campaign strategists."
posted by diogenes at 8:22 AM on February 20, 2019 [7 favorites]


Then it's a good thing that we're talking about "a review of recent data extracted from Twitter and from other platforms, as well as interviews with data scientists and digital campaign strategists."

I guess it's a bleary and paranoid morning for me, didn't see that it wasn't from the US govt. However I'm definitely not willing to let "a review of extracted data" by Politico essentially define a new Russia-NK-Iran Axis of Evil. That's an enormous and dangerous claim and one that war hawks in government will absolutely adore.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:30 AM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


Politico: ‘Sustained and Ongoing’ Disinformation Assault Targets Dem Presidential Candidates—A coordinated barrage of foreign state actors.

I feel like this needs to be bookmarked somewhere.
posted by Anonymous at 8:59 AM on February 20, 2019




Privilege is still being out on bail after publishing an image of a federal judge in crosshairs.

Roger Stone has to answer to the judge about it tomorrow morning, I wouldn't get too far out in front of the story yet.

Then it's a good thing that we're talking about "a review of recent data extracted from Twitter and from other platforms, as well as interviews with data scientists and digital campaign strategists."

Paraphrasing something I read recently, "[w]e're in the unfortunate position that those goals conclusions align [with] those of Trump and his allies."
posted by rhizome at 9:32 AM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


I still think that Stone wanted to be off the street (so as not to end up like the Skripals?), and he figured that threatening the judge would get him locked up ASAP.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:39 AM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


Privilege is still being out on bail after publishing an image of a federal judge in crosshairs.

Roger Stone has to answer to the judge about it tomorrow morning, I wouldn't get too far out in front of the story yet.


Getting three days of freedom is pretty privileged, yeah. Privilege isn't (just) a lack of consequences. It's also getting the benefit of the doubt. It's the difference between a judge saying "Okay, we're going to figure this out calmly and rationally on Thursday" and a marshal kicking down his door and hauling him to jail on Monday.
posted by Etrigan at 9:43 AM on February 20, 2019 [55 favorites]


Paraphrasing something I read recently, "[w]e're in the unfortunate position that those conclusions align [with] those of Trump and his allies."

I'm confused. Are you arguing that the Trump administration wants us to think that Russia is running another disinformation campaign?
posted by diogenes at 9:51 AM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


Chrysostom: Overton Window alert: .@PeteButtigieg on court packing: “It’s no more a departure from norms than what the Republicans did to get the judiciary to the place it is today….Bold, ambitious ideas need a hearing right now."

That's previously mentioned young mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Democratic candidate for president, Pete Buttigieg
posted by filthy light thief at 9:57 AM on February 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


Nothing to worry about here.
Russia may be forced to aim weapons at Washington, suggests Putin
‘Centres of decision making’ will be targeted if west deploys new missiles in Europe.
posted by adamvasco at 10:05 AM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


Justice Department preparing for Mueller report as early as next week (CNN)

Attorney General Bill Barr is preparing to announce as early as next week the completion of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, with plans for Barr to submit to Congress soon after a summary of Mueller's confidential report, according to people familiar with the plans.

Whether this is another false leak remains to be seen.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 10:07 AM on February 20, 2019 [9 favorites]


I'm confused. Are you arguing that the Trump administration wants us to think that Russia is running another disinformation campaign?

Trump is not in control of this. Russia et al indeed appear to be continually running disinformation campaigns, and it just so happens that on this angle -- among others -- Trump falls into line.

The Politico article is naïve. "Oooh, are they doing it again? Looks that way!" Meanwhile, the activities they describe have been continuous for years now. Noticing that these forces shift to focus on another target is not a new offensive and does not deserve a separate article. The US lost the war and now we are digitally occupied.
posted by rhizome at 10:18 AM on February 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


However I'm definitely not willing to let "a review of extracted data" by Politico essentially define a new Russia-NK-Iran Axis of Evil.

That's not what Politico's article is promoting. The "coordinated" in headline refers generally to the disinformation campaigns, as opposed to the work of unassociated individuals. One researcher suggests there could be something tighter going on but refrained from pushing conclusions the data can't support: "In certain cases it appears coordinated, but whether coordinated or not, there are clearly actors attempting to influence the primary by exacerbating divisions within the party, painting more moderate candidates as unpalatable to progressives and more progressive candidates as unpalatable to more mainstream Dems." The article is somewhat long, but it's not that technical a read.

Justice Department preparing for Mueller report as early as next week (CNN)

Marcy Wheeler has a sensibly skeptical guide up (apropos of the MSNBC story): Questions to Ask before Reporting a BREAKING Mueller Report (At the very least, journalists should be asking their sources, "What about Mueller's ongoing legal efforts to obtain testimony from Roger Stone's associate Andrew Miller or the mystery foreign national corporation?")

She also tweets, "We almost certainly are NOT getting The Mueller Report next week. But we are likely to get a pretty damning report about "collusion" this week.", i.e. the sentencing memo in Paul Manafort’s DC case that Mueller will submit Friday.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:22 AM on February 20, 2019 [20 favorites]


Why would Iran be supporting Trump?

They aren't trying to support Trump. They are trying to create tension and division to weaken us.


I do not believe this at all. Iran is not a geopolitical mover and shaker. It isn't posturing for global dominance. If it attacks the U.S. it is for local and regional status and nothing else. So does this "weakening" mean anything in that context? I don't think so. Sowing dissension and confusion in a deniable not-very visible manner does nothing to affect middle-eastern regional power or status. It does nothing for Iranian nationalism. It's just messy and with only downside.
posted by srboisvert at 10:27 AM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


Russia may be forced to aim weapons at Washington, suggests Putin
‘Centres of decision making’ will be targeted if west deploys new missiles in Europe.


Is the news supposed to be that this wasn't already the case? Nukes targeting DC, NYC, Chicago, SF, LA, etc.? "Horrors," This is not an "I don't know why anybody's surprised," it's that I say to this state of the world I've lived in for 50 years.

However, it seems like there's a real story lurking beneath this headline though: the implication that DC is possibly not actually a center of decsion-making. The Eastern Seaboard is also probably one of the harder US areas to hit with a warhead without it getting shot out of the sky (as much as that might be possible). In national decision-center terms, only Miami would be harder.
posted by rhizome at 10:29 AM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


She also tweets, "We almost certainly are NOT getting The Mueller Report next week. But we are likely to get a pretty damning report about "collusion" this week.", i.e. the sentencing memo in Paul Manafort’s DC case that Mueller will submit Friday.

Personal Theory: Trump's cronies are saying "Mueller report coming this x", and timing it around things such as the sentencing memo. That way when the memo (or a court document or whatever will be blowing up the news ) comes out those cronies can point to it and say "Ok, i know thats bad, but its over now. So at least we can move past it".

Now, we all know that memo (or what have you) is just one piece of bad news for Trump and the investigation rolls on, but his memory isn't long enough to remember that he's done this ride before.
posted by Twain Device at 10:29 AM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


Overton Window alert: .@PeteButtigieg on court packing: “It’s no more a departure from norms than what the Republicans did to get the judiciary to the place it is today….Bold, ambitious ideas need a hearing right now."

That's previously mentioned young mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Democratic candidate for president, Pete Buttigieg


FYI, Buttigieg was on the NPR show 1A for an hour yesterday. I'm pretty skeptical of the pre-announcement publicity parades, and even more so of some guy who's a small-city mayor... but man, he was terrific. He took a bunch of hardball questions and answered them all directly, no waffling, had good ideas and generally just sounded smart and likable. Harvard grad, Rhodes scholar and military service. Also openly gay. The show's worth a listen.
posted by martin q blank at 10:30 AM on February 20, 2019 [36 favorites]


Justice Department preparing for Mueller report as early as next week (CNN)
Yea, CNN is not your friend. Example no 612.
posted by Harry Caul at 10:32 AM on February 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


Yea, CNN is not your friend. Example no 612.

They just hired Jeff Sessions' spokesperson to be their Political Editor, so yeah, CNN is compromised.
posted by rhizome at 10:35 AM on February 20, 2019 [18 favorites]


Attorney General Bill Barr is preparing to announce as early as next week the completion of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, with plans for Barr to submit to Congress soon after a summary of Mueller's confidential report, according to people familiar with the plans.

Am I the only one who reads this as "Trump finally got a compliant AG to shut down the SC investigation" and they're going to spin it as "Mueller investigation 'completed' nothing to see here"?
posted by Preserver at 10:43 AM on February 20, 2019 [21 favorites]


Justice Department preparing for Mueller report as early as next week (CNN)

Because if they don't prepare they will be caught completely off guard!

(I'm pretty sure the Justice department has been preparing for the Mueller Report since the Mueller investigation was opened.)
posted by srboisvert at 10:48 AM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


Am I the only one who reads this as "Trump finally got a compliant AG to shut down the SC investigation" and they're going to spin it as "Mueller investigation 'completed' nothing to see here"?
posted by Preserver at 1:43 PM on February 20 [1 favorite +] [!]


No, I think that's the obvious read. FWIW, I think it's less likely that Barr came in and just shut the whole thing down than that he cordoned off certain avenues that Mueller may have been investigating as beyond the purview of his appointment. Maybe anything not directly related to Russian interference, including obstruction? End-result is the same, but it looks more by-the-book.
posted by scarylarry at 10:48 AM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


WaPo, White House prepares to scrutinize intelligence agencies’ finding that climate change threatens national security
The White House is working to assemble a panel to assess whether climate change poses a national security threat, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post, a conclusion that federal intelligence agencies have affirmed several times since President Trump took office.

The proposed Presidential Committee on Climate Security, which would be established by executive order, is being spearheaded by William Happer, a National Security Council senior director. Happer, an emeritus professor of physics at Princeton University, has said that carbon emissions linked to climate change should be viewed as an asset rather than a pollutant.

The initiative represents the Trump administration’s most recent attempt to question the findings of federal scientists and experts on climate change and comes less than three weeks after Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats delivered a worldwide threat assessment that identified it as a significant security risk.
With the "more CO2 is good" guy in charge, surely the panel will deliver a productive assessment.
posted by zachlipton at 10:52 AM on February 20, 2019 [19 favorites]


Am I the only one who...

No, but at the same time we don't know if Barr will be able to "shut it down." Mueller has a team of motherfuckers in his pocket and Barr has...a son in law and a history of punching down. I'm not sure this will be a fair fight.
posted by rhizome at 10:54 AM on February 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


Sowing dissension and confusion in a deniable not-very visible manner does nothing to affect middle-eastern regional power or status. It does nothing for Iranian nationalism. It's just messy and with only downside.

The dissension is not invisible at all. Believe it or not, but the general public of other countries know the broad strokes of our political climate better than the general US public knows theirs, and they sure did pick up on the fighting and polarization. Sowing dissension undermines our power. The country was spectacularly weakened due to the infighting and disinformation campaigns in 2016, most notably by the election of Trump. And appearances matter, and the USA's position as the Land Of Democracy and Leader of the Free World (whether or not you believe the title is warranted) is undercut when it appears that democracy fails as a political system.
posted by Anonymous at 10:58 AM on February 20, 2019


Yea, CNN is not your friend. Example no 612.

On one hand CNN's reporters here are Evan Perez, Laura Jarrett and Katelyn Polantz, who have all done solid work on Mueller and the Trump-Russia scandal for the past couple of years. On the other, their sources about the timing are only "people familiar with the plans", which could be anyone from Barr to Giuliani.

They're also drawing their own inferences from watching the daily business Office of the Special Counsel:
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week, special counsel's office employees carried boxes and pushed a cart full of files out of their office -- an unusual move that could foreshadow a hand-off of legal work.

At the same time, the Mueller prosecutors' workload appears to be dwindling. Four of Mueller's 17 prosecutors have ended their tenures with the office, with most returning to other roles in the Justice Department.

And the grand jury that Mueller's prosecutors used to return indictments of longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and several Russians hasn't apparently convened since January 24 the day it approved the criminal charges against Stone.
There's also the question of what role the will play in the Mueller probe's future:
Even with these signs of a wrap up, the DC US Attorney's office has stepped in to work on cases that may continue longer than Mueller is the special counsel.

That office has joined onto some of the Mueller's team's casework, including the cases against Stone, a Russian social media propaganda conspiracy, and in an ongoing foreign government-owned company's fight against a grand jury subpoena.

Mueller and his prosecutors are still reporting to work as frequently as ever -- with some even coming in on recent snow days and Presidents' Day. But also visiting them more often than ever before are the prosecutors from the DC US Attorney's Office and others in the Justice Department who've worked on the Mueller cases.
All in all, this would have been a more interesting article if CNN had framed it around their stakeouts of Mueller's offices and disregarded headline-grabbing but unverifiable anonymous leaks.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:07 AM on February 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


The proposed Presidential Committee on Climate Security, which would be established by executive order, is being spearheaded by William Happer, a National Security Council senior director. Happer, an emeritus professor of physics at Princeton University, has said that carbon emissions linked to climate change should be viewed as an asset rather than a pollutant.

Previously (2014) on "shit that comes out of William Happer's mouth":
"The demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler," Happer said on CNBC. "Carbon dioxide is actually a benefit to the world, and so were the Jews."
This person works at the White House now.
posted by zachlipton at 11:17 AM on February 20, 2019 [68 favorites]


Thousands of Central American Migrants Are Reportedly Being Held in an Abandoned Army Body Bag Factory Due to Asylum-Policy Changes (Lucy Diavolo, Teen Vogue)
"They have us locked up as prisoners."

As many as 2,000 Central American migrants are being detained in a Mexican factory that used to produce United States Army body bags, according to a report from The Daily Beast.

The Associated Press reported on February 6 that the migrants arrived via caravan in Piedras Negras, Mexico, on February 4 and were then bussed to the factory across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas, where the AP reported Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers were seen conducting exercises with riot gear and shields.

A spokesman for the Coahuila state government told the AP that the Mexican police and soldiers were keeping the migrants at the factory unless they obtain a humanitarian visitor visa from the Mexican government. The San Antonio Express-News reported February 5 that long lines were forming in the factory for those visa applications while rooms have been converted into sleeping quarters with mats.
...

The Daily Beast reported the factory is being used to house migrants in compliance with the Trump administration’s new “Remain in Mexico” asylum application policy, which NPR reported went into effect at the end of January. That policy, officially dubbed “Migration Protection Protocols,” is a reversal of the old policy that allowed asylum-seekers to wait for their cases to be adjudicated in the United States.

“[The migrants in the factory] want to present for asylum, but it’s unclear from Mexican authorities how that happens, and it’s definitely unclear from U.S. authorities how that happens,” Rivano Barros told The Daily Beast. “They feel like prisoners, and they don’t know what’s going on, and nobody has explained the asylum policy to them — the process is extremely opaque.”
Rivano Barros is a field officer for Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and visited the factory last week
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:55 AM on February 20, 2019 [18 favorites]


Ironically, the CO2 Coalition is exactly the kind of thing people are imagining when they complain about global warming scientists on the take.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:59 AM on February 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


Elections Commission Chief Uses the “Nuclear Option” to Rescue the Agency From Gridlock (Nihal Krishan, Mother Jones)
"The agency’s chair says she won’t allow its lawyers to defend it when it’s sued."
The FEC has four of six commissioner roles filled, currently by two Republicans, one independent, and one Democrat. The minimum number of votes to act on anything is four. They were filled during the George W Bush administration, and have been serving expired terms, waiting to be replaced. (Obama successfully nominated two commissioners, but they left; Trump has nominated one, but that person has not been confirmed by the Senate).
The FEC chairmanship, which rotates among the commissioners each year, is mostly a ceremonial role without any real power. But [Ellen Weintraub (D)] plans to use her veto power to stop the FEC from defending itself in court, since the agency needs four votes to initiate a legal defense.

So what happens when the FEC gets sued and is not authorized to defend itself, as Weintraub plans? “It has not happened in the history of the agency,” she told Mother Jones.

“If [the commissioners] are not going to vote to enforce the law, I’m not going to pull any punches and I’m not going to be shy about calling them out,” she said. “And if we get sued, that requires four votes to defend those kinds of lawsuits…I’m not going to authorize the use of agency resources to defend that litigation.”

Four campaign finance lawyers, including three who used to work at the FEC, confirmed to Mother Jones that Weintraub’s new strategy was unprecedented and could lead to significant changes to the campaign finance system, depending on how the courts respond.
This could be for naught though, if the Senate actually confirms Trump's appointee.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:06 PM on February 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


Update from the NC-09 hearing: A pretty stunning email (scroll down for text because it's hard to read the image).

It's an email from John Harris to his dad, candidate Mark Harris, from April 2017: It starts with "this is not legal advice" and goes on to say "the key thing that I am fairly certain they do that is illegal is that they collect the completed absentee ballots and mail them all at once."

So that directly puts the candidate personally on notice that Dowless was collecting ballots and that's illegal, and then they hired him anyway.
posted by zachlipton at 12:14 PM on February 20, 2019 [53 favorites]


Just heard a piece on NPR about the hearing in NC where the Republican board members were portrayed as only being concerned whether the number of affected votes changed the outcome. Party before country all the way down.
posted by Sublimity at 12:23 PM on February 20, 2019 [9 favorites]


The fascinating thing is that not only are we getting the same "accusations of cyberwarfare are paranoid warmongering" statements that we had in 2016, we're getting practically the same arguments. It's like a cut and paste job, though replacing "Hillary" with "Trump" doesn't quite work smoothly.
posted by happyroach at 12:38 PM on February 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


Mod note: Couple deleted; please check if your link is a double by ctrl-fing the thread for some keywords like author's name or words in the headline.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:49 PM on February 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


The fascinating thing is that not only are we getting the same "accusations of cyberwarfare are paranoid warmongering" statements that we had in 2016, we're getting practically the same arguments. It's like a cut and paste job, though replacing "Hillary" with "Trump" doesn't quite work smoothly.

I think accusations of Iran conducting cyberwarfare against the USA are particularly dangerous because I think this administration (or a future one) is far more interested in and likely to start a disastrous war with Iran than with NK or Russia, and that they would use any and all evidence in order to start that war, Politico pieces not excluded. I also do not believe that Politico is an unbiased actor considering some of their published editorials on Iran.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:59 PM on February 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


filthy light thief: "That's previously mentioned young mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Democratic candidate for president, Pete Buttigieg"

Yes, sorry. I had assumed folks in these threads would know who Pete Buttigieg is, but I should have erred on the side of caution.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:15 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


Buzzfeed’s Zoe Tillman: A Former Trump Staffer Filed A Class Action To Invalidate All Of The Campaign’s Nondisclosure Agreements—Jessica Denson, who worked for the Trump campaign in 2016, is arguing the language of the nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements that all staffers had to sign is unlawful.
“The Form NDAs effectively strip employees, contractors, and volunteers of their ability to pursue any of their rights to redress workplace misconduct,” Denson’s lawyers wrote in the arbitration filing. “Anything and everything they could do will of necessity contain some information that a Trump Person could find disparaging or a disclosure of confidential information.”

Her lawyers are also arguing that the language of the NDA is too vague — it gives Trump himself discretion to decide what is “private” and “confidential” — doesn’t have any time or geographic limits, “lacks a legitimate purpose,” and is void because it allows a government actor — in this case, the president — to restrain a person’s free speech rights under the First Amendment.
Denson, the Trump 2016 campaign director of Hispanic engagement, had attempted to sue over discrimination, but her case was dismissed in federal court and forced into arbitration. Unsurprisingly, the arbitrator found in favor of Trump because of the NDA.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:17 PM on February 20, 2019 [49 favorites]


The entire Virginia legislature is up for election this fall. Dems had been hoping to take the majority in both houses and take unified control, but were obviously worried that the recent Northam/Fairfax/Herring scandals would torpedo that. Any leading indicators?
So, there was a special House of Delegates race in northern Virginia yesterday. Three weeks of Northam/Fairfax scandal. One week of the Dem nominee being accused of anti-Semitism over FB posts.

The GOP vote rose from 32% to... 34%.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:21 PM on February 20, 2019 [13 favorites]


That's my district, and I totally missed the anti-Semitism scandal. I also didn't vote, but that's because I was in the hospital with my wife. Glad to know we're still on track.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:23 PM on February 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


^ is that...significant?
posted by yoga at 1:24 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]




^ is that...significant?

Well, special elections have a pretty strong correlation to regular election results. There was not much of a chance the GOP was going to win this race, it's quite a blue district. But the margin was definitely of interest. And even in the light of a flawed candidate, and a big Dem scandal in state government, the GOP margin barely budged. That's a good sign for the fall.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:27 PM on February 20, 2019 [15 favorites]


Although reading the full thread gives a different (and less optimistic) impression: When you factor in the hard-right third party candidate, there was an 11% swing against the Dem compared to the 2017 governor's race.

BUT, given that this was a special election with an unknown candidate, and the guy who won the GOP primary was far less wackadoodle than the 2017 Ed Gillespie campaign that Northam was running against, I kinda doubt it's going to be extremely predictive.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:28 PM on February 20, 2019


NBC: Hill Democrats say Education Dept. tried to interfere in probe, remove investigator -- Democrats say they've seen evidence of "troubling efforts" to influence investigation of Education Secretary DeVos.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:29 PM on February 20, 2019 [26 favorites]


Thanks for the enlightenment Chrysostom! :)
posted by yoga at 1:30 PM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


I think accusations of Iran conducting cyberwarfare against the USA are particularly dangerous [...] I also do not believe that Politico is an unbiased actor

It's not just Politico who have noticed, and it's not only Iran and Russia who are doing this now.

NBC also caught Saudi Arabia running a Twitter bot network in October...

From January, also from NBC: Twitter and Facebook say they removed thousands of troll accounts in run-up to 2018 midterms
Coordinating with Twitter, Facebook removed 783 accounts who were participating in what the company calls “coordinated inauthentic behavior” from Iran.

The accounts, which appeared on both Instagram and Facebook, were attempting to “represent themselves to be news outlets, but are controlled by actors operating from Iran.” The accounts posed as local news agencies, but “were repurposing content from Iranian government media” in 26 countries, including the U.S.
...
Facebook did not give specific details about information shared by Twitter about the Russian, Bangladeshi and Venezuelan accounts they identified.

The social network said it shut down 1,196 accounts that it could reliably attribute to the government of Venezuela, which mostly tweeted in defense of the country’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro.

A separate network of 764 troll accounts from Venezuela targeted Americans, first before the 2016 election, then again in 2018.

From Twitter:
Working with our industry peers today, we have suspended 284 accounts from Twitter for engaging in coordinated manipulation. Based on our existing analysis, it appears many of these accounts originated from Iran.
From CNBC: Twitter bots were more active than previously known during the 2018 midterms, a new study suggests
Thousands of those bots could be traced to Russia and several hundred could be traced to Iran, according to Emilio Ferrara, one of the study's four authors and the principal investigator in the Machine Intelligence and Data Science group at USC's Information Sciences Institute.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence Annual Threat Assessment:
Our adversaries and strategic competitors will increasingly use cyber capabilities—including cyber
espionage, attack, and influence—to seek political, economic, and military advantage over the United States and its allies and partners. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea increasingly use cyber operations to threaten both minds and machines in an expanding number of ways—to steal information, to influence our citizens, or to disrupt critical infrastructure.
From Mother Jones: "Russia’s Campaign to Help Trump Win Was Just the Start"
Clint Watts: "But we are incredibly stuck on 2016. Russia is not going to be the biggest player in this space. Russia kicked off the tidal wave, but now they just ride it. There have been a lot of authoritarians who’ve adopted their approach, with more devastating effect on their domestic populations. Cambodia, the Philippines, and Myanmar are three great examples."
This is incredibly cheap compared to military build up, and as 2016 showed, it can be very effective at achieving foreign policy objectives. Why would every country not do this?
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:32 PM on February 20, 2019 [30 favorites]


@realDonaldTrump: I have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the Country!

There appears to have been no actual fact-finding process here, which is incredibly disturbing, since there appears to be strong reason to believe she's a US citizen (her family contends she was born in New Jersey after her father was no longer a diplomat), while the government's counter-argument is just Trump tweeting with an exclamation mark. And since we're talking about a person's citizenship here, that's pretty damn disturbing.

It's also problematic since Trump has been threatening European countries to get them to take back their citizens who have fought for ISIS, saying that fighters will otherwise just be released, and now he's refusing to take back someone who appears to be a citizen.

----

On a related note, AP, Feds share watchlist with 1,400 private groups
The federal government has acknowledged that it shares its terrorist watchlist with more than 1,400 private entities, including hospitals and universities, prompting concerns from civil libertarians that those mistakenly placed on the list could face a wide variety of hassles in their daily lives.

The government’s admission that it shares the list so broadly comes after years of insistence that the list is generally not shared with the private sector.
posted by zachlipton at 1:43 PM on February 20, 2019 [32 favorites]


It's more than that; Pompeo is saying that Muthana isn't a US citizen. Even though apparently she's gotten, renewed, and traveled on a US passport.
posted by reductiondesign at 1:51 PM on February 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


Raw Story: Pro-Russian Coast Guard lieutenant arrested with hit list of liberal senators wanted to establish ‘a white homeland’

Also a pile of guns and ammo, also wrote a draft letter to Neo-Nazis, also... ugh. Surely this is no big deal.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:56 PM on February 20, 2019 [37 favorites]


I'm thinking of all the times in the Coast Guard I heard, "You fuck up, you move up," referring to people promoted into positions where they "wouldn't do harm" because it was easier than getting rid of them.

