The Commentariat -- January 3, 2019

Afternoon Update:

Julie Davis of the New York Times: "On a day of pomp and pageantry, ebullient Democrats assumed control of the House on Thursday and elected Representative Nancy Pelosi of California to be speaker, returning her to a historic distinction as the first woman to hold the post at the pinnacle of power in Congress, second in line to the presidency. The investiture of Ms. Pelosi, whose talent for legislative maneuvering is surpassed only by her skill at keeping her fractious party in line, placed her at the fulcrum of divided government opposite an increasingly combative President Trump. With Mr. Trump, his presidential campaign and his businesses all under federal and state investigations, her handling of him will likely define the 116th Congress."

Drumpy by the Numbers. Ryan Koronoswki of ThinkProgress: "Here is the truth of how the Trump administration is doing, looking at the numbers.... America's trade deficit hit $55.5 billion in October, rising almost a billion dollars from September. This is a ten-year high.... For the first time in almost a decade, the rate of uninsured children in the United States increased.... <276,000 more kids didn't have coverage in 2017 than in 2016, raising the total to 3.9 million.... Zero miles of new wall have been completed.... [Trump] also signed legislation opening up 1.5 million acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration. This paired with some additional public lands changes ... adds up to 3.3 million acres which lost protections.... [A] survey found that 70 percent of people across the globe said they lacked confidence in Trump's ability to do the right thing in world affairs.... Obama's rating [was] 64 percent at the end.... [I]n 2018, more coal-fired electricity generation capacity will be shut down than ever before -- 15.4 gigawatts, to be precise.... [T]here are actually 17 total investigations targeting Trump and his businesses[.]" --s

*****

Monica Hunter-Hart of Bustle: "... new members of the House and Senate are about to take their seats. The election of the 116th Congress was a historic event for women's representation in the U.S. government, so you may want to tune in to its first day on Thursday.... C-SPAN and C-SPAN2 will be streaming the ceremony, which is set to begin at 12 p.m. ET.... There will be some other noteworthy events on the same day: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) will likely be elected the next speaker of the House.... A whopping 102 women will take their seats in the House, by Pew Research Center's count. That's nearly a quarter of its voting members. Of those women, 35 (or 34.3 percent) are entering Congress for the first time. Rutgers reports that the previous record for female representatives elected to the House was 87. Exactly a quarter of the Senate will now be made up of women, as 25 women, five of whom are new, will be sworn in on Thursday. The prior record was 23, per Rutgers. The vast majority of women serving in both chambers are Democrats." ...

... Clare Foran & Phil Mattingly of CNN: "There are record numbers of women who will be sworn in Thursday. Muslim women will be serving for the first time, as will Native American women. The state of Texas sent the state's first two Latina members to Congress, and two black congresswomen-elect from New England will also make history by coming to Washington.... The party breakdown in the new House of Representatives will be 235 Democrats and 199 Republicans, with one congressional race in North Carolina still unresolved. In the Senate there will be 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, a total that includes two independents who caucus with the Democrats. The record number of women elected to Congress were key to Democrats' reclaiming the majority in the House. Though Republicans, on the other hand, lost female representation.... The new class also includes more women with young children.... NPR reported Tuesday that the new Congress opened a new child care facility exclusively for employees of the House of Representatives." ...

... John Bresnahan, et al., of Politico: "On Thursday..., [Nancy] Pelosi will be the first person in more than six decades, since the legendary Texas Democrat Sam Rayburn, to return to the speaker's chair after losing it. She will be surrounded by children as she does so, a replay of an iconic moment from her January 2007 swearing-in ceremony as the first female speaker in history.... Pelosi will also tie Rayburn on another front by becoming the oldest person ever elected speaker and the oldest to hold the post, a testament to both her staying power and the fact that her return engagement to the speakership will be limited.... Pelosi will face a whole new set of challenges during the 116th Congress -- a fractious caucus full of upstart progressives who want to move an ambitious agenda; the unpredictable ... Donald Trump, who has greeted Pelosi's return to power with an ongoing government shutdown; a determined, experienced foe in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who runs his own chamber with a tight grip; and self-imposed term limits on her speakership of four years. All that, however, shouldn't diminish the scale of what Pelosi has done."

Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "As they usher in the 116th Congress on Thursday, the new House Majority plans to hit the ground running with two packages to actually drain the swamp and take on the for-profit Trump administration. But with the Senate Republicans still controlling the majority there, one of those packages is likely going to run into the massive anti-reform roadblock that is Senator Addison 'Mitch' McConnell (R-KY).... Those changes include a prohibition on members of Congress -- like indicted New York Rep. Chris Collins (R) -- serving on corporate boards, mandatory annual ethics training for all members, an expanded ban on sexual relationships between members and committee staffers, a new ombudsman for whistleblowers, and a formal ban on non-disclosure agreements (which have been used to conceal sexual harassment)." --s

Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "Two years [in], the Trump administration remains cruel, racist, and deeply corrupt. Yet its saving grace -- and that of its Republican allies in Congress -- is that it is so bumblingly incompetent, the GOP's toxic legislative agenda never really got off the ground.... Republicans squandered their best chance to ravage poor people the way they've always wanted.... Let us now pause to consider the unique incompetence of outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan.... Indeed no one, not even Donald Trump, embodies the stew of hucksterism, rigid ideology, dyscalculia, and superficial charm that drives the Republican Party more perfectly than Paul Ryan." --s ...

... The Hollow Man. Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Eyes I dare not meet in dreams, This is the way the job ends, not with a bang but a whimper:

     ... Chart via New York. No link.

** Mark Liebovich in the New York Times Magazine: Former Senate leader Harry "Reid, who is 79, does not have long to live." He has pancreatic cancer.... 'Trump is an interesting person. He is not immoral but is amoral.... No conscience.' There was a hint of grudging respect in Reid's tone, which he seemed to catch and correct. 'I think he is without question the worst president we've ever had,' he said. 'We've had some bad ones, and there's not even a close second to him.' He added: 'He'll lie. He'll cheat. You can't reason with him.'... I asked [Reid] if he could identify at all with Trump's dark worldview. 'I disagree that Trump is a pessimist,' Reid said, as if to allow him that mantle would be paying him an undeserved compliment. 'I think he's a person who is oblivious to the real world.'"

