Wednesday
May152019
The Commentariat -- May 16, 2019
Afternoon Update:
Marisa Endicott of Mother Jones: "So far in 2019, seven states have passed laws to limit abortion well before fetal viability, which is somewhere around 24 weeks, though all of the laws have yet to take effect or are held up by the courts.... The Missouri Senate, meanwhile, is currently debating an omnibus abortion bill that already passed the House and includes a 'fetal heartbeat' ban, while Louisiana's own six-week abortion bill is about to pass its second legislative chamber. Mother Jones looked at the gender breakdown in these nine state legislatures and found a common thread: All have striking gender imbalances. Each legislature -- with the exception of Georgia -- has a lower than average percentage of women serving in its chambers. The national average is about 29 percent, but in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, women make up just 16 percent or less of the states' legislators."
Jeffery Mays & William Neuman of the New York Times: "Bill de Blasio, the Democratic mayor of New York City, announced on Thursday that he was running for president, seeking to show that his brand of urban progressive leadership can be a model for the rest of the nation. It will be a steep challenge: He becomes the 23rd Democrat to enter the presidential race, and he does so against the counsel of many of his trusted advisers, and in the face of two centuries of history. No sitting mayor has been elected to the presidency, and if Mr. de Blasio, 58, is to be the first, he must overcome daunting deficits in polls and und-raising."
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Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump will unveil on Thursday a plan to overhaul parts of the nation's immigration system that would impose new security measures at the border and significantly increase the educational and skills requirements for people who are allowed to migrate to the United States, senior White House officials said Wednesday. The proposal would vastly scale back the system of family-based immigration that has for decades allowed immigrants to bring their spouses and children to live with them, the officials said. In its place, it would provide new opportunities for immigrants who have specific skills or job offers to work in the United States, provided that they can demonstrate English proficiency, educational attainment and pass a civics exam. But the plan is expected to be deeply unpopular with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Currently, about 12 percent of immigrants qualify based on their skills, while more than half are given permission to enter the United State because of a family connection. Under Mr. Trump's proposal, those numbers would be reversed.... The president will reveal some details about the proposal, which was developed by Jared Kushner.... The plan calls for construction of some of the president's border wall.... And it contains no provision for providing legal status to people brought to the United States as children, known as Dreamers, or other undocumented immigrants." ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Sounds more like a Stephen Miller pipe-dream than a plan. ...
Hypothetical Kushner Power Point slide. (Actually, I got this from a tweet @RealDonaldTrump, in which the writer warned Trump not to break his campaign promises.)... Alison Durkee of Vanity Fair: "... Jared Kushner headed to Capitol Hill Tuesday, where he met with Republican senators to answer questions about his new immigration plan. And, unsurprisingly, the man who's been trying to frame his political inexperience as an 'asset' didn't do a great job. Per a report in The Washington Post, G.O.P. senators present at the staff luncheon said Kushner had trouble answering questions about the proposal, and was frequently interrupted by fellow adviser Stephen Miller to fill in the gaps.... Though Kushner has been toting the plan around town — reportedly with the help of a PowerPoint slideshow that's been described as 'laughably simplistic' -- he apparently doesn't fare so well when he has to go off-script, even among a friendly G.O.P. crowd.... While Kushner and the more hard-line Miller's joint appearance at the luncheon was supposed to signify 'unity' between the various White House factions, senators present also noted that they didn't exactly see the duo as a united front. 'Miller interrupted him a lot,' one source said.... Kushner [has] set a low bar for himself that aims not so much for success as just failing in an original way. 'If we are going to fail, we don't want to fail doing it the same way it's been done in the past, Kushner [said] ... at a recent event." Thanks to safari for the link. ...
... Thank You for Your Service. Now ... Get Out! Tara Copp of McClatchy News: "Immigrants serving in the U.S. military are being denied citizenship at a higher rate than foreign-born civilians, according to new government data that has revealed the impact of stricter Trump administration immigration policies on service members. According to the same data, the actual number of service members even applying for U.S. citizenship has also plummeted since ... Donald Trump took office, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reported in its quarterly naturalization statistics. 'The U.S. has had a long-standing tradition of immigrants come to the U.S. and have military service provide a path to citizenship,' said retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, a senior adviser to the liberal veterans advocacy group VoteVets.org. 'To have this turnaround, where they are actually taking a back seat to the civilian population strikes me as a bizarre turn of events.'" Thanks to safari for the link.
Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: "The intelligence that caused the White House to escalate its warnings about a threat from Iran came from photographs of missiles on small boats in the Persian Gulf that were put on board by Iranian paramilitary forces, three American officials said. Overhead imagery showed fully assembled missiles, stoking fears that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps would fire them at United States naval ships. Additional pieces of intelligence picked up threats against commercial shipping and potential attacks by Arab militias with Iran ties on American troops in Iraq. But just how alarmed the Trump administration should be over the new intelligence is a subject of fierce debate among the White House, the Pentagon, the C.I.A. and America's allies." Mrs. McC: AND, as the reporters point out, we cannot help but be reminded of this "slam dunk":
... Heather Caygle, et al., of Politico: "Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle warned ... Donald Trump on Wednesday to avoid plunging the United States into another Iraq-like war in the Middle East, demanding more information about vague warnings that Iran might be planning attacks on U.S. personnel and facilities in the region. Congressional leaders will get more information about the situation on Thursday during a confidential briefing with Trump officials, according to two Democratic sources. On Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail, politicians fretted that the situation felt eerily similar to the run-up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq." ...
... Edward Wong of the New York Times: "The State Department ordered a partial evacuation of the United States Embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, responding to what the Trump administration said was a threat linked to Iran, one that has led to an accelerated movement of American ships and bombers into the Persian Gulf. The department ordered 'nonemergency U.S. government employees,' at both the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil, to leave the country. The order applies primarily to full-time diplomats posted to Iraq by State Department headquarters in Washington, and an embassy statement said that visa services in Iraq would be suspended as a result. Contractors who provide security, food and other such services will remain in place for now." ...
... Josh Marshall: "... John Bolton is a unique and uniquely dangerous character. To give some perspective, back during George W. Bush's second term, Bush nominated Bolton to serve as UN Ambassador. That was in 2006 and with a GOP majority in the Senate. Bolton was seen as so manifestly ill-suited to the position that he couldn't get confirmed. He had to settle for a pity recess appointment.... Bolton is a caricature of a militarist and warmonger.... He's no fool. He's a very bright guy. And -- critically important -- he's a master of bureaucratic politics.... Bolton ... is precisely the kind of person ... to goad the President into issuing [intemperate] orders.... What seems to have been happening over the last year is that Bolton has been trying to push Iran into a corner and force a military confrontation. That hasn't worked. So now they appear to be cooking up 'threats' from Iran to force the confrontation they've been unable to force to date."
The Trump Scandals, Ctd.
** "Starrs & Barrs." Jonathan Chait: "Trump's official position is that Congress has no business looking into whether the president has broken the law. When you combine this position with the long-standing Department of Justice policy that it cannot indict a sitting president, and Attorney General William Barr's position that the president is entitled to shut down any investigation he considers unfair, you have built a wall of legal impunity for the president.... Republicans don't merely swing back and forth on executive power like a pendulum, they race from one extreme position to the other.... Trump, like his party, simply refuses to recognize the legitimacy of sharing power. Power in their minds is unitary: unquestionable when in their hands, illegitimate when wielded by the opposition. Trump grew naturally out of, and fit comfortably within, the party of Starr's and Barr's."
Get Real, Democrats! Walter Dellinger, in a Washington Post op-ed: "I have become increasingly concerned about how the country has received the Mueller report. The Republican talking point is that it exonerated the president. The message from the Democratic House, meanwhile, is that the report is inconclusive. Those responses, one mendacious, one tepid and both erroneous, have shaped public understanding.... The more I review the report, the more absurd and misleading the we-need-to-know-more response seems to be.... How different would it have been if a unified chorus of Democratic leaders in Congress and on the campaign trail had promptly proclaimed the actual truth: This report makes the unquestionable case that the president regularly and audaciously violated his oath and committed th most serious high crimes and misdemeanors. Mueller's extraordinary 2,800-subpoena, 500-search-warrant, two-year investigation fully established not merely crimes but also the betrayal of the president's office: a failure to defend the country's electoral system from foreign attack and acts of interference with justice that shred the rule of law.... The House's focus on process -- such as requesting redacted material -- constitutes a strong, implicit suggestion that what we have seen from Mueller is not enough to assess the president. That is just false."
John Bresnahan & Heather Caygle of Politico: "House Democrats will not hold floor votes on contempt resolutions against Attorney General William Barr or any other Trump administration officials until at least June, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Wednesday. Hoyer's comments made official what has already been clear inside the House Democratic Caucus -- Hoyer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other party leaders are still wrestling with how to respond to ... Donald Trump's broad refusal to cooperate with subpoenas for documents and testimony related to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, as well as his own personal finances."