This dude made it all the way through officer screening and got promoted twice.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:08 PM on February 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


The Trump family fortune is basically all tax evasion. The reporting on that was solid. Everyone forgot about it because of the timing.

On this note, I have developed in short order a firm case of hero worship for Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, the star of the Davos "this is not rocket science" video that made the rounds.

On The Media tweeted this earlier:  us watching the off-the-rails Tucker Carlson interview: https://twitter.com/onthemedia/status/1098314794543865856/photo/1

The aforementioned unaired interview is bonkers as Tucker Carlson loses his shit when Bregman points out he's a millionaire taking billionaire's money and regurgitating their talking points. Here's another interview on (Australian) ABC where Bregman lays out the basics of the taxation issues and addresses his panel work at Davos.

It is so very refreshing to actually hear the arguments I've made for the past twenty years being presented by someone who's actually qualified to speak on the subject—as opposed to me ranting to my friends—that the western economies were/are made stronger by high marginal tax rates, and that taxes are how you pay for the civilization upon which we all rely.

If this horribly shitty political situation we're in right now has an upside, I'm beginning to think it might be how its excesses are hastening the rise of a very pissed off electorate that may soon remind them that while old rich people currently hold the power, the votes of the poor count just as much as theirs do, and there are a hell of a lot more poor people than rich.  People like Herr Twitler keep poking the populist beast with their rhetoric, but don't seem to realize no one in living memory has actually ever woken it up, and they have the hubris to think they can control it because the entire lot of them are too stupid to open a history book.

Related: I cannot stress enough how amazingly good the On The Media podcast is. If you don't listen to them, do yourself a favor and start. This goes doubly so for our non-American MeFites struggling to keep up with media issues in the U.S.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 2:19 PM on February 20, 2019 [70 favorites]


This dude made it all the way through officer screening and got promoted twice.

I don't know about the Coast Guard, but in the Army you are statistically more likely to make O3 from O1 than you are to make E3 from E1. You have to work at it to not make Captain.
posted by Etrigan at 2:28 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


It's more than that; Pompeo is saying that Muthana isn't a US citizen. Even though apparently she's gotten, renewed, and traveled on a US passport.
her family contends she was born in New Jersey after her father was no longer a diplomat

The creation of stateless persons is a prelude to genocide.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:34 PM on February 20, 2019 [60 favorites]


The aforementioned unaired interview is bonkers as Tucker Carlson loses his shit when Bregman points out he's a millionaire taking billionaire's money and regurgitating their talking points.

I think the point of his expletive outburst was to ensure that the segment would never air, which it never would have if Bregman hadn't had the forethought to record it with his cellphone.
posted by scalefree at 2:37 PM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


which it never would have if Bregman hadn't had the forethought to record it with his cellphone.

I believe the Amsterdam studio he was using had it from their end.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:39 PM on February 20, 2019 [9 favorites]


Raw Story: Pro-Russian Coast Guard lieutenant arrested with hit list of liberal senators wanted to establish ‘a white homeland’

The headline says he was "Pro-Russian" but I can't seem to find any mention of it in the article.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:47 PM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him

Trump’s latest fits of rage are directed at reality itself (Greg Sargent, WaPo)
Last month, Coats and other intelligence leaders testified to Congress about their annual assessment of global threats. What set Trump off into a fury is that they disagreed with him about multiple matters, particularly when they said the Islamic State has not yet been fully defeated and that Iran is currently complying with the international nuclear deal, both of which Trump desperately wants not to be true. [...]

Trump is also angry over the multiple lawsuits being filed to challenge his declaration of a national emergency to build his wall. Here again, what’s at stake is Trump’s ability to falsify reality. [...]

When Trump announced it the other day, he bristled with visible anger at the very idea that it would face lawsuits. And no wonder. After all, this means his ability to fabricate this crisis — and, by extension, any other ones — will be subject to institutional, fact-based scrutiny and challenge.
posted by Little Dawn at 2:52 PM on February 20, 2019 [14 favorites]


All the crazed tweets this last weekend were probably in response to NYT informing them about it and asking for comment. We just didn’t know it yet.

You were right: "A Times reporter contacted the White House about the article on Friday, days before it was published. The paper continued to press for comment over the following days, including on the day that the article was posted online."
posted by reductiondesign at 3:00 PM on February 20, 2019 [19 favorites]


I believe the Amsterdam studio he was using had it from their end.

Hard to tell whose phone it was, might've been one owned by the studio.
posted by scalefree at 3:01 PM on February 20, 2019


WaPo, John Hudson and David Nakamura, Stephen Biegun tutored Sarah Palin on foreign policy. Now he’s trying to clinch a North Korea deal for Trump.
He’s not the only one who is concerned. At a recent interagency meeting, senior officials from the Treasury Department and the Pentagon warned Biegun not to loosen sanctions or move too quickly to agree to an end-of-war declaration, according to a person with knowledge of the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. The person said it was “startling” to see the concerns raised in the meeting, adding that Biegun has “one job” — to strike a deal — while others in the administration are intent on maintaining a hard line.

Biegun allies outside the administration praised his willingness to press forward on engagement in a difficult environment.
...
“The dilemma that Steve and the negotiators face is that the North Koreans view Donald Trump as their pot of gold and they are not going to negotiate” with the president’s subordinates, said Michael Green, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who worked with Biegun at the National Security Council under President George W. Bush.
posted by zachlipton at 3:15 PM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]


More string and thumbtacks are needed: "The mainstream media has reported on Deutsche Bank, but has barely covered Ladder Capital Finance, so below is a chart and article with some key highlights on the company that holds a substantial amount of Trump debt." Wendy Siegelman, for Medium.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:33 PM on February 20, 2019 [13 favorites]




(re: emptywheel) She also tweets, "We almost certainly are NOT getting The Mueller Report next week. But we are likely to get a pretty damning report about "collusion" this week.", i.e. the sentencing memo in Paul Manafort’s DC case that Mueller will submit Friday.

Note that she has deleted that tweet as, in her words, she now believes it was wrong and people are still quoting it. So at least emptywheel now believes the reporting that Mueller is going to submit very soon.

What concerns me is that I have not seen a good answer to how two DOJ policies intersect:

1) A sitting President cannot be indicted.
2) Derogatory information about an unindicted individual should not be made public.

Given both those DOJ policies, isn't the implicated that no information regarding possible wrongdoing by Trump can be made public? They could have ironclad proof of criminality and DOJ would sit on it, if both these policies hold?
posted by Justinian at 3:40 PM on February 20, 2019 [9 favorites]


Under those circumstances, the alternative remedy is impeachment. So I suppose a properly independent DoJ might report the evidence to Congressional leadership instead of 'making it public' through indictment. Then it's up to Congress what to do with it, unbound by DoJ's prosecutorial functions.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:54 PM on February 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


McCabe: I have seen the letter Trump wrote justifying the firing of Jim Comey
with Nicole Wallace, MSNBC.

This is worth watching - McCabe, in response to some of Individual - 1's recent tweets it seems - reveals he has a copy of Trump's original letter (four pages of rambling) with the rationale for firing Comey. One of the reasons McCabe reveals is that Comey didn't fire him (McCabe).
posted by bluesky43 at 4:03 PM on February 20, 2019 [16 favorites]


Trump administration launches global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality (Josh Lederman, NBC News)

MSNBC's Kyle Griffin has the video of Trump's reaction to this:
Q: Mr. President, on your push to decriminalize homosexuality, are you doing that? And why?

TRUMP: Say it?

Q: Your push to decriminalize homosexuality around the world.

TRUMP: I don't know which report you're talking about. We have many reports.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:06 PM on February 20, 2019 [53 favorites]


If McCabe has a letter fucking publish it.

Pretty sure McCabe has made clear that he has shared everything he has with the SCO already. Beyond that, publishing sensitive documents with abandon could put the lawsuit over his firing in jeopardy.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 4:30 PM on February 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


Note that she has deleted that tweet as, in her words, she now believes it was wrong and people are still quoting it. So at least emptywheel now believes the reporting that Mueller is going to submit very soon.

Wheeler's written a blog post about her revised opinion about what the timing of these rumors could mean: The Significance of the Rod Rosenstein / William Barr Window
This is happening in the window of time when Rod Rosenstein is still around and — because William Barr has presumably not been through an ethics review on the investigation — presumably back in charge of sole day-to-day supervision of the investigation. But it is happening after Barr has been confirmed, and so any problems with the investigation that might stem from having an inferior officer (an unconfirmed hack like the Big Dick Toilet Salesman) supervising Mueller are gone.
And now the WaPo's Matt Zapotosky is reporting on these rumors as well: Justice Department Preparing for Mueller Report in Coming Days:
Justice Department officials are preparing for the end of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s nearly two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and believe a confidential report could be issued in coming days, according to people familiar with the discussions.[…]

The special counsel’s office, which used to have 17 lawyers, is down to 12 now, and some of those attorneys have recently been in touch with their old bosses about returning to work, according to people familiar with the discussions.[…]

According to people familiar with the special counsel’s work, Mueller has envisioned it as an investigative assignment, not necessarily a prosecutorial one, and for that reason does not plan to keep the office running to see to the end all of the indictments it has filed.[…]

Mueller could deliver his report to Attorney General William P. Barr next week, according to a person familiar with the matter who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations.
The other factor in the hypothetical timing is that Trump will be in Viet Nam Feb. 27-28, and in the past, Mueller has sprung big moves when Trump's was travelling internationally. And, as Norm Eisen has said, "Bob loves surprises."
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:40 PM on February 20, 2019 [9 favorites]


Considering what Bob Mueller went through in Vietnam, I would love the irony of the Report dropping while Commander Bonespurs is visiting Hanoi.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:00 PM on February 20, 2019 [34 favorites]


Michael Cohen will testify before House Oversight on February 27th (he got an extension on reporting to prison so he can recover from shoulder surgery and testify before Congress). The scope of the hearing involves a long list of Trump's compliance with the law, the hush money, and Trump's efforts to intimidate people from testifying, but it will not include questions related to Russia's influence on the 2016 election or collusion with the same. Cohen will testify the next day before a closed session of the House Intelligence Committee, where such matters could be discussed along iwth Cohen's prior false statements to that committee.

I've got to say, my patience with the lack of public information and hearings on collusion is prety much shot at this point.
posted by zachlipton at 5:03 PM on February 20, 2019 [14 favorites]


But one thing is for sure: if they release it now they pretty much know it's going to make it impossible for Trump to run again.

Boy do I have some doubts about that.

From Amanda Marcotte at Salon: Numb to corruption: How Republicans trained their base to ignore Trump's criminality.
"All these endless, pointless investigations and scandal-mongering over Democratic behavior that wasn't corrupt, much less criminal, has primarily served to indoctrinate the conservative masses into believing that "investigations" are never truly serious, but just a tool for partisans trying to score political points. They are now throughly primed to interpret the investigations into Trump's very real corruption as nothing more than Democrats seeking revenge for decades of mistreatment by Republican hacks.

That's why polls that measure whether Republican voters "believe" Trump is telling the truth are somewhat beside the point. The real problem is that they don't believe it matters whether Trump is a criminal, and even the proverbial "smoking gun" wouldn't shake them from that belief."
posted by soundguy99 at 5:10 PM on February 20, 2019 [50 favorites]


To me, this sentence from the CNN article (quoted above) is the most demoralizing part of the news that the Mueller probe is wrapping:
And the grand jury that Mueller's prosecutors used to return indictments of longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and several Russians hasn't apparently convened since January 24 the day it approved the criminal charges against Stone.
It seems to mean that there are no outstanding big fish prosecutions.

We're going to get a report that says Trump has been bad, obstructed justice, gotten too cozy with Russians. Basically, what we know already. And then life will go on. I don't even see why he would not run again. Am I being too cynical?

I found the end portion of Marcy Wheeler's post to be most incisive:
That says that Mueller is choosing this timing (and choosing not to wait for the appeals to be done). Whatever reason dictates this timing, by doing it in this window, Mueller can ensure the legitimacy of what happens, both legally (because Barr will be in place) and politically (because it will be clear Rosenstein presided over it).

So whatever comes next week, people on both sides should accept that it is the outcome of the investigation that Mueller deemed appropriate.
posted by pjenks at 5:26 PM on February 20, 2019 [7 favorites]


The other piece of the timing of the report, perhaps more important to Mueller than the others, is that there is now a co-equal branch willing to take up the baton.
posted by notyou at 5:32 PM on February 20, 2019 [16 favorites]


If you watch the MSNBC video of the McCabe interview, you'll see that he says that he can't go through the other 'points' made in the letter Individual-1 wrote because these things are part of active investigations.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:50 PM on February 20, 2019 [7 favorites]


7 Scenarios For How The Mueller Probe Might 'Wrap Up' (Garrett Graff, Wired). Whole article is obviously worth reading (Graff has been excellent on the Russia probe), but here's the list:
  1. Sends the attorney general a simple “declination letter” --- Mueller does Classic Mueller: "I'm done."
  2. Compiles a detailed “roadmap" --- Mueller offers impeachment case.
  3. Authors a detailed novelistic narrative --- Mueller et al pen a bestseller.
  4. Offers both a final round of “his” indictments, as well as a detailed report like #2 or #3. --- Mueller wraps up the baddies.
  5. Offers a report, but not the report --- Mueller's here to stay; just a progress report.
  6. Closes up shop but refers numerous active cases to other prosecutors --- Mueller's done with Russia-Crimes, and outta here.
  7. Unseals one or more long-standing sealed indictments. --- Mueller takes down Don Jr. (or someone else).
posted by pjenks at 5:58 PM on February 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


I mean in the sense that he can't run from prison.

He's no Eugene Debs, that's for sure.
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:58 PM on February 20, 2019 [10 favorites]


Trump administration launches global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality (Josh Lederman, NBC News)


MSNBC's Kyle Griffin has the video of Trump's reaction to this:

...TRUMP: I don't know which report you're talking about.




Yeah, the first time I read about this “global effort” my thinking ran thus:

1. Great! Definitely an issue that needs high-level attention. Maybe getting the US—

2. Oh, wait...it’s Trump, the anti-LGBT President. Which means it’s almost certainly B.S. and probably:
a. ...not really happening at all and, like Infrastructure Week, is just meant to sound good,

b. ...happening, but intentionally going to be done in such a way as to screw over gay people, and/or

c. ...happening, but being initiated by someone in the Admin completely without Dumbass’ knowledge or approval.
Looks like “c” is confirmed. Guess we’ll have to wait to find out about “a” and “b”.
posted by darkstar at 6:29 PM on February 20, 2019 [12 favorites]


D) all of the above...
posted by Windopaene at 6:38 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


Re: report

Ou sont les neigedons d'antan?
posted by j_curiouser at 6:43 PM on February 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


Well, I am prepared to believe something good might, theoretically, come out of this Admin. A few things seem to gain enough velocity to escape the vortex of evil.

The Jack Johnson pardon, the Alice Marie Johnson commutation, and passage of the First Step Act, for example.

It just so happens, though, that those lonely developments are few and far between, and almost completely seem driven by other people in and connected to the Admin (e.g., Kim Kardashian, Javanka, etc.)

So sure, maybe there will be a global effort to decriminalize homosexuality. But it won’t be because of any initiative or principle of His Idiocy, himself.
posted by darkstar at 6:51 PM on February 20, 2019


About that GOP tax cut...

H&R Block agents took ‘empathy training’ to handle people upset by smaller tax refunds or surprise tax bills.

Accountants are investing in customer service as the average tax refund has dropped 8% and 4.6 million people are expected to owe money this year.

posted by darkstar at 6:54 PM on February 20, 2019 [15 favorites]


Wheeler's written a blog post about her revised opinion about what the timing of these rumors could mean: The Significance of the Rod Rosenstein / William Barr Window

We’re in a topsy-turvy place when Seth Abramson is more cautious than Marcy Wheeler (Threadreader):
The upshot: lawyers and investigators (or, like me, lawyers and former investigators) have consistently said that *on the facts* Mueller can't be done with his work or even 3 months from done; CNN and MSNBC are reporting that *administratively* Mueller may be closing up shop.

So if the reports are right, as @neal_katyal says we're only at the "end of the beginning," not the end of the end. And depending upon how and why we got here now, and what Mueller says in his report—or else sees redacted—we may well be at the beginning of a year of scandals.
Natasha Bertrand considers:
🤔 six days ago >
@mschlapp: Tomorrow will be the first day that President Trump will have a fully operational confirmed Attorney General. Let that sink in. Mueller will be gone soon.
That’s ACU Chair Matt Schlapp, husband of Trump White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:08 PM on February 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


Is that Rapid Response Take to the Streets thing still a thing?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:15 PM on February 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


I think the point of his expletive outburst was to ensure that the segment would never air, which it never would have if Bregman hadn't had the forethought to record it with his cellphone.

scalefree called it: That's what Carlson is claiming.
posted by Omon Ra at 7:34 PM on February 20, 2019 [6 favorites]


Happily, the Guardian, the Daily Beast, and the Washington Post are all running bits on the Tucker Carlson temper tantrum.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 7:42 PM on February 20, 2019 [28 favorites]


WP:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday night that the House will vote in the coming days on a resolution rejecting President Trump’s national emergency declaration, encouraging fellow Democrats to support the effort as they try to stop Trump’s push to expand efforts to build a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:01 PM on February 20, 2019 [32 favorites]


Seamus Hughes has a Tweet containing the Prosecution's motion for detaining Christopher Hasson, the Coast Guard Lieutenant arrested for drug and gun charges that includes a list of names that he apparently identified as targets. They're mostly Democratic politicians and CNN and MSNBC personalities, and there are a number of misspellings, but one name stuck out: "poca warren". That's obviously a reference to Trump's repeated "joke" about Senator Warren's claimed Native American ancestry.

This isn't the first time this has happened, but it's an important reminder that Trump is literally inspiring people to commit murder.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:13 PM on February 20, 2019 [69 favorites]


BLM lowers grazing fees for ranchers on public lands

Reduced from almost nothing per cow per month to almoster nothing. A blatant handout to the Bundy crowd and their fans that will likely harm fragile arid grasslands with more overgrazing: yet another example of largesse for his favorites and brutality for everyone else.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:16 PM on February 20, 2019 [38 favorites]


CNN Assures DNC: Ex-Sessions Aide Sarah Isgur Won’t Work on Democratic Debates

If she's too biased to cover Democratic debates, she's too biased to direct coverage of any Democrat, period. CNN knows how bad this looks and they don't care. Because they want Trump reelected.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:28 PM on February 20, 2019 [65 favorites]


Reduced from almost nothing per cow per month to almoster nothing. A blatant handout to the Bundy crowd.

Well, not exactly. Bundy has never paid his grazing fees, which was the entire issue of the armed standoff in Nevada.
posted by JackFlash at 8:36 PM on February 20, 2019 [11 favorites]


CNN Assures DNC: Ex-Sessions Aide Sarah Isgur Won’t Work on Democratic Debates

Well shit man, how many political editors they got over there? That might be the real story!
posted by rhizome at 9:14 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]


If she's too biased to cover Democratic debates, she's too biased to direct coverage of any Democrat, period. CNN knows how bad this looks and they don't care. Because they want Trump reelected.

Although I'm sure there are bean counters at CNN influenced by the knowledge that a Trump victory is better for their bottom line, I don't believe it's a situation where executives are skillfully subverting the whole organization toward keeping him in power.

To me, it reflects a strange and self-defeating form of narcissism that's constantly evidenced by otherwise decent human beings in the mainstream press and DNC. I see it as a perverse need for intellectual and moral superiority that they prioritize over maintaining power, and actually trying to protect Americans from malevolent operators who wish to do them harm. In the end, it comes down to preserving the intoxicating high of absolute righteousness that they get from clinging to values the other side has long since abandoned.

The way I see it, for every CNN/NYT/etc executive cynically operating under the assumption that Trump equals cash and market share, there's a whole cadre of self-congratulatory elitists who pat themselves on the back every time they hire one of these ghouls. In the face of failing to help preserve actual democracy, it perpetuates the sense they're maintaining some kind of ivory tower far above the lowly punditry and partisan hackery of outlets with actual defined sets of values. It's much easier for an institution to consider itself a success when its goals are reduced to preserving some kind of nebulous and shifting concept of what constitutes *real* journalism/intellectual discourse, and they can convince themselves that the noble traditions they're upholding are far more important than, say, the lives of refugee children being kept in cages.
posted by prosopagnosia at 4:50 AM on February 21, 2019 [13 favorites]


In the face of failing to help preserve actual democracy, it perpetuates the sense they're maintaining some kind of ivory tower far above the lowly punditry and partisan hackery of outlets with actual defined sets of values. I'm guessing their cafeterias are very, very near their restrooms then.
posted by Harry Caul at 5:06 AM on February 21, 2019


Why would journalists and media execs care about children in cages when they apparently don't even care about their own lives? The Lieutenant Hasson story, coupled with last year's Cesar Sayoc bomb scare, demonstrates that Trump's rhetoric is mobilizing a literal army of journalist killers, and they still won't treat the President and his party as the enemies of democracy that they have become.
posted by xigxag at 5:23 AM on February 21, 2019 [32 favorites]


I think the point of his expletive outburst was to ensure that the segment would never air, which it never would have if Bregman hadn't had the forethought to record it with his cellphone.

scalefree called it: That's what Carlson is claiming.


The "I flip the table when I am losing by swearing so it will never air to hide from my viewers that I am know-nothing gasbag defense" deployed to preserve one's credibility is a interesting strategic choice.
posted by srboisvert at 5:23 AM on February 21, 2019 [29 favorites]


Guardian: Alec Baldwin fears for family's safety after Trump 'retribution' threats
“People would say to me early on, do you have any concerns about retaliation, not necessarily from the government or from Trump, but from his agitators?” said Baldwin. “I always said not really, I didn’t really think that was something that was real, until now, when he made this comment about retribution and he thought SNL should be investigated.”

Baldwin said the president’s hostile language functioned as “codes”.

“Trump signals people, not necessarily what to do, but how to feel, and that’s the beginning. The beginning is you make people angry, the beginning is you make people agitated and bitter and then the actions flow from there.”
posted by Little Dawn at 5:25 AM on February 21, 2019 [52 favorites]


“Trump signals people, not necessarily what to do, but how to feel, and that’s the beginning. The beginning is you make people angry, the beginning is you make people agitated and bitter and then the actions flow from there.”

He's not directing them in what to do or how to do it, only motivating them to do something for the cause. Not a lawyer but I'm sure the bar to prosecution is much higher for that. Trump is thoroughly amoral so any discussion of moral culpability is pointless.
posted by scalefree at 5:41 AM on February 21, 2019 [1 favorite]


[Republican voters] are now throughly primed to interpret the investigations into Trump's very real corruption as nothing more than Democrats seeking revenge for decades of mistreatment by Republican hacks.

Note the implicit admission that they knew all along the Republican investigations were just phony excuses to be mad at Democrats.
posted by Gelatin at 5:57 AM on February 21, 2019 [14 favorites]


CNN Assures DNC: Ex-Sessions Aide Sarah Isgur Won’t Work on Democratic Debates

If she's too biased to cover Democratic debates, she's too biased to direct coverage of any Democrat, period.


Or Republicans, for that matter. Speaking of admissions, CNN just admitted to the obvious conservative bias of their new hire. She needs to go -- as do the people who signed off on this travesty.
posted by Gelatin at 6:01 AM on February 21, 2019 [14 favorites]


MSNBC: McCabe: I have seen the letter Trump wrote justifying the firing of Jim Comey

Yesterday, he told MSNBC’s Deadline: White House, "I have seen the letter Trump wrote justify the firing of Jim Comey. In a rambling 4 pages it goes through all the reasons he's firing the director of the FBI. One of them is because of his failure to fire me."

Mediaite recaps:
[McCabe] suggested that Trump’s public campaign against him affected the outcome of the investigation that resulted in his firing. When asked to clarify, McCabe explained that Trump seemed to have had a vendetta against him from the start.

“It was curious and certainly concerning to me when the president brought me up to Jim Comey on three separate occasions in those private meetings, and say things to Jim like ‘What’s the story with that deputy director of yours? Does he have a problem with me?'” McCabe said. “From the very beginning I got the sense that the president wanted me out of there.”

McCabe then said he wanted to reveal “something I have not discussed before, and I have to be careful in the way I talk about this, but I have seen the letter that the president wrote, purportedly himself, justifying the firing of Jim Comey.”[…]

That letter was never sent, but is currently in the possession of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
While a lot of pundits point to the Democratic political aspirations of McCabe's wife as a source of Trump's antipathy toward him, it's worth remembering that McCabe spent a decade of his FBI career investigating the Russian mob in New York.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:19 AM on February 21, 2019 [34 favorites]


In the “this is why the GOP hates fair elections so much” department... So, some of you may remember that in San Juan County, UT, a federal judge forced the redrawing of county commission districts because the old districts were so blatantly gerrymandered that the Navajo majority in the county were kept to a minority on the commission. The new districts resulted in a 2-1 Navajo majority. Among the first items of business have been to dissolve resolutions supporting the shrinking of national monuments, and looking at withdrawing the county from lawsuits against the feds. A recent commission meeting resulted in this little exchange between a white county resident and Navajo commissioner Willie Grayeyes:

“I have a background in history,” said Shanon Brooks, a frequent speaker at the commission meetings, “and this has happened many, many times where tyranny has come in and overridden the will of the people. This is textbook.”
“I’m into history,” Grayeyes replied. “My ancestors were here. When did yours come?”

posted by azpenguin at 6:52 AM on February 21, 2019 [97 favorites]


“I have a background in history,” said Shanon Brooks, a frequent speaker at the commission meetings, “and this has happened many, many times where tyranny has come in and overridden the will of the people. This is textbook.”

