The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705
Tuesday
Feb052019
The Commentariat -- February 6, 2019
Afternoon Update:
... Allyson Chiu of the Washington Post: "Despite being engaged in a tense standoff with Trump over funding for his border wall, for most of the evening, Pelosi managed to limit her reactions to subtle head-shaking, pursed lips and eye rolls. But when Trump, who has been accused of exacerbating deep divisions, declared, 'We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good,' she appeared to be unable to hold back. Rising from her seat along with others in attendance, Pelosi began applauding with her arms oddly extended out toward the president. When Trump turned toward her and the pair locked eyes, Pelosi, still clapping, appeared to smirk."
... Rick Wilson of the Daily Beast: "... Tuesday night's effort showed every sign of being created, destroyed, cut, pasted, reboot, and then run through an English-Urdu translation program and back again. It felt more like last-minute Sharpie-scribble than wordsmithing.... Tuesday night was ... marked by his usual sniffles, the Il Douche hand gestures, and his tendency to veer between subjects without transition or pause.... Since a key requirement of Esoteric Trumpism is that its followers live always in Year Zero, the Trump-centric internet is gushing praise over President Bigly Rightwords, treating his largely incoherent word gumbo as if he had delivered a modern-day Gettysburg Address.... The uplift material in the speech was a rich vein of false equivalencies and collision with reality.... Because Trump is bleeding politically, and under rising legal pressure from every quarter, last night's State of the Union speech contained his usual pastiche of Trumpian paranoia about the border, dick-waving braggadocio, outright lies, and movie-script ideas passed off as intelligence reports.... 'An economic miracle is taking place in the United States and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous, partisan investigations. If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn't work that way,' said Trump..., echoing Nixon's fateful remarks. 'Nice country we've got going here. Either Mueller gets it, or the economy does.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Other than that, Mr. Wilson, how did you like the speech?
Unfuckingbelievable. Gregory Schneider & Laura Vozzella of the Washington Post: "Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) said Wednesday he dressed in blackface during college, elevating the Capitol's scandals to a new level that engulfed the entire executive branch of government. 'In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song,' Herring said in a statement. 'It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes -- and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others -- we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup.' Herring referred to it as a 'onetime occurrence' and said he accepted 'full responsibility.'... Herring's acknowledgment comes as Gov. Ralph Northam (D) faces calls for his resignation after a photo emerged on his 1984 medical school yearbook page featuring someone in blackface standing next to someone in Ku Klux Klan robes. And early Monday, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) denied the allegations of a woman who said he sexually assaulted her at the Democratic National Convention in 2004."
Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Testimony from ... Michael Cohen, before the House Intelligence Committee this week has been delayed, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced Wednesday. 'In the interests of the investigation, Michael Cohen's testimony has been postponed until February 28th,' Schiff, the chairman of the committee, said in a brief statement."
Rebecca Morin of Politico: "Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu [D] ... told CNN on Wednesday morning that he does not think he will seek his party's 2020 presidential nomination, citing the already packed field of 'great candidates.'"
*****
SOTU Address & Rebuttal:
... Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost her race in November to be Georgia's governor, delivered the Democrats' official response to President Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night by outlining the party's vision for lower health care costs and a more inclusive immigration policy, and pressing her case that access to the voting booth should be easier, not harder.... 'This is the next battle for our democracy, one where all eligible citizens can have their say about the vision we want for our country,' she said. 'We must reject the cynicism that says allowing every eligible vote to be cast and counted is a "power grab." Americans understand that these are the values our brave men and women in uniform and our veterans risk their lives to defend. The 'power grab' comment was a direct reference to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, who used that phrase to denounce House Democratic legislation to expand access to the voting booth.... She also attacked Mr. Trump over his immigration policies. 'We know bipartisanship could craft a 21st-century immigration plan, but this administration chooses to cage children and tear families apart,' Ms. Abrams said. 'Compassionate treatment at the border is not the same as open borders.' Two presidential hopefuls -- Senators Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont (who has not yet announced his candidacy but is widely expected to), and Kamala Harris, Democrat of California -- delivered their own responses."
What Not to Say in a SOTU Speech. Philip Rucker & Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post: "President Trump confronted a split Congress for the first time Tuesday night by delivering a dissonant State of the Union address, interspersing uplifting paeans to bipartisan compromise with chilling depictions of murder and ruin. Calling the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border 'an urgent national crisis,' Trump again called on Congress to approve construction of his long-promised wall -- and argued that without the physical barrier, working-class Americans would lose their jobs and grapple with dangerous crime and overcrowded schools and hospitals. Trump also sounded an unmistakable threat to the new Democratic House majority over impending oversight investigations into his conduct and personal finances, as well as alleged corruption in the administration.... 'An economic miracle is taking place in the United States -- and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations,' Trump said. 'If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.'... The president Tuesday sought to paint undocumented immigrants who cross the southern border, often seeking asylum, as an invading force prone to violent crime. 'As we speak, large, organized caravans are on the march to the United States,' Trump said, adding that he 'just heard' that Mexican cities were trying to rid their communities of migrants by directing truckloads of them to areas along the border where there is little protection." ...
... Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Republicans jumped to their feet at the president's calls to curb immigration, limit late-term abortions and ensure that the United States does not turn to socialism, even chanting 'U-S-A, U-S-A' a couple of times as if at a Trump campaign rally. 'That sounds so good,' he exulted. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sitting behind Mr. Trump for the first time, and other Democrats largely remained in their seats without applauding and expressed only tepid enthusiasm even for his mention of goals intended to appeal to them, like infrastructure and paid parental leave. Ms. Pelosi maintained a polite, even amused smile on her face for much of the speech.... He devoted 15 minutes of the hour-and-22-minute speech to immigration with no concession to Democratic priorities like a path to citizenship for immigrants brought into the country illegally as children.... As he and his team drafted his address in recent days, he has groused about the text, complaining that it was too gentle on Democrats, according to people briefed on the matter. The president insisted on sharpening some of the lines in the speech and rebuffed aides, who urged him to congratulate Ms. Pelosi on her ascension to the speakership." ...
... Yahoo! News has the full text of Trump's speech, as prepared. ...
... Kate Feldman of the New York Daily News: "Traditionally, the Speaker of the House introduces the President inside the House Chamber after the House Sergeant at Arms, as Paul Ryan did for Trump last year. But Pelosi didn't have a chance Tuesday night, as Trump instead launched right into his speech." ...
... The Washington Post's fact-checkers knock themselves out. It is just shocking that a prepared State of the Union speech -- a solemn, Constitutionally-mandated duty that in a real administration would be vetted, vetted & vetted again by fact-checkers & experts in every department -- is instead a slap-dash compendium of lies & exaggerations. ...
The border city of El Paso, Texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime -- one of the highest in the country, and considered one of our nation's most dangerous cities. Now, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of our safest cities. -- Donald Trump, prepared malarkey
In fact, El Paso's crime rate had been dropping for years when construction on border fence began in 2008. However, the crime rate actually rose during construction and in the year after completion of a fence, according to an analysis of FBI crime data by The El Paso Times. The city's sheriff, Richard Wiles, a Democrat, disputed Trump's characterization as 'falsehoods' used to 'justify the building of a 2,000 mile wall. The facts are clear. While it is true that El Paso is one of the safest cities in the nation, it has never been ... considered one of our nation's most dangerous cities,' Wiles said in a statement provided to NBC News. 'And, El Paso was a safe city long before any wall was built. President Trump continues to give a false narrative about a great city that truly represents what this great nation is all about. -- Jane Timms, NBC News
John Cassidy of the New Yorker reprises the SOTU speech. Here's a piece: "Then it was onto the 'caravans,' MS-13, and the grief-stricken family of an elderly couple who were allegedly murdered, in Trump's telling, by an undocumented immigrant. After going on in this vein for several minutes, he said, 'Simply put, walls work and walls save lives.' Nobody should need reminding that this is the line that Trump took in the run-up to the midterms, which resulted in a heavy defeat for his party. It is also the line he took during the five-week shutdown, which ended with him being forced to back down and reopen the federal government.... About the only time he evoked any real enthusiasm from the Democrats assembled before him was when he hailed the new female members of Congress, many of whom got elected by opposing him personally.... If history is a guide, he'll return to his usual belligerent mode within days, perhaps hours." ...
Eric Lach of the New Yorker: "... on Tuesday, [Trump] offered unfiltered immigrant scapegoating, laying practically all the sins of the country at immigrants' feet. 'Working-class Americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal migration,' Trump declared. 'Reduced jobs, lower wages, overburdened schools and hospitals, increased crime, and a depleted social safety net.' Insecure jobs, stagnant wages, underfunded schools and safety-net programs, an embarrassing health-care system, crime rates -- immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, are responsible for none of these problems.... 'Year after year,' Trump said, 'countless Americans are murdered by criminal illegal aliens.' This is untrue. There is no undocumented-immigrant murder wave.... On Tuesday he also spoke of a 'smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier,' and about a 'common-sense proposal.' But Trump's border wall wasn't born as a common-sense proposal.... It was an imagined monument to anti-immigrant sentiment, telling people outside the U.S. to stay out. Trump's shutdown was fomented not by any 'crisis' on the actual border but by a political crisis involving Trump's base.... No amount of fear-mongering should distract from that."
