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The Ledes

Saturday, May 18, 2024

Washington Post: “Paul D. Parkman, a scientist who in the 1960s played a central role in identifying the rubella virus and developing a vaccine to combat it, breakthroughs that have eliminated from much of the world a disease that can cause catastrophic birth defects and fetal death, died May 7 at his home in Auburn, N.Y. He was 91.”

New York Times: “Dabney Coleman, an award-winning television and movie actor best known for his over-the-top portrayals of garrulous, egomaniacal characters, died on Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 92.”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Friday, May 17, 2024

AP: “Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area.”

Public Service Announcement

The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

Marie: BTW, if you think our government sucks, I invite you to watch the PBS special "The Real story of Mr Bates vs the Post Office," about how the British post office falsely accused hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of subpostmasters of theft and fraud, succeeded in obtaining convictions and jail time, and essentially stole tens of thousands of pounds from some of them. Oh, and lied about it all. A dramatization of the story appeared as a four-part "Masterpiece Theater," which you still may be able to pick it up on your local PBS station. Otherwise, you can catch it here (for now). Just hope this does give our own Postmaster General Extraordinaire Louis DeJoy any ideas.

The Mysterious Roman Dodecahedron. Washington Post: A “group of amateur archaeologists sift[ing] through ... an ancient Roman pit in eastern England [found] ... a Roman dodecahedron, likely to have been placed there 1,700 years earlier.... Each of its pentagon-shaped faces is punctuated by a hole, varying in size, and each of its 20 corners is accented by a semi-spherical knob.” Archaeologists don't know what the Romans used these small dodecahedrons for but the best guess is that they have some religious significance.

"Countless studies have shown that people who spend less time in nature die younger and suffer higher rates of mental and physical ailments." So this Washington Post page allows you to check your own area to see how good your access to nature is.

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Thursday
Jun282018

The Commentariat -- June 29, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Trump Admin Practiced Separating Families but Not Reuniting Them. Lisa Seville & Hannah Rappleye of NBC News: "The government was separating migrant parents from their kids for months prior to the official introduction of zero tolerance, running what a U.S. official called a 'pilot program' for widespread prosecutions in Texas, but apparently did not create a clear system for parents to track or reunite with their kids. Officials have said that at least 2,342 children were separated from their parents after being apprehended crossing the border unlawfully since May 5, when the Trump administration's 'zero tolerance' policy towards migrants went into effect. But numbers provided to NBC News by the Department of Homeland Security show that another 1,768 were separated from their parents between October 2016 and February 2018, bringing the total number of separated kids to more than 4,100." ...

... Dara Lind of Vox: "The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is drafting a plan that would totally overhaul asylum policy in the United States. Under the plan, people would be barred from getting asylum if they came into the US between ports of entry and were prosecuted for illegal entry. It would also add presumptions that would make it extremely difficult for Central Americans to qualify for asylum, and codify -- in an even more restrictive form -- an opinion written by Sessions in June that attempted to restrict asylum for victims of domestic and gang violence.... When the regulation is ready, it will be published in the Federal Register as a notice of proposed rulemaking, with 90 days for the public to comment before it's enacted as a final regulation."

Elise Labott of CNN: "The UN migration agency on Friday voted down Ken Isaacs, the Trump administration's candidate to lead the International Organization for Migration, a US official told CNN, leaving it without an American at the helm since 1951. Isaacs once wrote on Twitter that Austria and Switzerland should consider building a wall in the Alps to keep refugees out.... The tweet is one of more than 140 previously unreported tweets from before Isaacs was nominated reviewed by CNN's KFile. The migration agency coordinates assistance to migrants worldwide. CNN's KFile previously reported on tweets from Isaacs that revealed an extensive history of sharing anti-Muslim sentiment. The screenshots provide the most robust picture of his social media activity and a wider window into his views of refugees, Islam and climate change -- issues that would have been central to the position with IOM. In several of the recently unearthed tweets, Isaacs shared a post that called climate change a 'hoax,' shared a story from the conspiracy-peddling website InfoWars about the 'Clinton body count,' and wrote'"#Islam is not peaceful.'"

*****

This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.

Natasha Bertrand of the Atlantic: "Just weeks before his back-to-back summits with NATO members in Belgium and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland, President Trump is legitimizing Russia's claim that it did not interfere in the 2016 election, contradicting the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies. 'Russia continues to say they had nothing to do with Meddling in our Election!” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning, before launching a diatribe against former FBI Director James Comey and his 'disgraced' agents. 'Where is the DNC Server, and why didn't Shady James Comey and the now disgraced FBI agents take and closely examine it? Why isn't Hillary/Russia being looked at? So many questions, so much corruption!' The outburst is the latest instance of Trump effectively shunning the conclusions of U.S. intelligence and national-security officials.... The timing of the president's tweet makes it even more significant: The remark came amid increasing anxiety about next month's NATO summit in Brussels, which will be immediately followed by Trump's one-on-one meeting with Putin in Helsinki."

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein squared off Thursday with Republican lawmakers who accused him of misconduct and stonewalling -- claims he angrily denied -- in an ongoing feud over the FBI's investigations into Hillary Clinton and President Trump. The tense exchanges at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee were interrupted by a House vote on a resolution meant to publicly rebuke Rosenstein over what lawmakers characterize as his failure to turn over investigative documents related to both cases. The measure, which passed 226 to 183, calls on the Justice Department to 'comply with requests including subpoenas' by July 6. Thursday' hearing featuring Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray was billed as an examination of an inspector general's report that found serious failings in how federal law enforcement handled a high-profile investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. But it mostly centered on Rosenstein -- and Republican accusations that he has withheld key details about the politically sensitive investigations." ...

... Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "On the House floor, Republicans voted in lock step to give the Justice Department seven days to produce sensitive documents related to the Russia inquiry and the F.B.I.'s investigation of Hillary Clinton' private email use. Though nonbinding, the measure was intended to put Mr. Rosenstein on notice that House lawmakers were willing to take punitive action ... if their demands were not met." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I would note that one of those seven days is a national holiday to remember the "Birth of a Nation," which -- come to think of it -- is probably some GOP House members' favorite movie.

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is Republicans' designated attack dog on the House Judiciary Committee.... And he's the guy whose push for a second special counsel based on [conspiracy] theories earned a sharp rebuke from Attorney General Jeff Sessions. On Thursday, Jordan again found himself getting shut down by one of the embattled leaders of the Justice Department -- this time in somewhat embarrassing fashion. In a tense exchange, Jordan suggested that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein ... was withholding key information from Congress about the probe. Jordan badgered Rosenstein for several minutes.... But then things fell apart for Jordan.... After Rosenstein rebuked Jordan's use of anonymous media reports, Jordan read from a quote that one anonymous House committee staffer gave to Fox. 'This is what they said: "Having the nation's No. 1 law enforcement officer threaten to subpoena your calls and emails is downright chilling,'" Jordan said. 'Did you threaten to subpoena their calls and emails?' 'No, sir, and there's no way to subpoena phone calls,' Rosenstein said.... Rosenstein flatly denied that he had ever said it and noted that he was under oath." ...

... Amber Phillips of the Washington Post: "... on Thursday, the various arguments Trump and his Republican allies have leaned on to suggest or outright claim FBI bias against the president got knocked down, one by one, by the top of the bureau's chain of command. What's more, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray categorically denied these characterizations of the FBI's work while under oath. Wray and Rosenstein ... testified Thursday for hours to the House's Judiciary Committee." Read on; Wray & Rosenstein made the House Republicans look pretty silly, which is probably the nicest thing one could say about most House Republicans.

Richard Shelby's Novel Rationale for Russian Election-Meddling. Andrew Desiderio & Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: "Shortly before traveling to Moscow with several colleagues, a senior Republican senator all but gave Russia a green light for future interference in U.S. elections. 'Most countries would meddle and play in our domestic elections if they could, and some of them have,' the Washington Examiner quoted Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican and chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, as saying. 'We have to be realistic nations are going to do what is in their next [sic] interest; we've done a lot of things too.'... Shelby's comments echoed Trump's infamous 'you think our country's so innocent?' line after Bill O'Reilly called Vladimir Putin a killer."

Manuel Roig-Franzia, et al., of the Washington Post: Arron "Banks/s journey from a lavish meal with a Russian diplomat in London to the raucous heart of Trump country was part of an unusual intercontinental charm offensive by the wealthy British donor and his associates, a hard-partying lot who dubbed themselves the 'Bad Boys of Brexit.' Their efforts to simultaneously cultivate ties to Russian officials and Trump's campaign have captured the interest of investigators in the United Kingdom and the United States, including special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.... In Britain, recent revelations about Banks's Russian contacts have triggered scrutiny of whether the Russians sought to bolster the Brexit effort. In the U.S., congressional Democrats who recently obtained a trove of Banks's communications have begun exploring a different question: Did the Brexit leaders serve as a conduit between the Kremlin and Trump's operation?" Mrs. McC: If so, Steve Bannon -- who has said he doesn't know any Russians -- would be a key piece of the pipeline.

Matthew Mosk & John Santucci of ABC News: "Several billionaires with deep ties to Russia attended exclusive, invitation-only receptions during Donald Trump's inauguration festivities, guest lists obtained by ABC News show. These powerful businessmen, who amassed their fortunes following the collapse of the Soviet Union -- including one who has since been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department -- were ushered into events typically reserved for top donors and close political allies and were given unprecedented access to Trump's inner circle. Their presence has attracted the interest of federal investigators probing Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. Matthew Olsen, a former senior national security official who now serves as an ABC News consultant, said their presence at inaugural events is 'very concerning.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A former aide to Roger J. Stone Jr., the longtime Trump adviser and self-described 'dirty trickster,' was subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury hearing evidence in the Russia investigation and to hand over documents, and his lawyer said he planned to move on Thursday to quash it in court. The aide, Andrew Miller, has not been mentioned before publicly in the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. Mr. Miller, a registered Libertarian, worked briefly for Mr. Stone around the Republican convention in 2016, helping to arrange media interviews and conducting other tasks, according to a person close to Mr. Stone." Miller's lawyer plans to argue that Mueller's appointment is unconstitutional. Mrs. McC: Because that's what these nuts do. But don't worry; pretty soon the Supremes will be green-lighting the nuts' arguments. (Also linked yesterday.)


Somewhat Amazing. Ron Nixon of the New York Times: "At least 19 Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators are seeking to dissolve the agency, concerned that the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal migrants has limited their ability to pursue national security threats, child pornography and transnational crime. In a letter sent last week to Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, the special agents proposed creating a stand-alone investigations unit and another agency to handle immigration detention and deportation. The request was sent as a growing number of Democrats and immigration-rights advocates have called for eliminating ICE. Investigations 'have been perceived as targeting undocumented aliens, instead of the transnational criminal organizations that facilitate cross border crimes impacting our communities and national security,' wrote the agents from Homeland Security Investigations, which is a branch of ICE. The Texas Observer first reported the letter." ...

... Ed Pilkington of the Guardian & News Agencies: "More than 600 protesters, mostly women, were arrested on Thursday after they staged a non-violent action in the heart of the US senate office building in Washington against Donald Trump's 'zero tolerance' policy towards immigrants and separation of families at the border. The mass protest was one of several demonstrations that erupted across the country, providing a taste of what is expected to be much larger demonstrations on Saturday called by the Women's March and the Center for Popular Democracy." ...