I'm sure many of you will be shocked--shocked!--to find out that this guy is not just a newcomer to the area, but is also a gun-fondling bigoted religious nut whose grasp of history seems to be based on gold-fringed flag nuttery.
posted by zombieflanders at 7:06 AM on February 21, 2019 [36 favorites]


Local elections matter: Montana legislator introduces bills to give his state its own science -- Two bills instruct the state to ignore the greenhouse effect and federal government. (John Timmer for Ars Technica, Feb. 20, 2019)
It's no secret that some of our federal legislators don't have a firm grip on scientific evidence; it only takes watching a session of the House Science Committee, where one member suggested the climate-driven rise of the oceans might instead be caused by rocks falling into the ocean (USA Today).

What's often overlooked is that state legislators are even worse (though it's not clear how much this is a product of there simply being more of them). Each year, they oversee a variety of attempts to introduce pseudoscience into the public schools (Ars Technica) of a number of states.

But it recently came out that a legislator in Montana was attempting to have the state officially renounce the findings of the scientific community. And, if the federal government decides to believe the scientists and do something about emissions, he wants the Treasure State to somehow sit those efforts out.
The bills in question are House Bill 415, "An Act Prohibiting the State from Implementing any Federal Greenhouse Gas Regulatory Program; and Providing a Delayed Effective Date" and House Bill 418, "An Act Stating Montana's Position on Climate Change; and Providing an Immediate Effective Date." (PDF x 2)

And Sanctuary Cities For Gun Rights? A Look At The Militia-Backed Ballot Measures In Oregon (KUNC, January 23, 2019)
A new kind of gun law is on the ballot in 10 Oregon counties this year. So-called “Second Amendment Preservation Ordinances” would give those county sheriffs the authority to determine if state and federal gun laws are constitutional and bar county resources from being used to enforce them.
It's not just Oregon: San Juan, Lincoln, Eddy latest to become Second Amendment Sanctuary Counties (Marian Camacho for KOB News, New Mexico, February 20, 2019)
San Juan, Eddy and Lincoln counties have all taken up resolutions to become Second Amendment Sanctuary Counties in response to firearms legislation making way through the state legislature.

Commissioners in all three counties took up the issue Tuesday with the resolution passing in Eddy County unanimously, and on 4-1 votes in San Juan and Lincoln Counties.

Residents in San Juan County packed out the commission meeting there Tuesday night with standing room only as Sheriff Shane Ferrari addressed the commission and the large crowd in attendance.
Sherrif Shane Ferrari was sworn in at the county administration building in Aztec, NM, in Dec. 2018 (Farmington Daily Times), then
drove across town to swear in the members of the San Juan County Sheriff's Office.

Ferrari spoke to the members of the Sheriff's Office as they sat in the bleachers in the Lily White Gym at Aztec High School before swearing them in as law enforcement officers.
Emphasis mine, because 1) looking at the members of the Sheriff's Office, "Lily White" is a bit on the nose, and 2) just over a year ago, two students were shot and killed at that very high school (CNN, Dec. 12, 2017).

These so-called "second amendment sanctuary counties" pledge not to enforce certain new gun laws if they pass the state legislature
The New Mexico Sheriff's Association has been vocal against the gun bills, including one that would require background checks on all gun sales. It says the laws would be unenforceable and punish law-abiding citizens.
(KRQE, Feb. 20, 2019)

To twist the words of police against themselves, what do those law-abiding people have to fear from background checks?
posted by filthy light thief at 7:58 AM on February 21, 2019 [25 favorites]


Any report from Mueller is likely to be extremely disappointing—unless it's the opposite (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos)

Reflects the wide variety of outcomes possible.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:21 AM on February 21, 2019 [5 favorites]


The Wall Street Journal has another story today about cyberwarfare and Iran...

Rob Tyler, WSJ: "Iranian Group Blamed for Cyberattack on Australia’s Parliament"
The focus and pattern of the attack is compatible with the activity of an Iranian state actor connected to the Mabna Institute, said cybersecurity company Resecurity President Charles Yoo. The Mabna Institute is a technology company linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has blamed Mabna members, nine of whom were indicted in the U.S. last year, for a hacking campaign that compromised universities, private companies, and government entities in the U.S. and U.K.
...
As evidence of the group’s intrusion, Mr. Yoo offered a database he said was taken from the Australian Parliament mail server. It comprised 7,354 records containing information about lawmakers and staff. Accessing it would have required at least one hacked email account on the Parliament computer server, he said.
[...]
Cyber experts said the documents appeared authentic and probably came from a hacker’s cloud-based server but didn’t prove Iran’s involvement. “It’s more a proof-of-life document. It doesn’t really tell us anything at all about attribution,” said Tom Uren, an Australian Strategic Policy Institute computer-security analyst.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:28 AM on February 21, 2019


Erick Erickson is apparently upset that the fickle news media has set aside the Jussie Smollett scandal to focus instead on that insignificant little breaking-news story about a pro-Nazi U.S. military officer with an arsenal of assault weapons and a kill list full of prominent politicians and journalists.

It upsets me how much focus there is on a young black man allegedly committing a crime. Yes it's problematic that this has happened, but the media, politicians, those in positions of power are so intently focused on this black man's crime. They're so invested in seeing him jailed. It truly reveals what these powerful individuals and institutions think about race, crime, masculinity, sexuality, and politics.

*sighs*
posted by Fizz at 8:34 AM on February 21, 2019 [24 favorites]


OnceUponATime: The Wall Street Journal has another story today about cyberwarfare and Iran...

Meanwhile, With elections weeks away, someone “sophisticated” hacked Australia’s politicians -- Hacks come on heels of attack on Parliament House network earlier in February. (Sean Gallagher for Ars Technica, Feb. 18, 2019)
With elections just three months away, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on February 18 that the networks of the three major national political parties had been breached by what Australian security officials described as a "sophisticated state actor."

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that while the attack bears hallmarks of tools and techniques used by China-sponsored hacking groups in the past, security officials were concerned that the attackers may have used such approaches as part of a "false-flag" attack—like what is believed to have occurred in the case of the "Olympic Destroyer" attack (Ars Technica) on last year's Winter Olympics in South Korea.
...
The attacks apparently were in tandem with an attack on the network of Australia's Parliament House (Sydney Morning Herald) in Canberra, announced February 8.
...
In 2011, an intrusion of the Australian Parliament's network (Sydney Morning Herald) attributed to China was detected after the attackers had been on the network for as long as a year. In that attack, several thousand emails belonging to members of Parliament and their staff and advisors were stolen.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:37 AM on February 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


It upsets me how much focus there is on a young black man allegedly committing a crime. Yes it's problematic that this has happened, but the media, politicians, those in positions of power are so intently focused on this black man's crime. They're so invested in seeing him jailed. It truly reveals what these powerful individuals and institutions think about race, crime, masculinity, sexuality, and politics.

The privileged version of this story is: "Admit drug/alcohol dependency", "get cleaned up and find Jesus", "Public repentance", "forgiveness", "Time served"

But we won't see the privileged version of this story.
posted by mikelieman at 8:46 AM on February 21, 2019 [9 favorites]


Knock knock - The new Time magazine cover is here
posted by growabrain at 8:57 AM on February 21, 2019 [16 favorites]


California’s Lawsuit Against Trump’s Emergency Wall Is Written to Appeal to Neil Gorsuch (Dahlia Lithwick & Mark Joseph Stern, Slate)
What Trump did not predict—and probably could not, given his tenuous grasp on the legal limitations of executive authority—is that Monday’s lawsuit is, at bottom, extremely conservative. The suit does not appeal to the justices’ empathy for vulnerable immigrants or question whether Trump’s racist motives might undermine the declaration’s legality. Instead, it relies upon ancient principles of separation of powers to make a very strong case that Trump has short-circuited the Constitution. It is not a lawsuit about equality, or dignity, but about the nuts and bolts that undergird the constitutional lawmaking process. It is wonky, and formal, terse, and unromantic. And if the Supreme Court’s conservatives have any consistency, Monday’s lawsuit should persuade them to block Trump’s wall.
Emphasis mine.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:13 AM on February 21, 2019 [61 favorites]


It upsets me how much focus there is on a young black man allegedly committing a crime. Yes it's problematic that this has happened, but the media, politicians, those in positions of power are so intently focused on this black man's crime. They're so invested in seeing him jailed. It truly reveals what these powerful individuals and institutions think about race, crime, masculinity, sexuality, and politics.

Particularly since it took place in Chicago. The sheer amount of police leaks in this story has been astounding. Remember this is the place where Jason Van Dyke executed a kid with 16 shots and there was 1 leak of the video footage cover up and that took a year and just 1 police officer who whistleblew once the video was out there. Their operational security is actually really tight when they want it to be.

So a drama seeking celeb staging an anti-MAGA false flag assault mattered more to the leakers in the CPD than the cold blooded murder of a kid while a dozen other cops watched. Which tells you a lot about the cops who leak to the press and maybe even about the press who report the leaks of those particular cops.
posted by srboisvert at 9:16 AM on February 21, 2019 [40 favorites]


> It is wonky, and formal, terse, and unromantic. And if the Supreme Court’s conservatives have any consistency, Monday’s lawsuit should persuade them to block Trump’s wall.

I mean on the one hand, try it, sure, but on the other hand don't get your hopes up. that's not how politics works — and the supreme court is a political organization.

My go-to point of reference for how badly things can go when people treat the courts as non-political is Lawrence Lessig's old mea culpa about losing the Eldred v. Ashcroft case. The tl;dr: there is that Lessig crafted a wonky formal conservative argument against unlimited copyright extension, expecting that when he fed it to the conservatives on the court they'd go "beep boop this conservative argument is correct you win sir." This, needless to say, didn't happen. The court is a political organization concerned with producing their preferred political outcomes, rather than just disinterestedly interpreting legal arguments, and pretending otherwise won't change that hard fact.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 9:34 AM on February 21, 2019 [30 favorites]


Any report from Mueller is likely to be extremely disappointing—unless it's the opposite
So be prepared for a report that talks about Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Rick Gates, and Michael Cohen … but not about Donald Trump Jr., or Jared Kushner, or Jefferson Sessions, or Erik Prince, or Aaron Nevins, or Brad Parscale, or Alexander Nix, or Felix Sater, or anyone else involved with Trump’s campaign or business. And certainly not about Donald Trump.
That would be incredibly disappointing since just from publicly released information we know that most of those fuckers were working with the Russians. Why is the assumption that because those people haven't been indicted yet means they won't be indicted?
posted by kirkaracha at 9:51 AM on February 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


Trump isn't colluding with Russians — he's conspiring with Putin (Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon)
Trump’s Russia collusion didn’t stop with the election — but what he’s done since taking office is even worse
Trump never stopped interacting with Putin after he was elected, and his behavior reflects the continuing nature of those interactions.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:55 AM on February 21, 2019 [17 favorites]


Reuters, Israel should apologize to Poland in Holocaust row: U.S. ambassador to Warsaw

There are more details on exactly what happened in the Post's story, but basically, we hosted a summit in Warsaw on stability in the Middle East, Israeli officials said some stuff about Polish involvement in the Holocaust, Polish officials are all very upset (remember they tried to pass a law last year making it illegal to accuse Poland of complicity), and now in a surprising twist for the Trump administration, the US ambassador is telling Israel to apologize.
posted by zachlipton at 9:55 AM on February 21, 2019 [9 favorites]


While a lot of pundits point to the Democratic political aspirations of McCabe's wife as a source of Trump's antipathy toward him, it's worth remembering that McCabe spent a decade of his FBI career investigating the Russian mob in New York.

The primary cause of Trump insulting everyone around him is his wretched soul full of hate and resentment. The primary utility of Trump insulting everyone around him is it gives him justification to say, "See, he's against me because he hates me (because I insulted him/her/their spouse/their entire ethnicity)."

To Trump, literally everyone is biased against him, because he sees that as a defense. The fact that he is demonstrably garbage isn't relevant, and it's unfair to point to his being garbage because that's biased.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 9:57 AM on February 21, 2019 [19 favorites]


I mean on the one hand, try it, sure, but on the other hand that's not how politics works — and the supreme court is a political organization.

Agreed, however, then we go to this: "The court is a political organization concerned with producing their preferred political outcomes"

Which I also agree on. However, what are their preferred political outcomes? The conservatives on the court are concerned chiefly with things like tax policy and government regulations to benefit the 1%, with some moral issues (like abortion) as well. A border wall is likely not a political outcome they're highly invested in. If they uphold Trump's declaration, this opens a whole can of worms that at least some of the conservatives don't want opened. Setting a precedent that the president can use a national emergency to bypass Congress to enact a desired and sweeping policy, and re-appropriating a lot of money in the process, is a double-edged sword. You think they want a Democratic president to declare a national emergency regarding climate change? THAT is a political outcome they don't want.

So while I wouldn't ever bet money on a Supreme Court outcome, that's why I think constructing a wonky argument on this is the best way to go, and why I think it has a decent chance of success. All you have to do is get 1 or 2 of the conservative justices to say "nope" and since the wall is likely not the battle they want to go all in for, appeal to the technical side.
posted by azpenguin at 9:59 AM on February 21, 2019 [9 favorites]


Per CNN, the Coast Guard is saying that officer was caught by an investigation led by the Coast Guard Investigative Service. I expect the Guard was in the loop on some level and at some point regardless, but I hope that claim of being in the lead is legitimate and not just damage control. It would make me feel a bit better to know they're at least trying to police their own.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:38 AM on February 21, 2019 [8 favorites]


It would make me feel a bit better to know they're at least trying to police their own.

Worth noting that the Coast Guard is the least Trump-friendly branch of the military. Imagine how many clones of that guy there are in the Marines.
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:47 AM on February 21, 2019 [24 favorites]


It would make me feel a bit better to know they're at least trying to police their own.

I suspect it's the IT staff who caught on to him: running those searches and keeping a spreadsheet of targets on his work computer is damned unsafe. It's all on the network, and IT has access to everything if they choose to look (although they rarely do).
posted by suelac at 10:49 AM on February 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


That would be incredibly disappointing since just from publicly released information we know that most of those fuckers were working with the Russians. Why is the assumption that because those people haven't been indicted yet means they won't be indicted?

As far as I can tell, nobody knows anything, but those empty web pages aren't going to fill themselves, so: words.

I heard CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett on the radio about an hour ago citing anonymous sources saying that the Mueller report could come "as soon as tomorrow" (Friday) so I think some writers may be assuming that with that kind of timetable in the realm of possibility no further indictments are forthcoming. But I don't know how likely it is that other indictments may have already been placed under seal; if such indictments exist, it seems possible they could be unsealed as one of Mueller's last official acts before closing up shop.

I dunno. I, for one, will be very disappointed if there are no more indictments.
posted by Mothlight at 10:53 AM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


Mike Pompeo rules out running for Senate in Kansas.

Obviously, this would be a reach for Dems, but Kansas *did* just elect a Democrat as governor.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:05 AM on February 21, 2019 [7 favorites]


Daily Beast: Trump White House Is Forcing Interns to Sign NDAs and Threatening Them With Financial Ruin
posted by Chrysostom at 11:15 AM on February 21, 2019 [14 favorites]


Trump isn't colluding with Russians — he's conspiring with Putin (Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon)

Interesting in a gee-isn't-history-strange way (or in a privilege-perpetuates-itself way): Truscott is a several-times over direct descendent of Thomas Jefferson. (I point that out only because I'm always fascinated by those kind of historical connections.)
posted by octobersurprise at 11:17 AM on February 21, 2019 [2 favorites]


Worth noting that the Coast Guard is the least Trump-friendly branch of the military. Imagine how many clones of that guy there are in the Marines.

If there is any sort of journalism or evidence to show this, I would really love to see it. That's not a challenge, it's a request, because I want to believe. Every single time he has opened his mouth about the Coast Guard or even looked in their direction he has pissed all over the service. The consistency there is astounding. And yet I'm sure there are still plenty of Guardsmen and their families happy to vote for the leopard who keeps eating their faces.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:27 AM on February 21, 2019


If there is any sort of journalism or evidence to show this, I would really love to see it.

Looked up the Military Times poll I was thinking of and Coast Guard isn't in fact included; I guess I was confusing it with the Air Force's relatively low approval. Can't find any other opinion polls that include them either, so I dunno. It's true that the Marines have by far the highest approval, though.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:35 AM on February 21, 2019 [2 favorites]


Trump White House Is Forcing Interns to Sign NDAs Typically cruel and power anxious of this WH to strong arm anyone from leaking . . . . because only THE WHITE HOUSE gets to do the leaking around here! Straight outta Doonsbury, like all things Dumb Watergate.
posted by Harry Caul at 11:41 AM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


By the way, Roger Stone is in court, his lawyers have offered for him to testify on his own behalf regarding the Insta post re: Judge Jackson. He is about to testify. @zoetillman is liveblogging from the media room.
posted by Sophie1 at 11:47 AM on February 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


Buzzfeed’s Zoe Tillman is live-tweeting Roger Stone’s court appearance before Judge Amy Berman Jackson for his threatening Instagram post about her, for those interested.
—Jackson begins by entering the insta post on the record. She asks his lawyer Bruce Rogow if her media contact order should be modified. Rogow says no - they believe Stone should have another opportunity to comply. He offers to put Stone on the stand.
—Stone's lawyer says the judge's questions would be better addressed by Stone, so Stone is now getting up on the stand and sworn in. This means he'll be able to be cross-examined by the government
So this could be eventful.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:48 AM on February 21, 2019 [11 favorites]


From that twitter feed:
Stone says he was grateful for the initial leeway the judge gave him in her original media contact order. Jackson asks if he's being paid for his commentary about his case. Stone says he is not. He says he's having trouble making money right now.

Stone says the post was the "outgrowth of the extreme stress of the situation." He says he didn't choose the image, but takes responsibility for posting it.

Stone: "This was an egregious, stupid error for which I apologize to the court."

Stone says he abused the judge's order, and that he's sorry: "I am kicking myself over my own stupidity."


Not the last of the crocodile tears we'll see.
posted by petebest at 11:50 AM on February 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


Kompromat: Or, Revelations from the Unpublished Portions of Andrea Manafort’s Hacked Texts (Maya Gurantz, LA Review of Books)

(Long, includes descriptions of marital abuse and 'corrupt ethics within intimate relationships,' connects Manafort's treatment of his wife and family with his work, and looks at both through a #metoo lens)
posted by box at 11:56 AM on February 21, 2019 [28 favorites]


Wow: Mark Harris says new election is warranted after ballet tampering in NC-09. That's the Mark Harris whose son testified yesterday that he warned his father of the prior illegal ballot tampering activities of the operative alleged to have done this. The operative Mark Harris decided to hire anyway.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:58 AM on February 21, 2019 [25 favorites]


That Kompromat article on the Manafort family is really haunting. I encourage and warn everyone to read it, if they can.
posted by armacy at 12:00 PM on February 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


From Zoe Tillman:
Stone says he relies on volunteers for certain things, he's not technologically proficient. Jackson asks if he knows how to search google for images and if his volunteers know how to do that. Stone says yes. Jackson asks, How hard is it find a photo that didn't have crosshairs?

Stone says he understood it to the logo of an organization, and an occult/celtic symbol. Jackson presses him to say what exactly he believed was wrong about what he did. Stone says he shouldn't have posted anything at all.
So it wasn't crosshairs, it was a white supremacist symbol? That's... one style of defense.
posted by box at 12:02 PM on February 21, 2019 [22 favorites]


Miami Herald, Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules
A judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors — among them, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta — broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, in a 33-page opinion, said that the evidence he reviewed showed that Jeffrey Epstein had been operating an international sex operation in which he and others recruited underage girls — not only in Florida — but from overseas, in violation of federal law.
...
Instead of prosecuting Epstein under federal sex trafficking laws, Acosta, then the U.S. attorney in Miami, helped negotiate a non-prosecution agreement that gave Epstein and his co-conspirators immunity from federal prosecution. Epstein, who lived in a Palm Beach mansion, was allowed to quietly plead guilty in state court to two prostitution charges and served just 13 months in the county jail. His accomplices, some of whom have never been identified, were never charged.
posted by zachlipton at 12:05 PM on February 21, 2019 [53 favorites]




Cyber experts said the documents appeared authentic and probably came from a hacker’s cloud-based server but didn’t prove Iran’s involvement. “It’s more a proof-of-life document. It doesn’t really tell us anything at all about attribution,” said Tom Uren, an Australian Strategic Policy Institute computer-security analyst.

Attribution is one of the harder problems of information security. Working from log files & forensics the best you can do is give an informed guess on who was responsible. Also Iran is generally a second tier player with this, mostly limiting their activity to regional targets. Going after Australia at the Federal level would be a big step up for them.

Unless they have some more reliable sources, for instance intercepted communications between team members indicting who they are, definitively pinning this on hackers working for one specific nation is probably overstepping the bounds of the evidence.
posted by scalefree at 12:13 PM on February 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


Stone says he understood it to the logo of an organization, and an occult/celtic symbol.

Courthouse News's Britt Eakin has more: “Stone says the crosshairs are a Celtic occultic symbol, he discovered, after having researched it. When ABJ asks what it means, Stone says, "I don't know your honor, I'm not into the occult."”

The ADL notes that the Celtic Cross has been prominently adopted by white supremacists. Roger Stone, who pals around with the Proud Boys, undoubtedly knows exactly what this is.

And an update: “Stone is off the witness stand. His defense attorney called his action "indefensible." ABJ responds: "I agree with you there."”

Government prosecutors are arguing that Stone should be completely gagged and say his testimony is "not credible"; his defense lawyers are proposing a court order barring him from impugning the government, the court, or the special counsel. The judge is now taking a 15-minute recess and will rule from the bench when she comes back.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:32 PM on February 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


From yesterday

Why would Iran be supporting Trump?

It helps to have an external actor to direct the population's anger and scapegoat their concerns. A bigger heel makes this strategy more effective.
posted by 6ATR at 12:39 PM on February 21, 2019 [1 favorite]


Stone says he understood it to the logo of an organization, and an occult/celtic symbol.

If you want to look into the conspiracy websites that originally ran the image, this reddit post has links. TLDR; Russian propaganda or deep state conspiracy site, hard to tell them apart. Also there was a skull and crossbones on the original image that Stone, or his intern, cropped out, the original text next to the crosshairs reads "CORRUPTION CENTRAL".

The interesting thing is that the organization that made the image uses the same format for all sorts of judges, politicians, and DOJ staffers in a manner similar to the most wanted playing cards. They have since changed their graphics to remove the crosshairs and replace them with a red cross similar to the standard Red Cross logo; on Judge Berman Jackson's image there is now text that reads "Celtic Cross changed to Red Cross, we're praying for you".
posted by peeedro at 12:42 PM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


@LannyDavis responded: “He will pull the curtain back and we will hear true stories of Trump’s complicity in crimes, and his immoral, bigoted, and morally vacant character in specific, detailed personal anecdotes.”

odinsdream: So, nothing new then. Great.

Well, the first part ("true stories of Trump’s complicity in crimes") could be new. The rest? Yeah, we've know about this before the Access Hollywood tape, much of which Trump has bragged about while on camera or on mic. People celebrated his presidency at DeploraBalls (Wikipedia), "an unofficial inaugural ball event organized by GOTV group MAGA3X and held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on the evening of January 19, 2017, to celebrate the victory and inauguration of Donald Trump," and as seen in a photo in a related Reuters article, hastily branded themselves deplorable with ... duct tape (it's silver, not blue). It's part of their brand, and has been since shortly after Hillary said "half of Donald Trump’s supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables” " (Time Magazine, September 10, 2016)

Meanwhile, Trump admin ends talks with California to find fuel-efficiency middle ground -- Joint statement paves way for fight over CA regulator's authority over air quality. (Megan Geuss for Ars Technica, Feb. 21, 2019)
On Thursday, the White House released a joint statement (via WhiteHouse.gov) along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), saying that the executive branch would no longer work with California's air regulator to find a middle ground on vehicle fuel-efficiency rules.

The state regulator, called the California Air Resources Board (or CARB), has enjoyed a legal waiver since the 1970s to set more stringent fuel-efficiency standards than those set by the EPA. Generally, automakers find that they must follow CARB's more stringent standards, because the vehicle market in California is so huge. But the Trump administration has been working to weaken vehicle fuel efficiency, and CARB's exemption is preventing the administration from fulfilling that campaign promise.

In August, the Trump administration announced the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Act. SAFE proposed to freeze Obama-era fuel-efficiency standards—which would gradually make passenger vehicles more efficient until 2025—at 2020 levels. The Trump EPA claimed that the old rule would kill people, because efficient vehicles are more costly, so people put off buying newer, safer cars.

But that line of reasoning was widely panned as flawed by vehicle-efficiency researchers, not only because of what we know about how pollution from vehicles kills people, but also because the report that backed up the SAFE Act was methodologically flawed (Ars Technica*).

The SAFE Act also included wording to eliminate CARB's waiver to set its own fuel-efficiency standards. California, with its history of city-choking smog, has vowed to fight the relaxation of the rules and fight the revocation of its waiver.
* Article is titled "Eleven researchers publish sharp critique of EPA fuel economy logic -- EPA made incorrect assumptions in 2016 and 2018; most recent are more damaging."
posted by filthy light thief at 12:43 PM on February 21, 2019 [8 favorites]


.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, in a 33-page opinion, said that the evidence he reviewed showed that Jeffrey Epstein had been operating an international sex operation in which he and others recruited underage girls — not only in Florida — but from overseas, in violation of federal law....

