The Commentariat -- September 3, 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Paul Krugman: "A few days ago The Times reported on widespread abuse of a provision in the 2017 Trump tax cut that was supposed to help struggling urban workers.... In reality the tax break has been used to support high-end hotels and apartment buildings, warehouses that employ hardly any people and so on. And it has made a handful of wealthy, well-connected investors — including the family of Jared Kushner ... — even wealthier.... it should be seen ... as a symptom of the Republican Party’s unwillingness to perform the basic functions of government.... Republicans are no longer willing to spend public money in the public interest.... [The multitrillion-dollar tax bill was] ram[med] ... through Congress without a single hearing.... The bill was drafted by lobbyists on behalf of their clients.... The point, again, is that you shouldn’t think of the opportunity-zone fiasco as an isolated mistake. Things like this are inevitable when one of our two major political parties has basically turned its back on the very idea of productive public spending."

Kyle Cheney & Sarah Ferris of Politico: "House Democrats return to Capitol Hill next week with an impeachment mess on their hands and just weeks to make a choice that could define the rest of Donald Trump's presidency. Lawmakers faced frequently contentious town halls during their six-week August recess as activists pressured Democratic holdouts to support impeachment proceedings. A steady trickle of new endorsements for action followed, and a majority of the House’s 235 Democrats now backs an impeachment inquiry. Senior Democrats, however, are sending mixed messages on the prospect of trying to oust Trump."

Rafi Schwartz of Splinter: "It’s been a busy long weekend for Donald Trump-owned properties. While the president hit the links and tweeted away the weekend at his Virginia golf resort, Vice President Mike Pence flew halfway around the world and stayed at Trump’s Doonbeg estate on the West coast of Ireland — despite it being some three hours away from his scheduled meetings in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister [Leo] Varadkar.... Presidential property grift aside, Pence’s Ireland visit also marked a bizarre opportunity for the Veep’s team to emphatically defend their boss in the face of his long, well-documented history of homophobia — a fact Pence spokesman Judd Deere insisted couldn’t possibly be true because he met with the Irish prime minister, who happens to be gay[:] 'For all of you who still think our @VP is anti-gay, I point you to his and the @SecondLady’s schedule tomorrow where they will join Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar and his partner Dr. Matthew Barrett for lunch in Ireland.'"

On the day we read that Friends of Trump are amassing a war chest to smear reporters, there's this from Bloomberg Law: “A recently appointed Trump Labor Department official with a history of advancing controversial conservative and faith-based causes in court has resigned after revelations that he wrote a 2016 Facebook post suggesting the Jewish-controlled media 'protects their own.' Four hours after Bloomberg Law requested comment from the White House and DOL about Leif Olson’s social media post, the department said he has resigned, without elaboration.” Olson's Facebook posts "referenc[ed] two anti-Semitic tropes: that Jews control the media and that they look out for members of their own faith."

** David Karpf has a very good essay in Esquire responding to Bedbug Stephens, famed New York Times columnist.

Patrick, in today's comments, linked to this video, which still gives me chills:

The next video that came up on You Tube was this. Oh, we were so much younger then, and Pete Seeger wasn't dead:

~~~~~~~~~~

How Donnie Spent the Last Days of His Summer Vacation. Katie Rogers of the New York Times: “Over the long weekend, President Trump monitored Hurricane Dorian from a golf cart at his club in Virginia, calling for regular updates from an aide trailing him around the course. By 8 p.m. Monday, as Dorian churned toward Florida and Mr. Trump’s boarded-up Mar-a-Lago resort, the president had golfed twice and since Saturday morning pelted the American public with 122 tweets. As he has done during other hurricanes, Mr. Trump awaited landfall by assuming the role of meteorologist in chief, adding weatherman-style updates to a usual weekend routine of attacking his enemies, retweeting bits of praise and critiquing the performance of his cable news allies.... Mr. Trump’s commentary on the hurricane was not wholly accurate. The National Weather Service quickly walked back one of his assertions: 'We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane Dorian will be felt across Alabama,' officials said on Twitter. Always eager to have the last word, Mr. Trump on Monday attacked an ABC reporter who said the president had wrongly inserted Alabama in the list of states.” ...

     ... Reed Richardson of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump lashed out at ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl for fact-checking his inaccurate assertion during a FEMA briefing that Alabama could be impacted by Hurricane Dorian: 'Such a phony hurricane report by lightweight reporter @JonKarl.' Trump was complaining about Karl’s Monday evening report on ABC World News Tonight, which noted that the National Weather Service issued a correction on Sunday after the president made his false claim.... Nevertheless, Trump insisted on Twitter that his claim was true, and he likewise claimed that Karl 'didn’t play my whole sentence or statement. Bad people!'” ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: It is awfully Louis XIV to force a factotum to follow dutifully behind while he idled away his time playing sport.

... Colby Hall of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump spent Labor Day morning by sending out a series of tweets attacking what he calls the Fake News media. While Category 5 Hurricane Dorian slowly makes its way to the South Atlantic coast of the United States, dangerously threatening coastal areas from Florida, north to the Carolinas..., he first attacked a report published Sunday night by The Washington Post [also linked below], that claimed Trump aides privately, and anonymously, admit that it was a' lost summer' for the White House as President Trump got lost in a sea of controversial distractions.... He then appeared to go after the entire institution of the free press..., taking a page from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in calling out the 'LameStream Media' who he sees as having gone 'totally Crazy!'” (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Well, that's SOP, but how did Trump celebrate great American workers on Labor Day? ...

... Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday lashed out at American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) President Richard Trumka a day after the labor union leader criticized Trump's trade deal in a Fox News interview. Trump, in a Labor Day morning tweet, claimed that Trumka doesn't share the same critique of Trump's trade deal when 'he is with me at the White House.... Just watched AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on @FoxNews and thought to myself how different he is on TV than he is when he is with me at the White House. Likes what we are doing until the cameras go on,' Trump tweeted. The president targeted the AFL-CIO head after Trumka said that unions were not ready to back the president's 'unenforceable' replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kim Not Just a Kid Who Likes Watching Missile Launches. David Sanger & William Broad of the New York Times: “As North Korea fired off a series of missiles in recent months — at least 18 since May — President Trump has repeatedly dismissed their importance as short-range and 'very standard' tests. And although he has conceded 'there may be a United Nations violation,' the president says any concerns are overblown. Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, Mr. Trump explained recently, just 'likes testing missiles.' Now, American intelligence officials and outside experts have come to a far different conclusion: that the launchings downplayed by Mr. Trump, including two late last month, have allowed Mr. Kim to test missiles with greater range and maneuverability that could overwhelm American defenses in the region. Japan’s defense minister, Takeshi Iwaya, told reporters in Tokyo last week that the irregular trajectories of the most recent tests were more evidence of a program designed to defeat the defenses Japan has deployed, with American technology, at sea and on shore.”

Trump's Casual Photo "Declassification" Reveals Work of Highly-Classified U.S. Satellite. Geoff Brumfiel of NPR: "Amateur satellite trackers say they believe an image tweeted by President Trump on Friday came from one of America's most advanced spy satellites. The image almost certainly came from a satellite known as USA 224, according to Marco Langbroek, a satellite-tracker based in the Netherlands. The satellite was launched by the National Reconnaissance Office in 2011. Almost everything about it remains highly classified, but Langbroek says that based on its size and orbit, most observers believe USA 224 is one of America's multibillion-dollar KH-11 reconnaissance satellites. 'It's basically a very large telescope, not unlike the Hubble Space Telescope,' Langbroek says. 'But instead of looking up to the stars, it looks down to the earth's surface and makes very detailed images.'... Prior to the analysis, some experts suspected the image in Trump's tweet might have come from a drone or a spy plane.... Melissa Hanham, a satellite imagery expert and deputy director of the Open Nuclear Network in Vienna, Austria..., questions whether Trump's tweet zinging the Iranians was worth the information this image provides to other nations...." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The most incompetent president* in recent U.S. history once again proves he's a national security risk (twice again, if you consider his dismissal of Kim's affinity for watching missiles take off).

