The Commentariat -- August 1, 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Elijah Cummings is the pride of Baltimore.... The president -- this comes as no surprise -- really doesn't know what he's talking about. But maybe you could ask his son-in-law, who's a slumlord there, if he wants to talk about rodent infestations. -- Baltimore native Nancy Pelosi, Thursday

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "President Trump escalated his trade war with China on Thursday, saying that the United States would impose a 10 percent tariff on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese imports after China failed to keep its promise to buy more American agricultural products. Mr. Trump, who had agreed in June not to impose more tariffs while the two sides tried to reach a trade deal, said on Twitter that the new tariffs would go into effect on Sept. 1. Those new levies would be in addition to the 25 percent tariff that has already been imposed on $250 billion of imports and would essentially tax all Chinese products sent into the United States.... The president's comments hammered the stock market."

Burgess Everett & John Bresnahan of Politico: "The Senate has advanced a budget deal on a 67-27 vote, paving the way for final passage and ... Donald Trump's signature."

Not That We're Counting, But ... Kyle Cheney of Politico: "More than half of House Democrats say they would vote to launch impeachment proceedings against ... Donald Trump, a crucial threshold that backers say will require Speaker Nancy Pelosi to reconsider her steadfast opposition. 'The President's repeated abuses have brought American democracy to a perilous crossroads,' said Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who announced his support on Tuesday. 'Following the guidance of the Constitution -- which I have sworn to uphold -- is the only way to achieve justice.' Democrats who support impeachment proceedings eclipsed the halfway mark -- 118 out of 235 voting members -- on Thursday, when Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida announced his support. Deutch was also the 23rd Democratic lawmaker to support impeachment proceedings in the week since former special counsel Robert Mueller testified to Congress, affirming publicly his damning evidence that Trump attempted to obstruct justice."

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "The Democratic National Committee has set stricter criteria for the third set of debates, which will be held on Sept. 12 and Sept. 13 in Houston. If 10 or fewer candidates qualify, the debate will take place on only one night. Candidates will need to have 130,000 unique donors and register at least 2 percent support in four polls. They have until Aug. 28 to reach those benchmarks.... Seven candidates have already met both qualification thresholds": Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren.

BBC News: "... Donald Trump's trade war with China is backfiring and impacting the US economy, according to his former chief economic adviser. The tariff battle has had a 'dramatic impact' on US manufacturing and capital investment, Gary Cohn told the BBC. The trade war was 'a very convenient excuse' for China to slow down its overheated economy, he added. Mr Cohn, a free trade advocate, resigned from the Trump administration in March 2018. The 59-year-old former president of Goldman Sachs bank was an unusual hire for Mr Trump because he was a Democrat...."

Lauren Gardner of Politico: "The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft to become the top American envoy to the United Nations, despite criticism from some Democrats that she lacks the experience needed for the key diplomatic position and was routinely absent from her post in Ottawa." Mrs. McC: Knowing Trump's opinion of the U.N., Craft should have no trouble treating this new gig as a second no-show job.

Trump's Brush with Death That Wasn't. Lee Moran of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trump made up a story that he narrowly avoided boarding a helicopter that crashed and killed five people, according to a former longtime executive of the Trump Organization. Barbara Res, who was the company's vice president..., recalled to MSNBC's Ari Melber on Tuesday how three Trump casino executives and two crew members were killed in the October 1989 disaster. They were returning to Atlantic City from promoting a boxing match in New York City when the aircraft went down.... Res condemned Trump for 'making himself part of the story, a very important story and undermining the fact that three people died, just like he is undermining what happened in 9/11 by exploiting it.'"

Daniel Victor of the New York Times: "A Jordanian man once considered a financier for Al Qaeda and a 'henchman' of Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law was arrested in the Philippines in July, officials said on Thursday, reinforcing concerns that Islamist militants are making a base in the country. Mahmoud Afif Abdeljalil, 51, was arrested on July 4 in Zamboanga, a coastal city at the southwestern tip of Mindanao, the nation's second-largest island. Mr. Abdeljalil had false documents under an assumed name, Jaime Morente, the chief of the Bureau of Immigration, said in a statement. Mr. Abdeljalil, whom the authorities called 'a former henchman' connected to the bin Laden family, has been in government custody since the arrest.... The Islamic State has risen in the Philippines, even as its presence decreases in the Middle East."

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race 2020

Alexander Burns & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. delivered a steadfast defense of his moderate policies in the Democratic primary debate on Wednesday, striking back at a familiar adversary, Senator Kamala Harris, but facing intensifying attacks on his record from liberal rivals including Senator Cory Booker and Julián Castro, the former housing secretary.... As he did at times in the first debate, he cut some of his answers short and stumbled over lines.... In the opening moments of the debate, Mr. Biden took particular aim at Ms. Harris, accusing her of peddling 'double talk' on health care.... Ms. Harris also came under fire and did not appear as steady as she did in the first debate...."