"I Would Look Foolish."

Julie Davis & Michael Tackett of the New York Times: "President Trump and Democratic congressional leaders dug in Wednesday for a lengthy partial shutdown in a newly divided government after a White House meeting -- the first in 22 days -- could not break an impasse over Mr. Trump's demands for billions of dollars for a border wall. During the contentious meeting in the Situation Room, Mr. Trump made his case for a wall on the southwestern border and rejected Democrats' proposals for reopening the government while the two sides ironed out their differences. 'I would look foolish if I did that,' Mr. Trump responded after Senator Chuck Schumer ... posed the question to him directly.... He said that the wall was why he was elected.... At one point, he said [Nancy] Pelosi should back [the wall] because she was 'a good Catholic' and Vatican City is surrounded by a wall...." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: "I would look foolish." What a remarkable admission; first, because he is unaware that every sensible observer already takes him for a fool, and second, because he sees nothing wrong with disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people so that he may, in his own twisted mind, save face. This is as clear a breach of a president's Constitutional duty "to faithfully execute the office of President" as is each & every criminal offense Robert Mueller's team may find Trump has committed since taking office. ...

... Sarah Ferris & Burgess Everett of Politico: "... Donald Trump and congressional leaders made no tangible progress on ending a 12-day government shutdown at a meeting on Wednesday, and Senate GOP leaders said they would not even take up House Democrats' bills to reopen the government -- underscoring the slim odds of quickly resolving the impasse in the new Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the Senate will not take up the House bills because the president opposed them.... After coming out of the White House, [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer] accused Trump and Republicans of using the shutdown as a 'hostage' to try to get money for his border wall.... Meanwhile, the stakes are getting higher for federal workers, with roughly 380,000 people told to stay home Wednesday. Another 420,000 people have been told to work without pay, with no guarantee that their next paycheck will go out." ...

... Allan Smith of NBC News: "Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi told NBC's 'Today' show in an interview set to air Thursday that she will not provide ... Donald Trump with the border wall funding he has demanded and shut down the government over.... 'We can go through the back and forth,' Pelosi said in a clip that aired on MSNBC on Wednesday. 'No. How many more times can we say no? Nothing for the wall.' Pelosi added that the shutdown has 'nothing to do with' Democrats, saying Trump is holding the federal government hostage so that he can fulfill his campaign promise to build a border wall -- one she noted he pledged Mexico would fund. 'That is so ridiculous: A. Mexico's not paying for it ... and B. We have better use of funds to protect our border,' Pelosi said. 'The president knows that.'" More on Pelosi's "Today" interview linked under "This Russia Thing, Etc., CTD." ...

... Michael Burke of the Hill: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday cautioned President Trump against giving in on his demand for funding for his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall.... 'He's not going to sign a bill that doesn't have money for the wall. I can tell you exactly how this is going to end. The president is going to challenge Democrats to compromise and if they continue to say no, they're going to pay the price with the American people,' Graham said during an appearance on Fox News's 'Hannity.' 'If he gives in now, that's the end of 2019 in terms of him being an effective president,' he continued. 'That's the probably the end of his presidency. Donald Trump has made a promise to the American people. He's going to secure our border.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: You have to hand it to Lackey Lindsey; he's as two-faced & inconsistent as Trump. A couple of days ago, he said the wall was a "metaphor for border security"; now a concrete slab is an existential element of the presidency. Lindsey is as slippery as Trump; now he is conflating "wall" and "border security," whereas on Sunday, he made clear that -- as we all know -- "wall" and "border security" are two distinct things. In addition, Democrats are not proposing to eliminate or undermine border security; they're proposing to re-open the rest of the government while continuing to tangle on "wall." Lindsey knows it's important to confuse & bamboozle Foxbots, and he's happy to oblige. ...

... How Stupid Does Trump Think We Are? Damian Paletta & Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "President Trump made two false claims about his demands for a new border wall just hours before he is set to meet with congressional leaders Wednesday.... In a Twitter post Wednesday morning, Trump wrote that Mexico would be paying for the wall along the U.S. border under the parameters of a trade deal he has tentatively inked with Mexico and Canada. This is not true. That deal has not been approved by Congress, which means the parameters of the pact are not in effect. And even if the trade agreement is approved, it would not in any way create a stream of money designated for the construction of a border wall. The second false point in Trump's Twitter post Wednesday is his statement that 'much of the Wall has already been fully renovated or built.' This is also not true. The U.S.-Mexico border is roughly 2,000 miles long. Trump's demand for $5.6 billion to build new sections of wall would finance 200 miles of wall, and less than 100 miles has already been constructed or renovated, according to Department of Homeland Security Officials." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's the funny part. "... the White House said the meeting was supposed to serve as a way for Democrats to learn more about the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border." Evidently, Trump thinks he going to mansplain the Great Wall of Trump to Chuck & Nancy by telling them he's asking them for a down payment on said Great Wall because Mexico is really paying for it & it's almost all built anyway. It is curious that Trump thinks these Washington veterans just fell off a turnip truck. Then again, what do I know? I don't have my face on the cover a book somebody else wrote titled The Art of the Deal. ...

... The Trumperantrum Is Not about Border Security. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "Tens of thousands of U.S. immigration officers and agents are showing up for work each day to guard the Mexico border, where President Trump insists on putting a wall. But the government is shut down, so no one is getting paid. The paralysis in bank accounts extends to overburdened U.S. immigration courts. New filings are piling up on dockets already backlogged by nearly 1 million cases, but many of the judges and clerks who process them have been sent home. And when U.S. companies and employers want to check the immigration status of potential hires, they are greeted by a red banner across the top of the government's E-Verify website. Those services are 'currently unavailable due to a lapse in government appropriations,' it says. Twelve days into the standoff over Trump's $5 billion border-wall demand, major components of the U.S. immigration system are offline, out of order or under worsening strain." ...

... Couples Can't Get Marriage Licences in Washington, D.C. -- Thanks, Donald! Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News: "The local court system in DC is funded by Congress, one of a number of city government operations that still interact in some way with the federal government. When congressional leaders failed to reach a funding agreement by midnight on Dec. 21, DC court officials, like those at federal agencies, had to put a shutdown plan into effect. Workers not deemed 'essential' were furloughed, and that included Marriage Bureau employees."