Luke Barnes of ThinkProgress [Aug. 29th]: "Donald Trump promoted a new video Wednesday that featured some of his favorite hits.... But toward the end of the video, the video uses a symbol of a lion’s head, which, as writer Dustin Giebel and former Snopes managing editor Brooke Binkowski first noted on Twitter, was also used by the far-right publication VDARE.... VDARE ... was founded by white nationalist Peter Brimelow and has regularly published the work of prominent far-right extremists.... As Mediaite noted, the lion logo has been used by other far-right groups[.]" --s

C-SPAN's Fall Line-up: Playboy Model! Porn Star! Rachel Bade & Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "House Democrats plan to make President Trump’s alleged involvement in a 2016 scheme to silence two women who claimed they had affairs with him a major investigative focus this fall, picking up where federal prosecutors left off in a case legal experts say could have led to additional indictments. The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to hold hearings and call witnesses involved in hush-money payments to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film star Stormy Daniels as soon as October, according to people familiar with the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. Democrats say they believe there is already enough evidence to name Trump as a co-conspirator in the episode that resulted in his former attorney, Michael Cohen, pleading guilty to two campaign finance charges.... The new congressional inquiry will reopen questions about the extent of Trump’s involvement in the episode — and whether he would have been charged if not for Justice Department opinions that a sitting president cannot be indicted." The Raw Story has a summary of the WashPo article here.

Mike Allen of Axios: "President Trump's political allies are trying to raise at least $2 million to investigate reporters and editors of The New York Times, The Washington Post and other outlets, according to a three-page fundraising pitch reviewed by Axios.... Trump’s war on the media is expanding. This group will target reporters and editors, while other GOP 2020 entities go after the social media platforms, alleging bias, officials tell us.... The group claims it will slip damaging information about reporters and editors to "friendly media outlets," such as Breitbart, and traditional media, if possible."

Robert Costa of the Washington Post: “Vice President Pence spoke out against Russia on Monday during his European trip, criticizing President Vladi­mir Putin’s government for election interference and pledging support for Poland as it seeks to bolster its military amid Russian aggression in the region. 'With its efforts to meddle in elections across Europe and around the world, now is the time for us to remain vigilant about the intentions and actions being taken by Russia,' Pence said during a news conference in Warsaw with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Pence added that 'Russian forces still illegally occupy large parts of Georgia and Ukraine' and chastised Moscow for seeking to divide the U.S. alliance with Poland. Pence made his critical remarks just days after President Trump said it is 'certainly possible' he will invite Putin to the Group of Seven summit in 2020, an event Trump will host in an election year.... The vice president’s latest hard line on Russia echoes previous comments by Pence that have rebuked Putin. But the timing this week was particularly notable....” The Huffington Post story is here. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Apparently, it is necessary to put 4,000+ miles between Trump & pence for pence to contradict the Dear Leader. The Huff Post story strongly suggests Duda demanded pence to make the reassuring remarks. Maybe Duda's demands will give pence an out for his heretical remarks.

... BBC News: "Mike Pence said the United States supports a Brexit plan that 'keeps the strong foundation forged by the Good Friday Agreement' as he arrived in Ireland on Monday.... The US vice president is making a two-day visit to the Republic of Ireland.... Speaking to reporters at Shannon Airport, Mr Pence said: 'We will continue to work closely with our partners in Ireland and the United Kingdom to support a Brexit plan that encourages stability and also one that keeps the strong foundation forged by the Good Friday Agreement.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: pence's visit to Ireland will put more money in Donald Trump's coffers. Per the BBC, "Mr and Mrs Pence, will stay in Doonbeg, County Clare, where ... Donald Trump owns a luxury golf resort." As the Irish Times noted last week in a story about pence's stay at the Trump resort, "The Trump administration has been criticised at home in the US for the use of properties owned by the Trump family for official US government business. Bear in mind that this is not just a middle-aged couple spending the night in an expense Trump hotel; pence of course is bringing along an entourage, including Secret Service, etc. I suppose reporters will have to stay at pubs. ...

     ... It's Okay Because Trump Made Him Do It. AP Update: “Vice President Mike Pence’s staff is defending his decision to stay at one of ... Donald Trump’s properties while in Ireland amid criticism by Democrats that he’s enriching Trump at taxpayers’ expense. Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, said Tuesday that the decision to stay at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg was made at Trump’s 'suggestion' and that Pence and his entourage won’t be staying for free.” Mrs. McC: Not "staying for free”? That's the whole point, isn't it? That pence, et al., are enriching the POTUS*. The fact that Trump "suggested" it makes it all the worse. This isn't a "defense"; it's an explanation for bad behavior. ...

... U.S. "Stands with Ukraine," BUT... Justin Sink of Bloomberg: “U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the American people 'stand with Ukraine' but that European nations should do more to help the former Soviet republic. The U.S. has 'carried the load' on Ukraine and 'we’ve been proud to do that,' Pence told reporters Monday in Warsaw. 'But we believe it’s time for our European partners to step forward.'”

Trumpies Have New Gun Control Plan: Speedier Executions! Justin Sink & Tyler Pager of Bloomberg: “The Justice Department has drafted legislation to expedite the death penalty for those convicted of mass murder and the provision will be included in a larger White House package designed to address recent incidents of gun violence, a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence said Monday. Pence has been directly involved in conversations with Attorney General William Barr about the death penalty initiative, Marc Short, the vice president’s chief of staff, told reporters traveling with Pence between Poland and Ireland on Monday.... Former Vice President Joe Biden ... said Monday that he didn’t believe the death penalty proposal advocated by Pence would have stopped mass shooters like the one responsible for the El Paso attack. Pence’s proposal was 'what you do when you can’t get something done that’s rational -- you increase the penalty for the irrational,' Biden said during a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.” ...

... Matt Stieb of the New Yorker: "But irrationality is the norm in the Trump administration.... Letting the Second Amendment run rampant over all other American liberties, despite the deaths of 346 Americans in mass shootings in 2019, forms to the logic of the administration — even if it didn’t already fit with the Republican Party’s staunch order not to enact gun reform.... The reported plan to expedite the execution process for mass shooters rather than enact gun reform is made more irrational by the fact that there is no evidence that the death penalty serves as a deterrent for potential capital offenders.... Despite a brief flirtation with stricter background checks following the shooting in El Paso, President Trump said after the shooting this weekend that he doesn’t consider an expanded check process to be a viable solution to curbing gun violence — despite research that suggests such laws bring about a 40 percent decline in gun homicides and a 15 percent reduction in suicides."

Christian Farias of Politico: "[I]t turns out there’s a whole category of American law that is above ... checks and balances.... For decades, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has flexed its interpretive power as the ultimate arbiter of what the law is for the executive branch, building a whole body of secret law that remains shielded from public view.... These decisions number in the thousands, and the few that become public see the light of day are at the discretion of the Justice Department. But the vast majority stay secret — binding executive branch officials and activities across administrations. Because almost everyone who isn’t a lawyer in the office is kept in the dark about these legal conclusions, Congress and the public can’t debate them or seek amendments in the event of abuses. Courts are of no help either." --s

Someone in the Trump Regime Still Can Be Embarrassed. Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: “The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would reconsider its decision to force immigrants facing life-threatening health crises to return to their home countries, an abrupt move last month that generated public outrage and was roundly condemned by the medical establishment. On Aug. 7, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, without public notice, eliminated a 'deferred action' program that had allowed immigrants to avoid deportation while they or their relatives were undergoing lifesaving medical treatment.... On Monday, the [Department of Human Services] said in a statement that while limiting the program was 'appropriate,' officials would 'complete the caseload that was pending on August 7.' The statement said that deportation proceedings had not been initiated against anyone who had received the letter. However, it did not say whether it would continue to grant immigrants extensions to stay in the country.... When asked for clarification, an agency official said..., 'Whether a very limited version of deferred action will continue forward at U.S.C.I.S. is still under review....'” ...