Jonathan Chait: "The most important development of the debate is that Joe Biden recovered.... If not for Biden's recovery, Cory Booker's performance might have emerged as a major storyline of the debate. Booker never stumbled and managed to deliver coherent answers with broad appeal within his party.... [Kamala] Harris and Booker have the same problem: they need Joe Biden to collapse, and for the moment, that isn't happening."

Benjamin Wallace-Wells of the New Yorker: "The trouble for Biden has been that you can't assemble a biography by pulling selectively from your own past. As the debate went on, his rivals poked deeper into his record, pushing Biden further from the Party's present progressive consensus.... The Democratic field looked stronger, if more quarrelsome, on Wednesday night than it did on Tuesday. The candidates drew clearer and more meaningful distinctions, the arguments were feistier and more specific, the wisdom of a sharp progressive turn challenged more directly."

When Biden Endorsed Booker. Adam Raymond of New York: "Roughly an hour into Wednesday's debate, [Joe] Biden and [Cory] Booker got their chance to square off. Booker called out Biden's criminal justice reform plan as an attempt to put out a house fire that he'd set himself. But Biden came with his own opposition file prepared, hitting Booker for 'hiring Rudy Guiliani's guy' when he was mayor of Newark and increasing stop and frisk. Booker's best moments came not when defending himself on the substance, but when he deployed some crowd-pleasing lines.... Booker also benefited from a Biden slip up. The former vice president accidentally called Booker the president, then jokingly called him the 'future president.'"

Food Fight. Adam Raymond: "Here are the most entertaining moments from the last of the debates with this ridiculously large field (qualifying for the next debate is much harder, thankfully).... As each candidate was brought to the stage, [Joe] Biden welcomed Kamala Harris with some good old-fashioned condescension. 'Go easy on me, kid,' Biden said to the 54-year-old United States senator.... Julián Castro ... wasn't so progressive on immigration a decade ago, Biden alleged. Castro didn't dispute the point, but he did point out his evolution on the issue: 'It looks like one of us has learned the lessons of the past, and one of us hasn't.'" And more.

New York Times reporters are liveblogging Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate.

** Henry Grabar of Slate: "On Wednesday night, after Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet articulated the argument that the failure of impeachment in the Senate will only allow Trump to claim he's been cleared by Congress, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro effectively demolished that case for an audience of millions: '... Senator, I think that too many folks in the Senate and in the Congress have been spooked by 1998. I believe that the times are different. And, in fact, I think that folks are making a mistake by not pursuing impeachment. The Mueller report clearly details that he deserves it, and what's going to happen in the fall of next year, of 2020, if they don't impeach him, is he's going to say, "You see. You see. The Democrats didn't go after me on impeachment. And you know why? Because I didn't do anything wrong. These folks that always investigate me -- they're always trying to go after me. When it came down to it, they didn't go after me there because I didn't do anything wrong." Conversely, if Mitch McConnell is the one that lets him off the look, we're going to be able to say, "Well, sure, they impeached him in the House, but his friend Mitch McConnell, Moscow Mitch, let him off the hook."'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The so-called moderate Democrats like Bennet & Biden repeatedly remind us of why we need a more progressive candidate: the moderates hold tired, recycled opinions that can't even be called ideas because somebody else came up with them long ago & in some cases, they've become the conventional wisdom. Voters were not at all satisfied with conventional wisdom in 2016; there's no reason to think they will be in 2020. Candidates like Castro & Warren are able to think for themselves; their ideas might not always be the best, but they're pretty good, and they didn't buy them in the remainders bin.

     ... Click thru to Part 2.

Joshua Keating of Slate: White House uses Wednesday debate time to finally acknowledge Trump-Putin phone call. Worth reading every word. As usual, Trump is hilariously obtuse & White House staff abstruse -- until you consider the consequences.

Trump Attacks Another Black Man. Jessica Campisi of the Hill: "President Trump took aim at Don Lemon Wednesday, calling him 'the dumbest man on television' over a question the CNN host asked during Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate. 'CNN's Don Lemon, the dumbest man on television, insinuated last night while asking a debate "question" that I was a racist, when in fact I am "the least racist person in the world." Perhaps someone should explain to Don that he is supposed to be neutral, unbiased & fair or is he too dumb (stupid} to understand that,' Trump tweeted." Mrs. McC: This is at least the third time Trump has called Lemon "dumb," consistent with his habit of disparaging the intelligence of black public figures and black voters. There were two white moderators at Tuesday night's debate -- Jake Tapper & Dana Bash -- asking dumb questions, too, but for some reason Trump gave them a pass.