"The Most Popular President in the History of the Republican Party." Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "President Trump ... inaugurated the new year Wednesday with a Cabinet meeting. It quickly became a 95-minute stream-of-consciousness defense of his presidency and worldview, filled with falsehoods, revisionist history and self-aggrandizement.... Trump added confusion to the [wall] debate by undercutting Vice President Pence, seated nearby, in dismissing the offer he and other administration officials made to Democrats late last month of accepting $2.5 billion for the wall. He described the recent stock sell-off as a 'glitch' and said markets would soar again on the strength of trade deals he plans this year.... He took credit for falling oil prices, arguing they were the result of phone calls he made to the leaders of oil-producing nations.... 'They say I am the most popular president in the history of the Republican Party,' Trump said.... He claimed that if he wanted to, he could have any government job in Europe and be popular there. He cast his unpopularity among European publics as a sign he is doing his job well." ...

... The Reward for Serving in the Trump Administration. Ryan Pickrell of Business Insider: "... Donald Trump said Wednesday that he essentially 'fired' former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, criticizing the outgoing defense chief's service in the Marine Corps and his two years leading the Defense Department. 'What's he done for me? How had he done in Afghanistan? Not too good,' Trump said at a Cabinet meeting.... 'As you know, President Obama fired him, and essentially so did I,' he explained to reporters, contradicting an earlier statement. 'I think I would've been a good general, but who knows,' the president, who has not served in the military and sought five deferments to avoid being sent to Vietnam, further remarked.... While Mattis was initially expected to serve until the end of February, President Trump decided to force him out early, tweeting that Patrick Shanahan, previously the deputy secretary of defense, would take over as acting secretary of defense on Jan. 1, which he did. In a string of tweets on New Year's Eve, Trump trashed 'failed generals' who dared to criticize his policy decisions, a shot at retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal in particular." ...

... Tom Nichols in the Atlantic: "We've gotten used to so much in Donald Trump's two years in office, from the cruelty of his immigration policies to his childlike understanding of international trade, and from his apparent fear of Vladimir Putin to his whipsawing of the financial markets.... Now, however, the president has opened a Pandora's box by escalating his attacks on senior U.S. military leaders. No American president has ever dared risk the American civil-military relationship for less cause or with such childish malice.... The president has taken a dangerous path, excoriating retired military leaders who criticize him and lavishing praise and make-believe pay raises on the active-duty military voters who he believes support him.... He is impugning the character and competence of senior U.S. military leaders purely for political reasons.... When Trump said he knew more than the generals -- a laughable claim from almost any civilian when it comes to military affairs -- he apparently meant it. And that means he has no respect for military advice, from any direction." Mrs. McC: This essay was published before Trump trashed Mattis Wednesday. ...

... Trump Takes Russia's Side against the U.S. Again. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "President Trump said a lot of strange, untrue things after Wednesday's Cabinet meeting. But the most bizarre snippet might have been his 'history' lesson on the Soviet Union. Trump, who has assured us he is the foremost expert on many topics for which he has no formal education or training, gave his own version of why the USSR collapsed. And to be clear, it is his own version....'Russia used to be the Soviet Union. Afghanistan made it Russia, because they went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan. Russia.... The reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia. They were right to be there. The problem is, it was a tough fight. And literally they went bankrupt; they went into being called Russia again, as opposed to the Soviet Union. You know, a lot of these places you're reading about now are no longer part of Russia, because of Afghanistan.'" ...

     ... Blake demolishes Donald's "history lesson." Russia & the Soviet Union are not the same places. Russia didn't "go bankrupt"; its economy collapsed. (Mrs. McC: President Serial Bankruptcy, of all people, should know the difference.) Russia's war in Afghanistan was hardly the sole cause of the USSR's collapse. "The Soviet Union ventured into Afghanistan as part of its effort to prop up communism abroad, not because terrorists were striking the Soviet homeland.... It's remarkable and unprecedented for a president of the United States to argue that the Soviet Union was right to be in Afghanistan, regardless of the purported reasons. The United States, after all, was on the other side, aiding the mujahideen." ...

... Jonathan Chait: "Americans don't agree about the U.S. response to the [Russian] invasion [of Afghanistan] -- a grain embargo by the Carter administration, and then arming anti-Soviet guerrillas, many of whom had radical Islamist views. But there has been little disagreement that the Soviets did something bad by invading. Until now. Meanwhile, the Russian government is moving an official resolution defending the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. (The approval is scheduled to take place next month.) Russians have previously called the invasion a tragic error, but Vladimir Putin's regime ... is systematically rehabilitating various Soviet crimes. Trump is almost certainly not carrying out some kind of favor for Putin by weirdly defending the invasion of Afghanistan... Still, it raises the question of just where Trump is hearing this stuff. He's not getting pro-Soviet revisionist history from Fox & Friends. He's also probably not reading alternative histories of central Asia. So who planted this idea in Trump's head, anyway?"

I will provide lockstep support for Donald Trump's agenda, regulatory appointments, and oppose all oversight because this might undermine #1 and #2, but I will occasionally Express Concern About Tone. -- Scott Lemieux, in LG&M, translation of Mitt Romney's op-ed, linked yesterday ...

... Eli Okun of Politico: "... Donald Trump responded to a harsh op-ed from Sen.-elect Mitt Romney Wednesday morning, admonishing him to 'Be a TEAM player & WIN!' 'Here we go with Mitt Romney, but so fast! Question will be, is he a Flake? I hope not,' Trump tweeted. 'Would much prefer that Mitt focus on Border Security and so many other things where he can be helpful. I won big, and he didn't. He should be happy for all Republicans.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Given Trump's usual disparagement of nearly everyone who crosses him, this is a pretty mild reaction to Mitt's critique, especially considering that Mitt didn't complain as much about Trump's actions as about his essential character. So I'm thinking Trump made a wise calculation in his self-interest: it has dawned on Trump that those Mittens hold Trump's fate -- Mitt is one who could and possibly would vote to oust Trump after an impeachment trial.