Anyone got a link to the opinion? I'm coming up empty.
posted by mikelieman at 12:57 PM on February 21, 2019 [2 favorites]


Judge Jackson is back! Via Zoe Tillman:
—Jackson: "What concerns me is the fact that he chose to use his public platform and chose to express himself in a manner that can incite others that feel less constrained."
—Jackson says Stone is someone who by his own account has made communication his life's work, and he understands the power of words and symbols. "There is nothing ambiguous about crosshairs."
—Jackson: "Thank you, but the apology rings quite hollow."
And from Britain Eakin
—ABJ: concerned that Stone used his platform to incite others who may feel less constrained, which poses a real risk that others with violent inclinations might be inflamed. Calls his actions "deliberate," and says he couldn't keep his story straight on the stand.
—Judge ABJ says his release under the current set of conditions without modification does pose a danger to the others and/or the community.
—Judge ABJ is modifying the gag order. "No Mr. Stone, I'm not giving you another chance. I have serious doubt whether you learned any lesson at all." He can no longer speak publicly about the investigation or case, but he can still fundraise and proclaim his innocence.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:01 PM on February 21, 2019 [44 favorites]


AP: North Carolina orders new election in undecided US House race after hearing evidence it was tainted by ballot fraud.

Ideally, this could be an election without the candidate who knew he was hiring a guy who does illegal things with absentee ballots.
posted by zachlipton at 1:08 PM on February 21, 2019 [34 favorites]


via Zoe Tillman

"If Stone violates this gag order, the judge says she will revoke his bond and detain him pending trial..."

I'm always amazed (though I shouldn't be by now) how many chances these creeps get. But given how much smarter than everyone else Stone thinks he is, what's the over under for him saying something clearly against this ruling and being ordered back to court by let's say Monday? Anyone setting up a dead pool?
posted by cirhosis at 1:15 PM on February 21, 2019 [19 favorites]


Politico, Dem chairmen accuse Trump of withholding information on North Korea
Just a week before President Donald Trump is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, key Democratic House chairmen accused the president on Thursday of withholding information about his administration’s negotiations with North Korea.

“Our ability to conduct oversight of U.S. policy toward North Korea on behalf of the American people has been inappropriately curtailed by your administration’s unwillingness to share information with Congress,” Reps. Eliot Engel, Adam Smith and Adam Schiff — who chair the foreign affairs, armed services and intelligence panels, respectively — wrote in a letter to the president.
...
“We are perplexed and troubled by the growing disconnect between the Intelligence Community’s assessment and your administration’s statements about Kim Jong Un’s actions, commitments, and intentions,” the chairmen wrote, adding: “A summit that amounts to little more than spectacle will further erode the public confidence and the credibility of the United States, an outcome that we all wish to avoid.”

Trump is reportedly considering ousting Coats over the public contradictions, prompting lawmakers from both parties to rally behind the intelligence chief.

The House chairmen also said the administration has not complied with a provision in the defense authorization bill, which requires the Defense secretary to send Congress a report by last October about North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. Engel, Smith and Schiff said Congress “has still not received the report.”
----

CNN, IRS analyst charged in leak of Michael Cohen's bank records
An analyst with the Internal Revenue Service was charged with disclosing confidential reports about Michael Cohen's bank records that revealed the President's former lawyer sought to profit from his proximity to the White House.

The analyst was charged by the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California with the unauthorized disclosure of a suspicious activity report, or SAR. Banks file SARs on any transactions that could be illegal.

Here's the criminal complaint.


----

Ryan Goodman and Asha Rangappa have a good piece at Just Security: Stop Using the Word “Collusion”—How to Frame the Critical Question at the Heart of Trump-Russia. They argue that "collusion" is not a good frame for analyzing interactions between the campaign and Russia, since it's not a legal term and allows for too much vagueness. Instead, they pose five questions that could be asked to interviewees that cut to the heart of the behavior involved without getting into definitional arguments.
1. Are you aware of any direct or circumstantial evidence that Trump campaign associates coordinated with, cooperated with, encouraged, or gave support to Russia’s 2016 election interference activities?

2. Wikileaks

Are you aware of any direct or circumstantial evidence of Trump campaign associates’ coordinating with, cooperating with, encouraging, or giving support to Wikileaks’ election-related activities?

Relatedly, do you agree with the U.S. Intelligence Community’s report that Wikileaks was used by the Russian government as an arm of the Kremlin’s 2016 election interference activities?

3. Are you aware of any direct or circumstantial evidence that Trump campaign associates attempted to coordinate with, cooperate with, encourage, or give support to Russia’s 2016 election interference activities?

4. Are you aware of any direct or circumstantial evidence that Trump campaign associates were willing to coordinate with, cooperate with, encourage, or give support to Russia’s 2016 election interference activities, or were receptive to doing so?

5. What is your definition of “Trump campaign associates”?

Do you consider people like Roger Stone and Michael Cohen part of the Trump campaign? Do you consider people like Roger Stone and Michael Cohen to be Trump campaign associates?
posted by zachlipton at 1:16 PM on February 21, 2019 [15 favorites]


mikelieman: this purports to be the much-reported but seldom-linked (thanks reason.com) opinion in doe & doe v united states (the epstein/acosta case). on edit: reason appears to be hosting volokh conspiracy content, so: thanks volokh.
posted by 20 year lurk at 1:27 PM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


They argue that "collusion" is not a good frame for analyzing interactions between the campaign and Russia, since it's not a legal term and allows for too much vagueness

I hear this a lot, but it seems kind of overblown... law-talking people use words like "larceny", "fraud", and "theft", but does that mean that it's somehow ill-advised to talk about "stealing"?
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:31 PM on February 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


zachlipton: "Ideally, this could be an election without the candidate who knew he was hiring a guy who does illegal things with absentee ballots."

Well, there's going to be primaries - NC modified their law about that - and I'm sure the NC GOP would be rounding up more credible candidates. In any case, Harris seemed to be hinting that he's got health issues that might preclude another run. That might just be saving face, of course.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:34 PM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


cirhosis: " But given how much smarter than everyone else Stone thinks he is, what's the over under for him saying something clearly against this ruling and being ordered back to court by let's say Monday? "

FWIW, the judge specifically noted that, "Any violation of this order will be a basis for revoking your bond."
posted by Chrysostom at 1:37 PM on February 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


If it wasn't so subjective I'd bet a word-cake, but I am certain he is going to try to push the boundaries. The central characteristic of the Trump orbit is that laws and etiquette don't matter, and Stone has been working that angle longer than any of them.
posted by rhizome at 1:46 PM on February 21, 2019 [7 favorites]


Owners at Trump Place on 120 Riverside Drive have voted to remove the Trump name sign from the building, the second building to do so in four months. Six Upper West Side buildings once carried the Trump Place name, and since the election, five buildings have now voted to remove it.
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on February 21, 2019 [44 favorites]


Some genuinely good news: SCOTUS strikes down local civil forfeiture laws in a 9-0 decision (RBG's back!)

Today's Democracy Now! had a good synopsis of the case, decision and related issues (transcript at that link, full episode link, direct .mp4 link, alt link, .torrent) including an informative interview with Lisa Foster, retired California judge and former official with the Obama administration DoJ and co-director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, who describes the way in which excessive fees and civil forfeiture are used oppressively, frequently against BIPoC, and how that current use relates to similar practices during the Jim Crow Era.

Followed in the full episode by the “climate change science = Hitler” William Happer clip zachlipton mentions above and an interview with journalist David Wallace-Wells who has published a book entitled The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming.
posted by XMLicious at 2:16 PM on February 21, 2019 [5 favorites]


But given how much smarter than everyone else Stone thinks he is, what's the over under for him saying something clearly against this ruling and being ordered back to court by let's say Monday? Anyone setting up a dead pool?

Hahaha, as a matter of fact, we even have a data point!  In the previous mega-thread I said on the day he was arrested:  "Considering his proclivity for running off at the mouth, I wonder if there's a betting pool for how long Monsieur Stone manages to stay out on bail."

So that's fewer than 30 days as a baseline. Commence betting!
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 2:20 PM on February 21, 2019 [9 favorites]


> John Dean asked Michael Cohen’s attorney what he’ll say.

@LannyDavis responded: “He will pull the curtain back and we will hear true stories of Trump’s complicity in crimes, and his immoral, bigoted, and morally vacant character in specific, detailed personal anecdotes.


> Miami Herald, Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules

Given the timing of Epstein's name showing up in revisited legal matters and the severity of the threats against Cohen for testifying to Congress, I can't be the only one thinking "please say something about Jane Doe and at least partially redeem yourself, you creep" right?
posted by Arson Lupine at 2:31 PM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


Pramila Jayapal is Congress’s activist insider Here’s how Jayapal plans to make Democratic leadership take progressives seriously.
posted by The Whelk at 2:33 PM on February 21, 2019 [20 favorites]


> Daily Beast: Trump White House Is Forcing Interns to Sign NDAs and Threatening Them With Financial Ruin

I would imagine that anyone who takes an internship in the Trump White House at this point must be a True MAGA Believer, so it must be quite the thing to be admitted into the ground floor of your hero's domain and then immediately be treated as though he and his family cannot trust you.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:04 PM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


signing an NDA for a trump true-believer is a right of passage up there with:

* fetching a diet coke
* being screamed at for no reason
* steam-gunning his trousers while he’s wearing them
* being indicted
* smiling and nodding at ivanka
* being fired via twitter
posted by valkane at 3:13 PM on February 21, 2019 [12 favorites]


Roger Stone's gag order (that is, Roger, do not open your pie hole in any way no how.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:30 PM on February 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


SF Chronicle, Tal Kopan, Trump administration begins effort to strip work permits for immigrant spouses
After nearly two years of delays, the Trump administration is moving ahead with its plan to stop granting work permits to the spouses of many high-skilled visa holders, an effort that could jeopardize tens of thousands of immigrant families in California alone.

Rolling back the permits could have sweeping consequences for the Bay Area, where tech companies heavily rely on high-skilled immigrants. Many of those workers come to the U.S. with spouses and children, and the loss of the spousal work permits could imperil families’ ability to stay in the country or deter workers from accepting jobs here to begin with.
...
At issue are work permits for nearly 100,000 immigrants who are here with spouses, working on high-tech visas and seeking green cards. (Spouses and children of H-1B visa holders have H-4 visas granting residence.) The largest share of those, nearly 30,000 of them, live in California, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
The idea that we want to recruit skilled workers to come to this country, but their spouses aren't allowed to work for years until they're eligible for permanent residency, is absurd. And it cuts directly to the oft-repeated lie that Trump likes legal immigration.
posted by zachlipton at 3:55 PM on February 21, 2019 [51 favorites]


Anyone got a link to the opinion? I'm coming up empty.

It's embedded as an iframe in the Miami Herald story zachlipton linked to.
posted by GeckoDundee at 4:03 PM on February 21, 2019


Hey, you know how Trump wants to redirect $6.7B out of the military budget for border wall construction for his emergency? Turns out that, according to CQ/Roll Call, the Pentagon already spent most of the counterdrug funds he wants to divert. So that's more than a third of the money that's actually unavailable.
posted by zachlipton at 4:40 PM on February 21, 2019 [19 favorites]


SF Chronicle, Tal Kopan, Trump administration begins effort to strip work permits for immigrant spouses

This was only put in place in 2015, so this is not a long standing rule getting rolled back.
posted by sideshow at 4:43 PM on February 21, 2019 [1 favorite]




This was only put in place in 2015, so this is not a long standing rule getting rolled back.


Sure, but it was correcting an important problem and people have still been able to use it for 4 years.

People from India, for example, have an average wait of 10-25 years for a green card while on H1-B. That means their spouse could have to wait that long for a work permit without the H-4 EAD. It was true before, but should not have been and was thankfully fixed.
posted by thefoxgod at 4:48 PM on February 21, 2019 [11 favorites]


Regarding Stone's Instagram stunt, independent of its bearing on his current case: is there any likelihood a prosecutor (or some such authority, obvs IANAL) will file criminal charges against him for the act of threatening a judge itself? It seems... counter to the integrity of our system that people would be allowed to get away with stuff like that.
posted by Rykey at 4:55 PM on February 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


Roger Stone's gag order (that is, Roger, do not open your pie hole in any way no how.

You mean like this? (not blue checked but looks authentic to me)

@ultimatetaxi Roger Stone latest tweet after the gag order (since deleted).
[image: tweet]
Roger Stone @MrRogerStone
Absurd decision! I have been silenced! I will continue to fight the Deep State, with or without social media. Bye for a while.
posted by scalefree at 4:57 PM on February 21, 2019 [5 favorites]


Is that new tweet enough to get him brought BACK into the courtroom? Like mere hours after getting out?
posted by Twain Device at 5:04 PM on February 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


Everyone seems to think that account is fake (Stone was banned from Twitter ages ago and mainly uses Instagram for his trolling now). I wouldn't put much stock in it pending confirmation it actually belongs to him.
posted by zachlipton at 5:06 PM on February 21, 2019 [8 favorites]


Ah, was he banned? The posts didn't look obviously parodic.
posted by scalefree at 5:40 PM on February 21, 2019


The Washington Post has published:  Adam Schiff: An open letter to my Republican colleagues
To my Republican colleagues: When the president attacked the independence of the Justice Department by intervening in a case in which he is implicated, you did not speak out. When he attacked the press as the enemy of the people, you again were silent. When he targeted the judiciary, labeling judges and decisions he didn’t like as illegitimate, we heard not a word. And now he comes for Congress, the first branch of government, seeking to strip it of its greatest power, that of the purse.
Invoking Lincoln at the end as the "father of the Republican party" was a nice reminder too. I'm liking Adam Schiff having a proper pulpit.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 5:59 PM on February 21, 2019 [62 favorites]


I would imagine that anyone who takes an internship in the Trump White House at this point must be a True MAGA Believer

The parade of staff we've seen go through the White House doors haven't really been true believers in anything except self-entitlement. Maybe it's different at the intern level, but I have been astonished at the level of cynicism exhibited by senior conservatives.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:02 PM on February 21, 2019 [3 favorites]


The Rachel Maddow Show showing a series of 1980 telex/telegram messages from Spiro Agnew requesting an urgent meeting with the Saudi royal family, then a typewritten letter from Agnew about "the unremitting Zionist efforts" to destroy his career and requesting the Saudis' financial support to fight the Zionists in the United States, specifically by placing a couple of billion dollars in a Swiss bank account which he would draw the interest from. The letter concludes with Agnew congratulating Saudi Arabia for calling for jihad against Israel. A second letter from Agnew they're showing thanks the Saudis, a response from the Saudis wishes Agnew success in his endeavor, and those letters along with additional investigation on TRMS's part seems to indicate that this financing was actually provided.
posted by XMLicious at 6:23 PM on February 21, 2019 [21 favorites]


NYT opinion column by Neal K. Katyal, an acting solicitor general under Obama: The Mueller Report Is Coming. Here’s What to Expect. A concise report will probably act as a “road map” to investigation for the Democratic House — and to further criminal investigation by other prosecutors.

“Of course, there is no open impeachment inquiry now. But that could quickly change if Mr. Mueller writes a report that is anything less than a full clearing of the president: Congress would be under a constitutional obligation to investigate the facts for itself. Congress cannot be satisfied that impeachable offenses were not committed when Mr. Mueller’s investigative mandate did not cover many impeachable offenses, and when his report does not provide detailed information and answers to the few offenses that are within his mandate. This is where Mr. Mueller’s “by the book” behavior may be initially unsatisfying to Mr. Trump’s critics but ultimately more threatening to the president in the long run.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:34 PM on February 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


The Mueller Report Is Coming. Here’s What to Expect. A concise report will probably act as a “road map” to investigation for the Democratic House — and to further criminal investigation by other prosecutors.
And Mr. Mueller’s mandate is limited: to look into criminal activity and counterintelligence matters surrounding Russia and the 2016 election, as well as any obstruction of justice relating to those investigations.
I don't think this is accurate. The letter appointing Mueller special counsel says:
(b) The Special Counsel is authorized to conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Corney in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, including:
(i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and
(ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and
(iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a).
(c) If the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters.
Section 600.4(a)
refers to “federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, the Special Counsel’s investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses.”
Mueller Can Pursue Whatever Crimes He Uncovers
Crucially, the order written by Rosenstein establishing the special-counsel investigation is very broad. It states that the special counsel is “authorized to conduct the investigation” that includes “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump” as well as “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.”
posted by kirkaracha at 6:56 PM on February 21, 2019 [10 favorites]


The transcript of the Stone hearing today is not what I'd call essential reading, but if you'd enjoy getting cozy by the fire with someone getting carefully dismantled, I'd recommend it. I honestly don't know what to quote since you can find amazing gems throughout the document, but a brief sample (the OCR did a number on this, which I've tried to clean up):
THE DEFENDANT: I shouldn't have posted any of it at all. It was a mistake for which I seriously apologize. It was an egregious, stupid mistake.

THE COURT: Why is it consistent with how sorry you were, when you sent the apology, to continue for the next two days to speak publicly about the fact that you're being treated unfairly in this situation as well, that it's really this symbol, that it's really that symbol, it's the media going after you. How is that consistent with your telling me that you're deeply and sincerely sorry?
...
THE COURT: Okay. I'm just trying to get to the facts here. We started with somebody else did it and you didn't see it. Then it was, "No, somebody else found it, but I posted it." Now you're telling me somebody else found more than one image and you chose this one, is that correct?

THE DEFENDANT: Just randomly, yes, Your Honor.

THE COURT: You closed your eyes and picked?

THE DEFENDANT: No, I just -- I do ten of these a day. I'm -- I'm trying to struggle with the situation.

THE COURT: Randomly does not involve the application of human intelligence. You looked at multiple pictures and you chose one, is that correct --

THE DEFENDANT: Yes, but --

THE COURT: -- or not correct?

THE DEFENDANT: that is correct
There's also the bit on page 18 where he keeps saying he signed the apology because his lawyers told him to, the part where he says that he kept asking the 5-6 people who work/volunteer for him (and he doesn't really know their names or who they are) who picked the photo "and nobody will admit to it." The prosecutor tries to press him on how the identity of the people with access to his phone four days ago can be "a revolving situation," and Stone just says "it has been a whirlwind" and he can't remember who they all were.

As for the @MrRogerStone account, he testified today that Instagram and Facebook are the only social media networks he uses.
posted by zachlipton at 7:11 PM on February 21, 2019 [37 favorites]


Even the complete gag order is treating him with kid gloves. Any other defendant charged with say, selling a pound of heroin, who threatened the federal judge presiding over his case would've been remanded to custody instantly.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:16 PM on February 21, 2019 [52 favorites]


From CNN:  Mitch McConnell is on the verge of facing the 18 longest days of his political life

This is specifically why Adam Schiff posted the open letter I linked above that the Washington Post published, to start cranking up the pressure on the Republicans in Congress.  The House knows they have Mitch over a barrel insofar as they can force him to hold a vote on the (clearly) illegal usurpation of Congressional power the "National Emergency" represents.  We will almost certainly see more letters in this vein over the coming days.  I'm certainly not an expert, just a random guy on the left coast, but I'm guessing the further into those 18 days we get, the less likely it is that the Turtle will be able to wrangle the votes he needs to sabotage the resolution.  So far this session the Democrats have proven to be pretty good at their messaging—finally!—and I don't expect them to stop now.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 7:21 PM on February 21, 2019 [41 favorites]


Well, there's going to be primaries - NC modified their law about that - and I'm sure the NC GOP would be rounding up more credible candidates. In any case, Harris seemed to be hinting that he's got health issues that might preclude another run. That might just be saving face, of course.

It seems like it was about trying to save perjury charges:

@DavidBegnaud: Marc Elias had just started to cross examine Mark Harris who won the 9th Congressional district seat in N.C., when all of a sudden Harris’ team asked for a break. When they returned, Mark Harris said 2 recent strokes left him with “recall” issues & he asked for a new election.

@marceelias: This sums it up. Harris’ change of heart regarding a new election was simply a way to avoid perjuring himself.

This happened after he testified that he couldn't remember talking with anyone about whether the emails with his son would be shown during the hearing, and then later came back to testify that he discussed it with his other son earlier.

So what's the path that leads to people going to jail for this?
posted by zachlipton at 7:23 PM on February 21, 2019 [25 favorites]


One of the articles of impeachment against Clinton was "making false statement to mislead the public." Can you imagine the mountain of evidence that would be presented at Trump's impeachment proceedings if he were held to this standard? And why isn't he? Trump didn't lie about the extent of his sexual relationship with a consenting adult. He lied about the extent of his involvement with a hostile state trying to fix the U.S. election in his favor. I don't care if it's "legal" to lie to the press.
posted by xammerboy at 7:27 PM on February 21, 2019 [59 favorites]


xammerboy: Trump didn't lie about the extent of his sexual relationship with a consenting adult.

Well, he did that too. Pretty sure his initial spin on Stormy Daniels was that no sex had happened at all (later modified to claim she was lying about the existence of an NDA, and currently at dishonesty level "The hush money either did or didn't come from campaign funds, whichever the not-illegal one is").
posted by InTheYear2017 at 7:40 PM on February 21, 2019 [34 favorites]


USA Today, Alan Gomez, The Trump administration keeps breaking up migrant families. Here's how it does it
The Trump administration has been blocked from systematically breaking up migrant families, but hundreds of children crossing the border continue to be separated from their parents in a process requiring none of the oversight used to remove children in the United States from their homes, according to a USA TODAY review of the system.

Separating a child from a family in most communities requires a child welfare specialist and involvement of the judicial system, often with a judge scrutinizing the case for months or even years.

At the border, the decision is made solely by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in the field. No child welfare specialist is required, and no judge is involved in a decision that cannot be appealed.
...
In the seven months after Trump and Sabraw issued their orders, Homeland Security separated at least 218 children from their parents in part by using the danger exception, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, which takes custody of the children once the family is separated.
...
The separation process, which is being challenged in court, was explained to USA TODAY by a senior Border Patrol official who was authorized to speak only if his name was withheld. The official said his agents can generally determine if a child has been abused based on the agents' experience as law enforcement officers and history of interviewing suspects. Agents don't receive any training on identifying child trauma. "We're not trained behavioral scientists," the official said.

But the Border Patrol official said agents' experience as a father or mother can help them make the determination. The official said agents can orderan additional medical examination of the child to identify signs of injuries and can interview the parent and child separately to ensure that their stories line up. "You size up people with their demeanor and you can tell if they're angry, if they're upset, if they had an altercation," he said. "There's a lot of non-verbals that stand out."
Which, sure, there are conceivable situations that call for more scrutiny and those where separation truly is in the best interest of the child, but that decision is apparently being made quickly by untrained immigration officers who think they can read the body language of terrified children ("How do you determine whether the child is afraid of the parent, or afraid of the Border Patrol agent in the green uniform?") instead of anybody who has a clue what they're doing. The ACLU raised the issue in today's hearing in the child separation case.
posted by zachlipton at 8:35 PM on February 21, 2019 [24 favorites]


read that testimony.
an organization for which the celtic cross is the logo is stormfront (probably plenty, perhaps even some innocuous, others). wish the prosecution or court would have probed that bit of testimony. kinda wish the phrase "stochastic terrorism" or some description thereof had crept into the discussion of any threat to the community meriting restriction of defendant's liberty.
he testified that the apology was "sincere and heartfelt" and that he just signed it without reading it because his lawyers told him to! his counsel seemed to argue that his instagram post was not a violation of the pretrial order and that it was an egregious misjudgement warranting the court's attention.

honestly, frankly & to tell you the truth, it is a bad move, when apologizing, to suggest that enough of your statements are insincere that this particular one warrants explicit designation as sincere. unless, i suppose, chronic insincerity is what you're attempting to apologize for, which, well...maybe try roses.
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:38 PM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


take it back: i see judge berman jackson reflecting on incitement. mea culpa
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:41 PM on February 21, 2019


But the Border Patrol official said agents' experience as a father or mother can help them make the determination.

Considering that ~40% of law enforcement officers in general are perpetrators of domestic violence and that CBP/ICE likely have a higher rate than the overall average, maybe it's not great that they're encouraged to replicate their family dynamic but with an added layer of racial dehumanization.

"There's a lot of non-verbals that stand out."


Nonverbal. noun, borderpatrolese origin. A child traumatized enough by your exercise of state violence that you get to tear it from its family, adopt it to a family of white evangelical cultists and then forget about it.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:04 PM on February 21, 2019 [35 favorites]


los pantalones del muerte: The Washington Post has published:  Adam Schiff: An open letter to my Republican colleagues
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III may soon conclude his investigation and report. Depending on what is in that report and what we find in our own investigations, our nation may face an even greater challenge.
O RLY? Hedging bets, pushing for Republican action, or both?

Invoking Lincoln at the end as the "father of the Republican party" was a nice reminder too.
If Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party, could be hopeful that our bonds of affection would be strained but not broken by a war that pitted brother against brother, surely America can come together once more. But as long as we must endure the present trial, history compels us to speak, and act, our conscience, Republicans and Democrats alike.
Republicans were the party of Civil Rights, until they weren't:
The change came quickly. Two weeks after the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, the Republican National Convention in San Francisco nominated for the presidency Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, one of the handful of Republican senators who had opposed the measure.