Tim Ryan Might Not Be the Brightest Bulb on the Stage. Hanna Trudo of the Daily Beast: "Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) spent a good chunk of Tuesday night's presidential debate warning that Medicare for All would politically ruin Democrats. The day after, he predicted that the ambitious health care proposal would prompt an electoral bloodbath for the party in November 2020.... [Ryan is] currently [one of more than 100] co-sponsor[s] of a House bill pushing a single-payer health care system.... The bill would guarantee that the government picks up the cost of all medical expenses for Americans.... Notably, the plan states that private insurers would be prohibited from selling competing plans."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark rate by a quarter point Wednesday as an insurance policy not against what's wrong with the economy now, but what could go wrong in the future. It was the first rate cut by the central bank in more than a decade. Amid ... Donald Trump's intense political pressure and persistent market expectations, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee dropped the target range for its overnight lending rate to 2% to 2.25%, or 25 basis points from the previous level." ...

... Fed Tries to Protect Economy from Trump. Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "The widely expected quarter-point move, the Fed's first since it cut rates to near zero in 2008, is meant to protect the economy against the potentially harmful effects of a growth slowdown in China and Europe and uncertainty from President Trump's trade war." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Fred Imbert of CNBC: "Stocks fell to their lows of the day on Wednesday as the top Federal Reserve official dampened hopes for further rate cuts later this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 245 points lower, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slid 0.8% and 0.8%, respectively. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters the central bank's rate cut was a mid-cycle adjustment,' hinting that further rate cuts later this year are not a sure thing." (Also linked yesterday.)

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump intervened Tuesday once again on behalf of a Navy SEAL who was charged but acquitted of war crimes in the death of a captured Islamic State fighter in Iraq, ordering the military to punish the prosecutors who tried the case in the first place. Mr. Trump angrily lashed out [on Twitter] at the Navy for awarding commendations to prosecutors in the murder trial of Edward Gallagher, a former special operations chief, and he publicly instructed Pentagon officials to strip them of the medals. His announcement was a remarkable rebuke by a president of his own Navy leadership.... Chief Gallagher's case had become a cause célèbre among Republican lawmakers and the conservative news media, eventually drawing the attention of Mr. Trump, who spoke out on his behalf.... The prosecution was troubled long before the verdict.... Other presidents have been dissatisfied with military prosecutors, but experts could not recall another instance in recent times when a commander in chief intervened so directly in a case like this."

Courtney Kube of NBC News: "The United States has obtained intelligence that the son and potential successor of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Hamza bin Laden, is dead, according to three U.S. officials. The officials would no provide details of where or when Hamza bin Laden died or if the U.S. played a role in his death. Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether the U.S. had intelligence that Hamza is dead..., Donald Trump said, 'I don't want to comment on that.' Hamza bin Laden's last known public statement was released by al Qaeda's media arm in 2018. In that message, he threatened Saudi Arabia and called on the people of the Arabian peninsula to revolt." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Either Trump just showed an appropriate refusal to discuss a matter of national security, or he didn't know the answer. ...

     ... Update. Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: "Details of the strike that killed [Hamza bin Laden] were scarce, including when and where. The United States government played a role in the operation, but it was not clear how, according to the officials, who discussed his death on the condition of anonymity.... Mr. bin Laden was killed sometime during the first two years of the Trump administration, officials said."

AP: "The U.S. government on Wednesday imposed financial sanctions on Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, as part of its escalating campaign of pressure against the Islamic Republic. The highly unusual action of penalizing the top diplomat of another nation comes a month after ... Donald Trump signed an executive order placing sanctions on Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei."

Ken Dilanian of NBC News: "The Trump administration's intelligence watchdog has declined a request from four top Senate Democrats to investigate how the White House has handled security clearances for Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and other employees, according to a letter obtained by NBC News. Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community, meaning the chief internal watchdog for the nation's intelligence agencies, wrote to the senators that he would be happy to conduct such an investigation, but could only do it if ... Donald Trump asks him. 'The authority over access to classified information ultimately rests with the President of the United States,' Atkinson wrote to Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, and the three other senators.... In response, the senators ... wrote a letter to Trump on Wednesday asking him to order an investigation." Mrs. McC: Fat chance." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Looks as if Trump's Article II interpretation "I can do whatever I want" is working. The whole purpose of a government watchdog is to look into possible wrongdoing by officials. But according to Atkinson, he can't "watch" officials unless one of those officials allows him to do so. If a watchdog has to gain permission to "watch," he cannot do his job.

Baltimore Church Boots Ben Carson. Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and his staffers were shown the door on Wednesday when he tried to hold a press conference at Morning Star Baptist Church of Christ in Baltimore. Carson, who has a deep relationship with Johns Hopkins University and hospital in Baltimore, made the visit to the city on Wednesday amid the fallout over ... Donald Trump's racist comments directed at Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and his district in Baltimore.... According to the Baltimore Sun, a church member... asked Carson to leave after he noticed the secretary setting up camp in the church's vacant lot without asking for permission. When the HUD secretary moved his team elsewhere and began the presser, he lamented the church's 'animosity' to reporters." Mrs. McC: Now that's chutzpah. You work for a man who has attacked the city of Baltimore, then you complain about "animosity" in Baltimore.