Carol Leonnig & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "The White House’s top lawyer told the House Judiciary Committee chairman Wednesday that Congress has no right to a 'do-over' of the special counsel's investigation of President Trump and refused a broad demand for records and testimony from dozens of current and former White House staff. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone's letter to committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) constitutes a sweeping rejection -- not just of Nadler's request for White House records, but of Congress's standing to investigate Trump for possible obstruction of justice. In his letter, Cipollone repeated a claim the White House and Trump's business have begun making: that Congress is not a law enforcement body and does not have a legitimate purpose to investigate the questions it is pursuing. But Cipollone stopped short of asserting executive privilege. Instead, he told Nadler he would consider a narrowed request if the chairman spells out the legislative purpose and legal support for the information he is seeking." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... As Dana Milbank of the Washington Post wrote yesterday re: the administration's argument that Congress had no right to examine Trump's finances, "Forget about the Unitary Executive Theory. This one is closer to the Divine Right of Kings." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Update. Jeremy Herb, et al., of CNN: House Judiciary Chair Jerry "Nadler responded to the latest Trump administration rejection by accusing the White House of 'claiming that the President is a king.' 'No President, no person in the United States is above the law. This is preposterous,' Nadler told CNN. 'They are saying we should end the investigation. We are not ending the investigation. If we were to agree to that, then no president would ever be subject to any kind of investigation for misconduct of any type.'... Nadler told reporters Tuesday he was seriously considering the idea of fining officials. 'Very large,' Nadler said when asked how large of fines the House might consider. Asked if they would seek to impose such fines on the attorney general, Nadler said: 'It would be for anybody who is held in inherent contempt.'"
... BUT Stiffing Congress Is So Hilarious. Laurie Kellman of the AP: At the National Peace Officers Memorial Day service Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol, Bill "Barr approached [Nancy] Pelosi, shook her hand and said loud enough to be overheard, 'Madam Speaker, did you bring your handcuffs?'... A smiling Pelosi let Barr know the House Sergeant at Arms was present at the ceremony, should any arrest be necessary, according to a person who witnessed the exchange.... Barr chuckled and walked away, this person said."
Michael Isikoff of Yahoo! News: "Senior FBI officials were concerned then director James Comey would appear to be blackmailing then President-elect Trump -- using tactics notoriously associated with J.Edgar Hoover -- when he attended a fateful Jan. 6, 2017, meeting at which he informed the real estate magnate about allegations he had consorted with prostitutes in Moscow, according to Jim Baker, the bureau's chief counsel at the time. But he and Comey determined the bureau had an obligation to tell Trump of the uncorroborated allegations because 'the press has it; it's about to come out. You should be alerted to that fact. We were quite worried about the Hoover analogies, and we were determined not to have such a disaster happen on our watch,' said ... Baker ... in an interview with the Yahoo News podcast Skullduggery.... In the podcast interview, Baker also pledged to cooperate with a new investigation into the origins of the Russia probe, emphasizing that he believes he and his FBI colleagues did nothing wrong."
Cecilia Kang & David Sanger of the New York Times: "President Trump moved on Wednesday to ban American telecommunications firms from installing foreign-made equipment that could pose a threat to national security, White House officials said, stepping up a battle against China by effectively barring sales by Huawei, the country's leading networking company. Mr. Trump issued an executive order instructing the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, to ban transactions 'posing an unacceptable risk' but did not single out any nation or company."
Matthew Choi of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned Conrad M. Black, a friend and former business associate who wrote a flattering book about the president last year. Black, a Canadian-born citizen of Britain, was found guilty of mail fraud and obstruction in 2007 in a ploy to swindle millions of dollars from investors in his media company. Black served more than three years in prison and was legally barred from re-entering the United States, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. In a statement, the White House praised Black as 'an entrepreneur and scholar,' citing his many published works. It also stated the Supreme Court overturned many of the charges against Black and that several people, including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Elton John, Rush Limbaugh and William F. Buckley Jr. [Mrs. McC: who is dead] all vouched for Black. However, the statement did not mention Black's book 'Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other,' which praised the president and was published last year. Nor did it mention the many columns Black has written lauding Trump." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Uh, anyone who writes a flattering book about Trump usually would be characterized as a "hack," not a "scholar." But it turns out it's a great get-out-of-jail card (okay, Black was already out of jail), so not a bad idea. ...
... More Fun Facts about Conrad Black. Sophie Weiner of Splinter: Black "is also known -- and we are not making this up -- as Lord Black of Crossharbour. Black formerly ran a company that included major newspapers like the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Telegraph and the Jerusalem Post. He was convicted in the U.S. of fraud for stealing millions of dollars from his own business, Hollinger International.... Two of Black's three fraud convictions were already voided, and he was released from prison after serving about half his sentence in May 2010. He was subsequently deported.... 'I was innocent,' he added. 'There was no substance to any of the charges. There never was. The whole thing gradually disintegrated.'" Mrs. McC: Say, aren't you supposed to take responsibility for your bad deeds as a condition of getting a pardon? ...