Matt Ford of the New Republic: "Tuesday's address will not succeed in changing Trump's political fortunes. Indeed, his State of the Union address was, like much of his presidency, a waste of America's time.... Trump reviewed what he saw as the accomplishments of his presidency. He took credit for economic growth, especially in the oil and gas industries, and touted his administration's record in cutting federal regulations.... But the dominant theme of Tuesday's address was immigration once again. His approach to the subject struck the same themes he's made since announcing his candidacy in 2015: that undocumented immigrants are dangerous criminals who murder and rape Americans, and that only a wall along the southern border can stop their rampage. There's no evidence to support this, but that hasn't stopped Trump from articulating his hardline and xenophobic vision for the nation's immigration laws. 'Not one more American life should be lost because our nation failed to control its very dangerous border,' he said.... Trump says that Americans have a choice to make, and that much is true: They will make it in 2020. But Trump made own his choice long ago. Greatness never had a chance."
"The State of the Union Is Crooked." Jonathan Chait: "Trump insisted he would deal with the Democratic Congress -- but only if it stopped investigating him. 'If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation,' he said, 'It just doesn't work that way!'... Trump did not decry partisan investigations, or excessive or duplicative investigations. He insisted Congress should not investigate his administration at all.... Trump's demand that progress on what Trump describes as the peoples' vital business be contingent on Congress halting all investigations is a confession of his true priorities. It's fitting that, his State of the Union address is a paean to the abuse of power."
Aaron Rupar of Vox: "Trump's main goal on Tuesday night seemed to be to rebrand himself as a unifying leader pushing a hopeful message.... Feel-good words -- which Trump reportedly groused to aides were too soft on Democrats -- are easy enough to read off a teleprompter, as Trump did on Tuesday, and as he's done during his previous primetime televised speeches. But the president's harsher tone during unscripted moments reveals he's anything but the unifying figure he portrayed himself to be during the State of the Union. During his interview on CBS that aired last Sunday, for example, Trump said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 'doesn't mind human trafficking' and added, 'You have people dying all over the country because of people like Nancy Pelosi.' Less than a week ago Trump criticized Democrats as 'the Party of late term abortion, high taxes, Open Border and Crime!' on Twitter. (He even used his speech to call out Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam on abortion.)... While Trump called upon Congress to do what he wants to avoid another shutdown, he didn't offer Democrats anything in return. He still hasn't. But that's not how negotiations work."
If you can't stand to watch, you might find the Washington Post's liveblog of the SOTU speech less painful. At 6:10 pm ET: The White House sent excerpts of Trump's speech to some Congressional staff. "The White House reminded Hill staffers, 'As always, we would welcome positive statements from your bosses after the speech.'"
** Trump Flogs a Dead Hero ... and Others. Peter Baker & Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "... at a private lunch for television anchors [prior to the SOTU address, President* Trump] offered searing assessments of a host of Democrats. Mr. Trump dismissed former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as 'dumb,' called Senator Chuck Schumer of New York a 'nasty son of a bitch' and mocked Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia for 'choking like a dog' at a news conference where he tried to explain a racist yearbook photo, according to multiple people in the room.... He seemed confident about his chances for re-election next year, breaking down the emerging field of possible opponents with scathing assessments.... 'I hope I haven't wounded Pocahontas too badly,' he said [of Sen. Elizabeth Warren]. 'I'd like to run against her.'... He recounted again the story of what he considered Senator John McCain's betrayal in voting against advancing a measure to repeal President Barack Obama's health care program. Although Mr. McCain has since died, Mr. Trump remains upset. 'By the way,' Mr. Trump said, 'he wrote a book and the book bombed.'" ...
... From Rucker & Olorunnipa's WashPo report linked above: "In fact..., [McCain's] final book, a capstone to his life in public service..., published in 2018, became a New York Times bestseller." If you're going to gratuitously trash a dead war hero, it's a good idea to at least get your facts straight.
Rebecca Morin of Politico: "Energy Secretary Rick Perry was selected as the 'designated survivor' for Tuesday night's State of the Union address."
Sheryl Stolberg: "When President Trump delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to Congress -- his first under divided government -- the left wing of the ascendant House Democrats will have a rare opportunity to confront him.... The new Democrats -- many of them women, and many of them people of color -- are planning to send their own pointed messages to the president with their choices of guests and attire. Many women will wear white -- the color of the women's suffrage movement -- to spotlight issues like reproductive rights and equal pay. Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the Democratic leader, will be handing out white lapel ribbons to the men.... Members of Congress each get one ticket to bring a guest to the State of the Union address; sometimes they invite family members, but more often they use their tickets to make a point Addressing gun violence is high on the agendas of several Democrats.... Mr. Trump's immigration policy is also top of mind for Democrats this year. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, Democrat of New Jersey, is bringing Victorina Morales, an undocumented immigrant who spoke out about her work at Mr. Trump's golf resort in Bedminster, N.J." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Sorry, but it isn't exactly "left wing" to return to Eisenhower-era policies.