Moscow Mitch's Minions. Natasha Bertrand & Theodoric Meyer of Politco: "Two former top staffers to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have lobbied Congress and the Treasury Department on the development of a new Kentucky aluminum mill backed by the Russian aluminum giant Rusal, according to a new lobbying disclosure. The disclosure comes as Democrats are pushing the Trump administration to review Rusal's $200 million investment in the Kentucky project -- concerned that the mill will supply the Defense Department -- and as McConnell weathers criticism for helping block a congressional effort to stop the investment.... The Russian firm was only able to make the investment after it won sanctions relief from penalties the Treasury Department initially imposed in April 2018 on Rusal and other companies owned by Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch and Kremlin ally accused of facilitating Moscow's nefarious activities, such as seizing land in Ukraine, supplying arms for the Syrian regime and meddling in other countries' elections. Attention over the sanctions relief deal have specifically focused on McConnell, given his role in halting a bipartisan congressional effort to stop the penalties rollback. McConnell told reporters in May that his support for lifting the sanctions was 'completely unrelated to anything that might happen in my home state.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Maybe an Insanity Defense. James Stewart, et al., of the New York Times: "Jeffrey E. Epstein, the wealthy financier who is accused of sex trafficking..., hoped to seed the human race with his DNA by impregnating women at his vast New Mexico ranch. Mr. Epstein over the years confided to scientists and others about his scheme, according to four people familiar with his thinking, although there is no evidence that it ever came to fruition. Mr. Epstein's vision reflected his longstanding fascination with what has become known as transhumanism: the science of improving the human population through technologies like genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. Critics have likened transhumanism to a modern-day version of eugenics, the discredited field of improving the human race through controlled breeding." ...

... Anna North of Vox: Alan Dershowitz, who helped negotiate a 'non-prosecution agreement' for Jeffrey Epstein in the controversial South Florida case, & who is himself a defendant in a case in which the complainant alleges she was underaged when she had sex with Dershowitz at Epstein's behest, thought this week would be a good time to complain that the age of consent is too high.

Beyond the Beltway

North Carolina. Gunshop Incites Violence against Congresswomen. Bliss Zechman of WTVC North Carolina (July 30): "A new billboard advertising Cherokee Guns depicts Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. The sign says above their photos, 'The 4 Horsemen Cometh are idiots,' and below says 'Signed, the Deplorables.' The store's owners say the billboard has been so successful that they have started selling a bumper sticker version...." ...

     ... Update. WTVC: The ad agency that owns the billboard -- Allison Outdoor Advertising -- is taking it down. "The billboard drew national attention..., with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence sharing a Facebook post, calling it 'disgusting,' 'dangerous,' and condemning 'threats against members of Congress.'"

Ohio. Alex Johnson of NBC News: "Police in Columbus, Ohio, brought departmental charges on Wednesday against five officers who were involved in the arrest of Stormy Daniels at a strip club last year. Three of the five officers are named in a lawsuit Daniels brought against the city and the Columbus Police Department alleging that she was arrested in a political conspiracy to protect ... Donald Trump.... Daniels was arrested on July 11, 2018, at Sirens Gentlemen's Club on misdemeanor charges of inappropriately touching customers. The charges against Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, were dropped within hours, and charges against two other women who worked at the club were dropped within days. Police Chief Tom Quinlan said Wednesday that the officers were charged internally because they 'violated our rules of conduct.'"

Puerto Rico. Frances Robles & Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "The ousted governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo A. Rosselló, chose his successor on Wednesday, nominating Pedro R. Pierluisi, who formerly represented the island in Congress, to serve as secretary of state. The move positions Mr. Pierluisi to take over as governor when Mr. Rosselló's resignation becomes effective later this week.... If he is confirmed by the territory's House and Senate, Mr. Pierluisi's nomination would settle the complicated succession question that has thrown the island into uncertainty in the days since Mr. Rosselló's unprecedented resignation.... But Mr. Pierluisi's confirmation seems far from certain, as a tense power struggle continues inside the ruling New Progressive Party, which supports Puerto Rican statehood. The powerful Senate president, Thomas Rivera Schatz, a contender for the secretary of state job himself, let it be known before the nomination was even official -- by calling a well-known local radio host -- that Mr. Pierluisi would not have enough votes to win confirmation in the Senate." (Also linked yesterday.)