... Trumpery Is Thicker than Blood. Emily Stewart of Vox: Mitt's niece Ronna Romney McDaniel, who is the chair of the Republican National Committee, sided with the boss: In a tweet she wrote, "POTUS is attacked and obstructed by the MSM media and Democrats 24/7. For an incoming Republican freshman senator to attack @realdonaldtrump as their first act feeds into what the Democrats and media want and is disappointing and unproductive." Stewart notes, McDaniel "stopped using her full name publicly after Trump reportedly joked about the matter with her.... In June 2018, McDaniel tweeted that anyone who does not embrace Trump's 'agenda of making America great again will be making a mistake.'" ...

If you want to know which way the wind blows, it doesn't hurt to look at the weather vane. -- Robert Farley, in LG&M ...

... Jack Crosbie of Splinter: "You can see by the headline [on Romney's op-ed], which is way too long, that this is going to be a lecture from America's stern conservative dad on how President Trump is bad and uncouth. Romney prefers the gentler Republican cruelty of past decades -- you know, the kind that doesn't endorse statements like 'grab them by the pussy' but still tries to erode women's rights and expand the gap between rich and poor at every possible opportunity." ...

Romney thing is just this: he's ostentatiously shorting Trump, ie, betting he is impeached/convicted or forced to resign. And reminding party he would do all the usual stuff the donors and activists want without the drama. And figuring that's how he wins nomination in '20. -- Richard Yeselson, in a tweet, via Martin Longman, linked below ...

... Steve M.: "Romney is sticking to a position so indefensible that even most mainstream media pundits have abandoned it: that Trump's presidency isn't a crisis and that it's still possible for him to be a good president and a decent person, at which point Romney will readily embrace him.... But if Romney thinks this puts him in a good position for 2020 in the event of Trump doesn't run again, I think he's mistaken.... GOP voters will never abandon Trump no matter what he does, which means that only a Republican perceived as pro-Trump ... will be able to take the nomination if Trump falls. No one will beat Trump in the 2020 primaries if he runs -- certainly not Romney. And no one who seemed in any way aligned with the evil Democrats and Deep Staters who brought about Trump's downfall will stand a chance if Trump is gone. Romney may be acting in a calculated way, but if so, he's calculating wrong." ...

... Martin Longman in the Washington Monthly: "... while it is only implied [in Romney's op-ed], the verdict is clear. If we must start by repairing our highest office because the person presently serving in that position is a no-character lying racist and sexist who is destructive to our democratic institutions, then the highest priority must be the removal of Trump from office.... Before Donald Trump came along, Mitt Romney held the land-speed record for mendacity in American politics. In 2012, our own Steve Benen tallied 917 falsehoods from Romney, which was a lowball and partial estimate of the actual number.... Romney is replacing Orrin Hatch in the Senate, and we last saw Sen. Hatch trading away his posterity for a Medal of Freedom. At least Romney isn't saying that Trump is a great president or that he doesn't care if he committed a few felonies during the campaign.... The unmistakable message is that Romney has no interest in carrying water for Trump and he'll vote to remove him from office with enthusiasm. In fact, he's basically committed to that now because the last thing Romney needs is for Trump to get reelected so he can exact revenge on him a second time. However cynically you look at this, it's not what Orrin Hatch would have done."

This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.

Mike Allen of Axios: "In an interview to air on NBC's 'Today,' co-anchor Savannah Guthrie asks Nancy Pelosi...: 'Do you believe the special counsel should honor and observe the Department of Justice guidance that states a sitting president cannot be indicted?'... Pelosi replied, according to an excerpt from NBC: 'No, I mean I don't think -- I do not think that that is conclusive. No, I do not.' With that response, she becomes the highest ranking official to suggest President Trump could be indicted while in office."

Lauren Fox of CNN: "Democrats are making presidential tax returns a focal point in one of their first pieces of legislation, an effort to build the case to the American people that time is up on ... Donald Trump keeping his own tax returns from the public, shutting what could be a window into his personal wealth. According to two sources familiar with the discussions, Democrats will include a provision in their new bill that would require presidential nominees to disclose 10 years of tax returns shortly after they become the nominee. Vice presidents would also be required to disclose a decade of returns. The tax returns would then be posted on the Federal Election Commission's website for public viewing. The 10-year requirement is new marker. At the end of last year, Democrats had disclosed H.R. 1 would require presidential candidates to release just three years of tax returns.... The provision would be included in H.R. 1, a far-reaching bill that makes sweeping ethics changes as well as lays out Democratic priorities on voting rights and health care. The legislation isn't expected to pass the Republican-controlled Senate or be signed by Trump...." More on HR 1 linked below.

How Convenient. Jennifer Yachmin of E&E News: "President Trump ... triggered the partial federal government shutdown that closed national parks and facilities late last month -- but his namesake hotel in the nation's capital will see its own National Park Service site reopen this week. The Old Post Office Tower, which shares facilities with the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, is slated to reopen by Friday thanks to funding from the General Services Administration.... It is not clear whether the Trump Organization attempted to pay to reopen the facility itself. Multiple telephone calls and emails to representatives of Trump Hotels were not returned." --s

Fred Wertheimer & Norman Eisen in the USA Today: "Prosecutors triggered a national firestorm last month when they asserted that President Donald Trump conspired with his ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, to commit campaign finance crimes involving hush money payments to two women. But the discussion has so far overlooked another Trump campaign finance offense -- one that is even easier to prove because it occurred in plain sight. On July 27, 2016, Trump called on Russia to find presidential Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's missing emails.... Federal campaign finance law prohibits any person from soliciting campaign contributions, defined as anything of value to be given to influence an election, from a foreign national, including a foreign government.... The law provides that such a solicitation is illegal regardless of whether the person soliciting the help receives anything in return." --s

Eli Okun: "Incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler blasted the Trump administration Wednesday for the recent deaths of two migrant children in government custody, placing the blame squarely on the White House and its policies.... The zero-tolerance policies [are] ... 'a deliberate creation of the Trump administration, which is trying to make things as miserable as possible. And if kids die, they're apparently willing to have that.'"

Emily Atkin of the New Republic: The Trump administration has removed federal funding from a University of Maryland database that tracked violence by white supremacists & white nationalists, as well as cut funding to other groups that aimed to eradicate violence by these groups.