So Much for Bipartisanship. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) traded barbs on Tuesday ahead of the president's second State of the Union address. Trump knocked the Senate Democratic leader for criticizing his upcoming speech, which the president will deliver to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. 'I see Schumer is already criticizing my State of the Union speech, even though he hasn't seen it yet. He's just upset that he didn't win the Senate, after spending a fortune, like he thought he would. Too bad we weren't given more credit for the Senate win by the media!' Trump said in a tweet. Trump's tweet came after Schumer used back-to-back floor speeches this week to knock the administration, saying it's mired in 'chaos.' Schumer, during a Senate floor speech on Tuesday, predicted Trump would use his prime time remarks to make policy promises that he won't keep." (Also linked yesterday.)
John Cassidy of the New Yorker makes a compelling argument that Trump started out as a weak president*, & has only grown weaker. "The White House's victories, such as the passage of a tax-reform bill, 'usually involve Trump having adopted the position of the congressional Republicans, not the other way around,' [scholar Matthew] Glassman noted." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Case in Point. Haley Byrd of CNN: "As ... Donald Trump prepares to once again make a bipartisan appeal in his State of the Union address Tuesday, members of Congress are linking arms on one of his favorite issues: trade. Yet they're working against the president, seeking to limit his authority to impose tariffs unilaterally on national security grounds, as he did last year on steel and aluminum, sparking a dispute with the European Union and alienating close partners such as Canada and Mexico. Multiple Republican lawmakers are working alongside Democrats to put forward legislation curtailing Trump's existing national security tariff powers." (Also linked yesterday.)
"The Plan to Keep Trump's Taxes Hidden." Nancy Cook of Politico: "The new House Democratic majority is widely expected to test one of Donald Trump's ultimate red lines by demanding the president's personal tax returns -- and the Trump administration has been gearing up for months to fight back hard. Trump's Treasury Department is readying plans to drag the expected Democratic request for Trump's past tax filings, which he has closely guarded, into a quagmire of arcane legal arguments. At the same time, officials intend to publicly cast the request as a nakedly partisan exercise. The two-pronged scheme was developed by a handful of top political appointees and lawyers inside the department.... But whatever the members or staffers find must remain private -- and that's where the request of Trump's returns becomes potentially tricky for Democrats. A related section within the Internal Revenue Code says any federal employee who leaks tax information is committing a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: That's ridiculous. The public has a right to know if (ha ha) Trump lied about his assets, liabilities & tax avoidance schemes. His taxes should be released, in full, to the public, so tax experts can go at them & help Congress and the public understand what's behind the numbers.
This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.
Uh-Oh. Erica Orden & Cristina Alesci of CNN: "Federal prosecutors in New York have requested interviews in recent weeks with executives at the Trump Organization, according to people familiar with the matter, signaling a growing potential threat to President Donald Trump and those in his orbit from criminal investigations by the Manhattan US Attorney's office. Trump and his legal team have long harbored concerns that investigations by New York federal prosecutors -- which could last throughout his presidency -- may ultimately pose more danger to him, his family and his allies than the inquiry by special counsel Robert Mueller...."
Azeen Ghorayshi, et al., of BuzzFeed News: "BuzzFeed News is today publishing a cache of internal Trump Organization documents that lay bare the secret negotiations [re: a Trump Moscow tower] that continued long after [Michael] Cohen claimed the deal had been abandoned. The documents, many of which have been exclusively obtained by BuzzFeed News, reveal that -- despite Trump's claim that the development was never more than a passing notion -- the effort to get the tower built was long-running, detail-oriented and directly entwined with the ups and downs of his campaign. As Trump went from rally to rally, vociferously denying any dealings in Russia, his representatives, Michael Cohen and ... Felix Sater, worked with Trump Organization lawyers and even Ivanka Trump to push forward negotiations to build a 100-story edifice just miles from the Kremlin. The fixers believed they needed Putin's support to pull off the lucrative deal, and they planned to use Trump's public praise for him to help secure it. At the same time, they plotted to persuade Putin to openly declare his support for Trump's candidacy. 'If he says it we own this election,' Sater wrote to Cohen." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Marcy Wheeler: "BuzzFeed has posted the documents showing Michael Cohen and Felix Sater organizing a Trump Tower deal until June 14, literally as the news of the DNC hack broke. The documents show how closely those negotiations interacted with the June 9 meeting. The Trump Tower meeting between Don Jr and Russians promising dirt was scheduled for 4PM.... Four witnesses to the meeting (the four whose responses weren't coached by Trump Organization lawyers) said that the meeting ended with Don Jr saying that his father might or would revisit Magnitsky sanctions if he became President.... At about that time, Trump tweeted out a reference to Hillary's emails, invoking 823 staffers, which was a good ballpark estimate for how many staffers (including unpaid advisors) she really had at the time.... At that same time, Felix Sater texted Michael Cohen to tell him he was working on setting up Cohen's trip to St. Petersburg.... At that point, Sater told Cohen there was a 'very strong chance' he would meet Russia's President, which Cohen and Don Jr would have both believed meant that the Trump Organization could make $300 million by lending Trump's name to the tallest tower in Europe. Quid pro quo, all executed on social media." ...