Texas. Cary Aspinwall & Dave Boucher of the Dallas Morning News: "The News obtained Dallas Police Department body camera footage after a three-year fight for records related to [Tony] Timpa's death [while in Dallas police custody]. A federal judge ruled Monday in favor of a motion by The News and NBC5 to release records from his death, saying 'the public has a compelling interest in understanding what truly took place during a fatal exchange between a citizen and law enforcement.... The newly obtained video and records, part of a lawsuit filed by Timpa's family in federal court alleging excessive force, contradict key claims Dallas police have made in defending the officers' actions.... Three officers -- Kevin Mansell, Danny Vasquez and Dustin Dillard -- were indicted by a grand jury in 2017 on charges of misdemeanor deadly conduct, three months after The News published its investigation into Timpa's death. Following two days of testimony, the grand jury's indictment stated that the 'officers engaged in reckless conduct that placed Timpa in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.' But in March, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot dismissed the charges.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I didn't watch the video, but the report describes the officers' action in devastating detail. If you find yourself in trouble in Dallas, think twice before calling the cops. They might kill you. And think it was hilarious.

News Ledes

CBS News: "A regional gas pipeline ruptured early Thursday in Kentucky, causing a massive explosion that killed one person, hospitalized five others, destroyed railroad tracks and forced the evacuation of dozens of people from a nearby mobile home park, authorities said. Several structures caught fire in the area of the Indian Camp Trailer Park and were put out, CBS Lexington affiliate WKYT-TV reported. Emergency managers said some people were unaccounted for.... The explosion was so huge it showed up on radar, according to WKYT meteorologist Chris Bailey[.]... Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Don Gilliam said the flames reached about 300 feet in the air and could be seen throughout the county." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

New York Times: "Hal Prince, the Broadway royal and prodigious Tony winner who produced or directed (and sometimes both) many of the most enduring musicals in theater history, including 'West Side Story,' 'Fiddler on the Roof,' 'Cabaret,' 'Sweeney Todd' and 'The Phantom of the Opera,' the longest-running show in Broadway history, died on Wednesday in Reykjavik, Iceland. He was 91." ...

... Frank Rich writes a remembrance.

Comments

[PD Pepe]

Clever Motown clip–-good way to start the day.

Frank Rich's piece on Hal Prince was also a wonderful read; Hal's collaboration with Sondheim made magic and for those moments you are carried away––something we all need right now.

From yesterday: @AK: thought your comments about Warren were exactly right and I loved how you parsed it all.

Here is a video from the PBS News interview with Col K. Spetstoser telling her side of the story of when and how Gen. John Hyten sexually harassed her. One of the incidents I found especially revealing was after Kathryn rejected John's advances during an earlier time, he sat on the bed and wept. I recall that one of Harvey Weinstein's victims told the same story––after she rejected him, actually scolded him for being such a "Shlemihl," he sat down on the bathroom floor and sobbed. Sounds like childhood rejection from someone?
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/gen-john-hyten-did-something-incredibly-wrong-to-me-says-col-kathryn-spletstoser

I managed to catch the CSpan interview with Trump which was so frustrating to watch. If you are going to interview this buffoon then by george, do your job! The interviewer just let the little King go on and on spouting his usual bullshit. Of course I suppose unless it was made clear before the interview that it would be "fair" ––meaning no "gotcha" questions then... Here's where I burst out laughing:

Question: Walk us through your day

Answer: I stay up late– ( he doesn't start at the beginning of his day but at the end)–I read a lot, then watch a little T.V. and...

WAIT A MINUTE! Stop him and ask––So what books are you reading? Good lord, at least you could have done that! Jezus!

I watched the debates––I listened to the pundits parse them––then I went to bed.

[Ken Winkes]

Debate--or an evening picnic with a group of like-minded people at a nearby State Park on WA State's beautiful Puget Sound?

The picnic, of course. Since CA has moved north, there was much to enjoy on the last day of July.

So, no debate, but still a little politics. One gentleman tipped me to a recent story I had missed rising from coal fields of Moscow Mitch's home state.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/30/us/kentucky-coal-dispute/index.html

The Attorney General son a a former Democratic Kentucky governor is on the miners' side. Staking out more political territory, I'd say.

The Pretender has certainly put the King Coal back on his feet. Another promise fulfilled. Check.

And, as always, ain't capitalism great?

Can't find an update to this story. but will keep looking..

[Akhilleus]

PD,

Two things about the "interview" you reference ( I didn't see it so I'm going at it second hand, but...).

What in the hell is a question like "Walk us through your day" all about? This is a cheesy TV magazine format question. "So what's your favorite drink?" This is a powder puff softball question. It takes up too much time allowing Donaldo to bullshit his way along.

As for "I read a lot", how did the interviewer keep from falling over in a fit of laughter? And you're right, "What are you reading now?" would have been the obvious question. My guess is that the answer would have been similar to that of another brain dead idiot, Sarah Palin, who, when asked what magazines she read replied "All of them".

Hahahahahahaha.

The thing is, the constant lying, even about little things, has long since ceased to be funny.

[Ken Winkes]

And more good news from Fossil Fuel Land.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kentucky-deadly-gas-pipeline-explosion-fire-felt-like-atomic-bomb-today-2019-08-01/

It just keeps coming.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/31/us/exxon-baytown-texas-plant-fire/index.html

At least it’s not cancer-causing windmills.