Two months later, a key Democratic foe of civil rights, South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, switched his party affiliation and began working to remake the Republican Party so that it could appeal to Southern white voters. Thurmond was an essential backer of the campaigns of Goldwater in 1964, Richard Nixon in 1968 and Ronald Reagan in 1980. His influence on Nixon, who developed a so-called “Southern strategy” to help realize Thurmond’s vision of a transformed political map, was immense. It extended deep into the decision-making process for the selections of a vice president and Supreme Court nominees.

At the same time, civil rights advocates within the Republican Party either left or were defeated. House Minority Leader Charles Halleck, the Indiana Republican who worked closely with the Johnson administration to pass muscular civil rights protections was deposed the following January by his own caucus. John Lindsay, was rejected in his own party’s 1969 New York City mayoral primary (winning instead on the Liberal Party line), became a Democrat in 1971. His ally in the 1963 civil rights push, “Mac” Mathias, was so unsettled by the GOP’s move to the right that he threatened to run for the presidency in 1976 as a progressive independent. Other champions of civil rights, such as California Senator Thomas Kuchel (the Republican floor manager in the fights to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965), New Jersey Senator Clifford Case and New York Senator Jacob Javits, would eventually lose primaries to conservative challengers.

The senators who were rejected did not lose merely because of their civil rights advocacy but because of their Lincolnesque vision of a progressive Republican Party that, in Kuchel’s words, “brought to politics the philosophy of governing for the many.”
When the Republicans Really Were the Party of Lincoln -- John Nichols for Bill Moyers.com, July 2, 2014

Lincoln wouldn't recognize this Republican party, and to say otherwise is to pretend that the Southern Strategy ddin't happen, and worse, wasn't successful at radicalizing the right.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:52 PM on February 21, 2019 [29 favorites]


Turns out that, according to CQ/Roll Call, the Pentagon already spent most of the counterdrug funds he wants to divert.

Does anyone have access to CQ, or this article specifically? Nevermind, it's on Roll Call.
posted by reductiondesign at 10:08 PM on February 21, 2019 [1 favorite]


NJ Courier Post: Bill would keep Trump off 2020 NJ ballot unless he releases his tax returns

“The state Senate on Thursday approved a bill — which the Legislature passed once before, in 2017, but which then-Gov. Chris Christie blocked by issuing a scathing veto — that would prohibit candidates for president and vice president from appearing on the ballot unless they make their tax returns public.”
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:35 PM on February 21, 2019 [54 favorites]


Doktor Zed: NJ Courier Post: Bill would keep Trump off 2020 NJ ballot unless he releases his tax returns

Of course there is griping from conservatives online that this violates the Constitution because states can't add eligibility requirements to the presidency, and of course they're wrong. A state can apply any otherwise-legal requirement to ballots, or else they would list thousands (the Constitution says nothing about, e.g petitions for ballot access, which are the most common type of limit). If they barred write-in votes that might be iffy, though the fact that states have total control over the process anyway (and traditionally didn't take ordinary citizens' voices into account at all) means even that might be a non-issue.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 4:29 AM on February 22, 2019 [7 favorites]


The SPLC and National Immigration Law Center are suing ICE on behalf of almost a hundred people who were arrested last April at Southeastern Provision in Bean Station, Tennessee. The SPLC describes the raid as "intrusive, militaristic and even violent." Autoplaying video (but also text) news story from WATE: Workers detained in Bean Station ICE raid filing suit, claiming rights violations.

The full lawsuit, linked in the news story, seems persuasive. The legal basis for the raid was an IRS warrant to obtain documents related to tax evasion by the plant owner; all documents and files were kept in a locked storage room inaccessible to plant workers. The lawsuit notes that the warrant was submitted with an affidavit from a confidential informant which mentioned the ethnicity of the workers five times, and said they were being paid in cash. However, some workers certainly did have the legal right to be in the US and to work here. One of the named plaintiffs had worked at this facility for eighteen years.

ICE timed their raid to coincide with the first break time of the day, when the workers were looking forward to a chance to use the restroom. Dozens of armed officers burst in, blocking all exits, yelling at workers to freeze and shut up. They immediately struck one worker in the face. The workers were terrified, some believing that this was "a terrorist attack, a mass shooting, or a fire." The ICE agents, throughout the action, bullied, insulted and pushed the workers. One man who pleaded for a chance to use the restroom was instead made to urinate in front of other workers and agents, at gunpoint. With little explanation of what was happening, the agents ziptied the workers and took them to the Tennessee National Guard Armory where they were detained for about twelve hours. None of the white ones, of course. "Ultimately, only eleven of the approximately 100 workers arrested were charged with any crime."

While in the van, a male officer... took out his phone and took a picture of himself with the Latino workers in the van, yelling “selfie!” while he snapped the shot.
posted by heatvision at 5:02 AM on February 22, 2019 [51 favorites]


If they barred write-in votes that might be iffy, though the fact that states have total control over the process anyway (and traditionally didn't take ordinary citizens' voices into account at all) means even that might be a non-issue.

IIRC, Connecticut publicly stated before the 2016 general election that write-in votes for Bernie Sanders would not be counted.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:36 AM on February 22, 2019


That’s because Bernie’s people didn’t bother to register him as a candidate with the state. Most states have similar requirements for write-ins to count.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 6:54 AM on February 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Roger Stone Says He’s Stressed and Broke (NYT (via))

At his court hearing yesterday, Roger Stone “said he was suffering from extreme emotional and financial stress. His savings were exhausted, he said, and his business as a public commentator and consultant, which once earned him $47,000 a month, had dwindled badly.

Said Stone: ‘I am having trouble putting food on the table and paying the rent.”


And yet somehow I think he's a shameless lying sack of shit. Probably due to the multiple GoFundMe grifts.
posted by petebest at 7:04 AM on February 22, 2019 [16 favorites]


Said Stone: ‘I am having trouble putting food on the table and paying the rent.”

Depends on what food he wants to eat, and what rent he wants to pay.


Meanwhile, Migrant Youth Go From A Children's Shelter To Adult Detention On Their 18th Birthday (John Burnett for NPR, February 22, 2019)
When migrant children cross the border without their parents, they're sent to federal shelters until caseworkers can find them a good home. But everything changes when they turn 18. That's when, in many cases, they're handcuffed and locked up in an adult detention facility. The practice is sparking lawsuits and outrage from immigrant advocates.

Last spring, a 17-year-old girl named Lisseth made the treacherous journey from El Salvador to the Texas border and asked for asylum. She says she fled sexual predators in her hometown. As an unaccompanied minor, she was sent to the United States' largest federal youth shelter, called Homestead, near Miami. She described life there as regimented and dehumanizing.

But she remained optimistic. Later, she was transferred to a different youth shelter in Miami, known as Boys Town, where she says kids were happier.

Then, on the morning of Lisseth's 18th birthday — Sept. 23 — two uniformed immigration agents showed up at the shelter. They put ankle chains on Lisseth and drove her across town to a frigid holding cell. Thus began her new status as an adult detainee in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"You feel horrible. Who would wish that on anybody on their birthday?" she said in a phone interview. "You feel like a criminal, handcuffed that way. No one tells you that on your birthday, not only will you not get to celebrate. On the contrary, two strangers are going to take you in handcuffs in a van to a detention cell that is freezing. The truth is I'm not a criminal — I have never been one, and I never will be one!"
...
"It [Homestead] is not great, but it's a center where the government has facilities for children. They have education. They're with other children. And all of a sudden on their 18th birthday, it all changes," said Lisa Lehner, director of litigation at Americans for Immigrant Justice in Miami. She has filed 20 lawsuits to free 18-year-olds who were taken from shelters and detained. In every case, ICE released the young adult.

But the birthday arrests keep happening across the country.

"I'm concerned with two things," Lehner said. "First of all, that our government is not following the law when it comes to dealing with children. And second of all, the traumatic effect this is happening on these kids."
Fuck this fucking administration, and it's crimes and damages against people seeking refuge.

To lighten the mood: Trump demands quick rollout of “6G” wireless tech, which doesn’t exist -- Five Gs not enough: Trump urges rollout of 5G—and 6G, because it's one more G. (Jon Brodkin for Ars Technica, Feb. 21, 2019) [filed under "ALL THE GS, BELIEVE ME, THE BEST GS —"]
US President Donald Trump today urged wireless carriers to deploy 5G and "6G" networks "as soon as possible," seemingly ignoring the small problem that 6G technology doesn't exist yet.

"I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible," Trump wrote on Twitter this morning. "It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind."
...
In a second tweet, Trump said that 5G and 6G are "so obviously the future."
...
5G is certainly coming, whether Trump tweets about it or not. But today, there's more 5G hype and 5G word games than there is actual 5G. Verizon is offering 5G home Internet in a few cities, but for now it's based on Verizon's own technology rather than the 5G NR (New Radio) global standard.

AT&T has deliberately misled customers by relabeling large portions of its 4G LTE network as 5G. Smartphone users in areas where AT&T is using advanced 4G LTE technology now see a "5G E" network indicator. 5G E stands for 5G Evolution, but it is, in fact, nothing more than 4G (Ars Technica) with LTE features like 256 QAM, 4x4 MIMO, and three-way carrier aggregation.

Despite Trump's tweet, there's no word yet on whether AT&T is developing 6G F, the natural successor to 5G E. (The "F" could stand for "faux.") But the cable industry, jealous of all the 5G wireless hype, obtained a trademark for "10G" to fuel a new marketing campaign. The cable industry's 10G doesn't refer to the 10th generation of anything, as it's just shorthand for 10Gbps speeds expected to be available in future upgrades. Cable lobby group NCTA continued its "10G" push today in a press release issued hours after Trump's tweet. The press release was titled, "Why Do We Need 10G?"
I can imagine the eye-strain suffered by Brodkin for all the eye-rolling he did in that article, but I appreciate his summary of the actual standards and the fraud already promoted by Verizon and AT&T.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:10 AM on February 22, 2019 [35 favorites]


Then, on the morning of Lisseth's 18th birthday — Sept. 23 — two uniformed immigration agents showed up at the shelter. They put ankle chains on Lisseth and drove her across town to a frigid holding cell. Thus began her new status as an adult detainee in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This illustrates how the government refusing to reunite families is not a case of can't but won't. There have been other stories of ICE picking up children at midnight on their 18th birthday. If they can track birthdays this closely, and act the moment someone turns 18, then they could reunite families if they wanted to.
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:16 AM on February 22, 2019 [76 favorites]


From one of the links on here either yesterday or 100 years ago, comes this well-put-together Russian Conspiracy Timeline. The Moscow Project Timeline.

Scroll back to the very beginning (1984, natch) for the roots of today's bullsh*t, or zoom into the 2016s and get the detailed blow-by-blows. Fun to read backwards and imagine a treasonous money-launderer losing everything.

Also, if you haven't yet seen MeFi's Own OnceUponATime's Active Measures site, as seen in the banner of this post, it's also quite handy.
posted by petebest at 7:30 AM on February 22, 2019 [17 favorites]


While in the van, a male officer... took out his phone and took a picture of himself with the Latino workers in the van, yelling “selfie!” while he snapped the shot.

Trump's Mirror: somebody isn't sending their best, but it's not Mexico or Central America.
posted by contraption at 8:16 AM on February 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


Marcy Wheeler: How Amy Berman Jackson Got Roger Stone ...
As you no doubt have heard, Amy Berman Jackson imposed a gag on Roger Stone yesterday in response to his posting a picture of her with a cross-hairs on it.

But I’d like to look at how she did so, not just because of the way she crafted it to withstand what may be a legal challenge from Stone’s lawyers, but for how she got Stone on the hook for lies that may get him jailed anyway.
posted by kingless at 8:48 AM on February 22, 2019 [67 favorites]


That was very interesting kingless thank you.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:49 AM on February 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


Owners at Trump Place on 120 Riverside Drive have voted to remove the Trump name sign from the building, the second building to do so in four months. Six Upper West Side buildings once carried the Trump Place name, and since the election, five buildings have now voted to remove it.

The remaining building will also be removing the name, For the second time in two days, a building called ‘Trump Place’ decides to take down the president’s name:
On Election Day 2016, six residential buildings called “Trump Place” stood in a row on Manhattan’s Upper West Side — a legacy of Donald Trump’s efforts to develop that site, and a sign of the Trump name’s enduring value in New York.

Soon, Trump’s name will be gone from all of them.
posted by peeedro at 10:05 AM on February 22, 2019 [29 favorites]


I keep seeing talking heads saying that the Mueller report might be limited, or massively redacted, or Attorney General Barr might keep it under wraps. But it seems to me, if the public isn't satisfied with the degree of transparency, or even if the public IS satisfied with the degree of transparency, all that needs to happen is for the House Democrats to subpoena Robert Mueller, and spend as long as they need asking him whatever they want to ask him. I don't see any way to cover up the results of his investigation.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:16 AM on February 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


Steve King is going to run again. His running is probably the only chance Dems have to flip IA-04.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:17 AM on February 22, 2019 [18 favorites]


If It’s Good We’ll See It Right Away (Josh Marshall & Anonymous TPM reader, TPM)

That is, if it's good for Donald Trump, and it vindicates him, then Mueller's report will be available to us right away. If it's bad for Trump, it may be a while before we see the report.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:23 AM on February 22, 2019 [7 favorites]


all that needs to happen is for the House Democrats to subpoena Robert Mueller, and spend as long as they need asking him whatever they want to ask him. I don't see any way to cover up the results of his investigation.

Fuck that, if the report isn't released in full somebody needs to go full-on Pentagon Papers and get it published. Note that if the house dems do subpoena the report, they don't need to get Mueller to walk them through it; they can read the whole thing into the congressional record without legal consequence under the Speech or Debate Clause. In fact someone with a safe seat should pre-commit to doing this as soon as they see the report. Perhaps I will write to my representative, Ms. Pelosi...
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 10:25 AM on February 22, 2019 [42 favorites]


the inherent risk of waiting it out is that, while the benefits of nothing being known publicly until after November 2020 are obvious, every day between now and then is filled w the risk that things drop (potentially just) before that date.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:47 AM on February 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


Except for waiting another whole year, I would not mind if it came out after the GOP has already passed the point of not having primaries.
posted by M-x shell at 10:56 AM on February 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


Kim Jong Un is now starving his people further to manipulate our gullible president. His foreign policy show pony is officially a disaster.

posted by Selena777 at 10:58 AM on February 22, 2019


Naming and Shaming the Pro-Trump Elite, McKay Coppins, The Atlantic
A certain quixotic quality pervades The Bulwark. Launched last month by former staffers of the defunct Weekly Standard magazine, the site is headquartered in a rented cluster of cubicles in downtown Washington, D.C. To keep overhead low, the team is small—fewer than 10 full-time writers and editors—and many of them work remotely. “We’re basically camping here,” says Sykes, a former talk-radio host who edits the site while commuting back and forth from Wisconsin.

The modest trappings have not kept them from grandiose ambitions. In the site’s founding manifesto, Sykes wrote that The Bulwark would stand in defiant opposition to President Trump, and “push back against the moral and intellectual corruption that now poses an existential threat to conservatism as a viable political force.”
...
One thing The Bulwark doesn’t have is a coherent vision for what conservatism should look like after Trump. This has led some critics to dismiss the site as an exercise in myopia—focused obsessively on what it’s against instead of articulating what it’s for.
I mean I gotta come back to Noah Smith here: Trump happened because conservatism failed
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:10 AM on February 22, 2019 [20 favorites]


A constant right-wing refrain is that if anything really damning against the president existed, it "would have been leaked by now".

There are of course multiple intersecting ways in which this is baloney: the special counsel itself is tight-lipped because their prerogative is law enforcement, not "getting" the president. Even if it were a "witch hunt", the counsel doesn't share the news media's incentive for instant clicks by Exposing Everything to You, The Reader, since the point is to build a larger case. Plus, damning stuff does get leaked by other people (including Junior) every single day, and it's obvious that it would be enough to screw anyone else, who hadn't already made being-above-the-rules his "brand".

Regardless, a successfully smothered report will add some more to the "must be a nothingburger" narrative, even as we know the opposite is the case. It takes a certain mindset transformation to grasp that nothing is automatic, that there's no potential knowledge so damning that it makes itself public, strips him of his power, and rolls the closing credits. That stuff takes people, not facts or rules or anything so abstract.

M-x shell: Except for waiting another whole year, I would not mind if it came out after the GOP has already passed the point of not having primaries.

The Republican Party is irredeemably horrid, but Individual-1 himself is a persistent catastrophe, and if he could somehow be primaried, and that somehow gave the party a winning 2020 edge (in reality it would destroy them), I'd take the bargain. My reason for this is also the reason primarying could never happen, namely his cult. Maybe someone manages to out-Trump Trump in that regard, but I doubt it.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 11:17 AM on February 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


In the site’s founding manifesto, Sykes wrote that The Bulwark would stand in defiant opposition to President Trump, and “push back against the moral and intellectual corruption that now poses an existential threat to conservatism as a viable political force.”

Featuring such defiant anti-Trump commentary as How Democrats Can Get Rid of Ilhan Omar: It’s going to take a primary opponent, but not just any primary opponent.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:19 AM on February 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


Featuring such defiant anti-Trump commentary as How Democrats Can Get Rid of Ilhan Omar

In their defense, young, charismatic, non-white progressives also pose an existential threat to conservatism as a viable political force.
posted by diogenes at 11:32 AM on February 22, 2019 [18 favorites]


Rewire, Trump Administration Releases Final Text of Domestic ‘Gag Rule’ Restriction on Title X
The gag rule, first proposed in May, limits patients’ access to medically accurate family planning information by banning abortion referrals and forces abortion providers to physically and financially separate abortion services from family planning services in order to receive Title X funding. The move is an apparent attempt to make good on President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to “defund Planned Parenthood,” which serves 41 percent of Title X patients.

Reproductive health and rights advocates warn that the domestic gag rule could serve as a critical roadblock in access to care for Title X patients. “This rule will block doctors across the country from referring Title X patients for safe, legal abortion,” Dr. Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood, told Rewire.News in a statement. “It will block patients from getting birth control at places like Planned Parenthood, and it will prohibit doctors from being able to provide full and accurate information to their patients. There are 4 million people across the country who rely on Title X to access critical health care like birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment—and more than 1.6 million seek that care at Planned Parenthood.”
Rewire, What You Need to Know About Trump’s Attacks on the Federal Family Planning Program
posted by zachlipton at 11:36 AM on February 22, 2019 [21 favorites]


Not only is there documentary evidence from the State Department that Hoda Muthana's father lost his diplomatic immunity prior to her birth, therefore proving her US citizenship. But, the State Department considered the question of her citizenship at length in 2004, and awarded her a passport!

Whatever you think of Hoda Muthana's behavior, she has a young child. The young child is a US citizen. She wants the young child to grow up in America, not in Kurdish custody.

For Trump and Pompeo to publicly deny her citizenship and her child's citizenship is one of their most straightforwardly malevolent lies counter to the rule of law. Once again, Trump has told us that the worth of a US citizen, even a baby, is inversely proportional to their melanin content.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:13 PM on February 22, 2019 [35 favorites]




Today I learned that last week, the Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, which would criminalize lynching for the first time in American history.

The legislation was introduced by Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Tim Scott (R-SC).

(As far as I can tell, it still needs to go to the House, and then be signed into law, so it's not a done deal - but it is an important step.)

It looks like it was actually passed previously in December; I'm assuming that bill expired with the newly-seated Congress and had to be re-introduced and passed again. The December vote was unanimous, too.

I see occasional comments in these threads that all bipartisan efforts are bad and wrong, an understandable position given the extensive history of Republicans demanding everything, offering nothing, and breaking promises on nominally "bipartisan" efforts. I think this is a great example of legislation that can be bipartisan without requiring Democrats to sell out, and that there is nothing to be lost, and much to be gained, in bipartisan legislation when it doesn't compromise good progressive goals. (The Violence Against Women Act is another great example - and I am very pleased and surprised to learn it was reauthorized as part of the short-term spending bill on January 25.)

I doubt I would have known about the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act if it weren't for the emails I get from Senator Harris's office. If you're not signed up to get updates from your representatives, I highly recommend subscribing.
posted by kristi at 12:25 PM on February 22, 2019 [20 favorites]




If It’s Good [for Trump] We’ll See It Right Away
What if, despite the suspicions of many of us, Mueller concludes that there really *wasn’t* any coordination or attempted coordination between the institutional Trump Campaign and Russia (and perhaps that Manafort was essentially freelancing for his own benefit)?
Don't we know, via the quid pro quo surrounding the Trump Tower meeting, that there was coordination between Russia and the campaign?

I understand the DOJ's argument for not indicting Trump, but what excuse is there to not indict Jr.?

If the report is anything short of Trump being named as an unindicted co-conspirator he will say he was completely vindicated and the Republicans will say any further investigations aren't needed because Mueller cleared him.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:28 PM on February 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


I'm heartened to see repeated examples of Elizabeth Warren just going out there and saying the heavy combative shit other Democratic politicians rarely say. I've worried before that her big weakness as a candidate is her reflexive nerdy response to disingenuous bullying, as we saw with that embarrassing FACTS website of hers. But lately she's been acting as more of a firebrand, and I think that kind of attitude paired with her left-ish policy and rhetoric would make for a much better match against someone like Trump.

While she's only my second choice, I feel pretty invested in her viability as a general election candidate because I could easily see her shaking out as the compromise candidate that bridges the left and the centrists in the primary.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 12:36 PM on February 22, 2019 [16 favorites]


News: Senior Justice Department Official tells NBC News that the Mueller report will not be delivered by next week.

Once again proving, the only person who knows Mueller's plans is Mueller. For sanity's sake, feel free to disregard anything not coming from the SCO. That's my plan.
posted by mikelieman at 12:44 PM on February 22, 2019 [37 favorites]


News: Senior Justice Department Official tells NBC News that the Mueller report will not be delivered by next week. Well . . good. Interviewing Brittany Kaiser, indicting Stone, various sealed grand jury cases, and an international battle over documents weren't all fictions then.
posted by Harry Caul at 12:45 PM on February 22, 2019


News: Senior Justice Department Official tells NBC News that the Mueller report will not be delivered by next week. Well . . good. Interviewing Brittany Kaiser, indicting Stone, various sealed grand jury cases, and an international battle over documents weren't all fictions then.
posted by Harry Caul at 3:45 PM on February 22 [+] [!]


Could be. Or the report could be submitted at 8am on Monday the following week, and this DoJ statement would still be accurate. We just don't know.
posted by scarylarry at 1:03 PM on February 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


According to @ZoeTillmanM the twitter account @MrRogerStone was taken down for impersonation. It also appears that the account @StoneColdRoger no longer exists, though the second one doesn't show a reason for deletion it's just not there.

While Stone denied in court that he had any presence on Twitter, the general feeling I've seen is that both accounts were likely run by allies of Stone. They certainly didn't look like parody accounts. Though the MrRogerStone account certainly wasn't helping his situation with the tweet scalefree mentioned. Unlikely we'll ever find out the truth unless it's brought up in court.
posted by cirhosis at 1:20 PM on February 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


I absolutely won’t support someone in the primaries who wants to keep the filibuster. Some people are single issue on guns, abortion, whatever. Ending the filibuster is mine because without ending the filibuster we are dooming every single issue/bill/reform to die in McConnell’s hands. We already have suffered for decades with minority rule, the filibuster just extends it. So good for Warren. And bad for Booker and Bernie who have made noises about wanting to keep it.
posted by chris24 at 1:21 PM on February 22, 2019 [9 favorites]


A judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors — among them, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta — broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims.

MSNBC's Kyle Griffin (w/video): “Trump on his Labor Secretary Alex Acosta's role in the Epstein sex crimes case: "I really don’t know too much about it … That seems like a long time ago, but I know he's been a fantastic labor secretary. That's all I can really tell you about it."”

Bonus: Trump on Jeffrey Epstein (in 2011): "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it -- Jeffrey enjoys his social life."
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:29 PM on February 22, 2019 [34 favorites]




Interesting link from over in the Brexit thread:

Putin funds Italian politician through sale of oil company product. *cough*Rosneft*cough*

Russian money for Italian nationalists deputy premier Matteo Salvini. The same who publicly declared that he was not interested in Vladimir Putin's money, but supported him by pure political harmony. ... At least three million tons of diesel, to be sold to an Italian company by a Russian company. A sale thanks to which the Kremlin should be able to refresh the coffers of the party of Salvini on the eve of the Europeans next May.

Eerie, is it not?

L'Espresso link here
Google Translate link here
posted by petebest at 1:45 PM on February 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s call for a ‘living wage’ starts in her office:
New York Democrat will pay staffers no less than $52,000 a year
posted by growabrain at 1:47 PM on February 22, 2019 [61 favorites]


The president is "very surprised" to see a pal charged with paying for sex (in this case Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who denies the charge).
posted by adamg at 1:51 PM on February 22, 2019 [11 favorites]


Yes, you're supposed to get your lawyer to pay for your sex. You don't actually pay directly yourself.
posted by GuyZero at 1:53 PM on February 22, 2019 [17 favorites]


And don't get allegedly caught on video in a sting operation. Very important.

“It’s very sad. I was very surprised to see it,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office. “He’s proclaimed his innocence totally, but I’m very surprised to see it.”

With friends like this ...
posted by petebest at 2:00 PM on February 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


A judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors — among them, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta — broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims.