... Colin Kalmbacher of Law & Crime: "BuzzFeed's latest bombshell is a treasure trove of documents detailing ... Donald Trump's business interests in Russia -- business interests he has long denied. This release of internal Trump Organization documents spans over 200 pages and contains myriad communications between various members of Trump's inner circle -- including his longtime attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, Cohen's associate Felix Sater, Ivanka Trump, and others -- as well as various figures in Russian finance and media. Of particular interest here are Cohen's and Sater's contacts with Russia's state-controlled VTB Bank. There's more than a scant possibility that VTB Bank is the mystery Robert Mueller opponent currently jockeying for unprecedented secrecy from the U.S. Supreme Court. Operating on that assumption, the following takeaways from BuzzFeed's article explore the possibility that VTB Bank's role in the ongoing Russiagate drama may become more prominent in the days and weeks to come."
There's Always an Angle, and Always a Trump Buddy to Exploit It. Justin Elliott of ProPublica & Ilya Marritz of WNYC: "The investment firm founded by the chairman of Donald Trump's inaugural committee, Tom Barrack, developed a plan to profit off its connections to the incoming administration and foreign dignitaries, according to a confidential memo obtained by WNYC and ProPublica. 'The key is to strategically cultivate domestic and international relations while avoiding any appearance of lobbying,' the memo says. Colony, which primarily invests in real estate, sought to capitalize on its access to the White House to get an early lead on infrastructure investments and to attract assets from potential investors.... The memo, from Barrack's investment firm, then called Colony NorthStar, is dated February 2017, just a month after the inaugural festivities organized by Barrack, who is a longtime Trump friend.... Barrack hosted a chairman's dinner during inaugural week, with his own invite list, which included businesspeople and foreign dignitaries."
Allegra Kirkland & Josh Kovensky of TPM: "Only one person's name was reportedly listed in the subpoena issued Monday to President Trump's inaugural committee: big-time Los Angeles political fundraiser Imaad Zuberi.... Zuberi's ... firm Avenue Ventures contributed $900,000 to the Trump inaugural committee. Neither Zuberi nor anyone else involved with the committee has been accused of any criminal wrongdoing.... The 48-year-old who was born in Albany, New York, and attended USC has come under scrutiny in recent years for failing to disclose the extent of his business ties to foreign governments. He is known in Washington, D.C. circles for bundling hundreds of thousands of dollars to leading Democratic politicians, including the presidential campaigns of former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- attaining the rank of 'Hillblazer,' according to one Clinton campaign memo released by Wikileaks.... Conversations reported by the [Daily] Beast [between Zuberi & Michael Cohen & Zuberi & Elliot Broidy] suggested Zuberi may have sought to use his ... donations as an overture to securing future business with the Trump administration." ...
... Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "... Imaad Zuberi's ... name also appears on a document tied to an inaugural event featuring foreign power brokers and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), the Trump ally who ran the House intelligence committee. The event is being probed by the Special Counsel's Office and federal prosecutors in Manhattan.... The breakfast event, which also featured ... Michael Flynn, among its 60 or so guests, included representatives from countries across the world. The event has come under scrutiny by federal prosecutors in Manhattan as part of their probe into whether the Trump inaugural committee misspent funds and if donors tried to buy influence in the White House.... The Special Counsel's Office is also looking at the breakfast as part of its investigation into whether foreigners contributed money to the Trump inaugural fund and PAC by possibly using American intermediaries."
Ken Vogel of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors in recent weeks have been interviewing witnesses about the flow of foreign money to three powerful law and lobbying firms that Paul Manafort recruited seven years ago to help improve the image of the Russia-aligned president of Ukraine, people familiar with the questioning said. The previously unreported interviews about the flow of the money are among the latest developments in the investigation of key figures who worked at the three firms -- Mercury Public Affairs, the Podesta Group and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Prosecutors have focused on the role of Skadden Arps's lead partner on the account, the former Obama White House counsel Gregory B. Craig, in arranging financing and media coverage for his firms' work, the people familiar with the questioning said. And the prosecutors ... have been asking about the extent to which the lead partners on the accounts for Mercury and Podesta -- Vin Weber, a former Republican member of Congress, and the Democratic fund-raiser Tony Podesta -- were involved in orchestrating their firms' day-to-day lobbying and public relations on the account." ...