... Feckless. David Badash of RawStory: "Melania Trump for the second time has traveled to Trump migrant concentration camp for children in Tucson, Arizona. 'I'm here to support you,' the First Lady said at the televised event speaking to the agents of the federal Customs and Border Patrol, 'and to give my help whatever I can, for, behalf of children and the families.' 'I know how dangerous and difficult your daily jobs are so I really appreciate all you do on behalf of the country' the First Lady told the Customs and Border Patrol agents. There was no discussion of the thousands of children the Trump administration has forcibly separated from their parents and families." --safari ...

... Simon Romero of the New York Times: "Local governments around the United States are starting to sever lucrative ties with federal immigration entities amid growing discomfort with the Trump administration's immigration policies. Fueled largely by alarm over the separation of migrant children from their parents, the cancellations suggest an attempt to disengage from federal policies seen as harmful to immigrant families -- even when those policies could be pouring millions of dollars into local government budgets. 'It just felt inherently unjust for Sacramento to make money from dealing with ICE,' said Phil Serna, a Sacramento County supervisor who joined two colleagues in canceling the contract. 'For me, it came down to an administration that is extremely hostile to immigrants. I didn't feel we should be part of that.'" ...

... Feds Interrupt Whistleblower Interview. CBS News: "In his first television interview, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson James Schwab has opened up about why he abruptly resigned in March. But his interview with CBS News' Jamie Yuccas on Wednesday was unexpectedly interrupted by agents identifying themselves as agents from the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's Office. 'They just said that they wanted to talk to me about the leak with the Oakland mayor,' Schwab said of his conversation with the agents.... He said he felt compelled to resign after the current administration told him to lie about an incident that pitted the government against Oakland's mayor." He said that after Jeff Sessions "told a flat-out lie" about the incident, officials wanted Schwab to back up Sessions' lie to the public. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)


Adam Liptak & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times on how Trump & the Trumpettes encouraged Anthony Kennedy to quit his day job. And wouldn't you know it, there's a Deutsche Bank connection. ...

... Atlantic: "In a recent interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival, The Atlantic contributing editor Jeffrey Rosen reveals that before Justice Stevens retired, '[Stevens] told me ... he thought Roe would be overturned if Justice Kennedy retired.'" Video. Mrs. McC: Stevens oughta know. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Say, what would the public reaction be if we all found out about now that in 2017 Trump saw to it that one of his lovers got an abortion, then covered up the whole thing by asking Elliot Broidy to take the fall, as Paul Campos has credibly speculated? Could Trump still get away with nominating an anti-abortion justice? ...

... McConnell Is Trump. Alec MacGillis of ProPublica: "It is becoming increasingly clear that Mitch McConnell is creating a legacy for himself, and it's a mighty grand one. McConnell has created the world in which we are now living. Donald Trump dominates our universe -- and now has the power to fill the second Supreme Court seat in two years. McConnell, who has promised a vote on whomever the president nominates 'this fall,' is the figure who was quietly making it all possible, all along." --safari ...

... Charles Pierce: "It is not possible to imagine an emptier suit than Jeff Flake, soon to be former Republican senator from Arizona.... From AZCentral: 'The outgoing Arizona Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he will evaluate the person nominated to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy separately.... Flake has recently stalled at least some federal appeals court nominations by withholding his support on the Judiciary Committee in an effort to pressure the Senate to vote on President Donald Trump's tariff changes, which Flake opposes....' Except that, yeah, you did take that position on the subject of judges and, indeed, you acted upon it. But now, with the balance of the Supreme Court at issue for the next 20 or 30 years, you're willing to hand that decision over to a president* who actually is under investigation by the FBI, and with the tariffs that so bothered you still in place.... Anyway, and this obvious poltroon aside, I was thinking on Tuesday night, while preparing to depart for Mars until this all blows over, that the empty Supreme Court seat may well solve the Democratic Party's self-induced dither about whether its candidates should run 'against Trump' or not. This is a way to do so without directly attacking the exaltation of goobers who throng his rallies." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Obviously, Pierce has forgotten all about Marco Rubio. ...

... Josh Marshall of TPM: "There's been a lot of criticism of Democrats pounding the so-called 'McConnell Rule' for Supreme Court picks. I fully subscribe to this criticism as far as it goes. There is no such thing as the McConnell Rule. It was always transparent bullshit. It was simply about power. Moreover, Republicans are fully double-jointed when it comes to hypocrisy. They will not miss a beat saying this was critical in 2016 and meaningless in 2018.... If a vote on the next Supreme Court Justice is delayed past election day that will likely become a potent weapon to mobilize base Republicans. Overturning Roe v Wade would truly be on the ballot.... Should Democrats really go to war over this SCOTUS nomination when its success is all but assured and delaying may perversely help the GOP? This is a real and significant question that both of the below voices address. But I believe the answer is yes. Here/s why." --safari ...

... Jedediah Purdy in a New York Times op-ed: "Recent [Supreme Court] decisions ... are unhappy reminders that for much of American history, the Supreme Court has been a deeply conservative institution, preserving racial hierarchy and the prerogatives of employers. When it comes to economic inequality, today's Supreme Court is not only failing to help but is also aggressively making itself part of the problem in a time when inequality and insecurity are damaging the country and endangering our democracy. Under Chief Justice John Roberts, the court has consistently issued bold, partisan decisions that have been terrible for working people. Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, decided on Wednesday, was one of them.... These cases are part of a longer historical arc: the dismantling of the legal legacy of the New Deal and the creation of law for a new Gilded Age."

Trade Wars Are Easy to Win, Ctd. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump has repeatedly told top White House officials he wants& to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization, a move that would throw global trade into wild disarray, people involved in the talks tell Axios.... 'He's [threatened to withdraw] 100 times. It would totally [screw] us as a country,' said a source who's discussed the subject with Trump. The source added that Trump has frequently told advisers, 'We always get fucked by them [the WTO]. I don't know why we're in it. The WTO is designed by the rest of the world to screw the United States.'... A U.S. withdrawal from the WTO would send global markets into a spiral and cast trillions of dollars of trade into doubt.... As head of state, Trump under international law could make the notification at the WTO. But the U.S. law implementing the WTO agreements states quite plainly that withdrawal from the WTO requires an act of Congress." Thanks to MAG for the lead. ...

     ... Axios Update: "Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo Friday that it's an 'exaggeration' to say President Trump wants to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization, as Axios reported this morning."

Reuters: "... Donald Trump praised Taiwanese high-tech company Foxconn and vaguely threatened U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson on a campaign-style trip on Thursday to Wisconsin, a state that supported him in the 2016 election. Against a backdrop of a growing trade conflict between the United States and China, Trump helped Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, to break ground on a 13,000-employee U.S. plant." ...

... Haidee Chu of the New Republic: The FoxxConn site is "just 30 miles south of the motorcycle production company.... Trump also tweeted on Thursday morning that the Foxconn deal would bring 15,000 jobs into Wisconsin. Critics of the Foxconn plant hype have long been skeptical of these sorts of stats. At a 2.9 percent unemployment rate, the Badger state might not have enough workers to reap the economic benefits the new high-tech plant promises. Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has already admitted that Wisconsin 'need[s] more bodies.' In February he signed a bill to fund a $6.8 million advertising campaign to lure young workers into Wisconsin, precisely for the purpose of filling jobs at projects like Foxconn.... The incentive package for Foxconn will cost Wisconsin taxpayers $3 billion." ...

... Paul Krugman: "I think the Harley story is one of those anecdotes that tells us a lot. It's an early example of the incentives created by the looming Trumpian trade war, which will hurt many more American companies and workers than Trump or the people around him seem to realize. It's an indication of the hysterical reactions we can expect from the Trump crew as the downsides of their policies start to become apparent -- hysteria that other countries will surely see as evidence of Trump's fundamental weakness. And what Trump's alleged experts have to say about the controversy offers fresh confirmation that nobody in the administration has the slightest idea what he or she is doing."

Derek Kravitz, et al. of ProPublica: "Since Donald Trump declared his candidacy for president in late 2015, at least $16.1 million has poured into Trump Organization-managed and branded hotels, golf courses and restaurants from his campaign, Republican organizations, and government agencies.... The vast majority of the money -- at least $13.5 million, or more than 84 percent of what we tracked -- was spent by Trump's presidential campaign." --safari ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Remember way back when Trump boasted he was probably the only person who could run for president & make money at it? However, as Philip Bump of the WashPo pointed out a year ago, "Trump himself put about $66 million into the race -- a bit shy of the $100 million he pledged to spend, but more than five times what his companies took in [up to that point]." Well, I'll bet he & the family are making up the difference now.

Jonathan Karl, et al., of ABC News: "Nearly a year after ... Donald Trump picked General John Kelly to be his chief of staff, the president has once again started contemplating his possible replacements, sources familiar with the discussions tell ABC News. Those conversations raise the prospect that he may make a change very soon, around Kelly's one-year anniversary on the job in July. The leading candidates to replace Kelly are Nick Ayers, current chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, and former congressman Mick Mulvaney, currently Director of the Office of Management and Budget, according to sources with knowledge of the search. Both men are known to have a positive personal rapport with Trump. The Wall Street Journal first reported Kelly's potential replacements."

Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised on Wednesday to impose additional sanctions on Venezuela, predicted that the United States would again fund schools for Palestinian refugees in Jordan and said that President Trump viewed Russia's return to the Group of 7 as inevitable. Mr. Pompeo's remarks came during a hearing in the Senate that was intended to discuss his department's budget. But there was little said about the Trump administration's plans to slash the State Department's funding, and Mr. Pompeo did not try to defend proposals to cut spending on such things as the battle against H.I.V. and AIDS in Africa." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lachlan Markay & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "Though [Scott] Pruitt demands loyalty among those in his inner circle, he has not reciprocated it to his aides, even as they face a legal and public-relations backlash stemming from his conduct at the agency. Sources say he's actively undermined the reputations of former and current staffers, with campaigns that former senior EPA officials have described as 'ratfucking.'... Knowledgeable sources also told The Daily Beast that Pruitt instructed staff to pitch 'oppo hits' to media outlets on ... officials who departed on bad terms or were sidelined.... Pruitt's vindictiveness doesn't put him out of place within the administration. In many respects, it reflects some of the trademark impulses of his boss, Donald J. Trump." The reporters cite some tacky examples of Pruitt's ratfucking projects. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Gabriel Sandoval of ProPublica: "Before accepting a position at the U.S. Department of the Interior last October, Benjamin Cassidy championed gun rights for nearly seven years as a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, collecting a peak annual salary of $288,333 for his work on Capitol Hill. The public wouldn't know that by looking at Cassidy's government financial disclosure report.... In the space allotted to show his income, it incorrectly stated 'None.'... Four Interior staffers ultimately had to re-submit their disclosure reports following ProPublica's inquiry.... Many of the problems and omissions were easy to spot." --safari ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The gist of the story suggests Zinke is hiring hacks, & these hacks aren't required to even complete federal financial disclosure forms. Sandoval: "After we asked the Interior Department about the failure of Cassidy and at least three other staffers to disclose their work histories and finances, the agency responded with a bullet-pointed assessment that acknowledged ongoing problems while also noting that they 'predated the current administration.'" Say what? These are all Zinke hires. I understand "It's all Obama's fault" is the knee-jerk response to any Trumpy failure, but this is ridiculous. Oh, & this is funny: even when the disclosure forms submittedwere completely blank, the Department's only "admission" was that the employee had "inadvertently omitted certain information." This is your taxpayer dollars at work.