Sarah Okeson of DC Report: "Archaeologists helped draft the [Antiquities Act in 1906] that presidents use to protect areas like the Grand Canyon, but today's Republicans want to muzzle archaeologists and others to keep them from weighing in on a lawsuit over Trump's yanking protections from Utah sites that date back to the end of the last Ice Age.... Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jean Williams asked a federal judge not to accept legal documents from archaeologists objecting to Trump's largely dismantling two national monuments in Utah. She said the blitz of documents was 'inherently prejudicial' to Trump and the other defendants.... Williams works in the environmental division, led by Jeffrey Bossert Clark, who represented BP in lawsuits over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the nation's largest oil spill." --s

Susan Davis of NPR: "Top Democrats announced late Sunday a series of changes to House rules that could eliminate causes of major instability during the previous eight years of Republican rule in Congress. 'We are proposing historic changes that will modernize Congress, restore regular order and bring integrity back to this institution,' said incoming House Rules Chairman James McGovern, D-Mass., in a statement explaining the changes.... Democrats will revive the 'Gephardt Rule,' introduced in the late 1970s by Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., that automatically raises the debt ceiling -- the nation's borrowing limit -- once the House passes a budget.... Additionally, Democrats are changing the rules regarding motions 'to vacate the chair,' a procedural tool that could be used to force out a sitting House speaker." Smith outlines "other notable House rules changes".

Beyond the Beltway

Kansas. AP: "A county in western Kansas has paid more than $70,000 so far to a legal firm hired to defend an official who moved Dodge City's only polling place to outside the iconic Wild West town ahead of the November election. Ford County paid the Hinkle Law Firm $71,481 in October and November to defend County Clerk Debbie Cox, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.... The American Civil Liberties Union sued Cox in late October after she moved Dodge City's polling place..., but the lawsuit is continuing as the ALCU seeks to ensure Cox opens a second voting location in 2020. Cox hired attorney Bradley Schlozman, who is well-known in the legal community for defending states and towns accused of trying to restrict voting. She said money for his Wichita-based firm comes from the county's general fund." --s

Texas. AP via TPM: "'Black Girl Magic' has met the bench with the swearing-in of 17 African-American female judges in the Houston area. The 17 women all won races in last year's election to be judges in various Harris County courts. Their 'Black Girl Magic' campaign debuted over the summer with a viral photo that featured the 17 women and two other sitting Harris County judges inside a courtroom. The women were sworn in on Tuesday." --s

Virginia. Casey Michels of ThinkProgress: "On Monday, Dick Black announced on Facebook that he would not seek re-election to the Virginia State Senate, where he's served for seven years.... While Black isn't a household name, he has made a name for himself in national security circles for the past few years. He became an outspoken defender of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and Russian propaganda alike, and lately took on a notable role in pushing pro-Trump conspiracy theories about former FBI official Andrew McCabe." --s

Way Beyond

Mauricio Savarese of the AP: "Newly installed President Jair Bolsonaro targeted Brazil's indigenous groups, descendants of slaves and the LGBT community with executive orders in the first hours of his administration, moving quickly after a campaign in which the far-right leader said he would radically overhaul many aspects of life in Latin America's largest nation.... One of the orders issued late Tuesday, hours after Bolsonaro's inauguration, likely will make it all but impossible for new lands to be identified and demarcated for indigenous communities. Areas set aside for 'Quilombolas,' as descendants of former slaves are known, are also affected by the decision. Another order removed the concerns of the LGBT community from consideration by the new human rights ministry." ...

... ** David Wallace-Wells of New York: "... Brazil's newly elected president just might test the proposition that no individual matters all that much to the climate. Often called the 'Trump of the Tropics,' the cartoonish quasi-fascist Jair Bolsonaro is almost certain to be worse on global warming than Trump himself.... Bolsonaro wants to do as he'd like in the Amazon, 60 percent of which sits within Brazilian borders. There, he plans to open the rainforest to agricultural development, essentially putting a match to an entire rainforest of stored carbon by inviting rapid deforestation -- the industrial-scale felling of trees, which, in dying and decomposing, will release into the atmosphere all the CO2 they have stored inside them.... As Emily Atkin put it at The New Republic, 'The livability of the entire planet is at stake.'"

On the Far Side of the Moon. Ken Moritsugu of the AP: "China's burgeoning space program achieved a first on Thursday: a landing on the so-called dark side of the moon. Three nations -- the United States, the former Soviet Union and more recently China -- have sent spacecraft to the near side of the moon, which faces Earth, but this landing is the first-ever on the far side."

The Commentariat -- January 2, 2019

Afternoon Update:

How Stupid Does Trump Think We Are? Damian Paletta & Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "President Trump made two false claims about his demands for a new border wall just hours before he is set to meet with congressional leaders Wednesday.... In a Twitter post Wednesday morning, Trump wrote that Mexico would be paying for the wall along the U.S. border under the parameters of a trade deal he has tentatively inked with Mexico and Canada. This is not true. That deal has not been approved by Congress, which means the parameters of the pact are not in effect. And even if the trade agreement is approved, it would not in any way create a stream of money designated for the construction of a border wall. The second false point in Trump's Twitter post Wednesday is his statement that 'much of the Wall has already been fully renovated or built.' This is also not true. The U.S.-Mexico border is roughly 2,000 miles long. Trump's demand for $5.6 billion to build new sections of wall would finance 200 miles of wall, and less than 100 miles has already been constructed or renovated, according to Department of Homeland Security Officials." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's the funny part. "... the White House said the meeting was supposed to serve as a way for Democrats to learn more about the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border." Evidently, Trump thinks he going to mansplain the Great Wall of Trump to Chuck & Nancy by telling them he's asking them for a down payment on said Great Wall because Mexico is really paying for it & it's almost all built anyway. It is curious that Trump thinks these Washington veterans just fell off a turnip truck. Then again, what do I know? I don't have my face on the cover a book somebody else wrote titled The Art of the Deal.

I will provide lockstep support for Donald Trump's agenda, regulatory appointments, and oppose all oversight because this might undermine #1 and #2, but I will occasionally Express Concern About Tone. -- Scott Lemieux, in LG&M, translation of Mitt Romney's op-ed, linked below ...