     ... Screwing the Cooch. digby: "USCIS is under the purview of Ken 'the cooch' Cucinelli. Somehow I doubt this was reversed upon his recommendation. Indeed, he and Stephen Miller and Trump probably felt they'd come up with an excellent 'deterrent' to people coming to the US for life-saving medical treatment. They should just die in their shithole countries, no doubt, as God intended." ...

... Shera Avi-Yonah & Delano Franklin of the Harvard Crimson: “Harvard freshman Ismail B. Ajjawi ’23, who United States border officials turned away ten days ago, arrived on campus Monday in time for the start of classes Tuesday. Ajjawi’s family issued a statement Monday through his lawyer thanking those who voiced support for him and assisted his arrival.... Shortly after [U.S. Customs officials force] Ajjawi [to return] to Lebanon, Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Michael S. McCarthy wrote in a statement that officials had 'deemed [him] inadmissible.' McCarthy did not specify the reason for the decision. Ajjawi’s immigration difficulties sparked outcry from Harvard student groups, several of which organized a petition supporting him that has garnered more than 7,000 signatures as of Monday night. Ajjawi's story has also drawn international media attention and elicited statements of support from several organizations including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Staff from both Harvard and AMIDEAST, a scholarship organization sponsoring Ajjawi’s education, worked with federal officials to ensure he could matriculate on time.” ...

... Noah Lanard of Mother Jones: "In his first six years as an immigration judge in New York and Atlanta, from 1993 to 1999, William Cassidy rejected more asylum seekers than any judge in the nation. A few years ago, Earle Wilson overtook Cassidy as the harshest asylum judge on the Atlanta court.... Now both men have been elevated to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which often has the final say over whether immigrants are deported, as part of a court-packing scheme by the Trump administration that is likely to make it even more difficult for migrants fleeing persecution to gain asylum. Between 2013 and 2018, the average immigration judge in the country approved about 45 percent of asylum claims. The six judges newly promoted to the board have all approved fewer than 20 percent. Cassidy granted 4.2 percent of asylum claims. Another appointee, Stuart Couch, approved 7.9 percent. For Wilson, the figure was just 1.9 percent." --s

Pete Norman of Bloomberg: "Fake news and social media posts are such a threat to U.S. security that the Defense Department is launching a project to repel 'llarge-scale, automated disinformation attacks,' as the top Republican in Congress [#MoscowMitch Mitch McConnell] blocks efforts to protect the integrity of elections.... If successful, the system after four years of trials may expand to detect malicious intent and prevent viral fake news from polarizing society.... U.S. officials have been working on plans to prevent outside hackers from flooding social channels with false information ahead of the 2020 election.... With a four-year project scale ... the next election will have come and gone before the system is operational." --s ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: We already knew that the DOD has been defending us against Trump. Now we learn Defense is defending us against Moscow Mitch. We have come to the point that the two most powerful men in government are putting us at risk every day. The upside to this story is that it gives us at least some hope that if & when the commander-in-chief decides to make himself president* for life, the armed forces won't cooperate.

Matthew Yglesias of Vox: "Former Defense Secretary James Mattis is back in the public eye with a book to promote.... That’s a golden opportunity to finally ask some tough questions about his prior service on the board of Theranos, a company that allegedly peddled fake blood tests and peddled connections to influential people in the national security world to get away with it for years. Theranos was one of the largest business scandals of the past decades, described by the Securities and Exchange Commission as an 'elaborate, years-long fraud'.... Mattis not only served on Theranos’s board during some of the years after he’d retired from military service, while it was perpetrating the scheme, but he earlier served as a key advocate of putting the company’s technology (technology that was, to be clear, fake) to use inside the military while he was still serving as a general.... While the Theranos scandal was on the front burner of American politics, nobody wanted to talk about Mattis’s involvement. But [now] Mattis is .. .just a guy trading on his reputation to try to sell books. And his prior use of his position to profit from a massive scheme deserves scrutiny." --s

Rebecca Leber of Mother Jones: "Just in time for the start of a new school year, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday finalized a new suite of changes to an Obama-era policy that targeted fraud at for-profit colleges. The new DeVos rule significantly raises the bar students have to clear in order to qualify for debt forgiveness when their schools close while they’re enrolled.... [A]s a result of the new DeVos rule, after July 2020, students filing for debt relief will have to prove their colleges intentionally deceived them, that it influenced their decision to enroll, and that it made them financially suffer. The change also sets a three-year deadline for filing a claim; the Obama rule had no deadline and automatically relieved their debts if they didn’t enroll elsewhere within three years." --s

Amir Tibon & Amos Harel of Haaretz: Israel's "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to arrange a dramatic diplomatic gesture from the Trump administration that will help him win the Israeli election on September 17. In recent weeks, there have been intensive talks between some of Netanyahu’s advisers and people close to ... Donald Trump over a potential statement by the American president, in which he could commit to protecting Israel in the future from any existential threat. In addition, Netanyahu is also trying to orchestrate some form of gesture from Russian President Vladimir Putin — either in the form of an official Putin visit to Israel or a trilateral meeting of the national security advisers of Israel, Russia and the United States."

David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: “A senior Iranian delegation arrived in Paris on Monday to work out the details of a financial bailout package that France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, intends to use to compensate Iran for oil sales lost to American sanctions. In return for the money, Iran would agree to return to compliance with a 2015 nuclear accord. Iranian press reports and a senior American official say that the core of the package is a $15 billion letter of credit that would allow Iran to receive hard currency, at a time when most of the cash it makes from selling oil is frozen in banks around the world.... While Mr. Macron and Mr. Trump gave no hint of their differences in public comments [during the G7 meeting], administration officials say the French effort, which other European nations appear to support, is undermining the administration’s effort to exert what Mr. Trump calls 'maximum pressure' on Tehran.”

Presidential Race 2020. David Siders & Elena Schneider of Politico: "The bottom is falling out of the Democratic presidential primary. And the top-tier — no longer five candidates, but three — is becoming more insurmountable.... In recent weeks, the leading band of candidates has contracted unexpectedly early. Heading into the fall, only three contenders are polling above single digits: Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg remain at the periphery, while lower-polling candidates have largely failed to muster sustained, upward movement in fundraising or polling. According to interviews with about two dozen Democratic operatives and consultants, there is little reason to expect any of them will.

Beyond the Beltway

New Jersey. Cassidy Grom of NJ.com: “A Middlesex County man is in police custody after several pipe bomb-like devices were found near the route of a Labor Day parade that the governor was set to attend Monday. Officials detained a man on Monday morning after they found 'over half a dozen' devices on his large property near South Plainfield’s Labor Day Parade route, according to a senior law enforcement official with the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. Gov. Phil Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy were supposed to attend the parade, which was set to start at 10 a.m., according to spokesman Dan Bryan. The parade and other festivities were abruptly cancelled by borough officials Monday morning. No direct threat was made to the parade or the governor. The devices were found during a separate investigation, but due to how close the property was to the parade, officials cancelled the parade 'out of an abundance of caution,' according to the senior official. The official described the suspect as a 'rogue individual' in his 50s who liked explosives.” Mrs. McC: Sorta like an older Kim Jong-un, I guess.

Texas. Faith Karimi, et al., of CNN: "The 36-year-old gunman who killed seven people in a West Texas shooting rampage Saturday was already in a 'distressed mental state' when he showed up to work, and was fired just hours before the massacre began, the FBI said. The shootings 'did not happen because he was fired,' said Christopher Combs, FBI special agent in charge, at a press conference Monday. 'When he showed up to work, he was already enraged.' Seth Ator, the shooter, had applied to get a gun but failed a background check, a representative for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said at the press conference. The ATF, the FBI and the DPS are 'aggressively following up on' the source that supplied the firearm to Ator.... Both Ator and his employer, Journey Oilfield Services, called 911 right after the firing, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said. 'Basically, they were complaining on each other because they had a disagreement over the firing,' Gerke said at a press conference Monday. Ator ... made 'no threats of any type of violence,' Gerke said, [of the initial call to the FBI].... During the shooting spree..., Ator called 911 twice. In those calls, he was telling the dispatcher that 'he's the guy doing it,' Combs said." ...