Trumpy Tax Filers Are Shocked Trump Screwed Them. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Multiple supporters of ... Donald Trump over the past couple of weeks have taken to Twitter to air their grievances about the president's signature tax cut plan. Even though the 2017 GOP tax cut is leading to spiking federal deficits thanks to its generous benefits to corporations, many middle-class Americans are winding up having to pay more because the bill eliminated multiple deductions used by middle-class families to lower their annual tax payments. Among other things, the tax bill capped deductions for taxes paid to state and local governments, while massively increasing the amount of money you must donate to qualify for a charitable giving deduction. Several Trump voters who have done their taxes are not happy about this and they're letting both the president and the Republican Party hear it -- check out some of their tweets...."
Lee Fang of the Intercept: "House Republican lawmakers are being encouraged by their party's leadership to play up gruesome murders, rapes, and other crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in the United States. In a newsletter sent on Friday, House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., provided the caucus and staff with a messaging update that compiled immigrant crimes by date and congressional district. The newsletter is used by the GOP caucus to provide talking points and messaging guidance. The edition of the newsletter dealing with immigrant crimes, which was obtained by The Intercept, offered a messaging opportunity to leverage the government shutdown against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.... Under the header 'The Democrats' far-left immigration agenda has tragic real-world consequences,' the newsletter goes on to list crimes committed over the last two decades."
Presidential Race 2020
Elena Schneider of Politico: "Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar will hold an event in Minnesota on Sunday to announce whether she will run for president, she said Tuesday night, inching closer to a possible campaign launch. Klobuchar told MSNBC that she will announce her decision on Sunday in Minneapolis' Boom Island Park -- 'as in, Boom Island, "drop the mic,"' she said.... Klobuchar immediately posted on Twitter: 'I'm making a big announcement on Sunday. Join me there,' directing users to RSVP on her website.&" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Klobuchar is the one potential candidate whom I think Trump can't beat. He won't be able to rattle her; his insults will fall flat against Minnesota-nice. She's smart, fair-minded, well-qualified -- and a Midwesterner in a field of "left coast" candidates. Unless she's been bonking mike pence in the Senate cloakroom and taking gobs of cash from PutinPAC, Klobuchar is a winner.
Annie Linskey & Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Tuesday that she was sorry that she identified herself as a Native American for almost two decades, reflecting her ongoing struggle to quiet a controversy that continues to haunt her.... Her comments more fully explain the regret she expressed last week to the chief of the Cherokee Nation, the first time she's said she was sorry for claiming American Indian heritage.... In addition to the DNA test, she released employment documents over the summer to show she didn't use ethnicity to further her career.... But as Warren undergoes increased scrutiny as a presidential candidate, additional documents could surface to keep the issue alive. Using an open records request during a general inquiry, for example, The Post obtained Warren's registration card for the State Bar of Texas, providing a previously undisclosed example of Warren identifying as an 'American Indian.'... Dated April 1986, it is the first document to surface showing Warren making the claim in her own handwriting."
Nicole Winfield of the AP: "Pope Francis on Tuesday publicly acknowledged the scandal of priests and bishops sexually abusing nuns and vowed to do more to fight the problem, the latest sign that there is no end in sight to the Catholic Church's abuse crisis -- and that it now has a reckoning from the #MeToo movement. Francis admitted to the problem for the first time in public during a news conference while returning to Rome from the United Arab Emirates. The acknowledgment comes just two weeks before he hosts an unprecedented gathering of bishops to craft a global response to the scandal of priestly predators who target children and the superiors who covered up the crimes."
Beyond the Beltway
Ryan Nobles, et al., of CNN: "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam remained in power Monday but is having a difficult time finding allies, begging his Cabinet members to give him the chance to prove he was not the person pictured in a racist photo that surfaced Friday. Northam oversaw a regularly scheduled Cabinet meeting Monday morning that a source inside the meeting described as 'solemn.' According to that source, the governor specifically said that if he resigns, he would be resigning as a 'racist for life,' and that the only way he can clear his name is to stay in office and convince people that he is not in that photo and that the photo does not represent who he is." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Sarah McCammon of NPR: "A California woman who has accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexually assaulting her 15 years ago has hired the same law firm that represented Christine Blasey Ford in her allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Fairfax has denied the allegation, which first surfaced on a conservative blog and was later described in a report by The Washington Post. The allegation has come to light just as Fairfax could be on the verge of becoming the state's chief executive in the wake of a scandal involving Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and a blackface yearbook photo."
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Reader Comments (18)
Stacey Abrams killed it.
Rather than indulging in Trump and Republican style insults and snide, self-satisfied smirking, she presented a vision for America starkly at odds to the dark, hate-filled, mendacious and racist, narcissistic nightmare offered by the little king.
I tried watching snippets of the State of Fatty speech, but as soon as he referred to the opposition as “the Democrat Party”, I was done. That is an insult. It’s meant as an insult. And to employ such an abusive and derisive expression while demanding bipartisanship is not unlike asking an Irishman to help you out by saying “Hey, you stupid, drunken Mick, get over here and help me.”