... Eli Okun of Politico: "... Donald Trump responded to a harsh op-ed from Sen.-elect Mitt Romney Wednesday morning, admonishing him to 'Be a TEAM player & WIN!' 'Here we go with Mitt Romney, but so fast! Question will be, is he a Flake? I hope not,' Trump tweeted. 'Would much prefer that Mitt focus on Border Security and so many other things where he can be helpful. I won big, and he didn't. He should be happy for all Republicans.'" ...

... Trumpery Is Thicker than Blood. Emily Stewart of Vox: Mitt's niece Ronna Romney McDaniel, who is the chair of the Republican National Committee, sided with the boss: In a tweet she wrote, "POTUS is attacked and obstructed by the MSM media and Democrats 24/7. For an incoming Republican freshman senator to attack @realdonaldtrump as their first act feeds into what the Democrats and media want and is disappointing and unproductive." Stewart notes, McDaniel "stopped using her full name publicly after Trump reportedly joked about the matter with her.... In June 2018, McDaniel tweeted that anyone who does not embrace Trump's 'agenda of making America great again will be making a mistake.'" ...

If you want to know which way the wind blows, it doesn't hurt to look at the weather vane. -- Robert Farley, in LG&M ...

... Jack Crosbie of Splinter: "You can see by the headline [on Romney's op-ed], which is way too long, that this is going to be a lecture from America's stern conservative dad on how President Trump is bad and uncouth. Romney prefers the gentler Republican cruelty of past decades -- you know, the kind that doesn't endorse statements like 'grab them by the pussy' but still tries to erode women's rights and expand the gap between rich and poor at every possible opportunity." ...

Romney thing is just this: he's ostentatiously shorting Trump, ie, betting he is impeached/convicted or forced to resign. And reminding party he would do all the usual stuff the donors and activists want without the drama. And figuring that’s how he wins nomination in '20. -- Richard Yeselson, in a tweet, via Martin Longman, linked below ...

... Steve M.: "Romney is sticking to a position so indefensible that even most mainstream media pundits have abandoned it: that Trump's presidency isn't a crisis and that it's still possible for him to be a good president and a decent person, at which point Romney will readily embrace him.... But if Romney thinks this puts him in a good position for 2020 in the event of Trump doesn't run again, I think he's mistaken.... GOP voters will never abandon Trump no matter what he does, which means that only a Republican perceived as pro-Trump ... will be able to take the nomination if Trump falls. No one will beat Trump in the 2020 primaries if he runs -- certainly not Romney. And no one who seemed in any way aligned with the evil Democrats and Deep Staters who brought about Trump's downfall will stand a chance if Trump is gone. Romney may be acting in a calculated way, but if so, he's calculating wrong." ...

... Martin Longman in the Washington Monthly: "... while it is only implied [in Romney's op-ed], the verdict is clear. If we must start by repairing our highest office because the person presently serving in that position is a no-character lying racist and sexist who is destructive to our democratic institutions, then the highest priority must be the removal of Trump from office.... Before Donald Trump came along, Mitt Romney held the land-speed record for mendacity in American politics. In 2012, our own Steve Benen tallied 917 falsehoods from Romney, which was a lowball and partial estimate of the actual number.... Romney is replacing Orrin Hatch in the Senate, and we last saw Sen. Hatch trading away his posterity for a Medal of Freedom. At least Romney isn't saying that Trump is a great president or that he doesn't care if he committed a few felonies during the campaign.... The unmistakable message is that Romney has no interest in carrying water for Trump and he'll vote to remove him from office with enthusiasm. In fact, he's basically committed to that now because the last thing Romney needs is for Trump to get reelected so he can exact revenge on him a second time. However cynically you look at this, it's not what Orrin Hatch would have done."

Eli Okun: "Incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler blasted the Trump administration Wednesday for the recent deaths of two migrant children in government custody, placing the blame squarely on the White House and its policies.... The zero-tolerance policies [are] ... 'a deliberate creation of the Trump administration, which is trying to make things as miserable as possible. And if kids die, they're apparently willing to have that.'"

*****

An Uplifting Annual Message from the President* of the United States:

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE HATERS AND THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA! 2019 WILL BE A FANTASTIC YEAR FOR THOSE NOT SUFFERING FROM TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. JUST CALM DOWN AND ENJOY THE RIDE, GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING FOR OUR COUNTRY!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2019

... Home Alone. Anne Gearan & Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "President Trump invited congressional leaders to the White House for a briefing on border security, the first face-to-face session involving Republicans and Democrats as the partial government shutdown entered its second week. The briefing will occur one day before Democrats take control of the House.... Trump also used Twitter on the first day of 2019 to insult a retired U.S. commander in Afghanistan, sing the praises of an ultranationalist former aide and tell America to chill and 'ENJOY THE RIDE.'... Trump ... bash[ed] retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal over remarks McChrystal made Sunday, calling the president untruthful and immoral. 'General' McChrystal got fired like a dog by Obama. Last assignment a total bust. Known for big, dumb mouth. Hillary lover!' Trump opined.... The president's very first words of the new year were an endorsement of a pro-Trump book by former White House aide Sebastian Gorka.... 'One thing has now been proven. The Democrats do not care about Open Borders and all of the crime and drugs that Open Borders bring!' Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.... Trump also tweeted congratulations to newly inaugurated Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro...." More on Bolsonaro linked below.

Daniel Politi of Slate has the latest on the shutdown standoff. In a couple of tweets yesterday & the day before, Trump all but said he would not sign the Democrats' planned bill that would fund all of the government except the wall (and thus end the shutdown). Congress is already in agreement on spending levels in that bill. They also would put forward a second, contentious bill that addressed border security. "For now, GOP lawmakers appear happy to follow Trump's lead on this and have said they won't approve anything that doesn't have the president's approval."