     ... Sarah Mervosh & others wrote the New York Times story: The gunman "He had been living a kind of drifter’s life in the West Texas oil fields, estranged from many relatives, grappling with the suicide of his older sister and ditching apartment life for a secluded shack-style building where he shot his firearms outside late into the night.... One friend of the family said the gunman had a long history of mental problems, trouble with the law and making racist comments."

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Hey, Trump was right. The shooter evidently did suffer from some kind of mental illness. AND, as Trump asserted, background checks did not stop him. What would have slowed him down, at least? A total ban on assault weapons.

Way Beyond

Hong Kong. Nadia Lam & Vincent Yu of the AP: "Clad in gas masks along with their formal white school uniforms, tens of thousands of students in Hong Kong boycotted the first day of classes Monday as part of a citywide strike following a violent weekend of demonstrations. High school students added gas masks, goggles and hard hats to their traditional uniforms, while university pupils crowded into a square at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Workers also participated in their own rally at a public park, braving strong winds and storm clouds as a typhoon threatened." ...

... Greg Torode, et al., of Reuters: “Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she has caused 'unforgivable havoc' by igniting the political crisis engulfing the city and would quit if she had a choice, according to an audio recording of remarks she made last week to a group of businesspeople. At the closed-door meeting, Lam told the group that she now has 'very limited' room to resolve the crisis because the unrest has become a national security and sovereignty issue for China amid rising tensions with the United States. 'If I have a choice,' she said, speaking in English, 'the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology.' Lam’s dramatic and at times anguished remarks offer the clearest view yet into the thinking of the Chinese leadership as it navigates the unrest in Hong Kong, the biggest political crisis to grip the country since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.” (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

U.K. Danica Kirka of the AP: “Parliament was reconvening Tuesday for a pivotal day in British politics as lawmakers challenged Prime Minister Boris Johnson's insistence that the U.K. will leave the European Union on Oct. 31 even without a deal. Amid loud cries from protesters on the streets surrounding the House of Commons, lawmakers returned from their summer recess with a key piece of legislation on their agenda that would prevent an immediate no-deal exit. If it passes this week, Johnson's Downing Street office says he'll call an early election. Johnson has tried to crack down on members of his Conservative Party who oppose his Brexit plans, warning them they would be expelled from the party if they supported the parliamentary efforts to block or delay Brexit." ...

... Danica Kirka: “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shot down the notion that he wanted an early election to secure Brexit, insisting Monday that it wasn’t the way to get a deal done. Johnson decried parliamentary action set for Tuesday that is meant to delay Britain’s departure from the European Union, arguing that it would 'chop the legs' out of the U.K. position. He spoke moments after lawmakers posted a copy of the proposed bill on Twitter, making clear that they would press the government to seek a delay if there’s no deal.” (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) 

The New York Times' liveblog on Hurricane Dorian developments is here. “The Category 3 storm came to a standstill as it pummeled the Bahamas. It is expected to move 'dangerously close' to the Florida coast Tuesday night.” ...

... The front page of the Weather Channel links Dorian stories. ...

... The Miami Herald front page links to numerous hurricane-related stories. The paper is providing free, unlimited access to all of its stories as Hurricane Dorian approaches Florida. ...

... The Washington Post stories, linked on the front page, are free to non-subscribers. ...

... Guardian: "Hurricane Dorian has stalled over the Bahamas, lashing the islands with wind, rain and storm surges, and killing at least five people. Thousands of homes were inundated by floodwater as rescue operations tried to reach stranded residents, many trapped on roofs. Dorian, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, has been hovering over Grand Bahama Island for more than a day. It has weakened to a Category 3 hurricane but is still battering the Bahamas with winds of 120mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in an advisory issued at 2am EST (0600 GMT)."

Guardian: "Twenty-five people have died and nine remain missing after a boat was engulfed in flames and sank off the coast of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The US Coast Guard said five crew members escaped from the 23-metre (75ft) commercial scuba diving boat but 33 passengers and one other crew member were missing or found dead after the fire early on Monday morning. As the recovery effort progressed, 25 bodies were found and nine people were unaccounted for, presumed dead, as of late on Monday evening. The Coast Guard official Matthew Kroll said the first bodies recovered had signs consistent with drowning. The boat was docked near Santa Cruz Island at the time of the fire." ...

     ... AP Update: "Flames roared through a boat of sleeping scuba divers so quickly that it appears none of the 34 people below deck could escape, authorities said Tuesday as they ended their search without finding anyone who was missing still alive from the Labor Day tragedy off the Southern California coast. It’s not known what started the fire early Monday aboard the Conception, which carried scuba diving enthusiasts on a three-day excursion. It spread rapidly and flames blocked both exits out of the lower deck, where passengers and one crew member were sleeping in tight quarters, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said."

News Ledes

The New York Times' liveblog on Hurricane Dorian developments is here. “The Category 3 storm came to a standstill as it pummeled the Bahamas. It is expected to move 'dangerously close' to the Florida coast Tuesday night.” ...

... The front page of the Weather Channel links Dorian stories. ...

... The Miami Herald front page links to numerous hurricane-related stories. The paper is providing free, unlimited access to all of its stories as Hurricane Dorian approaches Florida. ...

... The Washington Post stories, linked on the front page, are free to non-subscribers. ...

... Guardian: "Hurricane Dorian has stalled over the Bahamas, lashing the islands with wind, rain and storm surges, and killing at least five people. Thousands of homes were inundated by floodwater as rescue operations tried to reach stranded residents, many trapped on roofs. Dorian, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, has been hovering over Grand Bahama Island for more than a day. It has weakened to a Category 3 hurricane but is still battering the Bahamas with winds of 120mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in an advisory issued at 2am EST (0600 GMT)."

Guardian: "Twenty-five people have died and nine remain missing after a boat was engulfed in flames and sank off the coast of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The US Coast Guard said five crew members escaped from the 23-metre (75ft) commercial scuba diving boat but 33 passengers and one other crew member were missing or found dead after the fire early on Monday morning. As the recovery effort progressed, 25 bodies were found and nine people were unaccounted for, presumed dead, as of late on Monday evening. The Coast Guard official Matthew Kroll said the first bodies recovered had signs consistent with drowning. The boat was docked near Santa Cruz Island at the time of the fire." ...

     ... AP Update: "Flames roared through a boat of sleeping scuba divers so quickly that it appears none of the 34 people below deck could escape, authorities said Tuesday as they ended their search without finding anyone who was missing still alive from the Labor Day tragedy off the Southern California coast. It’s not known what started the fire early Monday aboard the Conception, which carried scuba diving enthusiasts on a three-day excursion. It spread rapidly and flames blocked both exits out of the lower deck, where passengers and one crew member were sleeping in tight quarters, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said."

The Commentariat -- September 2, 2019

Here's what the workers who put food on our tables are doing today. Uh, Happy Labor Day.

Afternoon Update:

Someone in the Trump Regime Still Can Be Embarrassed. Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would reconsider its decision to force immigrants facing life-threatening health crises to return to their home countries, an abrupt move last month that generated public outrage and was roundly condemned by the medical establishment. On Aug. 7, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, without public notice, eliminated a 'deferred action' program that had allowed immigrants to avoid deportation while they or their relatives were undergoing lifesaving medical treatment.... On Monday, the [Department of Human Services] said in a statement that while limiting the program was 'appropriate,' officials would 'complete the caseload that was pending on August 7.' The statement said that deportation proceedings had not been initiated against anyone who had received the letter. However, it did not say whether it would continue to grant immigrants extensions to stay in the country.... When asked for clarification, an agency official said..., 'Whether a very limited version of deferred action will continue forward at U.S.C.I.S. is still under review....'"

Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump spent Labor Day morning by sending out a series of tweets attacking what he calls the Fake News media. While Category 5 Hurricane Dorian slowly makes its way to the South Atlantic coast of the United States, dangerously threatening coastal areas from Florida, north to the Carolinas..., he first attacked a report published Sunday night by The Washington Post [also linked below], that claimed Trump aides privately, and anonymously, admit that it was a' lost summer' for the White House as President Trump got lost in a sea of controversial distractions.... He then appeared to go after the entire institution of the free press..., taking a page from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in calling out the 'LameStream Media' who he sees as having gone 'totally Crazy!'" ...