So can this tangle up Ken Starr since he was part of the Epstein team that asked Acosta to break the law on behalf of their client? A lawyer suborning the breaking of a law and all. Because that would be a cherry on top.
posted by srboisvert at 2:02 PM on February 22, 2019 [40 favorites]


NYT, Cohen Gave Prosecutors New Information on the Trump Family Business
Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, met last month with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, offering information about possible irregularities within the president’s family business and about a donor to the inaugural committee, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Cohen, who worked at the Trump Organization for a decade, spoke with the prosecutors about insurance claims the company had filed over the years, said the people, who did not elaborate on the nature of the possible irregularities.
...
The prosecutors also questioned Mr. Cohen about a donor to the president’s inaugural committee, Imaad Zuberi, a California venture capitalist and political fund-raiser, according to the people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to discuss the confidential meeting. Around the time that Mr. Zuberi contributed $900,000 to thel committee, he also tried to hire Mr. Cohen as a consultant and wrote him a substantial check, one of the people said.
Hmm, insurance claims? That's new. A whole new frontier of crimes to look at.
posted by zachlipton at 2:12 PM on February 22, 2019 [17 favorites]


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says abuse she gets from Twitter trolls is 'validation that you're doing something real', and called their memes 'so weak'
As well as broadly dismissing the effect of Twitter criticism, Ocasio-Cortez also took aim at her critics' meme skills, describing the efforts she sees in her timeline as "so weak."

She asked: "How do you have a computer that runs both Windows '95 and Twitter at the same time?"
posted by bonehead at 2:16 PM on February 22, 2019 [127 favorites]


Damn, that's a fucking all-time burn.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:21 PM on February 22, 2019 [30 favorites]




zachlipton: Hmm, insurance claims? That's new. A whole new frontier of crimes to look at.

Not a whole new frontier, but rather old territory: Trump took $17 million in insurance for damage few remember (Jeff Horwitz for AP, October 24, 2016)
Donald Trump said he received a $17 million insurance payment in 2005 for hurricane damage to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, but The Associated Press found little evidence of such large-scale damage.

Two years after a series of storms, the real estate tycoon said he didn’t know how much had been spent on repairs but acknowledged he pocketed some of the money. Trump transferred funds into his personal accounts, saying that under the terms of his policy, “you didn’t have to reinvest it.”

In a deposition in an unrelated civil lawsuit, Trump said he got the cash from a “very good insurance policy” and cited ongoing work to the historic home.

“Landscaping, roofing, walls, painting, leaks, artwork in the — you know, the great tapestries, tiles, Spanish tiles, the beach, the erosion,” he said of the storm damage. “It’s still not what it was.”

Trump’s description of extensive damage does not match those of Mar-a-Lago members and even Trump loyalists. In an interview about the estate’s history, Trump’s longtime former butler, Anthony Senecal, recalled no catastrophic damage. He said Hurricane Wilma, the last of a string of storms that barreled through in 2004 and 2005, flattened trees behind Mar-a-Lago, but the house itself only lost some roof tiles.
For some good news on Friday: Judge Rules Against State Department In Same-Sex Couple's Citizenship Lawsuit (Merrit Kennedy for NPR, February 22, 2019)
Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks have twin sons, born four minutes apart. The U.S. State Department has maintained that one is a U.S. citizen and one is not.

The same-sex couple has been fighting the U.S. government in federal court for citizenship rights for their young child. On Thursday, a judge ruled that the child, Ethan, is indeed a U.S. citizen because his parents were married at the time of his birth, and therefore the State Department misapplied the law.

"This two-year nightmare is finally coming to a close," Andrew Dvash-Banks told reporters. "Ethan has been recognized, as it should have always been, as a citizen at birth just like his twin brother."

The U.S. government had maintained that U.S. citizenship could only be passed along to a child that the U.S. citizen had a biological relationship with.

Andrew is a U.S. citizen, and Elad is Israeli. The two met in Israel, fell in love, and got married in Canada. There, they had children through a surrogate. Each father's genetic material had fertilized one egg from a donor. Ethan shared genetic material with Elad, and Aiden with Andrew.

The couple told NPR's Leila Fadel last year that they were shocked at the conversation they had at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto when they went to provide documents for each twin's U.S. citizenship.

"She started off with, 'Obviously the two of you had to use assisted reproduction in order to have your family,' " Andrew told Fadel. " 'Tell me more about that. Tell me about who is genetically related to who.' "

He said the questions were probing and intrusive — he remembers crying at the consulate. "While Andrew and Elad never planned to tell anyone which child had Andrew's DNA and which child had Elad's, the State Department asked for DNA tests," Fadel reported. Eventually, the State Department informed them that Aiden was granted a U.S. passport and Ethan was not.
...
John F. Walter, the federal judge in California, has now ruled that the Immigration and Nationality Act, the law that determines whether a person is a U.S. citizen by birth, makes Ethan a citizen from birth. He said that the parents were married at the time of his birth, and the law "does not require a person born during their parents' marriage to demonstrate a biological relationship with both of their married parents."

A State Department spokesperson told NPR that the department is aware of the ruling and is reviewing it, together with the Department of Justice. Aaron Morris, the executive director of Immigration Equality and a lawyer for the family, called it a "remarkable victory."

But he says this issue could happen to others.

"The State Department's policies still exist," Morris said, and "it is likely that until they either dismantle it, change it or are ordered by a court to stop implementing the policy, that this will happen again to another couple."
posted by filthy light thief at 2:37 PM on February 22, 2019 [22 favorites]


Oh, man. That got me to give to AOC :)
posted by AwkwardPause at 2:40 PM on February 22, 2019 [10 favorites]


Trump took $17 million in insurance for damage few remember

Worth noting that the AP article above from 2016 suggesting Trump's insurance fraud appeared on the same day that Rudy Giuliani appeared on Fox News and said, “We got a couple things up our sleeve that should turn this around," followed the next day by Comey's letter to Republicans about Clinton's email.

Guess which story dominated the news for the next week and a half leading up to the election.
posted by JackFlash at 3:04 PM on February 22, 2019 [21 favorites]


Sex criminals Trump defended:
1. Roy Moore
2. Brett Kavanaugh
3. Bob Kraft
4. Roger Ailes
5. Jeffrey Epstein
6. Steve Wynn
7. Jim Jordan
8. Mike Tyson
9. Bill O'Reilly
10. Himself
11. Rob Porter gets a dishonorable mention for being a wife-beater
posted by growabrain at 3:38 PM on February 22, 2019 [42 favorites]


Trump demands quick rollout of “6G” wireless tech, which doesn’t exist -- Five Gs not enough: Trump urges rollout of 5G—and 6G, because it's one more G. (Jon Brodkin for Ars Technica, Feb. 21, 2019) [filed under "ALL THE GS, BELIEVE ME, THE BEST GS —"]

Update [video]: @CBSNews: One day after Pres. Trump tweeted that he wants 5G and 6G in the U.S. as soon as possible, he says, “6G will be obsolete in about two months.”
posted by zachlipton at 3:40 PM on February 22, 2019 [12 favorites]


In which Diane Feinstein yells in the face of children asking her to support the Green New Deal [real].

Way to go California, we could've been rid of her.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:42 PM on February 22, 2019 [35 favorites]


Brian Buetler: The Democrats' Grand Delusion
What these senators mean is that for all the broad left’s justified alarm about the brittleness of our democracy, and the hardening of minority rule in America, 41 out of 100 senators, representing much less than 41 percent of the U.S. population, should be allowed to doom their ambitions. Even a Senate that could reliably pass legislation with 51 votes would still not be a majoritarian institution. The senators from the 25 smallest states would still have as much power as the senators from the 25 largest states, and because of how our population is sorted, the Senate would still allow a minority of the country, through their elected representatives, to hobble the progressive agenda.

Still, abolishing the filibuster would at least give the next Democratic president a fighting chance to govern. It would also strike a blow for core democratic principles liberals claim to stand for, bringing the country closer to a one-person, one vote ideal. Democrats who support its abolition could appeal to voters not just on the basis of policy checklists and anti-Trump sentiment, but as tribunes for a more responsive democracy. The problem is that many Democratic senators seem to believe that this would be bad. And unless that changes, the primary will be less a contest to determine which ideas a unified Democratic government might enact than a grand but meaningless celebration of liberal empowerment. A laboratory simulation to determine where consensus among Democratic base voters lies, before that consensus gets dashed upon the shoals of Republican obstruction.
...
The most frustrating thing about this whistling past the graveyard isn’t that it places all of civilization at risk. It is possible (though terrifying) to imagine us muddling through the climate crisis with a combination of clever legislating, regulation, innovation, and waste, while leaving the filibuster intact. What makes that thought truly bewildering is the hollowness it reveals. The poverty of ambition, the limp resistance, the fear of democratic accountability, the willingness to let year after year of right-wing abuse go unanswered. Whether driven by cynicism or delusion, the idea is that Democrats should claw their way back to power by inflaming the righteous and passionate Trump opposition with false promises, and then hope their disappointed voters will blame Republicans for the ensuing squander.
...
Democrats have no answer to this history. Or rather, what the Democratic frontrunners who have placed the filibuster above all other concerns are telling us is, Too bad. There will be no remedy for any of it.
...
In so many words, these Democrats are saying that come 2021, should voters sweep Trump out of power, it will be time, once again, to turn the page.
...
Obama should have seen at least some of this coming—Republicans had been building to it for years—but he could at least claim some level of surprise. No other president had been greeted quite that way before. The next Democratic president won’t credibly be able to claim naivety, though. The theory that an inspiring figure or a political revolution will break the Republican fever has been discredited in the most painful way. And yet those running today, at least the ones hellbent on preserving Mitch McConnell’s power to destroy their presidencies, are dooming themselves and the rest of us to live through everything that brought us to this point all over again.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:52 PM on February 22, 2019 [21 favorites]


In which Diane Feinstein yells in the face of children asking her to support the Green New Deal [real].

She didn't exactly yell, she's generally pretty soft spoken. There was a group of kids plus chaperones, everybody was talking over each other & she modulated her voice to make her answers heard. She did come across as pretty dismissive & condescending though. The Green Generation's coming & she needs to get on board or get out of the way.
posted by scalefree at 3:53 PM on February 22, 2019 [12 favorites]


I don’t often comment in these threads, but that video of Sen. Feinstein is totally demoralizing.

These kids are begging her to think of their future, and she slips and skates around them like the slimiest of politicians, all while assuring them that she “just won an election,” which apparently gives her carte blanche to ignore her constituents? There was even a dig at a 16 year old because she’s not old enough to vote.

I’m appalled.
posted by redfishbluefish at 3:54 PM on February 22, 2019 [43 favorites]


She didn't exactly yell, she's generally pretty soft spoken.

You're right, shouting incoherently in their faces would've actually been better than her words.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:57 PM on February 22, 2019 [13 favorites]


Feinstein utterly failed on a basic level of knowing how to work with a crowd, which is a fundamental skill for any politician. Like, she's painfully and frighteningly wrong on all this, but with that aside she should be able to recognize a bad moment and extract herself rather than scolding as she did, softly-toned or not. She just became the poster for "Boomers Don't Give a Fuck About Your Future Or Your Kids."

What drives me nuts is how others in Congress are likely to react. This same train wreck is waiting for all of them in one way or another and from one group or another. Rather than getting on the right side of the issue, most of them will spend all their energy on avoiding the meeting.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 4:09 PM on February 22, 2019 [11 favorites]


I don't know; I hated the filibuster when Obama was president, but imagine where we'd be right now without it. For the past two years, it was the only thing holding some of the awfulness back.
posted by Weeping_angel at 4:14 PM on February 22, 2019 [6 favorites]


Mod note: I think we can move on from DiFi, we've hashed her out a million times.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:20 PM on February 22, 2019 [8 favorites]


A North Carolina judge drops the hammer with his ruling:
The North Carolina General Assembly is so gerrymandered that its members don’t truly represent the people of the state and thus should never have proposed constitutional amendments in the first place, Wake County Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins wrote in his ruling that was issued late Friday afternoon.

“An illegally constituted General Assembly does not represent the people of North Carolina and is therefore not empowered to pass legislation that would amend the state’s constitution,” he wrote.
Wow. That is one hell of a ruling.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:26 PM on February 22, 2019 [110 favorites]


CNN's Kaitlan Collins: “After a DOJ official said Mueller isn't expected to deliver his report next week, President Trump said he looks forward to reading it. "There was no collusion. There was no obstruction...No phone calls...If it's an honest report, it will say that. If it's not, it won't."” (Josh Marshall has the video.)

This isn't the first time Trump has insisted there weren't any phone calls when denying Russian collusion. It's an oddly specific detail to keep bringing up.
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:35 PM on February 22, 2019 [27 favorites]


I don't know; I hated the filibuster when Obama was president, but imagine where we'd be right now without it. For the past two years, it was the only thing holding some of the awfulness back.

I really think that's debatable how much worse shit they could've passed with 50 votes. They tried to repeal Obamacare with 50 and failed. So there is some hard cap on the amount of gratuitous pain even this Republican party is able to inflict before meeting resistance. Most of the damage they've been able to do has been through administrative roll backs, and confirming judges, which the filibuster is already dead for.

On the other hand, everything we're arguing over in the Democratic primary, M4A, GND, free college, voting rights, all of it, means fuckall without BOTH repealing the filibuster AND packing the Court. All of it. Is dead. Without those things. Unless the filibuster is repealed, McConnell will kill every progressive bill in the Senate. And unless we retake control of SCOTUS, the Gorsuch* Court will kill every progressive bill that passes the Senate. That's the legacy of the 2016 loss. Unless Democrats commit to playing by the same rules as Republican have been for 12 years now, and actually wielding power, we're arguing over who gets to be king of the ashes for 4 years until Republicans retake power because the electorate is stupid and will blame Democrats once again for failing to deliver.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:58 PM on February 22, 2019 [23 favorites]


Here's a suitably stupid Friday evening story while we wait for the Manafort sentencing memo. Daily Beast, Trump Employs QAnon Believer As Pastry Chef at Mar-a-Lago
On Christmas, for example, Alfieri posted an Instagram picture of a gingerbread house in what appears to be a Mar-a-Lago ballroom. The side of the gingerbread house is emblazoned with a “Q” made of blue frosting and dusted with glitter.

It wasn’t clear whether Alfieri herself had added the frosted “Q.”

“Merry Christmas from the Jewel of Palm Beach,” Alfieri wrote, adding a “#QAnon” hashtag and the acronym “WWG1WGA,” a reference to the QAnon slogan “Where we go one, we go all.”
posted by zachlipton at 4:59 PM on February 22, 2019 [6 favorites]


This isn't the first time Trump has insisted there weren't any phone calls when denying Russian collusion. It's an oddly specific detail to keep bringing up.

My understanding is that Cohen, in his guilty plea, has allocuted (uh, is "allocuted" an acceptable form of "allocution"? IT IS NOW.) that he had at least one phone call with officials in the Kremlin during the campaign.
posted by Justinian at 4:59 PM on February 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


Yes. He spoke to someone in the Kremlin's press office (Assistant 1) for around 20 minutes in January 2016 and then lied about it. According to Mueller's filing, Cohen requested assistance with the Moscow Project, "both in securing land to build the proposed tower and financing the construction."

For some reason, Trump"s denial of phone calls keeps getting repeated without the context that it's a lie that Cohen has already been charged with.
posted by zachlipton at 5:07 PM on February 22, 2019 [10 favorites]


No phone calls, but many, many emails. Hence the "her emails" rallying cry -- Trump's mirror again.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:22 PM on February 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


What does this actually mean for people in NC? Is something going to happen as a result of this ruling? New elections? Implications for legislation that comes hereafter?

That ruling is almost certainly about to get the absolute fuck appealed out of it. We'll see if it holds up, I guess. Still feels nice to see somebody say it.
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:19 PM on February 22, 2019 [12 favorites]


Trump Employs QAnon Believer As Pastry Chef at Mar-a-Lago

The Q-anon stuff somehow got even stupider today with Trump shielding an actual child sex abuse enabler Alex Acosta in his cabinet. But any day now he's going to move on the Clintons!
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:40 PM on February 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


What does this actually mean for people in NC? Is something going to happen as a result of this ruling? New elections? Implications for legislation that comes hereafter?"

Its implications are quite broad but the order itself is pretty narrow, only blocks 2 out of 4 amendments to the state constitution voted in last election because they're the ones named in the lawsuit. Assuming it passes all the challenges being prepped against it I guess it would provide precedent for adding other amendments to the blocked list as well; the ultimate remedy would have to involve unwinding the gerrymander to have the order lifted & allow unrestricted passage of new amendments. I guess? I am not a lawyer but I do live in North Carolina.
posted by scalefree at 6:56 PM on February 22, 2019


The precursor to that NC ruling is that the state legislative map was ruled an illegal gerrymander, but there wasn't enough time to create a new map for the 2018 primaries and elections. It's the sort of ruling that will be appealed the fuck out of, but in essence NC voters have been casting their ballots in illegal districts for most of the decade because the legal process runs down the clock. (The two-year election cycle doesn't help.) This judge is all out of fucks to give about the legitimacy of the legislature in creating constitution-altering ballot questions.

(Wake County Superior Court is the court of origin for state election-related stuff -- which is also why any state charges from NC-9 will originate there.)
posted by holgate at 7:10 PM on February 22, 2019


Via dKos:

Operation Divide the Left: Recent assault on Democratic candidates traced to 200 suspect accounts
A team of analysts at Politico found a small group of 200 accounts—specifically these guys—drove a “disproportionate” amount of racist and negative disinformation, over a 30-day period, targeting four Democratic presidential candidates for 2020: Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke. In fact, between 2-15% of all Twitter mentions concerning these candidates over that timeframe originated from this small group.

This is the same group that generated or were mentioned in over 140 million tweets in the run-up to the 2018 midterms. Their focus then was on non-existent “voter fraud,” and the false claim that millions of undocumented immigrants vote in elections. The researchers said this group uses highly coordinated techniques to go viral, including funneling their tweets to other suspicious, knowingly automated accounts; the group also deployed sophisticated tactics that seem to easily bypass current detection methods.

Politico also reported that foreign hostiles appear to be involved.

The Politico article:

‘Sustained and ongoing’ disinformation assault targets Dem presidential candidates
A coordinated barrage of social media attacks suggests the involvement of foreign state actors.
A wide-ranging disinformation campaign aimed at Democratic 2020 candidates is already underway on social media, with signs that foreign state actors are driving at least some of the activity.

“We can conclusively state that a large group of suspicious accounts that were active in one of the largest influence operations of the 2018 cycle is now engaged in sustained and ongoing activity for the 2020 cycle,” [Data Scientist] Horvath said.

It looks like the 2020 presidential primary is going to be the next battleground to divide and confuse Americans...As it relates to information warfare in the 2020 cycle, we’re not on the verge of it — we’re already in the third inning.
It’s as inescapable as it is incredible: we are in an undeclared war with Russia in which our democracy is under sustained attack, and the US President is a Russian asset.
posted by darkstar at 7:18 PM on February 22, 2019 [90 favorites]


In which Diane Feinstein yells in the face of children asking her to support the Green New Deal [real].

It's worth watching the full video, which is a greater mix of substantive engagement and frustration. It's still condescending and full of frustratingly inadequate-to-the-scale-of-the-problem talk like passing legislation "that puts us on the right foot." This isn't meant as a defense of her by any means, just that more context is better than less context.
posted by zachlipton at 7:52 PM on February 22, 2019 [22 favorites]


Operation Divide the Left: Recent assault on Democratic candidates traced to 200 suspect accounts

I am trying my damnedest to stick to what I believe to be the most effective counter to this tactic. It's hard, but it's all I got.

I'm going to vote FOR someone. Not against someone else. The candidate/campaign that convinces me they're the best person to vote for, that's who I vote for.

So, I feel safe in assuming that the majority ( why debate percentages?) of negative stories are psyops intended to destabilize our society, so after allowing for that, they mostly get ignored.
posted by mikelieman at 8:08 PM on February 22, 2019 [7 favorites]


So, I feel safe in assuming that the majority ( why debate percentages?) of negative stories are psyops intended to destabilize our society, so after allowing for that, they mostly get ignored.
posted by mikelieman at 8:08 PM on February 22 [1 favorite +] [!]


Instead of ignoring news stories, just don't get your news from social media. Get it from actual news sources. They're easy to identify and there are lots of them both US and internationally based. Use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as social interaction platforms, not news sources.
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:45 PM on February 22, 2019 [27 favorites]


oh, er, so sorry. er- was there not to have been some sort of memo, and then cake?
posted by 20 year lurk at 9:00 PM on February 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


It's after midnight and there's no memo and no cake (cake availability may differ where you are).

It's likely that the memo was filed under seal, with a redacted version to come out later. That's happened before, after the court and the parties agree on the redactions, and is probably what happened today. Maybe tomorrow, maybe Monday, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by zachlipton at 9:12 PM on February 22, 2019 [2 favorites]




Use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as social interaction platforms, not news sources.

Yes, but part of the problem is that lazy ass journalists use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as sources.
posted by benzenedream at 9:44 PM on February 22, 2019 [7 favorites]


Also, if you're far enough left, most of the major news sources hate you and pretend you don't exist.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 10:01 PM on February 22, 2019 [21 favorites]


NC-09 update: Wake County district attorney says to anticipate criminal charges in probe of election fraud in North Carolina's 9th congressional district
posted by Chrysostom at 10:34 PM on February 22, 2019 [30 favorites]


Looks like Dems in Texas may be able to block the confirmation of David Whiley as Sec of State. Whitley is the one behind the whole attempted voter purge fiasco.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:37 PM on February 22, 2019 [23 favorites]


On the other hand, everything we're arguing over in the Democratic primary, M4A, GND, free college, voting rights, all of it, means fuckall without BOTH repealing the filibuster AND packing the Court. All of it. Is dead. Without those things. Unless the filibuster is repealed, McConnell will kill every progressive bill in the Senate. And unless we retake control of SCOTUS, the Gorsuch* Court will kill every progressive bill that passes the Senate

I agree with the intent of all of this, but I hope before the legislation filibuster goes anywhere, the playing field of the Senate is first re-graded by doing statehood for Puerto Rico and DC (or if the latter is too fussy a task at least doing *something* about DC representation). If that doesn't come first, then I think nuking the filibuster will eventually involve some degree of regret. The GOP advantage in the Senate with the current state map and demographics has to be reckoned with.
posted by wildblueyonder at 12:28 AM on February 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


Is it possible to nuke the legislative filibuster but still keep the talking, Mr Smith Goes to Washington style filibuster?
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:47 AM on February 23, 2019 [8 favorites]


I'd say yes; the thing we're calling a filibuster is just an agreement that a senator claiming that they intend to filibuster will be allowed to prevent a vote without, you know, actually having to stand at a podium and keep talking indefinitely.
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:33 AM on February 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


I'd say yes; the thing we're calling a filibuster is just an agreement that a senator claiming that they intend to filibuster will be allowed to prevent a vote without, you know, actually having to stand at a podium and keep talking indefinitely.

Doesn't this depend on how cloture works? If the Senate makes it a rule that a cloture vote may be called even while a person is "holding the floor," then resetting the cloture vote to 50% would also end Mr. Smith style filibusters. But if no vote -- even a cloture vote -- can proceed when a senator is holding the floor, then Mr. Smith style filibusters would still be a thing, even if the cloture threshold were set to 50%.
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 4:22 AM on February 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


The Associated Press (Chad Day and Eric Tucker) compiles the "Mueller Report":
Court records reveal a Mueller report right in plain view
Nothing new here, but it's written in a nice chronological narrative.
posted by pjenks at 6:20 AM on February 23, 2019 [23 favorites]


The WaPo's Philip Bump proposes, "Imagine if everything Mueller has made public to date had, instead of trickling out, landed at once": The Slowly Written Mueller Report That’s Sitting In Plain Sight

This isn't news to megathread readers or followers of Marcy Wheeler, but it's another attempt in mainstream media to contextualize everything we've learned from the SCO's investigation in a cohesive narrative. The chart of who's been charged with what and when by itself presents damning story of collusion between Trump campaign officials and the GRU that the former have been lying about to cover it up.
posted by Doktor Zed at 6:33 AM on February 23, 2019 [37 favorites]


"Trump White House Is Forcing Interns to Sign NDAs and Threatening Them With Financial Ruin"

Aren't staffers already being financially ruined by legal fees? It's possible that after the administration's done with many of these people, spilling the beans may be their only recourse.
posted by Selena777 at 8:03 AM on February 23, 2019 [1 favorite]




PSA: The US Politics FPP Draft is currently under construction, and contributions are welcome and appreciated. There's a bit of a Dickensian theme emerging:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
posted by Little Dawn at 9:07 AM on February 23, 2019 [24 favorites]


All of Mueller’s files will be handed over to Congress whether the Justice Department likes it or not

That's not a statement of fact, the article quotes MSNBC legal analyst Matt Miller: "FBI set a precedent in the Clinton case by turning over nearly the entire case file to Congress within three months of the investigation closing."

Taking the FBI's handling of the EMAILS! case as setting a new hard precedent seems pretty questionable, given how everything about their actions blatantly violated internal policy.