Kevin Rector of the Baltimore Sun: "At least five people were killed and several others were 'gravely injured' in a shooting Thursday afternoon at the Capital Gazette in Anne Arundel County, authorities said. A shooter is in custody, police said. Police would not name the suspect or say what type of weapon he used. A law enforcement official said the suspect had mutilated his fingers in a possible effort to thwart identification. Anne Arundel County Police initially confirmed about 3:15 p.m. that they were responding to an 'active shooter' at 888 Bestgate Road, where the newspaper's offices are located.... The Capital Gazette is owned by The Baltimore Sun. Police said a 'long gun' was used in the incident. They said officers did not exchange gunfire with the suspect, who was now being interrogated. They said officers had recovered what appeared to be an 'explosive device,' and had 'tactically secured' the building. About 170 people were inside at the time of the shooting, police said. Phil Davis, a Capital Gazette crime reporter who was in the building at the time of the shooting, said multiple people were shot, as others -- himself included -- hid under their desks. He said there was a lone male gunman." (An earlier version of this story was linked yesterday.) ...

     ... The story has been updated to identify the victims. It also IDs the killer, who has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder. ...

... The front page of the Baltimore Sun links to obituaries for the murdered journalists. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel also has as obituary of Rob Hiaasen. ...

... ** The front page of the Capital Gazette is here. Yeah, they put out a paper.

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Remarkably, I heard a Maryland EMS manager, speaking on MSNBC, cite Trump's attacks on the press as "not helpful"; i.e., a contributing factor in this kind of violence. ...

... Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Of Course He Did. Matt Willstein of the Daily Beast: "Within seconds of learning Thursday about a shooting inside the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, Fox News host Sean Hannity laid blame at the feet of Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters.... 'You know, as I've always said, I mean honestly -- I've been saying now for days that something horrible was going to happen because of the rhetoric. Really, Maxine?' he asked, referring to Waters. 'You want people to create -- "call your friends, get in their faces," and Obama said that too.'" Mrs. McC: Hey, thanks. Rep. Waters; at least now it's not all Obama's fault. ...

... MEANWHILE. Ashley Killough of CNN: "Rep. Maxine Waters said Thursday she's seen an increase in threats since she made controversial comments last week encouraging protesters to heckle and harass members of Trump's Cabinet in public spaces. The California Democrat canceled two scheduled appearances in Alabama and Texas this weekend after saying she got threatening messages and 'hostile mail' at her office, including 'one very serious death threat' on Monday from an individual in Texas. 'As the President has continued to lie and falsely claim that I encouraged people to assault his supporters, while also offering a veiled threat that I should "be careful", even more individuals are leaving (threatening) messages and sending hostile mail to my office,; she said in a statement. 'There was one very serious death threat made against me on Monday from an individual in Texas which is why my planned speaking engagements in Texas and Alabama were cancelled (sic) this weekend,' she continued. 'This is just one in several very serious threats the United States Capitol Police are investigating in which individuals threatened to shoot, lynch, or cause me serious bodily harm.'" Mrs. McC BTW: Yo, Ashley; no need to (sic) "cancelled." It's an accepted spelling.

Congressional Races

Jonathan Martin & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The stunning defeat on Tuesday of Representative Joseph Crowley, the fourth-ranking House Democrat and a potential future speaker, threw the future of the septuagenarian-led caucus into chaos, opening the door to a new generation of leadership and a push leftward. As shock in the capital over Mr. Crowley's New York primary loss to a 28-year-old first-time candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave way to calculation, House Democrats began floating challengers to Representative Nancy Pelosi, their leader. The current leadership slate reacted defensively to the threat of a purge, while a handful of other lawmakers braced for their own primary challenges from the left.... Rank-and-file House Democrats made clear in dozens of interviews that whether the party takes back the majority or not in November, there would be a push to depose Ms. Pelosi, the 78-year-old former speaker." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: As some wag pointed out a while back, the combined ages of Pelosi (78), Hoyer (79) & Clyburn (77) (= 234 )-- the top three House Democrats -- are older than the U.S. Constitution (229). ...

... Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.:

... Lloyd Grove of the Daily Beast: "'Kind of pisses me off that @ nytimes is still asking Who Is Ocasio-Cortez? when it should have covered her campaign,' Jill Abramson erupted on Twitter on Wednesday morning -- a biting reference to the newspaper's original headline concerning the 28-year-old socialist's shocking Democratic primary upset, a landslide actually, over incumbent Joe Crowley in New York's 14th Congressional District. Indeed, a quick review of the Times' coverage of the primary race turned up mention of and quotes from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in two news stories prior to Election Night, and a few name-checks in editorials -- one of which, published in the June 20 print edition, noted that she's 'a challenger [Crowley] is heavily favored to beat. Missing her rise [is] akin to not seeing Trump's win coming in 2016,' Abramson added in her tweet -- an even more biting reference to the Times' self-acknowledged failings in the paper's reporting of the presidential campaign. In response to Abramson's critique -- which she elaborated in several emailed comments shared with the Times -- Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy told The Daily Beast: '... we just disagree with Jill.' A few hours after Abramson's tweet, the headline phrase that pissed her off, 'Who is Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez?' was changed online to 'Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: A 28-Year-Old Democratic Giant Slayer.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "On Tuesday night, many major news organizations were caught flat-footed as 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pulled off one of the biggest political upsets in years, unseating powerhouse Joseph Crowley in the Democratic primary in a New York City congressional district. Not only was media coverage sparse at her jubilant headquarters, but many national newsrooms struggled to tell the stunning story even from a distance. 'Incredibly,' wrote Harry Siegel of the Daily Beast on Twitter, some wire services had 'zero pictures of her as of Election Day.'"

Mrs. McCrabbie: I don't know if Democrat M.J. Hegar will win her election bid, but it is stories like hers that make the political careers like those of her opponent look as craven & meaningless as they are. Thanks to PD Pepe for the link:

Mainstream GOP. Christie Massie, et al. of CNN: "A top aide to Virginia GOP Senate nominee Corey Stewart has shared a number of conspiracy theories on social media, including tweets about 'Pizzagate' and Facebook posts parroting the popular far-right theory that top Democrats were responsible for the death of a Democratic National Committee staffer, a KFile review has found. The aide, Noel Fritsch, also shared anti-Muslim sentiments, calling gun-free zones and Muslims 'a deadly combination,' and objected to LGBT people being discussed on National Public Radio." --safari


Abbie Bennett of the Raleigh News & Observer: "A website tied to a candidate for the North Carolina General Assembly says God is a racist white supremacist and that Jews are descended from Satan. Russell Walker is a Republican candidate running for state House District 48 which includes Scotland and Hoke counties. On Tuesday, the North Carolina Republican Party withdrew its support for Walker." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)


Jeremy Hance of the Guardian: "Let's be honest, the global community's response to the rising evidence of mass extinction and ecological degradation has been largely to throw crumbs at it.... The problem is such actions -- while laudable and important -- in no way match the scope and size of the problem.... But a few scientists are beginning to call for more ambition -- much more — and they want to see it enshrined in a new global agreement similar to the Paris Climate Accord. They also say that the bill shouldn't just fall on nations, but the private sector too." --safari

Way Beyond the Beltway

AFT: "A total of 133 politicians have been murdered in the run-up to Mexico's elections on Sunday, the consulting firm Etellekt said, as the violence gripping the country exploded into politics on a record scale" --safari

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Wednesday
Jun272018

The Commentariat -- June 28, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Kevin Rector of the Baltimore Sun: "A shooting has occurred at the Capital Gazette in Anne Arundel County, a paper that is owned by The Baltimore Sun.... Anne Arundel County Police confirmed there was an 'active shooter' at 888 Bestgate Road, where the newspaper's offices are located. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed it was responding to a 'shooting incident' at the Capital Gazette. Lt. Ryan Frashure, Anne Arundel County police spokesman, said he could not confirm if there were any fatalities, only that there were several injuries. He said that once the building is secured he would release information about the suspect and the injuries." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: According to a banner on the WashPo's main page, Gov. Hogan has said several were killed & several injuried. Remarkably, I just heard a Maryland EMS manager, speaking on MSNBC, cite Trump's attacks on the press as "not helpful"; i.e., a contributing factor in this kind of violence.

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein squared off Thursday with Republican lawmakers who accused him of misconduct and stonewalling -- claims he angrily denied -- in an ongoing feud over the FBI's investigations into Hillary Clinton and President Trump. The tense exchanges at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee were interrupted by a House vote on a resolution meant to publicly rebuke Rosenstein over what lawmakers characterize as his failure to turn over investigative documents related to both cases. The measure, which passed 226 to 183, calls on the Justice Department to 'comply with requests including subpoenas' by July 6. Thursday's hearing featuring Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray was billed as an examination of an inspector general's report that found serious failings in how federal law enforcement handled a high-profile investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. But it mostly centered on Rosenstein -- and Republican accusations that he has withheld key details about the politically sensitive investigations." ...

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Lloyd Grove of the Daily Beast: "'Kind of pisses me off that @ nytimes is still asking Who Is Ocasio-Cortez? when it should have covered her campaign,' Jill Abramson erupted on Twitter on Wednesday morning -- a biting reference to the newspaper's original headline concerning the 28-year-old socialist's shocking Democratic primary upset, a landslide actually, over incumbent Joe Crowley in New York's 14th Congressional District. Indeed, a quick review of the Times' coverage of the primary race turned up mention of and quotes from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in two news stories prior to Election Night, and a few name-checks in editorials -- one of which, published in the June 20 print edition, noted that she's 'a challenger [Crowley] is heavily favored to beat. Missing her rise [is] akin to not seeing Trump's win coming in 2016,' Abramson added in her tweet -- an even more biting reference to the Times' self-acknowledged failings in the paper's reporting of the presidential campaign. In response to Abramson's critique -- which she elaborated in several emailed comments shared with the Times -- Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy told The Daily Beast: '... we just disagree with Jill.' A few hours after Abramson's tweet, the headline phrase that pissed her off, 'Who is Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez?' was changed online to 'Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: A 28-Year-Old Democratic Giant Slayer.'"

Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised on Wednesday to impose additional sanctions on Venezuela, predicted that the United States would again fund schools for Palestinian refugees in Jordan and said that President Trump viewed Russia's return to the Group of 7 as inevitable. Mr. Pompeo's remarks came during a hearing in the Senate that was intended to discuss his department's budget. But there was little said about the Trump administration's plans to slash the State Department's funding, and Mr. Pompeo did not try to defend proposals to cut spending on such things as the battle against H.I.V. and AIDS in Africa."

Matthew Mosk & John Santucci of ABC News: "Several billionaires with deep ties to Russia attended exclusive, invitation-only receptions during Donald Trump's inauguration festivities, guest lists obtained by ABC News show. These powerful businessmen, who amassed their fortunes following the collapse of the Soviet Union -- including one who has since been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department -- were ushered into events typically reserved for top donors and close political allies and were given unprecedented access to Trump's inner circle. Their presence has attracted the interest of federal investigators probing Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. Matthew Olsen, a former senior national security official who now serves as an ABC News consultant, said their presence at inaugural events is 'very concerning.'"