... Well, that's SOP, but how did Trump celebrate great American workers on Labor Day? ...

... Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday lashed out at American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) President Richard Trumka a day after the labor union leader criticized Trump's trade deal in a Fox News interview. Trump, in a Labor Day morning tweet, claimed that Trumka doesn't share the same critique of Trump's trade deal when 'he is with me at the White House.... Just watched AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on @FoxNews and thought to myself how different he is on TV tan he is when he is with me at the White House. Likes what we are doing until the cameras go on,' Trump tweeted. The president targeted the AFL-CIO head after Trumka said that unions were not ready to back the president's 'unenforceable' replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)."

Hong Kong. Greg Torode, et al., of Reuters: "Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she has caused 'unforgivable havoc' by igniting the political crisis engulfing the city and would quit if she had a choice, according to an audio recording of remarks she made last week to a group of businesspeople. At the closed-door meeting, Lam told the group that she now has 'very limited' room to resolve the crisis because the unrest has become a national security and sovereignty issue for China amid rising tensions with the United States. 'If I have a choice,' she said, speaking in English, 'the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology.' Lam's dramatic and at times anguished remarks offer the clearest view yet into the thinking of the Chinese leadership as it navigates the unrest in Hong Kong, the biggest political crisis to grip the country since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989."

Danica Kirka of the AP: "British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shot down the notion that he wanted an early election to secure Brexit, insisting Monday that it wasn't the way to get a deal done. Johnson decried parliamentary action set for Tuesday that is meant to delay Britain's departure from the European Union, arguing that it would 'chop the legs' out of the U.K. position. He spoke moments after lawmakers posted a copy of the proposed bill on Twitter, making clear that they would press the government to seek a delay if there's no deal."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Trump's Lost Summer." Philip Rucker & Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "The two months between Independence Day and Labor Day offered a fresh and vivid portrait of the president as seen by Trump's critics -- incompetent, indecisive, intolerant and ineffective.... Privately, many of the president's advisers and outside allies bemoan what they consider to be a period of missed opportunity and self-sabotage.... Some White House aides and outside Trump allies ... describ[e] an administration in which the president has crashed through the remaining guard rails. Trump could have worked strategically to solidify his position and broaden his appeal. Instead, his words and actions this summer served to further divide the country and to harden public opinion about the ever-polarizing president." ...

... ** Adam Gopnik of the New Yorker: "The prudential argument, against impeachment, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ... seems to favor still, is that the crucial thing for those who resist Donald Trump -- stipulating in advance that he's an autocrat at daily war with the basic premises of liberal democracy -- is to win elections in 2020. The only meaningful defeat is a political defeat.... The principled case [for impeachment] ... is summed up in three words: Trump's a crook.... The task of holding Trump accountable becomes more urgent for a simple reason: he's getting worse.... There is another, pragmatic reason to pursue impeachment.... Trump is a dangerous and unfit President.... The normalization of Trump and Trumpism -- allowing those things to be defined merely as a political problem needing a political cure -- degrades democracy."

We don't even know what's coming at us. All we know is it's possibly the biggest. I have -- I'm not sure that I've ever even heard of a Category 5. I knew it existed. And I've seen some Category 4's -- you don't even see them that much. But a Category 5 is something that -- I don't know that I've ever even heard the term other than I know it's there. That's the ultimate, and that's what we have unfortunately. -- Donald Trump, at a briefing with officials at FEMA's headquarters in Washington, D.C., Sunday ...

... Devan Cole of CNN: "In September 2017, nearly eight months into Trump's presidency, Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane ever recorded outside the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, affected at least nine US states. That same month, Hurricane Maria devastated the US territory of Puerto Rico, leaving behind an island that is still struggling to recover. Last October, Hurricane Michael, which was originally designated as a Category 4, barreled into the Florida Panhandle as the third Category 5 hurricane to blast the US since Trump.... Trump has previously indicated several other times that Category 5 hurricanes are unprecedented weather events that either he or others had never heard of or witnessed. In the days between the landfalls of Hurricane Irma and Maria, he said he 'never even knew' they existed.... In October 2017, Trump claimed nobody has ever heard of a (Category) 5 hitting land,' and earlier this year, he again said he had never heard of a hurricane of that intensity.... The US has seen a number of Category 5 storms in recent memory -- including Hurricane Katrina in 2005...."

"It Could Have Been Worse." First Responders, law enforcement, the police, the FBI, Governor Abbott, incredible the job they did. It is tragic. But they did it an incredible job under the circumstances. Another very sick person, so I just want to thank you everybody involved.... As bad as it was, it could have been worse, but it was certainly bad, very very sad situation.... Background checks, I will say that for the most part, sadly, if you look at the last four or five, going back even five or six or seven years, for the most part, as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it. -- Donald Trump, to reporters, Sunday ...

... David Edwards of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump on Sunday sought to downplay the mass shooting that left at least seven dead near Odessa, Texas.... When pressed on gun legislation, Trump argued that improved background checks would not have stopped any of the recent mass shootings." Mrs. McC: I guess we should look at this as an encouraging sign of Trump's mental acuity. True, he can't remember Cat 5 hurricanes Irma & Maria from two years ago (he does "remember" all the billions he thinks he "gave" to ungrateful Puerto Ricans), but he can remember a mass shooting that occurred a month ago (no doubt because unpatriotic Democrats are still nagging him to take away everybody's guns). ...

... Likely [Trump will] dust off the DVD of an old speech blaming [the Odessa shooting] on 'mental illness'. -- Bobby Lee, in a comment Sunday morning

For the most part, sadly, if you look at the last four or five (shootings) going back even five or six or seven years, for the most part, as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it. So it's a big problem. It's a mental problem. It's a big problem. -- Donald Trump, hours later ...

... Darlene Superville of the AP: "... Donald Trump expressed a commitment Sunday, hours after the latest deadly mass shooting, to work with a divided Congress to 'stop the menace of mass attacks.' He said any measures must satisfy the competing goals of protecting public safety and the constitutional right to gun ownership and seemed to cast fresh doubt on the merits of instituting more thorough background checks for gun purchases." (Also linked yesterday.) More theories on the causes of mass shootings linked under Beyond the Beltway beltway. Mrs. McC: Denialism, it turns out, leads to very creative, albeit delusional, ideas.

Sir Donald Recalls. Justin Wise of the Hill: "PresidentTrump on Sunday targeted actress Debra Messing after she called for publicizing the list of donors who are reportedly attending a Beverly Hills fundraiser where the president is slated to appear.... 'I have not forgotten that when it was announced that I was going to do "The Apprentice," and when it then became a big hit, helping NBC's failed lineup greatly, @DebraMessing [-- then a star of 'Will & Grace' --] came up to me at an Upfront & profusely thanked me, even calling me "Sir,"' Trump said on Twitter. "How times have changed!'" ...

     ... The Tell. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: How we know that never happened: Trump claims Messing called him "Sir."

Ioan Grillo of the New York Times: "... eight Mexican citizens [were] among the 22 people who died in the [El Paso] attack, in which a man named Patrick Crusius is accused of shooting shoppers in a Walmart with an AK-style rifle. Most of the other victims were Americans of Mexican descent.... Mexico';s foreign secretary, Marcelo Ebrard..., has called for terrorism charges to be filed against Mr. Crusius and has said Mexico may ask for his extradition here.... The massacre indeed looks to be a political act designed to sow terror and hate.... But even without such charges, prosecutors and the police need to make clear that the case is a political crime of terror rather than the random act of a madman.... It is certainly terrorism when a person or group murders innocent civilians in the name of a political or religious cause. The El Paso shooting appears to fit this definition to the letter." Mrs. McC: Grillo never specifically mentions Trump's direct contribution to white supremacist violence. But he might as well have accused Trump of inciting terrorism. ...