And Miller sounds less optimistic today reacting to this article: Access to Mueller’s report and evidence may be guided by Congress, Clinton email case
David Frum: Trump DoJ readying itself to take view re Mueller report: 1) No release of derogatory information about persons who are not indicted; 2) The president cannot be indicted; 3) Therefore no release of derogatory information about the president

Miller: Exactly. Of course, the flip side is that it’s DOJ’s own opinion that POTUS can’t be indicted that makes the argument that they must turn over evidence to Congress so compelling. Otherwise, the president is above the law. DOJ’s “indict or shut up” maxim only makes sense if indictment is an option. And by the same token, if DOJ can’t indict a president, the lack of an indictment can’t exonerate him.
The Axois quote seems to be overinterpreting Miller's opinion of what should happen into a statement of what DOJ will do, when there's reason to question both that the cases are analogous, and the Barr DOJ's good faith.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:57 AM on February 23, 2019 [6 favorites]


Right, because this crowd is so constrained by norms and precedent.

We will see what happens to Mueller's report once it actually happens. Trying to predict it ahead of time is not possible. Stating what WILL happen, as the Axios article does, is stupid.
posted by ryanrs at 10:29 AM on February 23, 2019 [5 favorites]


Dickensian themes in current discourse
posted by The Whelk at 11:05 AM on February 23, 2019 [10 favorites]


The new Manafort sentencing memorandum is apparently around 800 PAGES LONG. Ok, then.
posted by Harry Caul at 11:30 AM on February 23, 2019 [13 favorites]


Here is the 25 page sentencing memo. The attachments are the 800 pages.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:57 AM on February 23, 2019 [18 favorites]


Interesting that some of the redactions are related to a letter from 1987. I mean, how far back does this all go?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 12:09 PM on February 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


Interesting that some of the redactions are related to a letter from 1987. I mean, how far back does this all go?

The Hidden History of Trump’s First Trip to Moscow
In 1987, a young real estate developer traveled to the Soviet Union. The KGB almost certainly made the trip happen.

Emphasis mine.
posted by PenDevil at 12:27 PM on February 23, 2019 [41 favorites]


I don't see a connection there. The letter referenced by the memo is to Manafort's legal counsel in the context of his lobbying work on behalf of Saudi Arabia.
posted by Room 101 at 1:45 PM on February 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


I don't see a connection there. The letter referenced by the memo is to Manafort's legal counsel in the context of his lobbying work on behalf of Saudi Arabia.
posted by Room 101 at 1:45 PM on February 23 [+] [!]


*ominous chords*

Somehow, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Turkey all seem to be tied up in this story, but it's still not clear how. Has there been any Mueller activity around these state actors?
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:03 PM on February 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Turkey all seem to be tied up in this story

"You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars. Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, reichmarks, rins, rubles, pounds, and shekels." --- Network

At the end of the day, it's not about nationalism or ideology. It about mindbogglingly large sums of money. Banks, oil and defense contracts. That's about it, really.
posted by SPrintF at 2:25 PM on February 23, 2019 [57 favorites]




INF Treaty exit? Putin says he’s ready to escalate to Cuban Missile Crisis levels
And by the way, that unlimited range nuclear torpedo? It's ready to deploy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told members of the Russian media on Wednesday that if the US exits the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty and deploys nuclear weapons to Europe, Russia will follow suit—by placing nuclear weapons off the coast of the US.

[...]

Russia's return to nuclear weapons development has in large part been a response to the US exit from the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty) executed by the George W. Bush administration and the continued development of a ballistic missile defense by the US. Long-range cruise missiles are just part of the collection of apocalyptic firepower Putin's government has in development.

[...]

Putin emphasized that "Russia does not intend to deploy such missiles in Europe first." But if US-deployed Tomahawks or other intermediate range nuclear weapons get to Europe, he said, "it will dramatically exacerbate the international security situation and create a serious threat to Russia because some of these missiles can reach Moscow in just 10–12 minutes." That would force Russia to "create and deploy weapons that can be used not only in the areas we are directly threatened from, but also in areas that contain decision-making centers for the missile systems threatening us…these weapons will fully correspond to the threats directed against Russia in their technical specifications, including flight times to these decision-making centers."

Putin said that no action would be taken yet to implement those plans. "I do not think we need any further, irresponsible exacerbation of the current international situation," he said. But the Russian president also warned the US against trying to develop additional countermeasures as a response. "Our American colleagues have already tried to gain absolute military superiority with their global missile defense project," he said. "They need to stop deluding themselves. Our response will always be efficient and effective."

The countering of US military posturing, which Putin described as a complete dismantling of "the international security architecture that took shape over the past decade… all while referring to Russia as almost the main threat to the USA" is but one component of Putin's plans to re-assert Russia's power in the world. Putin identified his goals as "a unified society, people being involved in the affairs of their country, and a common confidence in our power—that plays the main role in reaching success. And we will achieve this success by any means necessary."
posted by XMLicious at 3:29 PM on February 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


Here is the 25 page sentencing memo. The attachments are the 800 pages.

Luppe Luppen/@nycsouthpaw breaks this down:
Manafort Sentencing Memo (DDC): http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5747650-Manafort-Sentencing-USA-Main.html

Attachments A-F (mostly docs we’ve seen before): http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5747661-Manafort-Sentencing-USA-Attachments-A-F.html

Attachment G (mostly exhibits for the trial Manafort avoided by pleading guilty): http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5747662-Manafort-Sentencing-USA-Attachment-G.html
Appendix G revolves around Manafort's subversive Ukrainian lobbying in 2012 on behalf of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and features such tantalizing pieces of evidence as Manafort's "False and Misleading Foreign Agents Registration Act Statements" (ex. 438), "Skadden Report" (ex. 444), and "Outreach to █████████" (ex. 443) {a member of Congress, possibly Dana Rohrabacher or Vin Weber since they definitely met with Manafort a year later}, with a ton of redactions, sometimes entire pages.

Marcy Wheeler : On Mueller’s Choice Not to Elaborate on Paulie’s Lies Mueller, she notes, drily told Judge Jackson, "As the Court is fully familiar with this proof, we do not repeat the evidence herein." i.e. the details of Manafort's more recent malfeasance in 2016–2018. This deviates from his typical practice of filing fully detailed "speaking" court documents, which leads Wheeler to conclude he did this "to protect an ongoing investigation we have every reason to believe is substantially completed" and that "he’s certain he will be able to provide a report in some public form, presumably in the same kind of detail he has presented in all his other statements."

The NYer's Adam Davidson is disappointed but keeps things in perspective: Robert Mueller’s Nothing-Burger Sentencing Memo on Paul Manafort
Here’s what it proves: Mueller is running one of the most carefully orchestrated and successfully secretive investigations in history. Nobody, other than a tiny team of insiders, has any idea what he will report or when. There are, now, signals in the press that he may issue some sort of report in the next several weeks. But we have no idea what it will contain, who will get to read it, or if it means his investigation—leaving aside the many other state and federal investigations—is over or entering a new phase.

The one thing that is clear is that any declared theory about what Mueller is up to and when he’s going to be up to it is inaccurate.
(As a tangent, Davidson's new documentary series for Amazon, This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy, looks as entertaining as one can make the problem of money-laundering.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 4:26 PM on February 23, 2019 [12 favorites]


This isn't the first time Trump has insisted there weren't any phone calls when denying Russian collusion. It's an oddly specific detail to keep bringing up.

Former NY State AG senior advisor Dan Lavoie tallies it up in a thread:
Eight.

On eight separate occasions -- from his first press conference as president to just yesterday -- Trump has specifically denied making any "phone calls" to Russia as part of a 2016 collusion effort.

The thing is, no one has ever accused him of that.
Specifically, Feb. 22, 2019; Jan. 12 & 30, 2019; Sept. 7, 2018; July 18, 2018; Feb. 24, 2018; Dec. 15, 2017; Feb. 16, 2017.

Considering how much Trump has always loved to work the phones, I'd say he's either obsessed with having been unable to talk to Putin in 2015–16 or he's lying very, very badly.
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:15 PM on February 23, 2019 [27 favorites]


"You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars. Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, reichmarks, rins, rubles, pounds, and shekels." --- Network

Thanks-you, SPrintF, right on point. This is my absolute favorite movie of all time, über-timely, and not cited nearly enough here in The Blue (or anywhere else) in these post-ironic, post-existential, post-intellectual times.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:27 PM on February 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


INF Treaty exit? Putin says he’s ready to escalate to Cuban Missile Crisis levels

XMLicious -- what is this source, and what's its general bias? I can't figure it out quite but I don't think it's legitimate.
posted by tivalasvegas at 5:31 PM on February 23, 2019


arstechnica is a legitimate site... for tech stuff. I have no idea why its going politics?
posted by Justinian at 5:44 PM on February 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


Justinian, Ars Technica has always covered politics where it intersects science and technology.
I have been reading Ars Technica since the late ‘90s.
posted by Gadgetenvy at 5:54 PM on February 23, 2019 [16 favorites]


In the case of the INF Treaty exit, Ars Technica talks a fair deal about weapons systems.
posted by ZeusHumms at 5:57 PM on February 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


Considering how much Trump has always loved to work the phones, I'd say he's either obsessed with having been unable to talk to Putin in 2015–16 or he's lying very, very badly.

Seems like both are true. Seems odd for someone who lies so much to be so bad at it, but here we are.
posted by ZeusHumms at 5:59 PM on February 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


Ars Technica is currently a Condé Nast property I think, if that's of any interest.
posted by XMLicious at 6:26 PM on February 23, 2019


You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations.

Of the shorter version, oligarchs vs. everyone else
posted by benzenedream at 6:30 PM on February 23, 2019 [8 favorites]



This isn't the first time Trump has insisted there weren't any phone calls when denying Russian collusion. It's an oddly specific detail to keep bringing up.


As a malignant narcissist, on some level Trump believes that he can control reality with his words.

So there definitely WERE phone calls, but he's hoping if he says that enough times they'll be erased.

See also "no collusion."
posted by mmoncur at 6:33 PM on February 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


Somehow, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Turkey all seem to be tied up in this story, but it's still not clear how. Has there been any Mueller activity around these state actors?

It's amazing how crooks and main-chancers seem to associate, but I don't recall links between these entities and Russian attempts to swing the election.

The only connections I recall between the investigation and Saudi Arabia seem to revolve around the campaign approaching the Kingdom for finance. That's very likely corrupt and illegal, and it may be the sort of thing on which Trump finally runs aground, but I think we'll feel disappointed if the only prosecutions involving the campaign are for using unconventional sources of campaign funds.

I don't recall any stories about Turkish involvement with Trump's campaign, although Trump associates and even the Family may have been involved in some corrupt business ventures.

The Israeli connection seems to consist of a private entity or entities ("Black Cube") approaching the campaign and offering to produce dossiers discrediting former Obama officials. That company allegedly employs ex-Mossad operatives, but I have a strong feeling that there's more PR than substance here. In any event, this doesn't seem to be part of the hacking narrative. N.B., "Black Cube" isn't a state actor, any more than Cambridge Analytica is a British one; nobody talks about British attempts to swing the election for Trump.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:57 PM on February 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


Ars Technica is currently a Condé Nast property I think, if that's of any interest.

Ars is generally reliable when it comes to tech, handles both breakdowns of complex subjects & big picture "what it all means" stories pretty well. But geopolitics is outside its wheelhouse.

Poseidon is a great big question mark. Nobody really knows how much is real & how much is propaganda, what its propulsion is, how reliable, how fast, how close to deployment it is. Anybody claiming they do know is on the grift.
posted by scalefree at 7:04 PM on February 23, 2019


I don't recall any stories about Turkish involvement with Trump's campaign, although Trump associates and even the Family may have been involved in some corrupt business ventures.

Flynn was working for Turkey in some fashion, and wanted to kidnap Gulen for them
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:05 PM on February 23, 2019 [8 favorites]


I'm going to complain about the New York Times. Wait - wait. Look, I appreciate there are sluggers in the trenches who really care about what they write. They're doing the best they can. But something is wrong at the NYT. Something that is also wrong at all corporate media outposts. It's not new, but like cancer research we get more details as the observation continues. Let's watch:

Republican Cries Against Voter Fraud Go Mostly Quiet After Scheme Tied to Party

Republican politicians across the country have for years railed against the threat of voter fraud. Some have made unproven claims about how rampant it has become in order to pass voter ID laws and open sweeping investigations. The sanctity of the vote, they have said, must be protected at all costs.

But when a hard-fought congressional election in North Carolina — in which a Republican candidate appeared to narrowly beat his Democratic opponent — was overturned this week because of election fraud by a Republican political operative, the party was measured, and largely muted, in its response.


This is not a bombshell, nor is it particularly surprising to anyone. What it is, is an example of how "The Republicans" ferry on as a coherent myth when they have for years now, demonstrated at every opportunity and in every language they speak that they are party over country. They support a treasonous halfwit rather than make the wheels of government work for the people they represent.

So what does that have to do with the NYT? Or CNN or any other corporate news orgainization? It's that they are fossilized in a language bag of talking about the Republican party as if they are a viable, legitimate political party of ideas. On all counts there are years' worth of examples to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that they are not.

So it is up to the NYT (in this case) to change their "language bag" when discussing our party of racist oligarchy. Here's an example: "On Friday, Mr. Berger, the Republican state senator, resisted suggestions that his party had ignored the fraud potential and noted that state law already banned the misconduct outlined at the hearing this week. But he said, “I think it’s clear that something needs to be done if there’s a reasonable thing that can be done.”"

I mean, that's the language they used for 40 years; that Reagan-era "Assume we're legit" perspective that says nothing - they'll be using in press pools as the 8mile high tsunami roars ashore and it will continue forward as a political party media strategy until it no longer works.

Here's where NYT comes in. Because that type of blah blah concern blah hasn't worked ever. It just happens. The NYT prints like they print the weekly weather, then move on. This particular class of Republicans that have gravitated to the bitter fumes of Trumps DC, they're just doing blanket crimes and policy violations as a matter of course - they're not really trying. But this stock mad-libs article will give them yet more cover to keep doing it.

And that's what HAS to change. NYT, WaPo, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, wherever regular sources of wire service stories and prepackaged news segments come from has to Start Over with how they present these all-day, every-day lies from the GOP. Because they are being eaten by this necrotic host and it's so unusual that even 2 years in they still have these milquetoast articles about Republican corruption and hypocrisy and be liek "Hmmm. Mmmmm. Hmmmmm."
posted by petebest at 7:41 PM on February 23, 2019 [45 favorites]


Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) on US vs Venezuela
1/ Democrats need to be careful about a potential trap being set by Trump et al in Venezuela. Cheering humanitarian convoys sounds like the right thing to do, but what if it's not about the aid? What if the real agenda is laying a pretext for war? Follow my logic for a second.

2/ First, so secret Trump has been talking up war with Maduro since 2017, when he repeatedly asked McMaster for a plan to overthrow Maduro. New McCabe book confirms Now, Trump says "all options are on the table" and Rubio objects to Senate resolution that forbids war.

3/ I want aid to get to Venezuelans. But let's be honest - Venezuela didn't just lurch into humanitarian crisis. The aid is being sent there now as part of a regime change strategy. Many are hoping that it will be the match that lights a civil war against Maduro.

4/ Senator Rubio rushed to tweet out reports today of Maduro allies firing into Colombian territory, warning that the "the United States WILL help Columbia confront any aggression against them." Venezuela ordered Colombian diplomats out in 24 hours, ramping up the crisis.

5/ Maduro is evil, and the U.S. should pursue a strategy to undermine him and prompt new elections. No one can defend what he has done to Venezuela. But it's quite a different thing for the U.S. to incite a civil war with no real plan for how it ends (sound familiar?).

6/ And finally - and perhaps most importantly - go look up the 1947 Rio Treaty (full text, WikiPedia), It's a western hemisphere mutual defense treaty, and may not require a war declaration if Trump is legitimately coming to the defense of Colombia. Don't think the Venezuela hawks don't know this.
posted by scalefree at 8:46 PM on February 23, 2019 [23 favorites]


Here's where NYT comes in. Because that type of blah blah concern blah hasn't worked ever. It just happens. The NYT prints like they print the weekly weather, then move on.

Contrast this with their gleeful daily attacks on Clinton when everyone assumed she would win, adopting wholesale Steve Bannon's book into the only story they were capable of running for the entire 2016 cycle.

It's not just some artifact of institutional momentum, every single article is an intentional choice.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:49 PM on February 23, 2019 [19 favorites]


We are ruled by an ignorant child whose brittle feelings must be catered to at every moment. We cannot imagine how toxic the environment in the White House is.

Watch Chinese Official Laugh Out Loud as Trump and His Trade Chief Argue on Terminology
Robert Lighthizer was apparently so exasperated from what he was hearing uttered by President Donald Trump’s mouth that he seemingly forgot one of the key rules about the White House: Never contradict the boss. Especially not in public. What followed was a tense two minutes that put on stark display Trump’s ignorance of how trade deals work even though he has long touted it as one of his administration’s key specialties and the way he keeps himself out of the minutiae of the deals that he says are key. In the middle of it all, a top Chinese official couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh, seemingly incredulous at what was unfolding before his eyes.
posted by scalefree at 4:03 AM on February 24, 2019 [39 favorites]


I don't recall links between these entities and Russian attempts to swing the election.

There are some such links. Including thr fact that, yeah, Russia and Turkey were both paying Michael Flynn. ($64k from Russia, $500k from Turkey.)

Cambridge Analytica offered to help coordinate the email release with WikiLeaks, offered some briefings on US politics to Russian companies, shared data with Russian researchers, and ran most of the Trump campaign's media strategy (per Alexander Nix) they also coordinated with the Isreali company PSY-group to try to win US government contracts. They also did psychological profiling on the Saudi population on behalf of thr Saudi government.

PSY-Group not only teamed with CA for that proposal, they also met with with Donald Trump Jr. and Erik Prince and Rick Gates and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower. They were there to offer digital services. We know all of those guys were also meeting with Russians, of course. But that particular meeting was also attended by some lobbyists for UAE and Saudi Arabia, who did end up paying PSY-Group for aomething.

And Erik Prince had meetings in the Seychelles with representatives of the UAE and Saui governments AND the Russian government.

Links for the PSY-Group, UAE, Saudi stuff are here.

Links for Cambridge Analytica are here, at number 8 and number 9, respectively.
posted by OnceUponATime at 4:04 AM on February 24, 2019 [23 favorites]


Flynn was working for Turkey in some fashion, and wanted to kidnap Gulen for them

You know, I had totally forgotten this. I don't think this particular bit of Simony is a substantial piece of the puzzle, but it still shows how unnatural and wrong the Trump administration is. A scandal like that - a National Security Advisor working as a foreign lobbyist - ought to bring down governments. But this administration is so fundamentally weird that we only ask whether Trump was personally negotiating to hand Fethullah Gülen over to Turkey. We're just not interested in the fact that Trump appointed Flynn, was clearly being steered by him, and might well have agreed to Turkey's terms.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:04 AM on February 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


Edit window closed while I was editing. That should have said links for Cambridge Analytica and Erik Prince are here at number 8 and 9. (And yeah, I know that page could use some more organization/navigation.)
posted by OnceUponATime at 5:09 AM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Watch Chinese Official Laugh Out Loud as Trump and His Trade Chief Argue on Terminology

I know a headline like this is like cocaine-laced bacon for the press, but the more important takeaway is that Trump is absolutely allergic to anything that hampers his ability to do whatever he wants, and he's too goddamn incompetent to even pretend otherwise, no matter how many cameras are rolling and no matter how high the stakes are and who's at the table. He's the textbook case of why things like MOUs and contracts have to exist in the first place.
posted by Rykey at 5:28 AM on February 24, 2019 [41 favorites]


Watch Chinese Official Laugh Out Loud as Trump and His Trade Chief Argue on Terminology

Trump looked annoyed as Lighthizer was talking and as soon as he was done, he made sure to know that his words were meaningless. “By the way, I disagree,” Trump told reporters and the gathered Chinese delegation. It was at that point that Vice Premier Liu He, the top Chinese negotiator, laughed out loud. “I think that a Memorandum of Understanding is not a contract to the extent that we want,” Trump said. “We’re doing a Memorandum of Understanding that will be put into a final contract, I assume. But to me the final contract is really the thing, Bob, and I think you mean that too.” And then he went on to note that “the real question” was “how long will it take to put that into a final binding contract?”


Liu was born in Beijing. He graduated from Renmin University- Beijing Union University with a degree in industrial economics. He later studied at Seton Hall University and received his Masters of Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[4]
...
In May 2018, Liu, as Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping’s special envoy and vice premier, led a Chinese trade delegation to Washington, D.C. for the second round of trade talks with their U.S. counterparts.[7] This was part of the 2018 China–United States trade war.

On January 31, 2019, Liu He met with petitioners from Shanghai and Dalian in Washington, DC, USA. Liu He kept an evasive attitude towards the petitioners.


Y'all can read the wikipedia links and the other google-able research on this guy, but my takeaway - Harvard grad who led the 2nd Chinese delegation to negotiate an end to the trade war, and who handled the Shanghai/Dalian petitioners. This is a serious human. If he laughs out loud at you, check yourself before you wreck yourself. Especially if you're the president of the f**kin United States of America. FFS. ME, a random-ass nobody sometimes-propaganda translator, has met people at this level of Chinese government and not been laughed at, more than once, at dinners, with liquor. These people DO NOT laugh at you. They might smile, they might gently tease, but laughing out loud, rather than with you, is unheard of, even around shitfaced me, who they quietly order their assistants to escort to a taxi. They comport themselves very, very seriously, because it's China, and you don't say/do the wrong thing at the wrong moment, on pain of pissing off the wrong person, which has potentially lethal and often financially ruinous consequences. Self-control is a thing they're good at. Chances are this guy's really good, what with leading the delegation. HE LAUGHED OUT LOUD at Trump. Wtf.
posted by saysthis at 5:42 AM on February 24, 2019 [107 favorites]


Can't abuse the edit window, but forgot to include a link on what Vice Premier means.

They are directly below the Premier, which is Daddy Xi. At present, there are 4, although that number has varied in the past. He Liu is 4th most senior, meaning "officially" 5th most powerful in China, for the varying values of that term. So my point remains. This ain't no fuckaround Sally, this is someone who honestly has to be astounded to giggle. He did. I wish there was footage of his face.
posted by saysthis at 6:03 AM on February 24, 2019 [22 favorites]


In re Venezuela: I am pretty disappointed that Bernie Sanders appears to be temporizing rather than calling out what's going on. It is incredibly obvious, based on both the Trump administration's history and American history in South and Central America, that this whole business is an effort to gin up a war. Whether it will be successful or just trail off into the usual "break as much as possible and then boast" Trump half-assedness is anyone's guess, but it's obvious that if war were as easy as appointing someone shitty to head the EPA, we'd be at war right now.

As long as Venezuela is substantially dependent on the price of oil, it will always be difficult to achieve a government that is both stable and just. What the US wants is to re-establish a government that is compliant and and unjust, but unjust in the favor of the 1% and the US, so that we can all look away and pretend everything is fine. Nothing the US will do is going to be in the interest of the actual Venezuelan people, and any claims about this are lies. There is no temporizing on this matter. We don't care about Maduro's competence or human rights record one bit; that's just the mouth noises that politicians have to make so that we'll get drawn into debate.

The only acceptable position on this is to call it out as complete bullshit. No country that has been content with Pinochet, Trujillo, the PRI, etc, has a leg to stand on about human rights. No country that puts children in cages has a leg to stand on!
posted by Frowner at 6:14 AM on February 24, 2019 [42 favorites]


Maybe the Trump White House comms team sensed what a gaffe Trump's VP meeting was because this morning @realDonaldTrump has been tweeting hard about China. Trump's bragging about "Very productive talks yesterday with China on Trade." and how "President Xi of China has been very helpful in his support of my meeting with Kim Jong Un." The tipoff that Trump's fighting narcissistic injury—he hates the idea of being laughed at—is his distorting his approval ratings ("Not bad considering I get the most unfair (BAD) press in the history of presidential politics! And don’t forget the Witch Hunt!"). Shine and Scavino are also pushing Trump's “A Salute To America” 4th of July fest (with "an address by your favorite President, me!").
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:37 AM on February 24, 2019 [13 favorites]


I'm going to complain about the New York Times. Wait - wait. Look, I appreciate there are sluggers in the trenches who really care about what they write. They're doing the best they can. But something is wrong at the NYT. Something that is also wrong at all corporate media outposts. It's not new, but like cancer research we get more details as the observation continues.

Five myths about journalism (WaPo Perspective)
Myth No. 3
Good journalism must be objective.

Objectivity as a journalistic practice is a relatively new phenomenon, though. From the founding of an independent United States to the penny press of the 1830s and the yellow journalism of the 1890s, the press was more often than not openly biased. The objectivity standard developed as a way to professionalize newsgathering and reporting in the wake of yellow journalism’s excesses. Former New York Times columnist Walter Lippmann, a key figure in the industry, noted in his seminal “Public Opinion” that objectivity was a way to account for biases, not an attempt to eliminate them. Some of his ideas were highly influential in journalism schools, which sprang up in the early 1900s and began to train journalists with common standards such as objectivity. Other notable types of journalism don’t equate objectivity with lack of bias, as we see with the storytelling style employed by news magazines such as Time.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:54 AM on February 24, 2019 [7 favorites]


House Democrats will subpoena Mueller if report is not made public, Schiff says (WaPo)
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that House Democrats will subpoena special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to testify before Congress if his report on Russian interference in the 2016 campaign is not made public.

Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABC News’s “This Week” that Democrats will also subpoena Mueller’s report and are prepared to go to court against the Trump administration.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 8:33 AM on February 24, 2019 [26 favorites]


An interesting run-down on the effects of US sanctions on Venezuela. It describes how, once again, debt service is used as a weapon to impoverish a South American country. Maduro, who seems to have all Chavez's flaws but few of his good qualities, is still struggling against circumstances that would TBH break even much richer states.
posted by Frowner at 8:37 AM on February 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


Much as I enjoy the prospect of Trump being laughed at and humiliated as often and as openly as possible, my take from that clip was that the diplomats weren't laughing at Trump per se, but at Lighthizer, when he replied with amused exasperation, "From now on we're not using the word 'Memorandum Of Understanding' anymore."

OK I know I am splitting an impossibly fine hair between laughing at Trump, and laughing at a lowkey joke arising from a situation caused by Trump. I guess I feel that somewhere in that tiny hair's breadth lies the difference between Trump believing he put he resolutely and presidentially hammered into place the very good terminology that the best billionaires use, and Lighthizer being hounded mercilessly from now on until he's forced to resign.
posted by xigxag at 8:37 AM on February 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


Myth No. 3
Good journalism must be objective.


Even that comment misses the mark. Journalism today would stand to benefit with a good, healthy dose of objectivity. One of the media's fatal flaws is that it has bowed to relentless bad-faith criticism by the right by substituting objectivity with the phony standard of "balance," equating facts with nonsense and data with opinion.

Objectively, tax cuts for the rich don't grow the economy. Objectively, giving more money to the wealthy means it stays there, not trickles down. Objectively, Donald Trump confessed to obstruction of justice on Lester Holt's show and there's a mountain of evidence suggesting wrongdoing by the President and his cronies. Objectively, vaccines don't cause autism and climate change is real. Objectively, Trump lies all the time.

Yet the media time and again airs the false opinions of Republicans on an equal footing with the facts of journalists, Democrats, and scientists, and airs Trump's nonsense as if there was even a sporting chance that what he was saying had some tenuous connection with reality.

All of this phony "balance," which gives partisan nonsense and spin an equal footing with facts, is an abject surrender to one side of the political debate and seriously compromises journalism's basic mission. The "truth sandwich" mentioned on previous megathread, in which an objective fact is presented before, say, Trump says something opposite, and then reinforced, is better, but it's essential for the media to realized that conservative criticism is not made in good faith, and does not seek to improve journalism's service to the public but rather suborn it as a propaganda tool.

And no, the idea that journalists "are getting criticized from both sides, so they must be doing something right," as frequently deployed by lazy and feckless editorials, is not an excuse for their failure to differentiate between what has a basis in fact and what manifestly does not.
posted by Gelatin at 8:37 AM on February 24, 2019 [53 favorites]


Watch Chinese Official Laugh Out Loud as Trump and His Trade Chief Argue on Terminology

It's really clear from that clip that Trump only understands one kind of negotiation and dealmaking process (real estate development) and he is trying to force that mental model onto the trade negotiation process. In real estate it is common to have non-binding letters of intent or memoranda of understanding, followed later by a binding contract. LoIs and MoUs can be written to be binding as well, but in real estate they usually aren't. Evidently in trade negotiations MoUs are usually binding.

In the clip, Trump betrays his ignorance, Lighthizer tries to salvage things, Trump doubles down as usual (provoking laughter from the Chinese VP), and finally Lighthizer caves by saying that they'll change the standard terminology used in trade negotiations to placate Trump. It was a live, on-camera demonstration of just how chaotic and weak the American administration is.
posted by jedicus at 9:10 AM on February 24, 2019 [33 favorites]


The news will debate forever whether or not businesses will someday use a huge tax break to improve worker pay, because it's just too radical to start talking about how to pay people enough money to feed and clothe themselves. At a point you just realize the press is a part of the game. You can't honestly listen to the news today and tell me their job is to inform the people.
posted by xammerboy at 9:18 AM on February 24, 2019 [14 favorites]


It was a live, on-camera demonstration of just how chaotic and weak the American administration is.

Now, how to express that in language that the Trump devout can understand. Right, probably not doable. How about putting it in language that Trump can understand, or maybe Jared can understand so that he could tell Ivanka who could then tell... jesus, how many days of this shit-show are left?
posted by From Bklyn at 9:25 AM on February 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


And no, the idea that journalists "are getting criticized from both sides, so they must be doing something right," as frequently deployed by lazy and feckless editorials, is not an excuse for their failure to differentiate between what has a basis in fact and what manifestly does not.

I'm simultaneously being invaded by the Soviet Union in the east and the USA in the west, so I must be doing something right!
posted by Rust Moranis at 10:06 AM on February 24, 2019 [30 favorites]


jesus, how many days of this shit-show are left?

Currently 6962,157 days depending on the outcome of the 2020 election.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:29 AM on February 24, 2019 [7 favorites]


Now, how to express that in language that the Trump devout can understand.

Obviously, a huge part of the problem, if not the core issue, is that the devout would only ever understand this as weakness if it was a democrat being laughed at.
posted by feloniousmonk at 11:29 AM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


CNN, Kylie Atwood, 'If nobody is listening, it is useless': Trump admin's social media campaign against Iran divides diplomats
In the last couple of weeks a top political State Department official tweeted a mocking GIF of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif calling him a liar, national security adviser John Bolton pronounced that he did not think Iran's regime will have any more anniversaries in an official White House video and the State Department distributed a video of what was once the Iranian Embassy in DC, which has now been shuttered for almost 40 years.

Trump's "Sanctions are coming" tweet certainly caught the world's attention and grabbed headlines. The President was so taken with the image that the poster was on the table in front of him during the first Cabinet meeting of the new year.

Career diplomats had heard about the idea of the original tweet from political leadership at the State Department. They claimed an edgy preview of the big show -- US sanctions against entities doing business with Iran, months after the US exited the Iran nuclear deal -- would grab people's attention. Initially, the career officials had said no, arguing it diluted the seriousness of the policy.

The poster appeared "more silly than anything else," explained a career diplomat. But the political appointees sent it to the White House. If State wouldn't use it, maybe the President would. It worked and Trump loved it, explained administration officials.

The poster crystallized the contentious divide between career diplomats at the State Department and Trump's political appointees when it comes to messaging on Iran.
...
In some cases the political appointees' brainstorms for digital content and messaging have gone so far overboard that they have been shut down completely.

Last year one of the political appointees called up the Iran desk with an idea to find a Persian bakery in Washington, have it make rocket-shaped cookies and send them to all the countries within missile-launching range of Iran. The idea was rejected before it turned into anything, but State Department diplomats tell CNN they have had to shut down many similar ideas.
posted by zachlipton at 11:46 AM on February 24, 2019 [11 favorites]


Politico, Trump’s end run on defense spending
President Donald Trump is preparing to ask Congress for yet another increase in defense spending in the coming weeks. But his plan would evade federal budget limits by stashing nearly a quarter of that money in an off-the-books account — and both Democrats and Republicans say it won’t fly in Congress.

The White House plans to stuff as much as $174 billion of its $750 billion request for national defense for the coming fiscal year into a special war fund, according to reports, allowing the administration to maintain its long-sought military buildup without violating a 2011 law aimed at reining in the deficit.
...
A senior administration official confirmed the plans to boost the war fund and said the intent is to avoid having to reach another budget deal like last year that would also require boosting domestic programs, something Democrats have insisted in return for beefing up Pentagon coffers.

“We want to move away from … the muscle memory of Capitol Hill right now, which is to do two-year, big caps deals that have a dollar-for-dollar increase for non-defense for every dollar of defense increases," the official explained. "We don't think that we can afford that."

"We're not going to say that this is the best way to budget," the official added, "but that this is the best way in the current moment to budget."
Mulvaney, naturally, was the strongest voice on fighting this particular budget gimmick before entirely abandoning that now.
posted by zachlipton at 11:49 AM on February 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


Now, how to express that in language that the Trump devout can understand.

Don't bother. They know. Well, they mostly know. They understand, deep down, that Trump is in no way ready for this job, even after two years, and they grok that he's not at all interested in learning. They simply don't care.

Energize and assist the people who don't typically vote. Marginalize the minority of Trump devout.
posted by Etrigan at 12:01 PM on February 24, 2019 [47 favorites]


An interesting run-down on the effects of US sanctions on Venezuela. It describes how, once again, debt service is used as a weapon to impoverish a South American country.

In the interest of factual accuracy, the courts fucked Venezuela on the debt. I believe the Obama administration was arguing against the bondholders in that instance, but I'm not 100% on that part.

Not that it changes the practical outcome in Venezuela one iota, of course. It's just not really like the other, entirely intentional, fucking over of various countries in the rest of the Americas we have engaged in.
posted by wierdo at 1:27 PM on February 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


Margaret Hoover asked Andrew McCabe:

"Are you telegraphing here that the FBI opened an investigation into Attorney General Jeff Sessions?"

"You can conclude whatever you'd like...."
posted by growabrain at 2:08 PM on February 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


Margaret Hoover should do a little more homework. NYT reported in March 2018 about the investigation into Sessions. And ABC as well.
posted by Harry Caul at 2:30 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]




Marco Rubio tweeted without comment a still from the Qadaffi torture and execution video.

Along with the clear indication that he's an actual psychopath, the fact that he's so comfortable ripping the mask off is one more sign that we're in the "matter of time" stage with Venezuela.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:34 PM on February 24, 2019 [13 favorites]


John Cornyn tweeted without comment a quote from Mussolini.
“We were the first to assert that the more complicated the forms assumed by civilization, the more restricted the freedom of the individual must become.” Benito Mussolini
posted by adamg at 2:44 PM on February 24, 2019 [7 favorites]




Harry Caul: Margaret Hoover should do a little more homework. NYT reported in March 2018 about the investigation into Sessions.

Additionally, as a rule, the FBI doesn't explicitly deny any investigation, so "Conclude whatever you'd like" isn't a coy "Yes". Otherwise, you could just figure out who is being investigated by process of elimination: "No, we're not looking at Alice. No, Bob is not under our radar. What about Charlie? No comment at this time."
posted by InTheYear2017 at 2:52 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


Dahlia Lithwick: Prepare for Mueller to Ghost

Mayhap yes, mayhap no.

@RepAdamSchiff When Mueller’s investigation is complete, the report must be made public.

If Attorney General Barr tries to hide it, we’ll subpoena the report, insist on the underlying evidence, have Mueller testify, and take it to court, if needed.

The American people deserve the facts.

[video: Schiff statement on ABC This Week]
posted by scalefree at 3:25 PM on February 24, 2019 [20 favorites]


Politico: Emails Reveal Coordination Between Chao, McConnell Offices—Chao has met at least 10 times with politicians and business leaders from the state in response to requests from McConnell’s office.
Chao has met at least 10 times with politicians and business leaders from the state in response to requests from McConnell’s office, according to documents provided to Politico by the watchdog group American Oversight. In some cases, those people later received what they were hoping for from Chao’s department, including infrastructure grants, the designation of an interstate highway and assistance in getting state funds for a highway project[….]

The records also do not show how frequently Chao has met with people from outside Kentucky, a state her husband has represented in the Senate since 1985, or how readily she has responded to similar requests from other lawmakers. But at least a dozen of the emails show McConnell’s staff acting as a conduit between Chao and Kentucky political figures or business leaders, some of whom previously have had relationships with the couple.[…]

American Oversight obtained the emails under the Freedom of Information Act. The group’s founder and executive director , Austin Evers, said they show an unusually close relationship between a Senate leader and a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet — and that “Secretary Chao built a political operation in her office to favor Kentucky.”
Just in case there was any doubt that McConnell will continue to support Trump.
posted by Doktor Zed at 3:54 PM on February 24, 2019 [20 favorites]


@CrimeADay 18 USC §1865 & 36 CFR §7.96(g)(3)(ii)(B) make it a federal crime to hold a special event in the shaded part of the Lincoln Memorial, except for the official annual commemorative Lincoln birthday ceremony.

[image: map showing shaded part of Lincoln Memorial]
posted by scalefree at 4:00 PM on February 24, 2019 [12 favorites]


Venezuela Coverage Takes Us Back to Golden Age of Lying About Latin America

God knows the coverage is not well-reported, but this article really does seem to be going out of its way to paint Venezuela as a socialist paradise. Saying "those protesters look well-fed" and "the baseball team isn't dying of hunger" is an absolutely bottom-of-the-barrel way to argue that actually there's no hunger in the country. I mean, of course they physically have enough food to feed the national baseball team.
posted by BungaDunga at 4:42 PM on February 24, 2019 [15 favorites]


[No Joke]
John Cornyn, Republican senator, thinks it's time to start twitting Mussolini quotes.
The internet responds
posted by growabrain at 6:11 PM on February 24, 2019 [8 favorites]


Axios, Inside Trump's Venezuela pivot, in which Trump has no idea what he's talking about:
Conversations like this one have shaped Trump's Venezuela approach. Privately, Trump often talks about his fondness for the Venezuelan expats who frequent his golf club in Doral.

"We have many Venezuelans living in the United States,” he said in a press conference last September. "Many of them live in the Doral area of Miami. I've gotten to know them well. They are great, great people. We are going to take care of those people."

That's not all, of course. His senior advisers universally support unseating Maduro. And people close to Trump say he takes a markedly different view of Venezuela than Middle Eastern war zones. He sees Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq as beyond help, a waste of American lives and money. Venezuela, in his view, is different: It's a neighbor, and a crisis there directly affects the U.S., via trade and migration. Trump thinks Venezuela should be rich and peaceful.
...
"He also takes some of this stuff personally. The fact that Maduro and others have reacted the way they have [with their fiery rhetoric about Trump]... Ultimately there comes a point, for this president, where he become personally invested in it...he becomes an enemy and then he goes after you pretty hard."

Political opportunism also plays a big role. "It's a real-life example of the failure of socialism and there's an appeal in that," a senior White House official told me.
We already know that the centerpiece of his 2020 campaign is going to be attacks on socialism, and the prospect that foreign policy and military action could be used to reinforce that is terrifying.

Venezuela Coverage Takes Us Back to Golden Age of Lying About Latin America

UNHCR and IOM say 3.4 million refugees and migrants have left Venezuela. I'm inclined to believe they had reasons to get out that aren't rebutted by "an expat obtained some Tylenol" and "the country's top athletes aren't starving."
posted by zachlipton at 6:12 PM on February 24, 2019 [13 favorites]


Marco Rubio tweeted without comment a still from the Qaddafi torture and execution video.

John Cornyn tweeted without comment a quote from Mussolini.


Republican Senators tweeting bloodthirsty snuff videos of a dictator we recently killed surely helps Trump's upcoming negotiation with a nuclear armed dictator.

Also Rubio's transition in one tweet from quoting Bible verses to Qaddafi's graphic murder video is just too perfect. The Republican party in two tweets. ::chef's kiss::
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:30 PM on February 24, 2019 [12 favorites]


Does Cornyn not see or does he not care about the hypocrisy in tweeting that Mussolini quote while at least tacitly backing Trump's national emergency and usurpation of Congress' most important power, the power of the purse?
posted by Justinian at 6:33 PM on February 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


Amanda Sakuma, Vox, "The last 48 hours in Venezuela news, explained"

Angry Chris Murphy Twitter thread



Chris Murphy and Ben Rhodes WaPo Op Ed
on Venezuela from last month

One more Chris Murphy tweet. "Forgive me if I cast a tad of doubt on the humanitarian intentions of a President who locked little kids up in cages and tried to cut the State Dept by 40%. I draw issue w the method and bravado, not the aid. You can get food to Venezuela without inciting war."
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:18 PM on February 24, 2019 [17 favorites]


my take from that clip was that the diplomats weren't laughing at Trump per se, but at Lighthizer

Bloomberg has the interchange from another angle, and it's clear VP Liu is laughing at Trump.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:18 PM on February 24, 2019 [16 favorites]


... the humanitarian intentions of a President who locked little kids up in cages...

*locks*. Present tense. It's ongoing. Right now.

Since the Trump administration announced it would end its practice of separating families apprehended at the southern border last June under its "zero tolerance" immigration policy, at least 245 children have been separated from their parents, according to a new court filing.

Between late June 2018 and early February of this year, the administration identified 245 children who had been separated, though four of them are under additional review.

... The administration has come under renewed scrutiny for the handling of separations following a Health and Human Services inspector general report that revealed thousands more children had been separated than previously reported.

posted by petebest at 8:27 PM on February 24, 2019 [21 favorites]


Does Cornyn not see or does he not care about the hypocrisy in tweeting that Mussolini quote while at least tacitly backing Trump's national emergency and usurpation of Congress' most important power, the power of the purse?

Cornyn is a fascist quoting a fascist. That's it.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:27 PM on February 24, 2019 [11 favorites]


Cornyn is a fascist quoting a fascist. That's it.

He overplayed the Republican "everything is socialism" hand, trying to attack Dems by implication that fascism is socialism therefore anything against Mussolini is really meant to be interpreted as attacking AOC & Bernie.
posted by scalefree at 8:38 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


@BudKennedy Sen. @JohnCornyn appears to be warning us against an overly powerful central government. But it’d help if he’d clarify.

@JohnCornyn You nailed it, Bud. Since so-called Democratic Socialists have forgotten or never learned the lessons of history, and how their ideology is incompatible with freedom, I guess we have to remind or teach them.

@JohnCornyn Did I over estimate the intelligence of some in the twitter sphere?
posted by scalefree at 8:43 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Ah, yes, the fascist movement definitely shows us the failure of left wing politics. How silly of me to not get it.
posted by Justinian at 8:49 PM on February 24, 2019 [21 favorites]


A "men's rights" group (ugh) has convinced a Texas US District Court to hold the all-male Selective Service system unconstitutional on equal protection grounds.

NYT coverage, including this reminder:

Though no one has been conscripted into the United States military in more than 40 years, the Military Selective Service Act requires all American men to register when they turn 18, in case a draft is reinstated; they remain eligible through age 25. Men who do not register can be fined, imprisoned and denied services like federal student loans.

This is a declaratory judgment action, with no specific orders resulting so the military (and/or Congress) will get to decide for itself how it wants to react.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:18 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]




Making it so that Senators' granddaughters suddenly have to register with Selective Service seems to me to be a great way to make them get rid of it completely.
posted by reductiondesign at 9:26 PM on February 24, 2019 [17 favorites]


Ugh men's rights, etc, etc, but fuck selective service and the draft.
posted by ryanrs at 9:48 PM on February 24, 2019 [34 favorites]


DJT: But to me the final contract is really the thing, Bob, and I think you mean that too.

Something about Trump dismissing MOU's seems familiar...

Oh yeah, that Moscow Tower letter of intent!
posted by mikelieman at 11:41 PM on February 24, 2019 [19 favorites]


Open Letter to the Editors on the Recent Coverage of Amy Klobuchar
Former Staffers on coverage of Amy Klobuchar
We previously worked for Senator Klobuchar and some of us were among the former staffers contacted by the New York Times and other media outlets to share our experiences about working in her office. Unfortunately, the positive anecdotes and stories we experienced have not been fully reported by the Times and other media. We do not believe these reports adequately describe our thoughts on Amy Klobuchar, many of which we shared with the authors.

Amy would be there for us after a loss in the family or help make an important call instrumental to our careers. She’d celebrate our professional accomplishments and be part of our lives, whether it was dancing at our weddings or visiting us after we brought our newborns home. She was there for us in the hard times, too. And at the office, she pushed us to be better professionals and public servants. We remain grateful for our time in Senator Klobuchar’s office and still consider Amy a mentor and friend. Sadly, this was not fully conveyed in the recent news reports.

Signed,
[names of 61 former staffers]
[image: signed photo of Sen. Klobuchar with Erick Garcia Luna]
posted by scalefree at 12:24 AM on February 25, 2019 [41 favorites]


But apparently they have nothing to say about Forkgate.
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:46 AM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]


The suspiciously sexist views of Amy Klobuchar’s management style, explained
Klobuchar tops “the worst boss in Congress” list. Right in front of six other female senators.
On Friday afternoon, The New York Times dropped a long piece on Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Amy Klobuchar that started with an anecdote meant to indict her management style: She once ate a salad with a comb, then made the staffer who lost her fork wipe it off.

It’s the latest article in a series about how the senior Minnesotan senator is allegedly a bad boss. All of the pieces are based on accounts from anonymous former aides. No staffer has gone on the record. HuffPost and Buzzfeed ran the first stories, which included weird anecdotes like the time Klobuchar flung a binder into the air, hitting an innocent bystander. She sent a staffer an email late at night calling the attached policy brief “the worst,” a label she gave to someone else’s work the next week and the week after.

Some of the complaints are more serious. Insiders say she tried to stop staff she liked from being poached by other Democrats. She once declined to sign off on a request from the Obama Treasury Department to hire one of her aides. The finalist was “pissed.” Her Senate office has a paid maternity-leave program that requires women to return for longer than they left (a requirement her office says has never been enforced).

Klobuchar defended herself to reporters after the first stories ran, saying: “Yes, I can be tough, and yes, I can push people. I have high expectations for myself, I have high expectations for the people that work for me, but I have high expectations for this country.” Her campaign team has continued to defend her.

Some of this is certainly bad-boss behavior. Workers shouldn’t have to be ready to duck flying objects or fear that they can’t ever advance in their career. They should be treated with a baseline of respect. But the intensity of the coverage and the vitriolic tone of the anonymous sources is striking.
posted by scalefree at 1:33 AM on February 25, 2019 [6 favorites]


I think this is the most interesting bit of that piece...
The most concrete data point that appears in almost all of these stories comes from a survey of staff turnover by Senate office from 2001 to 2016. It’s called “the worst boss” list. Klobuchar topped it. (She slipped to third-worst in the 2018 version, a point cited far less frequently.)

The rest of the list is interesting. Of the top 10 “worst bosses” in the Senate in 2016, seven were women and just three were men. At the time, then, about a third of female senators were worse bosses than nearly 96 percent of all male senators. That could be objectively true. Or maybe there’s something else going on.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:21 AM on February 25, 2019 [46 favorites]


New party - who dis?
New AOC superhero comic book
posted by growabrain at 2:56 AM on February 25, 2019 [5 favorites]


I was showing Rep Omar's takedown of Abrams to my class and showed them a BBC clip on Venezuela prior so we'd have context. The students were gasping. People cueing up to buy rotting meat, no fresh meat for sale, corpses left in the morgue to decay for months w/o refrigeration, patients buying all the supplies for medical supplies for operations they need, including gloves

It sort of feels to me like the emergency Trump would like to use to activate a lot of his evil shit because people are really suffering terribly, but at the same time I wonder if we are a bit too preoccupied w/ our unravelling to pay attention
posted by angrycat at 3:55 AM on February 25, 2019 [10 favorites]


Well . .It's awake and tweeting. Trump on how Spike Lee is racist. (Hint, he encouraged people to mobilize and support love not hate.) Teabag intuited it was about himself.
posted by Harry Caul at 4:57 AM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]


"Let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate." (from Spike Lee's speech)

So is someone going to ask why Trump why he is assuming this is an attack on him since he is never mentioned by name? Why wouldn't Trump assume Spike is rallying people to reelect him since he is so filled with love and is on the right side of history, doing such great things, etc. ?

We need some headlines framing this tweet properly "Trump Fears Choosing Love Over Hate Endangers Reelection Campaign, Attacks Film Director, Implores Followers to Stay on the Wrong Side of History"
posted by mikepop at 6:33 AM on February 25, 2019 [36 favorites]


PSA: A new US Politics megathread has been posted!
posted by Little Dawn at 6:40 AM on February 25, 2019 [21 favorites]


"Former Staffers on coverage of Amy Klobuchar"

I thought it's been confirmed that accounts of negative behavior can't be automatically canceled out by finding some people who that person treated okay (Franken's SNL colleagues, for instance) and getting them to sign a thing.
posted by Selena777 at 7:56 AM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]


That letter appears to include people who feel their stories were misrepresented in order to smear Klobuchar, which is not the same thing, at all.
posted by schadenfrau at 7:59 AM on February 25, 2019 [8 favorites]


If I was fine with a binder being thrown at me, I'm not sure I would tell a reporter about it and not expect anything to happen.
posted by armacy at 8:05 AM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


I mean, just as with Hillary Clinton's campaign, it seems that a number of things can be true at once - Klobuchar may be a bad boss, she may be judged unfairly as a woman such that she appears to be uniquely terrible when she's really one of many, her staff may have legit complaints and there may be a smear campaign to amplify and misrepresent those complaints both as a specifically anti-Democrat thing and as an anti-woman thing.

Given that AOC is being smeared for paying her staff enough to live on in DC, I do feel that there's a certain "can't win" about the whole thing.

I guess it reminds me, once again, that because this is such a right-wing country, anyone who is not actually, literally a Republican simply must prioritize being above reproach. Especially anyone who is not a white, straight man.

An underlying issue is American individualism. We do not, as a society, really agree that workers should be treated okay, women should be treated equally, etc. We think it's a matter of personal opinion and debate. For this reason, I think there's a fallback position of "oh, the GOP can be racists and rapists and grifters, but that's okay because that's their ideology, at least they're not hypocrites", whereas if any non-Republican isn't absolutely above reproach, it's viewed as hypocrisy, very bad, etc etc.
posted by Frowner at 8:12 AM on February 25, 2019 [28 favorites]


I guess this needs to be here:

==== NEW THREAD ===>

(But where are the traditional milk & cookies?)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:15 AM on February 25, 2019 [8 favorites]


I have some here: 🥛 🍪🍪🍪
I think that's how it works.
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:11 AM on February 25, 2019 [21 favorites]


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