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A former aide to Roger J. Stone Jr., the longtime Trump adviser and self-described 'dirty trickster,' was subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury hearing evidence in the Russia investigation and to hand over documents, and his lawyer said he planned to move on Thursday to quash it in court. The aide, Andrew Miller, has not been mentioned before publicly in the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. Mr. Miller, a registered Libertarian, worked briefly for Mr. Stone around the Republican convention in 2016, helping to arrange media interviews and conducting other tasks, according to a person close to Mr. Stone." Miller's lawyer plans to argue that Mueller's appointment is unconstitutional. Mrs. McC: Because that's what these nuts do. But don't worry; pretty soon the Supremes will be green-lighting the nuts' arguments.

Lachlan Markay & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "Though [Scott] Pruitt demands loyalty among those in his inner circle, he has not reciprocated it to his aides, even as they face a legal and public-relations backlash stemming from his conduct at the agency.Sources say he's actively undermined the reputations of former and current staffers, with campaigns that former senior EPA officials have described as 'ratfucking.'... Knowledgeable sources also told The Daily Beast that Pruitt instructed staff to pitch 'oppo hits' to media outlets on ... officials who departed on bad terms or were sidelined.... Pruitt's vindictiveness doesn't put him out of place within the administration. In many respects, it reflects some of the trademark impulses of his boss, Donald J. Trump." The reporters cite some tacky examples of Pruitt's ratfucking projects.

Feds Interrupt Whistleblower Interview. CBS News: "In his first television interview, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson James Schwab has opened up about why he abruptly resigned in March. But his interview with CBS News' Jamie Yuccas on Wednesday was unexpectedly interrupted by agents identifying themselves as agents from the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's Office. 'They just said that they wanted to talk to me about the leak with the Oakland mayor,' Schwab said of his conversation with the agents.... He said he felt compelled to resign after the current administration told him to lie about an incident that pitted the government against Oakland's mayor." He said that after Jeff Sessions "told a flat-out lie" about the incident, officials wanted Schwab to back up Sessions' lie to the public.

Congressional Races

Jonathan Martin & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The stunning defeat on Tuesday of Representative Joseph Crowley, the fourth-ranking House Democrat and a potential future speaker, threw the future of the septuagenarian-led caucus into chaos, opening the door to a new generation of leadership and a push leftward. As shock in the capital over Mr. Crowley's New York primary loss to a 28-year-old first-time candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, gave way to calculation, House Democrats began floating challengers to Representative Nancy Pelosi, their leader. The current leadership slate reacted defensively to the threat of a purge, while a handful of other lawmakers braced for their own primary challenges from the left.... Rank-and-file House Democrats made clear in dozens of interviews that whether the party takes back the majority or not in November, there would be a push to depose Ms. Pelosi, the 78-year-old former speaker." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: As some wag pointed out a while back, the combined ages of Pelosi (78), Hoyer (79) & Clyburn (77) (= 234 )-- the top three House Democrats -- are older than the U.S. Constitution (229).

Mrs. McCrabbie: I don't know if Democrat M.J. Hegar will win, but it is stories like hers that make the political careers like those of her opponent look as craven & meaningless as they are. Thanks to PD Pepe for the link:


Abbie Bennett of the Raleigh News & Observer: "A website tied to a candidate for the North Carolina General Assembly says God is a racist white supremacist and that Jews are descended from Satan. Russell Walker is a Republican candidate running for state House District 48 which includes Scotland and Hoke counties. On Tuesday, the North Carolina Republican Party withdrew its support for Walker."

*****

Jonathan Chait runs down how the U.S. has come to be ruled by a minority, a/k/a Republicans: "The central drama of the Trump era is a struggle to defend American democracy against an authoritarian leader. The Republican Party's comfort with the crude authoritarianism of its president, though, did not spring out of nowhere. It is the culmination of a party increasingly comfortable with, and reliant on, countermajoritarian power."

** Michael Shear of the Washington Post: "Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced on Wednesday that he will retire this summer, setting in motion a furious fight over the future of the Supreme Court and giving President Trump the chance to cement a conservative judicial philosophy on the American legal system for generations. A critical swing vote on the sharply polarized court for nearly three decades, Justice Kennedy, 81, embraced liberal views of gay rights, abortion and the death penalty even as he helped conservatives trim voting rights, block gun control measures and unleash campaign spending by corporations. His replacement by a conservative justice -- something Mr. Trump has vowed to insist upon -- is certain to reshape the country's legal landscape and could imperil a variety of landmark Supreme Court precedents on social issues, like abortion, where Justice Kennedy frequently sided with his liberal colleagues." (Also sort of linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Kennedy's impending retirement explains why Roberts punted on a number of cases that came up before the Court this year. ...

... ** E.J. Dionne: "...the Republican Five on the nation's highest court have operated as agents of their party's interests. And now things stand to get even worse because of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's retirement. He was, at least on some occasions, a moderating force. His replacement by another conservative hard-liner in the mold of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch would give right-wing interpretations of the law free rein.... All the recent talk about civility should not stop opponents of a right-wing court from doing everything in their power to keep the judiciary from being packed with ideologues who behave as partisans. There is nothing civil about rushing a nominee to replace Kennedy before the midterm elections. And no rule of civility demands the confirmation of justices who would leave an abusive president unchecked and use raw judicial power to roll back a century's worth of social progress." Read on. ...

... Cristian Farias of New York: Anthony Kennedy's "tacit surrender to Trump and all he represents -- and his willingness to allow his name and legacy to be brandished in the coming battle over his replacement -- says more about the senior justice than anyone else. He may be the Supreme Court's enduring center of gravity. But in the term that just wrapped up today, he was, more than anything, dead weight.... He was just there, offering a few platitudes about respect for gays and lesbians in Masterpiece Cakeshop, but nonetheless willing to side with a Christian baker who, in his view, had been the target of Evangelical hostility. That he was unwilling to raise his voice with equal force for Muslims here or abroad in Trump v. Hawaii -- or for voting rights, labor unions, or even against the surveillance state in the digital age, all cases where he voted squarely with conservatives during the last term -- betrayed a certain tiredness and lack of enthusiasm for the very principles of equality and liberty that for 30 years we believed he held dear." ...

... Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "Maybe it's a fitting end to his career to say that the man who wanted everyone to speak to one another civilly and respectfully did what everyone else has done this year and threw in the towel.... Democrats should rightly be terrified that Kennedy's legacy around gay rights, reproductive rights, affirmative action, some kinds of racial justice, and student prayer are in immediate peril. And Democrats can now be fully assured that the Supreme Court will not step in to stop Donald Trump's excesses. And to be sure, the reason the court will not stand up to future acts of Trumpism is that Kennedy, who tried to be the bridge at the court for so many decades, gave up and joined Team Trump.... There is no longer a center, or even a center built of make-believe." ...

... Matt Ford of the New Republic: "By stepping down from the court, Kennedy leaves behind a complex record on the court -- one that largely maintained a tenuous balance of power between America's increasingly polarized political factions. That balance now appears to be in jeopardy: upsetting it could be Anthony Kennedy's most lasting legacy." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Unless Kennedy is seriously ill, there is no excuse for his choosing to retire while Donald Trump is president*. It's an act of sabotage. It's not for nothing that David Souter waited to retire until Dubya was term-limited out of office. Souter is or was a Republican, but he was also aware of the effects Dubya's other appointees were having on American jurisprudence. ...

... Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "Anthony Kennedy was a horrible justice, and his last decision was his worst.... He was in over his head at the Supreme Court. And, for that reason, his most celebrated opinions will be very easy to dismantle.... His writing ranged from needlessly flowery to completely incoherent.... Nevertheless, for all of Kennedy's shortcomings  --  his naive view of money in politics and his disregard for voting rights, his crusade against the Affordable Care Act, his expansive conservatism and his miserly liberalism  --  America will be much, much worse off with Kennedy off the Court. The future now belongs to men such as Neil Gorsuch. It belongs to men eager to inject even more money into American politics. It belongs to men who will tear down reproductive freedom, give the Christian right broad immunity from the law, protect voter suppression, and even allow judges to sell themselves to campaign donors. Kennedy made many bad decisions on the Supreme Court, but his single worst decision was to give his seat up to Donald Trump." ...

... Surprise, Surprise. Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Senator Mitch McConnell wasted no time on Wednesday and promised a Senate vote on a new Supreme Court nominee by the fall -- and Democrats will have little power to prevent confirmation of President Trump's choice on their own.... The decision to move swiftly shows that Mr. McConnell and his fellow Senate Republicans do not intend to give Democrats and their allies an extended opportunity to build opposition to a nominee -- or to retake the Senate and blockade confirmation as Republicans did with President Barack Obama's nominee in 2016. The confirmation process will throw a volatile new issue into the already charged midterm campaign season, providing fresh challenges for both Republican and Democratic candidates." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: As the Oracle Akhilleus wrote in yesterday's Comments thread, before McConnell's announcement, "Also, look for the little dictator to announce his latest future Nuremberg Trials defendant in days, and for traitor Mitch McConnell to race the nomination through in record time. No waiting for the November elections which might boot his fat turtle ass out of the leadership position and put a responsible person in his oily stead." ...

I fully expect the president’s nominee to receive the same consideration that Merrick Garland received. -- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) ...

... Matt Shuham of TPM lists Democratic senators' responses to consideration of a Trump nominee to the Supreme Court.

... "Mitch McConnell's Politics of Shamelessness Have Won." Matt Yglesias of Vox: "When Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pulled a new rule of American politics out of thin air and said there could be no vote on a replacement during a hotly contested election year. When Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement Wednesday afternoon, McConnell pulled a distinction out of thin air and said that the autumn of a midterm election was a perfect time to confirm a new Supreme Court justice. It is, yes, hypocritical.... There's a perfect alignment between the reputation he wants, the reputation he has, and the reputation he deserves in a way that's unequalled among American politicians and that allows him to conduct himself with an even greater degree of shamelessness than Donald Trump himself since unlike the all-id Trump, McConnell isn't out of control he's just willing to be utterly ruthless in pursuit of his political objectives." ...

... Richard Hasen: "The only political hope here is for massive street protests, like we saw with the initial Trump travel ban to try to convince senators like Susan Collins of Maine or Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to vote no. It's a long shot because we've seen these senators fold time and again. But it is worth trying.... Democrats may have to turn to more radical measures — like adding more justices to the court, something some have already proposed -- when they come back into power in order to make up for the Merrick Garland nomination that was blockaded by McConnell in 2016.... I expect a Trump Bump in the midterms when evangelicals come out to vote excited about the next Scalia that Trump and McConnell have delivered to them." ...

... Steve M. "But we know what's going to happen if liberal interest groups take to the streets. A norm-shattering act of blatant hypocrisy that might hand decades-long control of the Supreme Court to a president who lost the popular vote and who's under investigation for colluding in election-rigging by an enemy country ... well, I'm sure [Chuck] Todd and others like him will think that's bad, but liberal demonstrators will be rude, and that's much, much worse.... Yet it's all we've got. So let's get to it."