Tim Craig of the Washington Post: "Sitting in lawn chairs plopped in the middle of train tracks, two coal miners smoked and chewed tobacco to pass the time. There's been little else to do here for the past four weeks, except wave at motorists who honk in support of these homegrown heroes waging a national struggle over workers' rights. Since Chris Rowe and Chris Sexton were laid off from their mining jobs this summer along with 300 co-workers, they have been camped out ... in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, blocking a train car full of coal from going to market. Their protest is against coal company Blackjewel, which halted operations in July without settling its final salary obligations to ... an estimated 1,800 ... workers across the country. But it's also become a declaration against corporate bankruptcy laws that they say deprioritize workers' interests.... Trump won 85 percent of the vote [here].... At the camp, there is an informal policy against speaking about Trump or partisan issues, underscoring the president's continued popularity in areas where the local economy has continued to suffer." The protest has been going on since July 29. "The Labor Department has sought an injunction to prevent Blackjewel from moving the rail car, which is estimated to have about $1 ;million in coal, according to local media reports." (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2020

Mark Leibovich of the New York Times: "'How badly do you want to be president?' Joseph R. Biden Jr. was asked after a recent speech in Prole, Iowa. The answer to such an inquiry would appear self-evident in the case of Mr. Biden, who began his running-for-president routine more than three decades ago; in other words, very badly, one would assume.... Remarkably, after all this time, Mr. Biden stumbles to come up with a clear answer.... Mr. Biden's campaign has been jackhammering home the premise that he is best suited to winning a general election against an incumbent who must not be re-elected.... Clearly, other candidates have far more identifiable 'whys' attached to their enterprises." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: If the only candidates running in 2020 were a former Republican (Jim Webb, Lincoln Chaffee), a handsome milquetoast former governor (Martin O'Malley), (a socialist Bernie Sanders) & a single-issue professor (Lawrence Lessig), then, yes, we would welcome good ole Joe. But there are a half-dozen solid candidates in the race, any of whom has the potential to beat Trump. Yo, Joe, you should go.

Don Junior Concerned about Biden's Ethics. Eric Levitz of New York: "This week, Donald Trump ... made clear that increasing off-season bookings at the Trump National Doral Miami Golf Club was one of the United States' top objectives at the [G-7] conference.... Trump's proposal would effectively compel foreign governments to make direct contributions to his family fortune, while also awarding his one of his properties exceedingly valuable international exposure. It could also put world leaders at unnecessary risk: Trump's resort is adjacent to one of Doral's busiest intersections, and its lobby was the site of a firefight between an armed man and police last year. Meanwhile..., foreign heads of state would ostensibly be descending on South Florida near the start of hurricane season. In other news from the weekend, Joe Biden's younger brother's former business partners accused ... [Joe]'s sibling of promising them special favors from a Biden campaign and/or presidency, as part of a broader 'fraudulent scheme to bankrupt them and steal their business models.'... [A] lawsuit [brought by the partners against James Biden] does not allege any wrongdoing on Joe Biden's part, nor does it indicate that the former vice-president had any awareness of his brother's unseemly offers.... Nevertheless, for stalwart champions of ethics in government like Donald Trump Jr., the allegations against James Biden raise serious questions about his older brother's fitness for office."

Beyond the Beltway

Texas. Video Games! Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: David Turner, "the mayor of Odessa, Texas is saying that red flag laws, or any other gun regulations wouldn't have stopped the [Odessa] gunman from killing seven people and injuring 22 others.... 'But you do realize there was a shooting and the mass shooting in El Paso not too far ago, far away, just about a month ago,' [MSNBC's Kendis] Gibson [said to Turner in an interview]. 'Again, with an assault rifle. This is an assault rifle. Isn't there something common in all of this?' 'Yeah. I think it's a problem of the heart, to be honest with you,' Turner explained. 'We have so many violent video games.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Whether the gunman had mental health issues, or watched too many video games (there's no published evidence of this, so far), or a "problem of the heart" or was upset he got fired (likely the proximate inspiration for the murderous rampage) or whatever, the one reason he was able to kill & maim & terrify so many people was that he had an assault rifle. Every political reporter should ask every gun-loving politician why individual Americans need assault weapons. And, no, "people like to go to the shooting range" is not a need. ...

... Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "Texas state Rep. Matt Schaefer (R) declared that he wouldn't vote for any gun control measures several hours after a series of deadly shootings in his state led to at least seven deaths on Saturday. Schaefer posted a screed on Facebook railing against 'red flag' laws, universal background checks, mandatory buybacks, or bans on AR-15s, claiming that 'none of these so-called gun-control solutions will work to stop a person with evil intent.' The Republican lawmaker's proposed solution to mass shootings? Prayer. 'YES to praying for victims. YES to praying for protection. YES to praying that God would transform the hearts of people with evil intent,' he wrote. Schaefer also suggested that 'discipline in the homes' and men not leaving their families would also prevent gun violence. 'YES to God, and NO to more government intrusions,' he concluded." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: My favorite part of Schaefer's post: "I am NOT going to use the evil acts of a handful of people to diminish the God-given rights of my fellow Texans. Period." Schaefer has elevated five old guys on the Supreme Court to gods, because it is they, not a supernatural being as Schaefer writes, who gave his fellow Texans the "right" to amass arsenals in the name of the Second Amendment. Very sacrilegious, Matt. And here I thought the god to whom Matt prayed commanded, "Thou shalt not kill."

... Steve M. checked out Breitbart comments, and found some more interesting "causes" of mass shootings, especially the Odessa shooting. Here's his summary: "Transsexuals, porn, critiques of toxic masculinity, and immigrant doctors killed those people in Texas -- except the shooting was probably a staged incident, because it didn't take place in Chicago."

News Ledes

AP: "The bodies of four people killed by a raging fire that swept through a dive-boat off the Southern California coast were recovered Monday as authorities said more than two dozen others remained missing and feared dead. Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll says the four bodies had injuries consistent with drowning. Searchers continued to look for more than two dozen other people who were aboard the vessel Conception, which burned while anchored off Santa Cruz Island.... The Coas [Guard] said the vessel was believed to have carried 38 people, including five crew members who jumped off the boat soon after the fire ignited before dawn."

Washington Post: "At least 5 people are dead after Hurricane Dorian's catastrophic assault on the Bahamas, the prime minister said Monday." At 5:30 pm ET, this is a breaking news story. ...

... The Miami Herald front page links to numerous hurricane-related stories. The paper is providing free, unlimited access to all of its stories as Hurricane Dorian approaches Florida....

... New York Times live updates are here. "Hurricane Dorian battered the Bahamas overnight, with the eye of the storm lingering over Grand Bahama Island early Monday.... Early images and video emerging from the Abaco Islands, which were hit especially hard overnight, showed scenes of devastation as the powerful, slow-moving storm churned its way through the islands. The footage showed roofs torn from houses and cars and debris bobbing along inundated streets battered by strong winds and heavy rains." ...

... "The [Washington] Post has removed article limits on coverage of Hurricane Dorian to make these stories available without a subscription."

The Commentariat -- September 1, 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

For the most part, sadly, if you look at the last four or five (shootings) going back even five or six or seven years, for the most part, as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it. So it's a big problem. It's a mental problem. It's a big problem. -- Donald Trump, Sunday

See Bobby Lee's comment in today's thread. ...

... Darlene Superville of the AP: "... Donald Trump expressed a commitment Sunday, hours after the latest deadly mass shooting, to work with a divided Congress to 'stop the menace of mass attacks.' He said any measures must satisfy the competing goals of protecting public safety and the constitutional right to gun ownership and seemed to cast fresh doubt on the merits of instituting more thorough background checks for gun purchases."