David Sanger of the New York Times: "Nearly two years into his presidency and more than six months after his historic summit meeting with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, President Trump finds himself essentially back where he was at the beginning in achieving the ambitious goal of getting Mr. Kim to relinquish his nuclear arsenal. That was the essential message of Mr. Kim's annual New Year's televised speech, where he reiterated that international sanctions must be lifted before North Korea will give up a single weapon, dismantle a single missile site or stop producing nuclear material. The list of recent North Korean demands was a clear indicator of how the summit meeting in Singapore last June altered the optics of the relationship more than the reality." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: No, no, no. This has to be fake news. First of all, Trump & Kim "fell in love." (Oct. 2018) Sanger must have misinterpreted a lovers' spat or something. Second of all, "A group of 18 House Republicans has formally nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize .... for his efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and end the 68-year-old war between North and South Korea." (May 2018)

Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "There has been an exodus of generals from the Trump administration.... Now, the man who once surrounded himself with generals faces the second half of his term as persona non grata with the people he once found the most impressive." --s

Thomas Heath of the Washington Post: "The Defense Department's top spokeswoman, who had been under investigation since May over whether she mistreated employees, abruptly resigned Monday night within hours of the departure of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Dana W. White said on Twitter: 'I appreciate the opportunity afforded to me by this administration to serve alongside Secretary Mattis, our service members and all the civilians who support them. It has been my honor and privilege. Stay safe and God bless.'... Charles E. Summers, Jr., replaced White, becoming 'acting' assistant to the defense secretary, according to the Pentagon. Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive and the No. 2 man at the Pentagon, became acting secretary Monday night, replacing Mattis who resigned after disagreements with President Trump.... At least two complaints were filed against White. The probe focused in part on how staff members carried out personal tasks for her, such as retrieving her dry cleaning, getting her lunch and driving her to work during a snowstorm. At least five staff members had been abruptly transferred or removed from their jobs since White, a Trump Administration political appointee, took over in April 2017."

AP: "U.S. authorities fired tear gas into Mexico during the first hours of the new year to repel about 150 migrants who tried to breach the border fence in Tijuana. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement later Tuesday that the gas was used to target rock throwers apart from the migrants who were trying to cross. 'No agents witnessed any of the migrants at the fence line, including children, experiencing effects of the chemical agents, which were targeted at the rock throwers further away,' the statement said. An Associated Press photographer saw at least three volleys of gas launched onto the Mexican side of the border near Tijuana's beach that affected the migrants, including women and children, as well as journalists. The AP saw rocks thrown only after U.S. agents fired the tear gas. The agency said agents saw 'toddler sized children' being passed over concertina wire with difficulty. It said its agents could not assist the children because of the rocks being thrown. Agents responded with smoke, pepper spray and tear gas, it said. The AP journalist also saw plastic pellets fired by U.S. agents. The agency said 25 migrants were detained while others crawled back into Mexico through a hole under the fence. Customs and Border Protection said that under its use of force policy the incident would be reviewed by its Office of Professional Responsibility."

Franco Ordoñez of McClatchy DC: "The Trump administration is expected to take steps to block a historic agreement that would allow Cuban baseball players from joining Major League Baseball in the United States without having to defect, according to an official familiar with the discussions. The administration wants to reverse an Obama-era ruling that says the Cuban government doesn't run the island's professional baseball league. Such a position gave MLB space to negotiate and reach the deal with Cuban baseball and circumvent the U.S. embargo against Cuba. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida ... vowed to fight the deal.... MLB officials said they had been in regular contact with the Trump administration during the months of negotiations, including in the last several days with top officials at the White House and State Department who were supportive of the arrangement." --s

Mitt Romney in a Washington Post op-ed: "The departures of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, the appointment of senior persons of lesser experience, the abandonment of allies who fight beside us, and the president's thoughtless claim that America has long been a 'sucker' in world affairs all defined his presidency down.... On balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office.... With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent's shortfall has been most glaring." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In case you were thinking, "What a shame Mitt didn't become president," he also writes this: "It is not that all of the president's policies have been misguided. He was right to align U.S. corporate taxes with those of global competitors, to strip out excessive regulations, to crack down on China's unfair trade practices, to reform criminal justice and to appoint conservative judges. These are policies mainstream Republicans have promoted for years." Republicans stick with Trump because they like all of his policies, especially the ones that really suck. Trump is just like them, except way less slick. ...

... Paul Krugman: "The 2017 tax cut has received pretty bad press, and rightly so. Its proponents made big promises about soaring investment and wages, and also assured everyone that it would pay for itself; none of that has happened. Yet coverage actually hasn't been negative enough.... At least 90 percent of Americans will end up poorer thanks to that cut.... Since the tax cut isn't paying for itself, it will eventually have to be paid for some other way -- either by raising other taxes, or by cutting spending on programs people value. The cost of these hikes or cuts will be much less concentrated on the top 10 percent than the benefit of the original tax cut."

Rebecca Burns & David Dayen of The Intercept: "The stock market has experienced its worst performance in December since the early 1930s ... in part thanks to a grinch named Steve Mnuchin. The treasury secretary's inexplicable maneuver on Christmas Eve eve ... sent markets into a volatile tailspin.... This was an unforced error that temporarily snagged the 10 percent of America that own 84 percent of all stocks. But Mnuchin's boneheaded actions reflected his dominant characteristics. He is a sycophant willing to debase himself, no matter how strongly, at the altar of Donald Trump.... But the sycophancy in this case mashed up with Mnuchin's other main trait: He's a rather dim gentleman.... A request for comment from the Treasury Department on whether or not Steve Mnuchin is a dunce was not returned." --s

Presidential Election 2020. Edward-Isaac Dovere, now of the Atlantic: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) will run for president with "a single-minded focus: pulling the country back from the climate-change brink."

Richard Pérez-Peña of the New York Times: "The American man who was arrested last week in Russia on a spying charge is a Marine Corps veteran who was in Moscow to attend a wedding, his family said on Tuesday. Russia's Federal Security Service, known as the F.S.B., said on Monday that the American, Paul N. Whelan, had been detained on Friday 'during an act of espionage,' and that a criminal case had been opened against him. Conviction on a spying charge in Russia carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sam Fulwood III of ThinkProgress: "Citing low pay, widespread disrespect and potential opportunities in other fields, frustrated public-school teachers walked away from their classrooms in record numbers during 2018, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report based on U.S. Department of Labor figures.... Public education employees, including person in jobs as varied as community-college faculty, school psychologists and janitors, quit their jobs at the fastest rate since such figures were first compiled in 2001." --s