[Bobby Lee]

Will we see any of the 20+ Democratic candidates drop out of the race after this second round of reality shows? Doubtful, as there are still over 15 months to go until election day.

With slightly more stringent qualifications for the "debates" what I'm waiting to see is how they divide the field if 11 or 12 qualify. If only 10 make the cut it's one night.More would be interesting, but even 10 is too many for a real exchange of ideas.

[Schlub]

So what we're saying, AK and PD, is that, despite Warren's ideas, tenacity, intelligence, and wit, you won't vote for her because you;re afraid she might turn off voters because of her....intelligence, wit, and tenacity? Or that because, while you're certain she can inspire small groups, you're concerned she can't inspire large groups?

I am constantly frustrated by the media labeling Warren's policies as being "radical" or "far left" when poll after poll shows the majority of Americans are with her on the issues. They have smeared her as being unelectable despite the fact that wherever she goes she wins people over in large numbers. It's doubly disappointing when, rather than fight to change the narrative, our own side buys into it.

Do we honestly think one of the supposedly "electable" candidates like Biden or Booker is going to inspire people to vote Democratic? I will hold my nose and vote for whoever the Democratic candidate is (should it be one of those "electables"), but how many progressives will stay away rather than vote for someone who scares Wall Street not in the least?

We have an opportunity here, not just to unseat Trump, but to reverse the politics of the last 40 years that have brought us both Reaganism and a couple of Democrats who were to the right of old school Eisenhower Republicans. I voted for Obama in 2008 thinking we were getting the next Franklin Roosevelt. I knew the jig was up on that the moment he nominated Tim Geithner for Treasury. Despite his many accomplishments*, Obama was never going to do anything to upset the Wall Street apple cart.

In Elizabeth Warren we have someone who is both Roosevelts rolled into one. She will break up the oligopolies and monopolies that dominate our nation and our politics. She will break the stranglehold that great wealth has on our government. She will start, once again, to use the power of the government to improve the lives of the large majority of its citizens. And she won't give up. Ever.

Elizabeth Warren scares the hell out of Wall Street, big tech, big pharma, and the banks. She is the real deal.

* I will always love Obama, however, for getting the ACA passed.

When Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation he did not end slavery. Far from it. The Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery only in areas that were still in rebellion; in other words, only in places where Lincoln couldn't enforce it. What he did do, however, was create a set of circumstances that ensured slavery's demise, not just in the South, but everywhere, even in those slave states that stayed in the Union.

I think Obama has done the same thing for universal health care coverage. The ACA is far from perfect; Obama has readily admitted this. Its passage, however, means no going back. We will ultimately have a system of universal health care coverage in this country, and we will have Barack Obama to thank for it when it comes.

[Akhilleus]

Ken,

It appears that yet another Trumpy promise (Bring Back Big Coal!) is DOA.

Miners in Kentucky who (I'm almost sure) all voted for Trump, this week find themselves trying to barricade a set of railroad tracks to prevent their former employer, Blackjewel, from delivering the coal they mined in order to ensure proper payouts to executives as the company heads into bankruptcy. The former CEO sez he's sad things have gotten this bad*. Boo fucking Hoo

So here they are, out of work, no hope of finding another job in the coal industry, hungry, missing mortgage payments, all because they voted for a lying prick who promised to save their jobs.

You know what? Clinton was 100% correct. Coal jobs are going and they ain't comin' back, no matter what lies Trump spews about it. Her plan was to find ways to plan for retraining and re-employment of these people in different industries. That never happened. And now they're camped out on the railroad tracks trying to salvage anything they can.

Trump's plan? Lie, lie, lie. Get these people to vote for him, then fuck them over and leave them in the dirt by the tracks. It's this way with everyone who believes this liar.

But will they vote for him again? Of course! Listen to Fox. It's not Trump's fault. He TRIED. It's those damned liberals who hate real 'mericans and want to screw coal miners. It's always "Thank you sir, may I have another barbed wire grenade shoved up my ass, thank you very much. Oh, and a couple for my wife and kids too, please" with these people.

Because it's the liberals' fault, right?

No. It's not. It's the economy, stupids. Coal plants are closing right and left, or going into bankruptcy, like Blackjewel. Other forms of energy are cheaper. It's that simple. Trump was never going to bring back the coal industry. Just reading the papers should have told people that. But, as I mentioned yesterday, politics has little to do with reason or rational thought. It's primarily emotion.

Clinton came down and showed them the writing on the wall. They didn't want to listen. "Fuck that bitch, she's tryin' to take our jobs away!" Then along comes Dr. Donaldo Snakeoil Lie-alot, and he sez "Don't listen to those tree hugging Democrat traitors. I, the Great Donaldo, will save you. Vote for me."

They did. They refused to square with the future of that industry, and now they're screwed.

They were screwed anyway, but at least with Clinton's plan, not all of them would have to resort to desperate measures to feed their families. But never no mind. Dr. Snakeoil is off golfing. It's been a hard week. Why, one day he only had five hours of Egg-zecutive time. Oh, the humanity.