He’s an asshole. He always will be an asshole.
Abrams, on the other hand, instead of trying to directly answer his rambling shambles of a speech larded down with his usual laundry list of lies, fear-mongering, and campaign braggadocio, opted for a more focused critique of the dysfunctional, incompetent, racially and economically biased mess he’s made of this country.
Perhaps most infuriating to the rabid Trumpbots and dyspeptic winger pundits who have been trolling her as a loser and worse, she wasn’t a bug-eyed, crazed commie Trump hater. She even made a point of saying that she had no interest in seeing him fail. But she does want him to do his job and be a president for all Americans, not just the whites, the wealthy, the racists, the Christianists, and the wingnut fringe.
She needs to run for higher office. I’d love to see her in the Senate.
Or maybe the White House
The increasingly shrill Washington Examiner pumps up the Trumpian appeal to the racists with a headline declaring that Abrams’ role as SOTU responder gives her special privileges now. In other words, undeserving nee-groe lady to get special treatment. Next thing ya know, they’ll be delivering watermelon to her front porch in a DNC van.
The haters get these barely coded calls to arms.
@AK: I agree whole heartedly that Abrams nailed it and would love to see her run for higher office again––this time "catch me if you can. Mofo's."
I watched the whole blasted thing last night–-laughed out loud for most of Donald's failure at it–-screamed at the lies–-but it was when he went all Buck Turgidson on us that I thought, oh, my god, he's going to tell us once again about the hordes of vicious migrants that spill into our country by the thousands and rape and kill and murder and we need that goddamn wall and he went on and on; visions of those precious bodily fluids swam before me.
Favorite thing: Watching Nancy–-her expressions throughout were worth the show.
Whoever wrote that last purple mountain majesty poetic ramble I think must have stolen it from Senator Keely in "The Birdcage" who goes on and on about a trip he once took. Here's a shortened version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frrwqkqb7cY&frags=pl%2Cwn
Because I watched this spectacle two of my finger nails are bitten down to the core. It's my way of coping.
Finally -- a governor of whom we may be proud: SANTA FE, N.M. — The governor of New Mexico ordered the withdrawal of the majority of the state's National Guard troops from the U.S. border with Mexico on Tuesday, in a move that challenges President Trump's description of a security crisis.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the partial withdrawal shortly before Trump's State of the Union address. Her Republican predecessor deployed National Guard troops to the border in April 2018 at Trump's suggestion, and 118 remained there before Tuesday's reversal.
"New Mexico will not take part in the president's charade of border fear-mongering by misusing our diligent National Guard troops," Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
As usual, the bully, Fatty, threw out belligerent but impotent threats in last night's State of Fatty speech-thing. "Better not investigate me, or else it'll be war!"
First, investigating you is their sworn duty, a duty shrugged off by the traitors on the right.
Second, you've already tried "war!". You got something worse than your shutdown? Then bring it on. I guarantee you that you will say "Uncle" long before the Democrats do. And they have a lot to investigate.
I'm betting that, instead of listening to all the lies, the bragging, the narcissism, the threats, the fake bipartisanship talk, the wall, the wall, the wall, and immygrints are murdering us all, she was ticking off all the upcoming investigatory committees that will be convening within days, and that, most likely, was the source of that little smile. "Rant on Chubs. We're coming for you."
Can somebody get the message to Elizabeth Warren that she no longer needs to revive the dead horse of her Native American ancestry? You apologized, it's been recognized. Put it in the past and stop apologizing. She needs to move on and STFU about it. Rev up the economic populism and soak the rich riffs that you're so feared for, or just drop out and say sorry twelve more times.
Safari,
It's way too early to indulge in horse race talk (which never stopped anyone, by the way), but I'm gonna do it anyway.
Elizabeth Warren has a great message. Full stop. She does. And she does a good job explaining the problems of income inequality. But she's about as exciting as soap. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled she's here. It's largely because of her (and Bernie) that anyone has been talking about that topic and how Republicans have become the handmaidens of the rich at the expense of all other Americans.
Presidential politics, however, is a different animal. She has a great message, but so far (and maybe this will change, I don't know), she's been mired in that stupid ancestry kerfuffle. Republicans make fun of her no end (which would be expected even if she were Eleanor Roosevelt. Oh, wait. Especially if she were Eleanor Roosevelt), Native American tribes are unhappy...it's a mess. It's a big stumbling block right out of the box. It occludes her message in a way that's been hard for her to overcome.
And now she'll be going up against some strong contenders (Cory Booker is not one, at least in my estimation), like Harris and, if she jumps in, Klobuchar, and maybe Beto, all of whom have more oomph, for a lack of a better word. I hate that it's like that, but a presidential candidate needs to excite people. I mean, I'd love to take a class with Warren, and I'd probably love her as a teacher, but I'm not rarin' to pick up a banner and march down the street behind her, which is exactly what you need when you jump into this game.