Pete Williams of NBC News: "The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a crippling blow Wednesday to unions representing millions of the nation's public employees. The justices said in a 5-4 opinion that state government workers who choose not to join a union cannot be compelled to pay a share of union dues for covering the cost of negotiating contracts. Unions had said such an outcome would cut off a source of income and diminish their political clout in the 23 states where they bargain for both members and non-members alike. A recent non-partisan study predicted that a Supreme Court defeat would eventually cause public employee unions to lose 726,000 members, a significant blow in one of organized labor's remaining strongholds. Nearly half of all union members in the U.S. are government employees.... Donald Trump tweeted shortly after the ruling that it was a 'Big loss of the coffers of the Democrats!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Eric Levitz of New York: "In hindsight, it's hard to argue that Democrats did everything in their power to [put a liberal on the Supreme Court to replace Antonin Scalia.] For example, imagine if Barack Obama had nominated the first African-American woman to the Supreme Court -- one who was young, and unabashedly progressive in her jurisprudence. When McConnell subsequently vetoed her appointment -- and thereby nullified Obama's attempt to give a modicum of representation in the halls of high power to the Democratic Party's most loyal constituency -- wouldn't it have been easier to mobilize the Democratic base in outrage, than it was to rally them behind Merrick Garland?" (Also linked yesterday.)


"Trump Takes over America." Mike Allen of Axios: "President Trump, with his refusal to take advice or yield to experts, is the West Wing. Republicans who control both halves of Congress won't lift a finger against him and fully support his every move.... With his chance to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, Trump may have fewer checks on his power than any president in his lifetime.... His one big legislative accomplishment -- a huge tax cut -- will silence business critics as long as he's around.... The 2018 elections matter exponentially more today than they did 24 hours ago."

Mark Landler & Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "President Trump plans to meet President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia next month in a one-on-one summit meeting, a politically sensitive encounter that could exacerbate strains with NATO allies even if it eases tensions between the United States and Russia." Mrs. McC: Will the Artful Dealer turn over the keys to the White House in exchange for Trump Tower Kremlin? Inquiring minds want to know. ...

     ... Update. Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month in Finland, the White House announced Thursday, setting up a historic summit between two presidents who have often spoken warmly of one another even as their nations have become increasingly at odds. 'President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will meet on July 16, 2018, in Helsinki, Finland,' White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Thursday morning." ...

... Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "NATO members say they fear that all the preparation and the desire to show solidarity in the face of a new Russian threat will be overshadowed, if not undone, by a divisive encounter followed by Mr. Trump's prospective summit meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin.The European allies are deeply worried that they will confront the Trump who was on display at the meeting in June in Canada of the seven major economies, known as the Group of 7, or G-7. Those in the room described him as angry, mocking, wandering and rude, especially to the host, Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.... European and some American officials say they dread the same pattern -- a noisy, divisive NATO summit, damaging deterrence, followed by a chummy meeting with a dictator, in this case Mr. Putin, whose long-term goals are to destabilize the European Union, undermine NATO and restore Russian influence over Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the Balkans."

Zeeshan Aleem of Vox: "After weeks of anticipation, President Donald Trump has decided to back down from a hard-hitting policy that would sharply restrict Chinese investment in the US -- opting to work with Congress on a more modest measure instead. Trump's decision should at least temporarily defuse tensions between the US and China, who are on the brink of an all-out trade war over China's trade policies. Earlier this week reports indicated that Trump was on the verge of using emergency presidential powers to issue an order to dramatically restrict Chinese investment in US businesses." --safari ...

... Self-enrichment > U.S. security. Jessica Kwong of Newsweek: "First daughter Ivanka Trump's company received approval from China to register three trademarks on the same day her father ... agreed to lift sanctions against a Chinese telecommunications company, according to a government watchdog group. China granted registration approval for the three Ivanka Trump Marks LLC trademarks on June 7.... President Trump saved the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE from financial collapse the same day by lifting tough American sanctions, despite opposition from some of his advisers and Republicans." --safari: Any photos of giant bags of money changing hands? No. Welp, no corruption here

Trump's Lies Are Getting Weirder.

The head of U.S. Steel called me the other day, and he said, 'We're opening up six major facilities and expanding facilities that have never been expanded.' They haven't been opened in many, many years.-- President Trump, roundtable with American workers, Duluth, Minn., June 20

U.S. Steel just announced they're expanding or building six new facilities. -- President Trump, remarks at the White House, June 26

Why is the president of the United States announcing the opening of new factories that a major U.S. company has not announced?... [U.S. Steel refused to confirm that its CEO had spoken with Trump re: any expansions.] Either the president of U.S. Steel tipped market-moving information to the president of the United States, or he did not. Interestingly, the securities markets have not reacted at all to the president's disclosure; U.S. Steel's stock fell the day after Trump made his comments about six new facilities, and it has continued to decline. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post


Spencer Ackerman of The Daily Beast: "'Several hundred' undocumented parents appear to have been deported without their children in April 2018 alone, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) sponsored by Syracuse University. Breaking down newly acquired Border Patrol data, TRAC found that only 851 children out of 5,144 arrested in April have been deported, contrasting with 1,060 deportations of the 4,537 undocumented adults arrested that month." --safari...

... Sam Biddle of The Intercept: "The reporters at Reuters have been providing crucial, unfliching coverage of the cruel treatment of would-be immigrants under policies pushed by President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the news agency's parent company, Thomson Reuters, has been supplying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with data from its vast stores as part of federal contracts worth close to $30 million.... Last week, advocacy and watchdog group Privacy International wrote to Thomson Reuters CEO James Smith to 'express concern' over contracts between ICE and two of the company's subsidiaries." --safari

Rachel Bade of Politico: House Republicans' so-called "'compromise' [--no Dems allowed-- immigration] bill died Wednesday afternoon, 121 to 301 -- the latest in a string of high-profile failures to overhaul the nation's immigration system and an embarrassment to House GOP leaders and ... Donald Trump. While several top conservatives had been in the room helping write the bill, every single one of them voted against it." AND they were all mad at each other. Mrs. McC: Boo-fucking-hoo.

This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.

Adam Davidson of the New Yorker: "Barring an unexpected change, the Donald J. Trump Foundation will be defending itself in a New York courtroom shortly before this fall's midterm elections. The proceedings seem unlikely to go well for the institution and its leadership; President Trump and his elder children, Ivanka, Donald, Jr., and Eric, are being sued by New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood for using the charity to enrich and benefit the Trump family. On Tuesday, the judge in the case, Saliann Scarpulla, made a series of comments and rulings from the bench that hinted -- well, all but screamed -- that she believes the Trump family has done some very bad things.... During Tuesday's hearing, the Trump Foundation's lawyer, Alan Futerfas, asked that the trial not commence in October, because it was so close to the midterms. Judge Scarpulla laughed in response, did not change the trial date, and hinted that she is likely to require the President to testify.... The case against the Trumps appears damning."

Reuters: "A search warrant application unsealed on Wednesday revealed closer links than previously known between ... Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort and a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin. In an affidavit attached to the July 2017 application, an FBI agent said he had reviewed tax returns for a company controlled by Manafort and his wife that showed a $10 million loan from a Russian lender identified as Oleg Deripaska."


All the Best People, Ctd. Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Bill Shine, a former Fox News executive who was close to Roger E. Ailes, the network's ousted chairman, is expected to be offered the job of White House communications director, according to four people familiar with the decision. Mr. Shine, who was forced out as co-president at Fox News last May for his handling of sexual harassment scandals at the network, has met with President Trump in recent weeks about taking the West Wing communications job, which has been vacant since Hope Hicks left the job in March. Four people familiar with the decision said it was likely to be announced and that the president had offered him the job. But the move has not been finalized, in part because of the president's mercurial decision-making process and also because of Mr. Shine's reluctance to walk into a chaotic West Wing. As recently as a month ago, Mr. Shine didn't want the job, according to a person familiar with his thinking. The former television executive was reluctant to deal with all the scrutiny, part of which could focus on his own connection to the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News, the person said."...

... Aaron Lorenzo of Politico: "President Donald Trump's pick to run the IRS, tax lawyer Chuck Rettig, owns properties at the Trump International Hotel Waikiki and Tower. He'd previously disclosed his 50 percent stake in a pair of Honolulu rental units, but not their specific location. That detail was discussed later, at a June 21 meeting with congressional staff, according to a memo obtained by Politico.... It also indicated Rettig failed to report interest income or interest expenses related to a personal loan he made to an unnamed family member." --safari...

... Shambolic Corporate Shill Award. David Dayen ;of The Intercept: "Andrew Smith, the newly installed head of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission represented an astonishing array of [54] miscreant companies ... during his four-year tenure at the corporate law firm Covington & Burling, according to a financial disclosure form released Wednesday.... Under conflict-of-interest standards, Smith would likely have to recuse himself from investigations of all of those companies, including several already under investigation by the FTC..., But [it] doesn't stop there..., Smith ... received compensation for legal services from practically all of the nation's large financial firms.... Financial companies linked to Smith have paid tens of billions of dollars in fines for securities and consumer protection violations.... It gets worse...." --safari ...

... Recruiting the Swamp. Zahra Hirji of BuzzFeed (June 25th): "A month after starting as chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt made a recruiting 'plea' to top executives at the American Petroleum Institute, a major oil and gas trade group, according to internal emails obtained by BuzzFeed News.... [T]he emails give yet another example of the Trump administration offering jobs to industry officials and lobbyists. For example, J. Steven Hart, the energy lobbyist linked to Pruitt's former apartment deal in Capitol Hill, provided the agency with recommendations for staff and science advisers last year, the New York Times reported. In another case, Trump donor Doug Deason submitted a list of names to be EPA science advisers, according to Politico." --safari

Toby Eckert of Politico: "Public support for the recent tax overhaul plunged in the past two months ... according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll. Just 37 percent of registered voters said they supported the tax-cut laden law, down from 44 percent in an April poll. The number of voters who were undecided or offered no opinion leapt to 24 percent from 17 percent.... Even among Republicans, support for the law dropped to 70 percent, from 80 percent in April. The number who moved into the undecided column jumped to 19 percent from 10 percent.... Only 25 percent of voters said they had noticed an increase in their paychecks as a result of the law, while 52 percent said they hadn't." --safari...

Benjamin Haas of the Guardian: "North Korea has continued to upgrade its only known nuclear reactor used to fuel its weapons program, satellite imagery has shown, despite ongoing negotiations with the US and a pledge to denuclearise. Infrastructure improvements at the Yongbyon nuclear plant are 'continuing at a rapid pace', according to an analysis by monitoring group 38 North of commercial satellite images taken on 21 June." Mrs. McC: What? You mean Kim snookered the artful dealer Trump? Unpossible! (Also linked yesterday.)