To quote a line from the poet Cathy Park Hong, a Trump promise is as "empty as a tampon dispenser inside the shell of a Texas gas station."

Just like his heart.

*When I heard this guy say this on NPR, I immediately recalled the Christy Moore song "An Ordinary Man" about workers in Ireland being shown the gate:

"I never missed a day nor went on strike for better pay
For twenty years I served them best I could
Now with a handshake and a cheque it seems so easy to forget
Loyalty through the bad times and through good
The owner says he's sad to see that things have got so bad
But the captains of industry won't let him lose
He still drives a car and smokes his cigar
And still he takes his family on a cruise, he'll never lose

Well it seems to me such a cruel irony
He's richer now then he ever was before
Now my cheque is spent and I can't afford the rent
There's one law for the rich, one for the poor..."

Trump and big money CEOs will never lose. Only the people off whose backs they make their money, from whom they vacuum up their power, and then leave to rot in a ditch.

[Akhilleus]

Schlub,

That's not exactly what I said, if you go back and read my post. I said I would vote for her in a heartbeat. My point was to acknowledge that despite everything she has to offer, I don't think she presents the sort of inspirational image that many other people look for. Unfortunately, we often (mostly) don't get the best person for the job. Obama was an exception and even he had his blind spots.

Who will win the Democratic nomination? I have no clue. Warren is the one who appeals the most to me, as I said. If she were to win, I'd dance in the streets, but I'm not thinking that will happen. But who knows?

As for Warren breaking things up, that will never happen unless she has a super-majority in the Senate and an ungodly number of like-minded Democrats in the House. Money talks and these people will fight like hell to maintain their money and power. And we can't even count on all Democrats to go along with her (see Manchin, Joe).

I agree that none of her policies are "radical". A lot of what she says is rooted in common sense that comes from a belief in being president to ALL Americans, not just the connected and the well-off.

And I'm not suggesting that we trade in idealism for same 'ol. Without ideals, we're nothing. The Founders were idealists but their ideals were tempered by, and supported by, realistic conceptions of the game of politics as well as the nature of humans. As I said, I love that Warren has both brains and heart, and a certain kind of nobility that is rare in the political world. Will she win? I dunno. If I were a betting man (and I am, but only in poker, and never on inside straights or two cards short of a flush), I'd say no. But I'd love to be proven wrong.

Sometimes you fill those inside straights. We shall see.

[Akhilleus]

Re: The qualifications for Trump's choice for the US ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft.

Is she blond? Is she cute? Is she "his type"? Does she give fewer than two shits about the job? Does she back his bullshit?

That's all she needs in TrumpWorld.

[MAG]

Richard Fausset, a correspondent for the New York Times actually wrote this line: "At the same time, the message has been consistently reinforced by Republicans of national stature like Donald Trump Jr..." : " Oh, c'mon now "

...say what with that national stature descriptive?

Nicholas Kristof has thoughts on a Warren/Buttigieg or Buttigieg/Warren tickets over on the NYTimes.

[Akhilleus]

MAG,

I think that Times writer meant “statue”, as in standing blind and dumb in the park, covered with pigeon shit.

[Akhilleus]

Gee, I’m surprised. A racist billboard. In North Carolina. Featuring the faces of four women of color fingered by Trump as traitors to his America. And this billboard is sponsored by a gun shop. Why didn’t they just go the whole distance and put gun sights on the faces? This is a billboard with a subtext that is not at all sub. In fact, it’s pretty much the primary message. “Hey, here are enemies of the Trump State. Some are black, some are brown, one is Muslim. Do what you think is best.” Signed, your local gun shop.

What could go wrong?

[Marie Burns]

@MAG: the copy editor should have caught that. "Stature," according to Webster, means (when not referring to height) "quality or status gained by growth, development, or achievement." No one in his right mind would refer to Junior as having any kind of "stature," national or otherwise. It's just not a word that should be in the same sentence as his name. He's a clown, & not one of the stature of Red Skelton or Emmett Kelly. One could use "prominence" or "celebrity" but not "stature." Never.

[Schlub]

AK: Thanks for the response. I am well aware of your positions (I read your comments religiously), and find myself in agreement with you nearly all the time.

I also understand that you're not saying Warren wouldn't win because you disagree with her policies.

What I am saying is there is a large group of people out there who like Warren and what she stands for but won't vote for her because they're convinced she can't win or that, if she does somehow manage to win, she couldn't get her program through Congress. That's a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need to vote for her because her ideas are precisely what we need right now.

She can't win if we don't vote for her, and she can't possibly get her program through Congress if she isn't first installed in the White House. I say we try. Trump filled an inside straight in 2016. Maybe it's our turn. My money (such as it is) and my vote are all in for the attempt.

[Schlub]

Akhilleus;

Excellent post re: coal miners.