Tim Craig of the Washington Post: "Sitting in lawn chairs plopped in the middle of train tracks, two coal miners smoked and chewed tobacco to pass the time. There's been little else to do here for the past four weeks, except wave at motorists who honk in support of these homegrown heroes waging a national struggle over workers' rights. Since Chris Rowe and Chris Sexton were laid off from their mining jobs this summer along with 300 co-workers, they have been camped out ... in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, blocking a train car full of coal from going to market. Their protest is against coal company Blackjewel, which halted operations in July without settling its final salary obligations to ... an estimated 1,800 ... workers across the country. But it's also become a declaration against corporate bankruptcy laws that they say deprioritize workers' interests.... Trump won 85 percent of the vote [here].... At the camp, there is an informal policy against speaking about Trump or partisan issues, underscoring the president's continued popularity in areas where the local economy has continued to suffer." The protest has been going on since July 29. "The Labor Department has sought an injunction to prevent Blackjewel from moving the rail car, which is estimated to have about $1 million in coal, according to local media reports."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Trade Wars Are Good & Easy to Win." Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "President Trump's trade war with China entered new territory on Sunday as his next round of tariffs took effect, changing the rules of trade in ways that have no recent historic precedent and driving the world's two largest economies further apart. American tariffs on foreign goods had already climbed higher than any time since the 1960s before Sunday, when the United States imposed a new 15 percent tariff. The levies on food, clothing, lawn mowers and thousands of other 'Made in China' products come as the president prepares to tax nearly everything China ships to America. The move will bring average tariffs on Chinese imports to 21.2 percent, up from only 3.1 percent when Mr. Trump came into office, according to data from the Peterson Institute for International Economics. China has responded by raising barriers to American companies and their products, while easing them for other nations.... China, which had long been America's biggest trading partner, dropped to third place in the first half of the year, behind Mexico and Canada.... [Peterson research] shows that the trade war is entering a period of rapid escalation." The Guardian story is here. ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: This is what you get with international relations by threats, lies, petulance & clueless bravado. If Trump's goal is to increase Treasury receipts -- after having ballooned the deficit with a huge tax cut for corporations & rich Americans -- then tariffs are not going to do it. Treasury won't see a rise in tariff receipts if Americans can't afford to buy anything. Trade wars are bad & everybody loses. America Last. #MAGA, my ass. Baby ain't gonna get a new pair of shoes.

Now That Dorian Is Not Expected to Hit Miami or Mar-a-Lago.... Darlene Superville of the AP: "... Donald Trump visited his private Virginia golf club for several hours Saturday as Hurricane Dorian bore down on the Southeast coastline. Trump traveled by helicopter from the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland to his property in Virginia. The president gave the impression as he left the White House on Friday that he would spend Saturday at Camp David with experts monitoring what has developed into a powerful Category 4 storm."

The Trump "Presidential"* Grift. Jonathan O'Connell, et al., of the Washington Post: "When President Trump decided to keep ownership of his company and continue to do business with foreign governments, he said nobody could stop him. But voters could trust him to police himself, he said. 'I will be leaving my great business in total,' Trump said, pledging to do more to keep his roles separate than was required of him in the Constitution. 'There are lines that we would never cross, and that's mixing business with anything government,' said Eric Trump, one of two Trump sons who would be taking over day-to-day control of the Trump Organization. Over time, [Donald] Trump has repeatedly crossed that line, routinely visiting his properties and talking them up on television and Twitter. The most overt example came last week, when Trump said he was likely to award next year's Group of Seven summit to his company's Doral golf resort in Florida -- a plan that would direct millions of dollars to benefit his own business.... Lawsuits alleging he is violating the Constitution by taking money from foreign and U.S. governments have stalled in the courts. Congressional Democrats have been stymied in their role overseeing the executive branch. And Republicans have expressed little interest in reining him in."

The Trump "Opportunity Zone" Grift, Ctd. David Yaffe-Bellany of the New York Times: "President Trump has called it 'the hottest thing going,' a multibillion-dollar tax break designed to channel investments into poor neighborhoods, leading to new housing, businesses and jobs. The tax benefit allows people to delay paying taxes on profits from stocks or other investments for years. To qualify, they have to direct their untaxed gains into federally certified regions known as opportunity zones. Profits on those investments are then tax-free.... The most visible impact so far has been to set off a feeding frenzy among the wealthiest Americans. They are poised to reap billions in untaxed profits on high-end apartment buildings and hotels in trendy neighborhoods, storage facilities that employ only a handful of workers or student housing in bustling college towns.... Here are four high-profile beneficiaries of the tax break who have personal or professional connections to Mr. Trump.... Anthony Scaramucci...; Richard LeFrak..., a longtime confidante of Mr. Trump's and a major campaign donor...; the Kushners...; Chris Christie." The story provides details on the investments of each of Trump's buddies cited.

Marcy Wheeler has a good piece in the New Republic on the DOJ inspector general's report on Jim Comey's leaked memos. "It turns out Comey didn't fare too well when his own standards were applied to him." But Wheeler's main contention is that the IG "piled on the accusations against Comey to provide basis for a headline-grabbing censure, even where there was no basis for prosecution. Indeed, Trump made the most of the inspector general's rebuke, asserting that Comey had been 'thoroughly disgraced and excoriated' by the report's conclusions." Wheeler compares Comey's actions with those of Dubya's AG Alberto Gonzales who "had some of the most sensitive information in government wrapped inside two envelopes marked Top Secret at either his home or a briefcase he didn't always lock." The DOJ did not prosecute Gonzales. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I think there are two important things to keep in mind here: the first, as Josh Marshall pointed out in a post I linked yesterday, Comey was acting as a whistleblower. The other is that he had a big whistle to blow: within weeks of taking office, the POTUS* violated his oath to uphold the Constitution when he attempted to persuade Comey to end an investigation into possible criminal activity by a top government official (Michael Flynn), an investigation in which Trump himself was implicated in still more impeachable offenses. The Congress & the American people had a right to know this timely. Congress should have impeached & convicted Trump forthwith. Of course, that would have left us with a terrible president (pence), but at least he would have been a conventional terrible president on the order of Dubya. (And, true, pence's chances of being re-elected probably would have been greater than Trump's.) ...

... MEANWHILE. Rachel Frazin of the Hill: "President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani accused former FBI director James Comey of trying to 'frame' the president after the publication of an inspector general report found that Comey's handling of memos was in violation of FBI policies. 'In a case involving the President of the United States, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that what Comey was trying to do was to frame Trump,' Giuliani said on John Catsimatidis' radio show that aired Sunday. 'Law enforcement officers that frame people ... they're horrid.' He later said that Comey 'orchestrated' the investigation by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller." Mrs. McC: See, Rudy, "frame" does not equal "report what he did."

John Bowden of the Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to take up legislation that would expand background checks on gun purchases following a shooting Saturday in Texas in which five people were killed. Schumer tweeted that the Senate should take up H.R. 8 in response to the shooting, which would expand background checks to gun purchases between private individuals and require a licensed firearm dealer take possession of the weapon during the process." See yesterday's News Ledes for context.

Presidential Race 2020

Justin Wise of the Hill: "Numerous Democratic presidential candidates spoke out Saturday after a gunman in West Texas killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others. Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D) called the situation 'f[uc]cked up' at a campaign stop in Virginia and tweeted the same thing afterward."

Harry Enten of CNN: "A new national Quinnipiac University poll finds that former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg all lead ... Donald Trump by significant margins in potential 2020 matchups.... No incumbent president has ever polled this poorly against his likely challengers at this point in the campaign."

Orion Rummler & Gigi Sukin of Axios: "The third round of Democratic debates will be held on Sept. 12 in Houston, Texas, with 10 candidates on the stage." The report provides the "standing chart" of where candidates will appear on the stage. Biden & Warren are at center-stage.

Zach Montellardo of Politico: "The fourth Democratic presidential primary debate will be held on Oct. 15 and 16 in Ohio, according to a memo the Democratic National Committee sent to presidential campaigns. The memo, which was obtained by Politico, says the second night will only be held if necessary. The DNC has previously said it will not have more than 10 candidates on stage at a time."

Jessica Gresko of the AP: "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsbur said Saturday she's 'alive' and on her way to being 'very well' following radiation treatment for cancer. Ginsburg, 86, made the comments at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington. The event came a little over a week after Ginsburg disclosed that she had completed three weeks of outpatient radiation therapy for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas and is now disease-free."; The Washington Post story is here.