Philip Gordon amp; Prem Kumar in The Atlantic: "Given the serious risks of escalating violence, the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza, and the continued costs of the status quo, [Jared] Kushner's desire to move forward [with a peace plan] even in the face of long odds is understandable. Unfortunately, his interview also revealed that he is living in a fantasy world and preparing an approach more likely to compound the current problems than to resolve them.... Neither the Palestinian nor Israeli people, nor their leaders, are currently prepared for the compromises required for a deal, and accentuating this reality will only make things worse. In diplomacy, as in medicine, the Hippocratic Oath to 'do no harm' can be a worthy principle. Jared Kushner would do well to consider it now." --safari

Congressional, State Races

Dana Milbank: "In her shocking primary upset of Nancy Pelosi's heir apparent, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just did Democrats a big favor. I mean no disrespect to Rep. Joseph Crowley, the New York Democrat she beat.... Now he won't be speaker. And this, in a very concrete way, clears the way for a new generation to take the reins of the opposition -- leaders who appeal to the emerging electoral majority that already dominates the party and will soon dominate the country: progressive, young, female and nonwhite. It is no accident that Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Latina, is all four.... Until Tuesday night, the party was in the absurd position of having septuagenarians occupying all three of its top leadership positions in the House -- with a somewhat-less-old white guy, the 56-year-old Crowley, waiting patiently to succeed them.... Ocasio-Cortez saved Democrats from that and improved the odds of a younger and feistier Democratic opposition emerging." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Let us pause for a moment to thank the people of Queens & the Bronx who exercised the franchise. ...

Margaret Hartmann: "In a battle over which candidate is the most Trump-like, GOP primary voters in Staten Island went with the guy who isn't a convicted felon. Michael Grimm, who resigned from Congress in 2015 after pleading guilty to tax evasion, was hoping for a chance to reclaim his old seat on Tuesday night, but he was easily defeated by Representative Dan Donovan. With all precincts in New York's 11th Congressional District reporting, Donovan took 64 percent of the vote to Grimm's 36 percent." (Also linked yesterday.)

Teachers Rule, Even in Oklahoma. Rivka Galchen in the New Yorker: "Republican legislators who opposed the [teacher] pay raise were mostly either beaten or forced into runoffs.... Three statewide Republican incumbents, including the current lieutenant governor, were forced into a runoff or rejected.... Meanwhile, more than fifty educator candidates advanced.... All the Democratic incumbents held onto their positions.... Red states such as Oklahoma -- with its decade of dramatic cuts to public services and fanatical antagonism to taxes -- are often mentioned as leading indicators of the direction in which the whole country may be heading. This primary, which boosted teachers and rejected the current state-level Republican leadership, may be the embodiment of a turn."


Edmund Lee & Cecilia Kang of the New York Times: "The Department of Justice approved the Walt Disney Company's $71 billion bid for the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox on Wednesday, potentially complicating Comcast's desire to make a rival offer for Rupert Murdoch's entertainment empire. The government's approval was filed in federal court on the condition that Disney, which already owns ESPN, divest all of Fox's 22 regional sports networks, which include valuable channels like the Yankees' YES network."

See the Forest for the Trees' (Stumps). Eliza Barclay of Vox: "Given forests' importance [maintaining climate stability], new data from the University of Maryland released on Global Forest Watch, a forest monitoring site, is alarming: 2017 was the second-worst year on record for tropical forest loss. Some 39 million acres of trees, an area the size of Bangladesh, were destroyed. That's about 40 football fields of trees lost every single minute... 'This is a crisis of existential proportions,' Ola Elvestuen, Norway's minister of climate and environment, said Wednesday at the Oslo Tropical Forest Forum where the data was released. 'We either deal with it or we leave future generations in ecological collapse.'" --safari

Beyond the Beltway

Justice Delayed. Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "In Franklin Gebhardt’s eyes, Timothy Coggins's crime was simple: Coggins was a black man who was dating a white woman. One night in the fall of 1983, Gebhardt and his brother-in-law, William Moore, lured Coggins into a car.... The pair stabbed Coggins more than 30 times, leaving a patchwork of bloody Xes on the young man's skin, prosecutors said, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Then, the two white men chained Coggins to the back of a pickup truck, took him to a desolate part of town and dragged him across the asphalt until he stopped moving." Although Gebhardt & Moore had boasted over the years that they had killed a black man, the case never moved forward, partly because the two men had friends in the police department. A break in the case "came a year ago, when authorities said they received new information, "& other witnesses came forward].... Gebhardt was convicted of committing a murder that was driven by racial hatred.... Moore is awaiting trial." The linked AJC story is compelling.

Way Beyond

Trumpenfriends. Hannah Ellis-Peterson of the Guardian: "Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen has become a 'fully fledged military dictator' according to Human Rights Watch in a report released on Thursday investigating the extent of his personal control over the military and the police.... While Hun Sen while has always been notorious for his autocratic rule -- his official title is princely exalted supreme great commander of gloriously victorious troops." --safari

Kelsey Munro of the Guardian: "China's social credit system, a big-data system for monitoring and shaping business and citizens' behaviour, is reaching beyond China's borders to impact foreign companies, according to new research. The system, which has been compared to an Orwellian tool of mass surveillance, is an ambitious work in progress: a series of big data and AI-enabled processes that effectively grant subjects a social credit score based on their social, political and economic behaviour.... The Chinese government aims to have all 1.35 billion of its citizens subject to the system by 2020. But a new report by US China scholar Samantha Hoffman ... claims the system's impact ... has the 'potential to interfere directly in the sovereignty of other nations', she said." --safari

Comments Off
Tuesday
Jun262018

The Commentariat -- June 27, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

** "Oh Jesus. Anthony Kennedy is retiring. Nazi Germany, here we come." Mrs. McC: That might not be quite how the NYT report (linked) phrases it, but Akhilleus's report is good enough for me.

Pete Williams of NBC News: "The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a crippling blow Wednesday to unions representing millions of the nation's public employees. The justices said in a 5-4 opinion that state government workers who choose not to join a union cannot be compelled to pay a share of union dues for covering the cost of negotiating contracts. Unions had said such an outcome would cut off a source of income and diminish their political clout in the 23 states where they bargain for both members and non-members alike. A recent non-partisan study predicted that a Supreme Court defeat would eventually cause public employee unions to lose 726,000 members, a significant blow in one of organized labor's remaining strongholds. Nearly half of all union members in the U.S. are government employees.... Donald Trump tweeted shortly after the ruling that it was a 'Big loss of the coffers of the Democrats!'" ...

... Eric Levitz of New York: "In hindsight, it's hard to argue that Democrats did everything in their power to [put a liberal on the Supreme Court to replace Antonin Scalia.] For example, imagine if Barack Obama had nominated the first African-American woman to the Supreme Court -- one who was young, and unabashedly progressive in her jurisprudence. When McConnell subsequently vetoed her appointment -- and thereby nullified Obama's attempt to give a modicum of representation in the halls of high power to the Democratic Party's most loyal constituency -- wouldn't it have been easier to mobilize the Democratic base in outrage, than it was to rally them behind Merrick Garland?"

Benjamin Haas of the Guardian: "North Korea has continued to upgrade its only known nuclear reactor used to fuel its weapons program, satellite imagery has shown, despite ongoing negotiations with the US and a pledge to denuclearise. Infrastructure improvements at the Yongbyon nuclear plant are 'continuing at a rapid pace', according to an analysis by monitoring group 38 North of commercial satellite images taken on 21 June." Mrs. McC: What? You mean Kim snookered the artful dealer Trump? Unpossible.

Margaret Hartmann: "In a battle over which candidate is the most Trump-like, GOP primary voters in Staten Island went with the guy who isn't a convicted felon. Michael Grimm, who resigned from Congress in 2015 after pleading guilty to tax evasion..., was easily defeated by Representative Dan Donovan. With all precincts in New York's 11th Congressional District reporting, Donovan took 64 percent of the vote to Grimm's 36 percent."

*****

Primary Election Results

New York. The New York Times has results here.

... Shane Goldmacher & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Representative Joseph Crowley of New York, once seen as a possible successor to Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader of the House, suffered a shocking primary defeat on Tuesday, the most significant loss for a Democratic incumbent in more than a decade, and one that will reverberate across the party and the country. Mr. Crowley was defeated by a 28-year-old political newcomer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a former organizer for Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign, who had declared it was time for generational, racial and ideological change. Mr. Crowley, the No. 4 Democrat in the House, had drastically outspent his lesser-known rival to no avail, as Ms. Ocasio-Cortez's campaign was lifted by an aggressive social media presence and fueled by attention from national progressives hoping to flex their muscle in a race against a potential future speaker." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: If Crowley were any good at promoting the Democratic party & liberal values, I would have known who the hell he was. The No. 4 guy in the House & I never heard of him? Shame on him, not on me. He deserved to lose, & thanks to Ocasio-Cortez for relieving us of the dead-weight pasty old white guy. ...

... Matt Berman, et al., of BuzzFeed: "Ocasio-Cortez in her campaign became one of the dominant voices of the left's anti-establishment movement. She ran on a slate of issues now popular on the left -- Medicare for All, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and stripping corporate money out of politics. She's backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and by Our Revolution, the group affiliated with Bernie Sanders. She spent the last weekend of the campaign in Texas, protesting ... Donald Trump's border policy.... 'Holy cow, we're elated, and simultaneously and honestly shocked,' Corbin Trent, Ocasio-Cortez's communications director told BuzzFeed News.... 'Shell shocked' was the phrase an aide who works closely with Democratic House leadership used in a text to describe the night. 'I don't know what else to say. We joked about it today. I can't believe this is real life.' Ocasio-Cortez was given virtually no chance of winning the race by New York political observers...."

Maryland. NYT results are here.

... Baltimore Sun: "Ben Jealous' progressive bid for the Democratic nomination for governor hinged on a bet that the Maryland Democratic party's left wing had enough force to put him over the top. He won that bet by a big margin -- more than 55,000 votes. Tuesday night's results show that the traditional Maryland establishment lost out to a candidate who could unite unions, Bernie Sanders-style Democrats and African-Americans. Rushern Baker, the Prince George's County executive supported by most of the state's Democratic leaders, started out as the nominal front-runner...."

Oklahoma. NYT results are here.

... Barbara Hoberock, et al., of the Tulsa World: "Former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett comfortably advanced and Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt upset Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb to get into the Republican runoff for governor. On the Democratic side of the governor's race, former Attorney General Drew Edmondson easily advanced to the general election, securing more than 60 percent of the vote over state Sen. Connie Johnson. Cornett and Stitt move on to an Aug. 28 runoff.... Gov. Mary Fallin is term-limited and could not seek re-election after eight years in office.... Voter turnout was bolstered by dissatisfaction with the current Oklahoma Legislature and Fallin's low approval rating. A state question seeking to legalize medical marijuana also contributed to heavy turnout. Tuesday's unofficial turnout exceeded 880,000 votes, more than were cast in the 2014 general election and the 2016 presidential primary." ...

... They'll Be Smoking Marijuana in Muskogee. Andrea Eger of the Tulsa World: "Oklahoma voters on Tuesday appear to have made it legal to use, sell and grow marijuana for medicinal purposes in a referendum two years in the making. About 57 percent of voters approved the measure."

Colorado. Results are here.

... John Frank of What's Left of the Denver Post: "The Colorado governor's race is set: Democrat Jared Polis will face Republican Walker Stapleton in a November election in which President Donald Trump, marijuana and big money are expected to dominate. The two candidates easily won their respective nominations in Tuesday's primary election, each defeating three rivals with campaigns that appealed to the party's most ardent supporters. Polis, a five-term Boulder congressman, would become the nation's first openly gay man elected governor if he succeeds, and his win Tuesday represents a sharp leftward shift that will test whether Colorado is a true blue state. Stapleton, the two-term state treasurer and Bush family relative, is competing to become only the second Republican elected governor in 44 years and aligned himself with Republican firebrands to win the race.... Stapleton embraced former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a hard-liner on immigration, to secure a place on the ballot at the state party assembly after fraudulent petitions nearly cost him a place on in the race."