Put me in mind of "Coal Not Dole," another song from the Isles:

"Empty trucks once filled with coal
Lined up like men on the dole
Will they e’er be used again?
Or left for scrap just like the men?
There’ll always be a happy hour
For those with money, jobs and power
They’ll never realise the hurt
They cause to men they treat like dirt"

[Periscope]

@ Schlub re:
"She will break up the oligopolies and monopolies that dominate our nation and our politics. She will break the stranglehold that great wealth has on our government. She will start, once again, to use the power of the government to improve the lives of the large majority of its citizens".

I think your optimism about breaking up the monopolies is predicated on an unbiased Federal Trade Commission and courts. Given the contested mergers that have been tested and approved over the past year I have my doubts - but I support Warren's good intentions and efforts to that end. Wall Street's influence and culture will likely not be harnessed in an election cycle timeframe.

For all of the unicorn riding candidates that insinuated that we need to eliminate fossil fuels to solve the climate crisis by electrifying everything with renewable sources and batteries - consider the ridiculous proposal of electrified freight trains:
http://energyskeptic.com/2016/electrification-of-freight-rail/

Carbon tax senator Gillibrand? Unprecedented. When has a nation taxed a commodity that was abundant and essential for driving an economy (that didn't amount to greenwashing for scoring political points). We are treating the notion of carbon tax like a sin tax - making a parallel correlation between something like tobacco use and gasoline use. Tobacco use does not drive the economy. Jay Inslee boasts of Washington's punitive tax on carbon polluters, but the contributors to Washington's State Employee Benefit program invest in the same companies whose wrist they slap with this tax, as do most of the 401K investing public.

I am waiting for a democratic candidate to step up and propose practical solutions for what drives climate change, i.e.: human population growth; industrial agriculture/deforestation; the myriad of conveniences our western culture accepts as necessary for which we do not or cannot evaluate its environmental cost. Gillibrand's unwavering support of empowering women, and providing full access to contraception, abortion, and family planning, is doing more for climate change than a unlikely carbon tax. Ryan was the only candidate that mentioned regenerative agriculture.

I don't believe we are going to invent our way out of the trajectory we are on. Sure, we will nibble around the edges with new technology, but supporting 10, 12 billion people on the planet living the western lifestyle, extracting non-renewable resources and renewable resources at the current rate? I doubt it.

Strap in.

[Akhilleus]

Schlub,

Sold. You got me. Hey, I was voting for Warren anyway (even though my general opinion still stands) mostly because I like her ideas better than anyone else's so far. In the primaries, at any rate (barring some unexpected meltdown or bit of weirdness), she's got my vote. I don't think it's throwing it away the way a vote in 2000 was for Ralph (fucking) Nader and I don't see (yet) anyone breaking away from the field. Biden had his turn. We need something new and so does the country. I think it's possible to drag the party a little more in the right direction by demonstrating strong support for her positions.

As for Trump, yeah, it did look like he filled an inside straight, but it certainly helped that he got that inside card slipped to him by the dealer, Uncle Vlad. I'm betting he was sitting on six or seven aces as well, just in case. Trump is not the kind of guy to play anything straight and honest. If there's a way to cheat and rig the game, he'll find it.

It's way too early for such speculation, but I'm betting we will see the mother of all implosion if he loses the election. There'll be shouts of "rigged elections" galore. Fox will bring back Turd Blossom to demand recounts on election night. Just remember how he was salting the ground prior to the '16 election just in case his Russian handlers didn't come through and steal that election for him.

And great song, by the way.

In Trump's Amerika, coal is going away, but there'll always be the dole for corporations and Richie Riches like the Orange Menace himself.

[PD Pepe]

@Schlub: am glad Ak cleared up your misconstruing of our take on Warren. She's number one in my book but my book isn't the one that will win the Pulitzer (read Presidency) I fear, and fear here plays a great big part in this election. Could she beat Trump?–you bet if more give her that chance–-however we are in abnormal times and the stakes are so high that we will go for whomever we are certain will come out on top.

A few tidbits:
In the spring of 2005, a version of a bankruptcy bill that Warren had fought against was approved by the House and the Senate, by large margins. 18 Democratic senators voted for it including Biden. Warren then said: "Senators like Joe Biden should not be allowed to sell out women in the morning and be heralded as their friend in the evening."

This particular experience for Warren meant that she realized how the industry–-the lobbyists–-killed it and it convinced her in a very concrete way that money talks and that our system of democratic society was under serious siege just by the power of wealth. I would like nothing better than see a President Warren change this system and I have no doubt she'd fight like hell.

Joe Kennedy lll, tells the story of when he was a student in Professor Warren's class and was humiliated on the first day. Warren asked him to define a fourteenth-century legal term. when he didn't know the answer she said: "Mr. Kennedy, do you own a dictionary?"

A fierce force––just what we need–-let's see if more cotton to Uncle Joe who they know and will make them feel better.