Lenny Bernstein, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Sackler family, which grew into one of the nation's wealthiest dynasties through sales of the widely abused painkiller OxyContin, could emerge from a legal settlement under negotiation with its personal fortunes largely intact, according to an analysis reviewed by The Washington Post and people familiar with the discussions. Under a novel plan to bankrupt their company, Purdue Pharma, and resurrect it as a trust whose main purpose would be to combat the opioid epidemic, the Sacklers could raise most, if not all, of their share of the $10 billion to $12 billion agreement by selling their international drug conglomerate, Mundipharma, according to the documents and those close to the talks. Yet the proposed settlement -- built on the projected value of drugs not yet on the market -- offers gains for both sides if the company and more than 2,000 cities, counties, states and others that have sued Purdue and the family can craft a deal."

So the Internet has been spending the entire week having good fun at [Bret Stephens's] expense, because he was taking himself way too seriously. And then he had to find a way to take himself that much more seriously, by using his column space in the New York Times to call me, a Jew, a Nazi. -- Prof. David Karpf, comment to the WashPo, Saturday

That Bret Stephens column that not-so-subtly references Dave Karpf should be retracted. It knowingly slanders Karpf in the Paper of Record, likening a mild Twitter insult to the stuff of Nazis, and all because he got his feelings hurt. Children shouldn't have @nytimes columns. -- Jamil Smith in a tweet, Friday ...

... Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post reviews Bedbug Stephens' excellent argumentum ad Hitlerum. See yesterday's Commentariat for more. "Conservatism" means having a thin skin, a vile disposition & a poison pin. For a Never-Trumper, Bedbug is very Trumpy.

Beyond the Beltway

Arkansas. Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "Time was running out for Debra Stevens. But the 911 dispatcher didn't seem concerned. 'Somebody save me!' Stevens screamed as the water level crept up inside her car, which was stranded in floodwater. 'I don't know why you're freaking out,' the dispatcher, Donna Reneau, responded. '"I';m going to die,' Stevens cried later. 'Yeah, I know,' Reneau said. Stevens did die, but only after the dispatcher told the Fort Smith, Ark., woman to 'shut up,' chastised her for worrying that the phone call would cut off and berated her for driving into water -- water the frantic flood victim swore she had not seen. 'Well, this will teach you,' Reneau can be heard saying in audio of the call released this week by Fort Smith police.... Police have launched an internal investigation but said that Reneau -- who submitted her resignation earlier in August and was on her last shift when Stevens's call came in, according to the Southwest Times Record -- will probably not face formal repercussions for the way she treated Stevens in the woman's last minutes alive.... Stevens's SUV was swept off the road and into trees by flash flooding last Saturday as she delivered papers for the Times Record, police said." See also the linked Times Record story.

For men who are allegedly so 'proud' of being straight, they seem to show real incompetence at attracting women to their event. Seems more like a 'I-Struggle-With-Masculinity' parade to me. -- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), in a tweet ...

... Boston, Mass. Sarah Betancourt of the Guardian: "A controversial 'straight pride' parade in Boston on Saturday drew more than 1,000 counter-protesters and a few hundred supporters. The rightwing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was 'grand marshal' of the event, for which a group calling itself Super Happy Fun America (SHFA) acquired a permit in June.... Guarded by hundreds of Boston police officers and berated with yells of 'Nazi scum', the rightwing group made its way to Boston city hall for a speaking program. Students pressed their noses against windows of Emerson College dorms, next to signs reading 'Be gay' and 'No need for straight pride'. The school is known for its large LGBTQ student body and inclusivity.... Thousands of people videotaped the marchers and exchanged chants as a float with giant letters saying 'Trump built the wall' moved down the streets.... Despite denying being anti-LGBTQ, the organization allowed several people to the mic to complain about 'LGBTQ curriculums in public schools' and children being gay. People clad in Maga hats and 'How can I offend you?' shirts cheered. Some featured speakers had ties to a far-right organization, the Proud Boys, which has incited violence." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: "Trump built the wall"? So besides being obnoxious bigots, the "straight pride" people are delusional, too.

Texas. Justin Wise of the Hill: "A slate of new Texas laws that loosen regulations for firearms went into effect Sunday after a month in which the state experienced multiple mass shootings. The bills, which were passed during the 86th Texas legislature, ease restrictions surrounding access to guns on school grounds and churches, among other provisions."

Way Beyond

Hong Kong. Lily Kuo of the Guardian: "Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators have descended on Hong Kong's international airport, blocking roads and filling a bus terminus, in the latest wave of political unrest to hit the city. Less than 24 hours after protesters and police clashed in running battles on Saturday, demonstrators attempted to paralyse the airport, a major regional hub, on Sunday." ...

... Simon Gardner & Jessie Pang of Reuters: "Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon on Saturday and pro-democracy protesters threw petrol bombs in the latest in a series of chaotic clashes that have plunged the Chinese-ruled city into its worst political crisis in decades. Police fired round after round of tear gas and protesters took cover behind umbrellas between the local headquarters of China's People's Liberation Army and the government. Protesters also threw bricks dug up from pathways at police. Many shops and restaurants in protest areas popular with tourists were shuttered...."

U.K. Donna Ferguson, et al., of the Guardian: "From Bodmin to Berlin, Bristol to Oxford, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales on Saturday to vent their fury at [PM Boris] Johnson's plan to suspend parliament.... Demonstrations more than 1,000-strong were seen in cities including Manchester, Newcastle and York.... The anger was particularly vocal in London. Outside Downing Street, demonstrators chanted 'Shame on you'.... A sizeable group had brought Trafalgar Square to a standstill by sitting in the road."

News Ledes

New York Times: "The 36-year-old man who terrorized two West Texas towns with an assault-style rifle Saturday had been fired from his trucking job a few hours before he led the authorities on a chaotic high-speed chase that ended with his death and the deaths of seven others. Along a 15-mile stretch between the sister cities of Midland and Odessa..., he indiscriminately fired on motorists and police officers with an AR-15-style rifle while driving.... On Sunday, the authorities continued to collect evidence from more than 15 crime scenes, scattered along highways, car dealerships and shopping malls, marked by police tape, bullet-riddled cars and a wrecked postal van the gunman had hijacked. The authorities initially refused to name the gunman on Sunday, wanting not to give him 'any notoriety for what he did,' said Michael Gerke, the police chief of Odessa. But they later issued a statement identifying the gunman as Seth A. Ator, of Odessa.... The chief said it was not immediately known whether the gunman had legally purchased the rifle." ...

     ... The AP story identifying the killer is here. ...

... AP: "The death toll in a West Texas shooting rampage increased to seven Sunday as authorities investigated why a man stopped by state troopers for failing to signal a left turn opened fire on them and fled, shooting more than 20 people as he drove before being killed by officers outside a movie theater. Odessa police spokesman Steve LeSueur said that at least one person who was shot remained in life-threatening condition Sunday. Authorities say the gunman was a white male in his 30s, but police have not released a name or possible motive."

Weather Channel: "A hurricane warning has been issued for a portion of Florida's east coast as Dorian crawls over the northwestern Bahamas as a Category 5. The dangerous hurricane is still a threat to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. Dorian made its first landfall on Elbow Cay, in the Abacos of the northwestern Bahamas, at 12:40 p.m. EDT Sunday. It then made a second landfall on Great Abaco Island near Marsh Harbour at 2 p.m. EDT Sunday. Maximum sustained winds remain at 185 mph, putting Dorian in a tie for the second-highest sustained wind speed among all Atlantic hurricanes.... The northwestern Bahamas are still taking the brunt of Dorian's eyewall." The Weather Channel's front page, with links to related stories, is here. ...

... The Miami Herald front page links to numerous hurricane-related stories. The paper is providing free, unlimited access to all of its stories as Hurricane Dorian approaches Florida. Dorian has been upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane as it is about to make landfall in the Bahamas. New York Times live updates are here. ...

... "The [Washington] Post has removed article limits on coverage of Hurricane Dorian to make these stories available without a subscription."