It's unfortunate, because back in 2000, we had a smart, qualified candidate (Gore) and a dumb-ass deserter (Dubya). And if Gore had just a scintilla of excitement around him (and seemed a little less condescending--remember those eye rolls at the debates?), it would have been no contest. The fact that it was close enough for the Supreme Court to install their guy by fiat is proof of that.
So Warren might be the smartest person in the room, but if she ain't sending up sky rockets, she ain't gonna get the nomination.
Just my opinion.
But hey, a long way to go. Who knows?
I really don't care if Fatty and his hacks dump his tax returns in a bulletproof box and drop it into a nuclear waste dump. Democrats need to pull out all the stops to get a look at these documents. If there wasn't dynamite in those pages, they wouldn't be working so hard to keep them hidden.
And now that the State of Fatty ranty-thing is over, whether or not the government is permanently reopened or not, I say Democrats need to go at this sonovabitch with everything they got. Make his life as miserable as if he were put in a room full of books, with no TV for a month and told to do accurate book reports on 100 selected titles.
Force his legal jamokes go into full hack-a-thon mode. Make them jump six ways from Sunday, from pillar to post, trying to put out all the fires.
But job one is to get those returns. And at this point, don't worry about what the Turtle, or Lame Lindsay, or Liarbee or Fox or anyone else says about it. This is your job.
We deserve to see what this liar and traitor has been hiding. He's not the king. He fucking works for us. So call his ass on the carpet.
Could Confederates in Congress be any more embarrassing?
All that YOU-ESS-AY chanting at the State of Fatty ranty-thing was ridiculous. They came off like MAGA hat wearing Beavis and Buttheads elbowing each other at a Trump rally while shouting "Build the WALL!".
Jesus, grow up. People around the world must look at this and think to themselves, the village council on Bongo Bong is probably more dignified, not to mention mature.
The Both Siders and middle of the road types who sniff that claims of Trump's appeal to racists are overblown should look at this.
Fatty won West Virginia by double digits. Here's why: an official on the public payroll offering his version of Trump's wall.
Decorated with the severed heads of black people.
Didn't John Roberts say racism no longer exists?
Seth Meyers on SOTU.
Even better, the kid fell asleep.
Are there any white Democrats in Virginia who did not dress in blackface?
Okay, just one more then I'm done.
I'm confused.
This Ronny Jackson investigation. It's still going on? Didn't this start about a year ago? How long does it take to determine whether he drank on the job and/or was nasty to subordinates? Bring some people in, ask them some questions, let Jackson tell his side, then make a decision.
Operation Overlord, the invasion of Fortress Europe in 1944, was planned in about the same amount of time it's taking to investigate Ronny Jackson, and that involved 14 countries, 2 million guys, and about a gazillion pounds of supplies, ammo, materiel, ships, planes, tanks, and enough weaponry to, well, invade Europe.
And Operation Check Out This One Guy takes just as long?
Sheesh.
@Akhilleus: Apparently the Pentagon's inspector general works on Trump time.
@Akhilleus asks, "Are there any white Democrats in Virginia who did not dress in blackface?"
Apparently finding one is a job for Diogenes.
Around 13:00 EST today I heard Mercedes Schlapp (a smoother WH liar than Sarah HS) being interviewed (sounded outdoors) about DiJiT's Washingburg Address. When the reporter fact-corrected that the crime rate in El Paso is NOT at an all time high, etc., Mercedes rejoined immediately that when you count Juarez-Across-The-River, the crime numbers are really high.
I was driving and almost hit a tree due to spontaneous laugh reflex.
Lawdy is she evil.
As the Virginia girl here, all I can say is “Aaaaaaaaaaack!”
But seriously, I was in law school at UVA in the early 1980s and none of this blackface shit surprises me at all. Virginia was - and still is - full of good ‘ol boy southern prep fratboys who wouldn’t have a clue about why anyone would object to anything they would do, including putting on blackface (“we’re just having fun - what’s your problem?”). I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Did not watch SOTU. As planned. What was NOT planned was the absence of my Netflix for some reason. Paranoia says that DJTrumpet did something to my Netflix...
Have seen snippets today. Nancy looks like she can hardly contain herself. Orange Monster is glib, smarmy, smug, smirk-y and so self-satisfied, if he could lick himself, he would. And what a conglomeration of lies/fabrications/made-up stories/scare tactics. He is some SOB, which is what he apparently called Chuck Schumer. Never have hated one human being so much, but it's expanding to the idiots in Congress congratulating themselves on how "presidential" it was, when really simply grateful the Royal Crapface didn't fall off the dais. I detest them all sincerely.
Oh, and yeah, Virginia. 'Way to go, you fratboys. Lump 'em together with Beer Boy on the Supreme Court, and a whole generation needs to sit down and shut up.