Sean Ingle of the Guardian: "The World Anti-Doping Agency has been accused of being 'played by the Russians' and a 'total joke' after it confirmed it had not retrieved or received crucial doping data from the Moscow laboratory by its 31 December deadline. The Wada president, Sir Craig Reedie, who had been 'confident' the data would be collected a few weeks ago, admitted he was 'bitterly disappointed' at the news that one of Wada's strict conditions, set when it controversially lifted the three-year suspension on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency in September despite enormous anger from anti-doping groups and athletes, had not been met.... Wada's independent Compliance Review Committee will consider its options when it meets on 14 January. However the prospect of Russia being banned from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo seems slim.... Many athletes, however, remain angry that Wada and the IOC has not been tougher on Russia given the country has never formally admitted to a sophisticated state-sponsored doping programme involving more than 1,000 athletes and 30 sports." --s

Beyond the Beltway

Connor Sheets of AL.com: "Towering high above the streets of Gadsden, [Alabama,] the Etowah County Detention Center is an outsized presence in the small northeast Alabama town.... Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin runs that jail. And he makes a lot of money doing it. Earlier this year, he acknowledged that he keeps money budgeted for jail food that goes unspent, saying in a press conference that he kept more than $750,000 between January 2015 and December 2017. But records show he had already pocketed more than twice that amount.... Entrekin is not alone in keeping leftover funds intended to feed inmates. He and other Alabama sheriffs have argued that a Depression-era state law allows them to keep state jail food funds. But Entrekin - who lost his bid for re-election earlier this year and will step down as sheriff next month - is the only Alabama sheriff whose jail houses hundreds of immigration detainees for the federal government. Lawyers and other experts say that he may have run afoul of a number of federal laws by receiving the immigration money." --s

Way Beyond

Travis Waldron of the Huffington Post: "Brazil Is About To Show The World How A Modern Democracy Collapses. Far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is a threat to Brazilian democracy -- and a model for authoritarianism that leaders around the world will follow.... While he has pitched his surge to power as the result of a 'populist' revolt, his base of support mirrors that of ... old coup masters: wealthy financial elites, segments of the population willing to trade the rights and lives of the poor and marginalized for their own safety and economic prosperity, and traditional parties and politicians who refuse to acknowledge their own roles in creating the monster before folding themselves into his arms. Much like the military once did, Bolsonaro has threatened his leftist political opponents with violence and imprisonment. He has promised to deliver a political 'cleansing never seen before in Brazil,' and threatened media outlets that report news unfavorable to him.... This is not exclusively a Brazilian phenomenon. Countries around the world, from Hungary to Turkey to the Philippines, have turned to noisy leaders who promise instant renewals and silver-bullet solutions under the banner of a right-wing, nativist 'populism' ― the preferred term of news outlets, even though the key constituencies backing these candidates tend to comprise the nations' elite." ...

... Ernesto Londoño of the New York Times also profiles Bolsonaro and notes that Trump is a fan. "While his victory in October was decisive, Brazilians remain deeply divided about their new president, a former army captain who has hailed the country's military dictators and made numerous disparaging remarks about women and minority groups.... The Brazilian and American presidents have similar views, temperaments and styles, increasing the likelihood of closer relations between two countries that have been uneasy allies in the past."

Justin McCurry of the Guardian: "The expected arrival of large numbers of foreign, blue-collar workers in Japan over the coming five years has raised fears of a sharp rise in incidences of exploitation.... In December, the country's parliament passed legislation that will soon open the door to an estimated 345,000 thousand foreign workers, in what is being called the end of Japan's traditional opposition to large-scale immigration. The world's third-biggest economy is battling its tightest labour shortage in decades due to its low birthrate and rapidly ageing society.... A labour ministry investigation found that of the 6,000 firms that hire a total of 260,000 technical trainees, about 70% had broken labour regulations on illegal and unpaid overtime." --s

Jamie Fullerton of the Guardian: "Vietnam has introduced a new cybersecurity law, which criminalises criticising the government online and forces internet providers to give authorities' user data when requested, sparking claims of a 'totalitarian' crackdown on dissent. The law, which mirrors China's draconian internet rules, came into effect on 1 January and forces internet providers to censor content deemed 'toxic' by the ruling communist government. The Vietnam government has intensified a crackdown on criticism since 2016, jailing dozens of dissidents. Spreading information deemed to be anti-government or anti-state online is now illegal in the country[.]" --s

Way, Way Beyond

Kenneth Chang of the New York Times: "... scientists, engineers and well-wishers ... at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory celebrated the moment that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to a small, icy world nicknamed Ultima Thule.... That is the latest triumph in a journey that started in 2006, first on a mission to explore Pluto. Thirteen years and more than four billion miles later, New Horizons has provided humanity's first glimpse of a distant fragment that could be unchanged from the solar system's earliest days."

Happy New Year

By Akhilleus

Well, happy new year to all RC denizens.

The celebration of the new year has been in effect for several millennia. Fatty and his hateful supporters would be astounded to know that festivals of the new year were first celebrated (at least as far as we know--there could have been some Cro-Magnon whoop-de-doos that have failed to make the history books) in Mesopotamia, present day Iraq.

Like most ancient tribes, Romans finagled some sort of new years day around the beginning of March, close to the Vernal Equinox. Romans, some time around the middle of the second century CE, began celebrating on January 1st, not from any religious or agricultural basis, but purely out of political expedience. New consuls were sworn in on that date, so...

And, as always, at some point, religion takes its pound of flesh. In the early Middle Ages, at the Second Council of Tours in 567, New Years Day (January 1) was abolished. Sort of like how the church abolished things like scientific astronomy (damn that Galileo!). Anyway, they were probably pissed at all the football games and Bud Light commercials. (I know I've had just about enough of that "dilly-dilly" bullshit.)

It's instructive to recall that in 567, bishops could still be married. Bet that would have cut down on the child molestation that took root after celibacy (*wink-wink*) was insisted upon.

Anyway, by the end of the Middle Ages, western cultures were deep into the cult of Gaius Lombardus, medieval band leader. It took another few hundred years for Robbie Burns to put words to the tune of Auld Lang Syne and for Gaius to start his New Years Eve radio appearances.

But in any event, let us all join hands in front of that wonderful hearth set for us by our gentle host, Robbie's ancestor Marie, and sing together:

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
and gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak' a right gude-willie waught,
for auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

Not sure how we all handle the "gude-willie waught" with hands joined, but perhaps we'll figure that out by eve's end.

Love you all, my brothers and sisters! Happy 2019.