Utah. Results are here.

... Benjamin Wood of the Salt Lake Tribune: "Mitt Romney hardly broke a sweat on his way to capturing the Republican nomination in Utah's U.S. Senate race, according to unofficial results Tuesday, earning 73 percent of the vote.... Romney wished well to his Democratic opponent, Jenny Wilson, whom he will face in November's general election to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch. To be a great nation, Romney said, the United States must be strong. The country should live within its means as Utah does, and welcome refugees and immigrants who legally enter the country and add vitality to the nation.... The former Massachusetts governor moved to Utah in 2014 after it looked like he was retired for good from political campaigning.... Romney finished behind [State Rep. Mike] Kennedy at the Utah Republican Convention in April in a 49 percent to 51 percent vote of state GOP delegates."

South Carolina. The New York Times has run-off results here.

... Avery Wilks of the State: "A day after ... Donald Trump flew to South Carolina to campaign for him, Gov. Henry McMaster won the S.C. Republican Party's nomination for governor Tuesday. The 71-year-old Columbia Republican defeated Greenville businessman John Warren, a political novice, after a contentious primary runoff in which both candidates tried to court Trump voters. In the end, S.C. Republicans picked the candidate Trump liked over the Trump-like candidate." ...

... Sammy Fretwell of the State: "Former state Sen. Lee Bright, the socially conservative Spartanburg resident known for his hardline political stances, lost Tuesday in his bid for a seat in Congress to replace retiring Rep. Trey Gowdy. William Timmons, a state senator from Greenville, defeated Bright in the Republican primary runoff election for the Upstate Congressional seat.... A first-term state senator, Timmons in November will face Democrat Brandon Brown, who defeated Lee Turner in that party's primary Tuesday. Chances that Republicans will retain the seat are strong because the district in northwestern South Carolina votes heavily for the GOP." ...

... Also, if you'd like to know who-all is ahead in the Miss Teen South Carolina & Miss South Carolina pageants, well, the State reports that news is right up there with primary results.

Mississippi. Primary run-off results are here.

... Anna Wolfe of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger: "Attorney and veteran state lawmaker David Baria defeated venture capitalist Howard Sherman, husband of Meridian native and Emmy-award winning actress Sela Ward, to become the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. Baria led Tuesday night with 59 percent to 41 percent, with 99 percent of votes in from a low turnout election. Baria won despite having a fraction of his opponent's campaign funds."

It's Another Mitch McConnell Day at the Supreme Court ...
Or, to borrow from Ian Millhiser, Another Great Day for White Nationalism

Adam Liptak & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court >upheld President Trump's ban on travel from several predominantly Muslim countries, delivering to the president on Tuesday a political victory and an endorsement of his power to control immigration at a time of political upheaval about the treatment of migrants at the Mexican border. In a 5-to-4 vote, the court's conservatives said that the president's power to secure the country's borders, delegated by Congress over decades of immigration lawmaking, was not undermined by Mr. Trump' history of incendiary statements about the dangers he said Muslims pose to the United States." (Also linked yesterday in an earlier iteration.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is that "presumption of good faith" Ian Millhiser & Cristian Farias discuss. Farias specifically tied said presumption to the possible decision in the Muslim ban case. Sadly, he was right. I'll be way interested to see if the winger justices presume good faith on the part of Democratic lawmakers & administrators. Scalia thought one purpose of ObamaCare was to make every American eat broccoli, & they all seem to think workers & unions are up to no good. ...

... Amy Howe of ScotusBlog provides a detailed analysis of the decision, Justice Kennedy's concurrence (see Feldman, linked below, for more on Kennedy's lame excuse) & dissents.

... ** "Bigoted & Feckless, the Travel Ban Is Pure Trump." New York Times Editors: "On Tuesday morning the five conservative justices of the Supreme Court -- including the one who got the job only because Senate Republicans stole a seat and held it open for him -- voted to uphold President Trump's travel ban, which indefinitely bars most people from five majority-Muslim countries, and certain citizens from two other countries, from entering the United States.... They reached this conclusion despite Mr. Trump's best efforts to convince them, and the country, that its real purpose was to discriminate on the basis of religion.... The conservative majority's endorsement of nearly unchecked presidential power in this context is all the more disturbing given this administration's policies at America's southern border.... On Jan. 27, 2017, as Mr. Trump signed the first version of the travel ban, he read out its official title, 'Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,' then looked up and said, 'We all know what that means.' Indeed we do, even if five Supreme Court justices refuse to admit it." ...

... Dana Milbank: "On the penultimate page of their 39-page majority ruling in the Trump travel-ban case Tuesday, the Supreme Court's conservative justices overturned a 74-year-old decision they weren't asked to consider. Renouncing the 1944 Korematsuv. United States decision, which upheld internment camps for U.S. citizens and noncitizens of Japanese descent during World War II, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote: 'Korematsu was gravely wrong the day it was decided, has been overruled in the court of history, and -- to be clear -- "has no place in law under the Constitution."'... He dismissed the many anti-Muslim statements Trump has made as 'extrinsic statements.'... It should take the court of history much less time to conclude that the Roberts Court was likewise wrong in deciding to uphold President Trump's travel ban.... The justices ... missed the big-picture impact their decision would have on discrimination generally and on the president's shaky regard for the rule of law.... Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in her dissent..., cited Justice Robert Jackson's dissent in Korematsu, in which he argued that, while the internment order itself was temporary, 'once a judicial opinion rationalizes such an order ... the Court for all time has validated the principle of racial discrimination.' Now Roberts has validated religious discrimination. And his fig leaf of facial neutrality won't stand up in the court of history." ...

... "A Decision that Will Live in Infamy." Noah Feldman of Bloomberg: "In what may be the worst decision since the infamous Korematsu case, when the Supreme Court upheld the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the court today by a 5-4 vote upheld ... Donald Trump's Muslim travel ban.... The decision will be a stain not only on the legacy of the Roberts court, but on that of the Supreme Court itself.... To focus on Roberts's analysis would be to make the same crucial error as Roberts himself -- that is, treating one of the most outrageous acts of presidential bias in modern U.S. history as though it were an ordinary exercise of presidential power, taken by an ordinary president acting in good conscience.... Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court's most liberal member, played the truth-telling role today. Her dissent, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, states bluntly that a reasonable observer looking at the record would conclude that the ban was 'motivated by anti-Muslim animus.'... It has taken two generations for the court to begin to live down the taint of Korematsu. The taint of Trump v. Hawaii will last just as long." ...

OK. I'll tell you the whole history of it. So when [Trump] first announced it he said, 'Muslim ban.' He called me up and said, 'Put a commission together, show me the right way to do it legally.'... And what we did was we focused on, instead of religion, danger. The areas of the world that create danger for us. Which is a factual basis. Not a religious basis. Perfectly legal, perfectly sensible, and that's what the ban is based on. -- Rudy Giuliani, last year ...

... Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "In the first paragraph of Roberts' opinion in Trump v. Hawaii ... the Chief writes one of the most literally unbelievable lines to appear in a Supreme Court opinion: 'the President concluded that it was necessary to impose entry restrictions on nationals of countries that do not share adequate information for an informed entry determination, or that otherwise present national security risks.'... If you believe that, you probably slept through the entire 2016 presidential campaign.... Donald Trump has done everything short of publishing a book entitled How I'm Flouting The Constitution's Establishment Clause By Prohibiting Muslims From Entering The United States.... And yet, Roberts writes on behalf of himself and his four Republican colleagues, none of that matters.... Tuesday's decision is likely to embolden Trump even further." ...

... Christian Nation. Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post: "Three weeks ago, many religious-liberty advocates celebrated the Supreme Court's decision that a Colorado baker should not have to create a gay wedding cake, saying the baker's religious faith was disparaged by the government and that could not stand. But some of the same groups met with silence the court's decision Tuesday to uphold what President Trump reportedly called his 'Muslim ban.'... Compared with other recent federal rulings about religious liberty, 'I would have said we were in a period when the court was caring more about religion,' said Noah Feldman, a constitutional law scholar at Harvard University who focuses on law and religion. 'But this makes it look like what the court cares about is the religion of evangelical Christians, not Muslims. It makes it look like the Supreme Court doesn't have a general concern for religion. It looks badly motivated.'" ...

... Nancy LeTourneau of the Washington Monthly: "One of the most disturbing aspects of Trump's presidency has been to watch congressional Republicans normalize the attacks on our democracy by failing to hold the Liar-in-Chief accountable. We can now add the conservative justices on the Supreme Court to that group because, in ruling the president's travel ban constitutional, they just affirmed his right to lie.... The national security argument used by this administration to defend the ban is a lie. To demonstrate that point, Philip Bump went back 20 years to determine whether this particular ban would have saved any of the lives that were lost to terrorist attacks.... 'Of the 24 attacks listed above, only two might have been prevented had the perpetrator been subject to the full travel ban Trump has proposed. One would have had to have been rejected at the age of 2. No deaths would have been prevented.' It is bad enough that the conservatives on the Supreme Court -- many of whom want to claim the mantle of being defenders of 'religious liberty' when it comes to Christians -- completely dismissed the fact that this travel ban is motivated by anti-Muslim animus. But I find it equally disturbing that they just affirmed the president's right to lie about national security concerns." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: As Rachel Maddow pointed out Tuesday night, the government also lied in the Korematsu case, claiming the military saw a clear necessity to intern Japanese Americans. There was not.

... Oh, P.S. California Legislators Presumably Act in Bad Faith. Because Abortion. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court said Tuesday that pregnancy centers established to persuade women to continue their pregnancies do not have to tell their clients about the availability of state-offered services, including abortion. The court's conservatives said a California law likely violates the First Amendment. It required what are called crisis pregnancy centers -- they promise prenatal care and help when the child is born -- to post notices or tell clients about the state's service. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the 5 to 4 decision." Justice Stephen Breyer, who wrote the dissent "said the court has repeatedly upheld state laws that provide a script for doctors when they are counseling women who seek abortion. '"If a state can lawfully require a doctor to tell a woman seeking an abortion about adoption services, why should it not be able, as here, to require a medical counselor to tell a woman seeking prenatal care or other reproductiv healthcare about childbirth and abortion services?' Breyer wrote." Mrs. McC: Must be a false equivalency. Or something. (Also linked yesterday.)

** Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "The Supreme Court held on Monday that white lawmakers enjoy a presumption of racial innocence, even when they draw legislative districts that empower white voters at the expense of racial minorities. The thrust of Justice Samuel Alito's opinion in Abbott v. Perez is that the 'good faith' of a 'state legislature must be presumed,' even when there are very serious allegations of racialgerrymandering.... [T]he Perez opinion is very bad news for anyone hoping to challenge a racial gerrymander in the future. Lawmakers now enjoy an exceedingly strong presumption of racial innocence when they draw legislative maps. It's a great day for white nationalism." --safari (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Elizabeth Dias & Sydney Ember of the New York Times: "The consequences of President Trump's nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court -- and the Republican blockade of President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick B. Garland in 2016 for that seat -- became powerfully clear on Tuesday after the court's conservative majority handed down major decisions to uphold Mr. Trump's travel ban and in favor of abortion rights.... 'As one after another 5-4 rulings of this SCOTUS on voting rights, abortion rights, the travel ban and more are announced, the full meaning of @SenMajLdr's unconscionable, nearly yearlong blockade against the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland is manifest,' wrote David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, on Twitter Tuesday.... During a news conference on Tuesday, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, sidestepped a question about the thwarting of Judge Garland's nomination and used the opportunity instead to offer praise."


Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in San Diego on Tuesday barred the separation of migrant children from their parents and required immigration officials to reunify within 30 days families that have been divided as a result of a zero-tolerance policy enforced by the Trump administration. Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California granted a preliminary injunction sought by the American Civil Liberties Union. He said all children must be reunited with their families within 30 days, allowing just 14 days for the return of children under 5 to their parents. He ordered that parents must be entitled to speak by phone with their children within 10 days.... [The court's order] faulted the Trump administration for 'a chaotic circumstance of the Government's own making.' The judge stated bluntly: 'The unfortunate reality is that under the present system, migrant children are not accounted for with the same efficiency and accuracy as property.'" Sabraw is a Bush II appointee. ...

... Elliot Spagat, et al., of the AP: "The decision [by Judge Dana Sabraw] comes as 17 states, including New York and California, sued the Trump administration Tuesday to force it to reunite children and parents. The states, all led by Democratic attorneys general, joined Washington, D.C., in filing the lawsuit in federal court in Seattle, arguing that they are being forced to shoulder increased child welfare, education and social services costs.... Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told Congress on Tuesday that his department still has custody of 2,047 immigrant children separated from their parents at the border. That is only six fewer children than the number in HHS custody as of last Wednesday. Democratic senators said that wasn't nearly enough progress. Under questioning, Azar refused to be pinned down on how long it will take to reunite families. He said his department does extensive vetting of parents to make sure they are not traffickers masquerading as parents." ...

... Dara Lind of Vox: "DHS is promising to reunite parents once they've been ordered deported -- but not while they're still fighting an asylum claim.... [According to a DHS/HHS 'fact sheet,'] it is solely 'to ensure that those adults who are subject to removal are reunited with their children for the purposes of removal' (emphasis added). There is no such assurance for parents who are fighting deportation because they are trying to claim asylum (or another form of relief) in the United States. What this means, in practice, is that a parent who is currently trying to pursue an asylum claim but wants to see her child as quickly as possible will have to waive two sets of rights: her own and her child's." ...

     ... Mrs. McC: Judge Sabraw appears to have put the kibosh on this plan. Besides, it seems unconstitutional on the face of it; the plan declares that the U.S. government will hold your child hostage until you waive your Constitutional rights. Might as well call it kidnapping for ransom.

Gardiner Harris & Stanley Reed of the New York Times: "The United States said on Tuesday that it will impose sanctions against all importers of Iranian oil by Nov. 4, a surprisingly tough position that roiled oil markets and is likely to further alienate allies and adversaries alike. The policy shook financial markets that had become accustomed to waivers for American sanctions that in years past had been granted to companies in countries like India and China as long as they showed steady reductions in their imports of Iranian oil.... Oil prices immediately rose on the news. The Trump administration may be signaling an unusually tough position to gain leverage ahead of the first official meeting in Vienna of the remaining signatories to the Iran nuclear deal since President Trump announced in May that he was leaving the accord. American diplomats will not participate in the Vienna talks, set for next week, since the United States is no longer a party to the deal. But senior Trump administration officials will talk with European diplomats on the sidelines.... Sanctions experts expressed a mixture of bafflement and scorn at Tuesday's announcement." Mrs. McC: Thanks, Trump! I was hoping you'd drive up gas prices. Besides, if a guy can't afford gas, he surely doesn't have enough $$ to buy a hog to put the gas in. Brilliant moves all around. Numbskull. ...

... Alan Rappeport & Stacy Brown of the New York Times: "President Trump lashed out at one of his favorite American manufacturers on Tuesday, criticizing Harley-Davidson over its plans to move some of its motorcycle production abroad and threatening it with punitive taxes in return.... Mr. Trump also revived a threat that he used to lob at companies when he was a presidential candidate, warning Harley that it would pay a financial price for moving manufacturing abroad. 'Harley must know that they won't be able to sell back into U.S. without paying a big tax!' the president said in another tweet on Tuesday. While running for office in 2016, he said on several occasions that if elected he would make Ford pay a 35 percent tax on cars that it made in Mexico and sold into the United States. He did not say what presidential authority would give him that power, and the warning on Tuesday appeared to misunderstand -- or misconstrue -- the fact that Harley would be using its overseas production facilities to sell motorcycles in Europe, not back into the United States."

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Virginia concluded Tuesday that a special counsel is a poor tool for investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and that the current one is prosecuting Paul Manafort only so he will offer evidence against President Trump. But those thoughts do little for the ex-lobbyist, because U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III ultimately ruled that Robert S. Mueller III's prosecution of Manafort on bank and tax fraud charges can go forward. 'Although this case will continue, those involved should be sensitive to the danger unleashed when political disagreements are transformed into partisan prosecutions,' the judge wrote. If there are no further delays, the July 25 trial in U.S. District Court in Alexandria will be the first case brought by Mueller's team to come before a jury."

Charlie Savage & Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "Reality L. Winner, a former Air Force linguist who was the first person prosecuted by the Trump administration on charges of leaking classified information, pleaded guilty on Tuesday as part of an agreement with prosecutors that calls for a sentence of 63 months in prison. Ms. Winner, who entered her plea in Federal District Court in Augusta, Ga., was arrested last June and accused of sharing a classified report about Russian interference in the 2016 election with the news media. Ms. Winner, who is now 26, has been jailed since her arrest.... Her decision to plead guilty to one felony count allows the government both to avoid a complex trial that had been scheduled for October and to notch a victory in the Trump administration's aggressive pursuit of leakers."


Trump Sets a Record. Daniel Dale of the Toronto Star: "The frequency of ... Donald Trump's dishonesty had steadily accelerated since late last year. Then, last week, it skyrocketed. Trump made an astonishing 103 false claims over those seven days, an average of 15 per day. That shatters his one-week record of 60, which he had set in early March." ...

... That's a Feature, Dan, Not a Bug. Liam Stack of the New York Times on how Trump uses his lies: "On Monday, President Trump tweeted that Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, had encouraged liberals to 'harm' supporters of 'the Make America Great Again movement' and warned her to 'be careful what you wish for.'... By Tuesday, the tweet was shared more than 40,000 times.... This kind of Twitter outrage cycle has repeated itself countless times since Mr. Trump began his presidential campaign in 2015, and it is one of his tried and true methods for injecting disinformation into public discourse, experts said.... The president's tweet about Ms. Waters contained a false statement, an insult and what sounds like a threat. But each time it was shared -- even, and perhaps especially, by critics who wanted to vent their anger &-- the message was amplified and spread.... Sarah Huckabee Sanders ... repeated a version of that claim during a White House press briefing, implying that she had advocated action against 'any Trump supporter.'"

Anton Troianovski of the Washington Post: "National security adviser John Bolton is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the Kremlin spokesman said, in a prelude to a long-anticipated summit with President Trump that now looks increasingly likely. Bolton is in Moscow ahead of an expected meeting between Putin and Trump in mid-July. Bolton is also meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said."

Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Protesters confronted Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday over migrant family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border.... Chao and McConnell, who are married ... were approached by a small group of young men at Georgetown University. One started repeating, 'Why are you separating families?' A short confrontation ensued. 'Why don't you leave my husband alone? Why don't you leave my husband alone?' Chao responded as McConnell got into the SUV." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Hey, kids. If you want to call out McConnell, the words you should be shouting are "Neil" & "Gorsuch."

... Being Politely Asked to Leave a Restaurant Is Dangerous. Elizabeth Landers & Jim Acosta of CNN: "White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is expected to receive Secret Service protection as soon as Wednesday, two sources familiar with the decision tell CNN, but they did not specify how long it will last.... The news comes days after Sanders was asked to leave a small Lexington, Virginia, restaurant because of her role with the Trump administration, a move that has since sparked a national conversation on civility and public service in the age of Trump." ...

     ... Thanks to Patrick for the link. ...

... Onion (satire): "Recent incidents of Trump officials being confronted in public for their role in the administration’s separation and imprisonment of immigrant families have driven renewed concern about the lack of civility in U.S. politics. The Onion presents tips for staying civil in a debate about child prisons. [Here are a few of them:] ... Consider that we all have different perspectives stemming from things like age, ethnicity, or level of racism. Recall that violently rejecting a tyrannical government goes against everything our forefathers believed in.... Realize that every pressing social issue is solved through civil discourse if you ignore virtually all of human history." More where that came from.

Kyla Mandel of ThinkProgress: "Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in an effort to stop plans to allow mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota.... The legal challenges come after President Donald Trump announced during a rally in Duluth, Minnesota last week that he wanted to keep large portions of land within the state's Superior National Forest -- where the Boundary Waters recreation area is located -- open to mining. These ares of land were set to be banned to industry activities under the Obama administration." --safari (Also linked yesterday.)

Dan Spinelli of Mother Jones: "One of the country's major federal science agencies [The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization] seems to have been forced to abandon climate change research as a key organizational focus, the New York Times revealed this week. The ... Organization is responsible for managing the National Weather Service and using its network of satellites to forecast the effects of climate change.... NOAA ... had remained relatively immune so far from the influence of climate change skeptics within the Trump administration." -safari (Also linked yesterday.)

They Once Were Lost But Now They're Found. Alan Blinder: "When the Montgomery bus boycott electrified the struggle against segregation, it was all recorded in appeals bonds, court motions and $10 fines. A forgotten trove has turned up in a courthouse vault.... The fragile papers, filled in with sharp signatures and characters stamped out on manual typewriters, are part of what officials believe is the largest surviving trove of legal records from the boycott.... Discovered by a courthouse intern [Maya A. McKenzie] during a housecleaning project and now on loan to Alabama State University, the records will be made public online this summer."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Diego Cupolo of The Atlantic: "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan extended his 16-year dominance over Turkey with a victory in the first round of the country's snap elections, winning 52.5 percent of the vote.... In the eyes of his roughly 26 million supporters, it was a resounding victory for the powerless.... The problem is that such victories for Turkey's supposedly oppressed classes can feel like oppression for the other half of the country's voters, who just missed their best chance to date to unseat a leader with very real staying power.... Erdoğan is poised to rule Turkey for up to three more terms with consolidated governing powers -- what his opponents call 'one man rule.' Turks have, in essence, voted away their democracy." --safari (Also linked yesterday.)

Pavel Polityuk of Reuters: "Hackers from Russia are infecting Ukrainian companies with malicious software to create 'back doors' for a large, coordinated attack, Ukraine's cyber police chief told Reuters on Tuesday. The hackers are targeting companies including banks and energy infrastructure firms, in a roll out that suggests they are preparing to activate the malware in one massive strike, cyber police chief Serhiy Demedyuk said. Ukrainian police are working with foreign authorities to identify the hackers, Demedyuk added. The Kremlin denied the allegations."

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