... Jared's Friend Gets a Pardon, Too! Eli Watkins & Allie Malloy of CNN: "The White House said Trump offered clemency to Patrick Nolan, a former Republican legislator who allied with ... Jared Kushner on prison revisions last year.... Nolan is the director of the Center for Criminal Justice Reform at the American Conservative Union Foundation, and, according to his biography page from that group, he pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge after an FBI sting and spent 29 months in federal custody. The White House said the experience 'changed his life' and formed his later career as a conservative advocate for criminal justice revisions, including with the First Step Act, the criminal justice bill Trump signed into law last year." Mrs. McC: This is kind of sweet: just as in a regular crime family, the Trump family's friends are forgiven for past wrongdoing, as long as the crimes they've committed are not against Trump family members themselves.
Tony Romm & Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "The United States on Wednesday broke with 18 governments and top American tech firms by declining to endorse a New Zealand-led response to the live-streamed shootings at two Christchurch mosques, saying free-speech concerns prevented the White House from formally endorsing the largest campaign to date targeting extremism online. The 'Christchurch Call,' unveiled at an international gathering in Paris, commits foreign countries and tech giants to be more vigilant about the spread of hate on social media. It reflects heightened global frustrations with the inability of Facebook, Google and Twitter to restrain hateful posts, photos and videos that have spawned real-world violence. Leaders from across the globe pledged to counter online extremism, including through new regulation, and to 'encourage media outlets to apply ethical standards when depicting terrorist events online.' Companies including Facebook, Google and Twitter, meanwhile, said they'd work more closely to ensure their sites don't become conduits for terrorism. They also committed to accelerated research and information sharing with governments in the wake of recent terrorist attacks.... White House officials raised concerns that the document might run afoul of the First Amendment." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... That's Rich. Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "'Freedom of the press' is an eyebrow-raising reason for the White House to cite, considering ... Donald Trump's constant rants against' fake news' media and the fact that the White House recently slapped new restrictions on press access." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Sara Fischer of Axios: "The White House launched a tool on Wednesday that will allow any U.S. citizen to submit a complaint if they think they were unfairly censored on social media platforms.... Social media bias has become a major talking point for President Trump and conservatives who argue that Silicon Valley companies are biased against their viewpoints. Skeptics were quick to point out that the online form was not very sophisticated and could be easily gamed by anyone who wanted to troll the administration. For example, the 'captcha' response test used at the end of the survey to determine if the respondent is a bot asks users to type the year the Declaration of Independence was signed. 'I tried it with "1945," it cleared it. You just need to type four numbers,' tweeted Quentin Hardy, head of editorial at Google Cloud.... The online form where users can submit requests also appears to be an email collection mechanism. 'We want to keep you posted on President Trump's fight for free speech,' the form states after a few questions. 'Can we add you to our email newsletters so we can update you without relying on platforms like Facebook and Twitter?'... The White House launched the tool just hours after it broke with more than a dozen world leaders and top technology companies in an international call to action around the rise of online extremism on social platforms."
Capitalism Is Awesome, Especially with Help from Republicans. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "The U.S. aviation system needs urgently to restore the world's confidence after two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jets. Instead, the Trump administration's top aviation official, goaded by some Republican lawmakers, informed the world Wednesday that the problem isn't that Boeing put a faulty aircraft into the skies, nor that the Federal Aviation Administration's lax oversight kept it flying. The trouble, they argued, comes from lousy foreign pilots -- particularly the ones on Ethiopian Airlines and Indonesia's Lion Air who died struggling to pull the Max jets from death plunges.... The acting FAA administrator, Daniel Elwell, [told the House transportation committee] that the problem should have been 'immediately recognizable' to the pilots, but there was 'apparent lack of recognition.' He blamed the Indonesians for failing to disable the system and said the Ethiopian crew 'didn't adhere to the emergency [advisory] we put out' and 'never controlled their air speed.'... [Rep.] Sam Graves [(R-Mo.), the ranking member] rejoined the denunciation. 'I hate to disparage another country and what their pilot training is, but that is what scares me in all of this: climbing on an aircraft or airline that is outside U.S. jurisdiction,' he said. 'It just bothers me that we continue to tear down our system based on what has happened in another country.' Yep. Nothing makes foreigners want to buy Boeing jets like a little jingoism."
The Clueless Electorate. Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "A majority of registered voters believes President Trump is a successful businessman despite recent news reports about significant losses, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday. About 54 percent of respondents said they believe Trump has been successful in his business ventures, while 36 percent say he's been unsuccessful. Another 10 percent have no opinion. The results are starkly divided along partisan lines, with 85 percent of Republicans saying Trump is a success while only 30 percent of Democrats agreed. Nearly half, 49 percent, of Independents said Trump is a successful businessman, while 34 percent say he's been unsuccessful. The poll was conducted after the release of a New York Times report showing that Trump reported over $1 billion in losses from 1985 to 1994, citing IRS documents. Trump responded, calling the article 'a highly inaccurate Fake News hit job....'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
In yesterday's commentary, Akhilleus summed up the current state of U.S affairs: "The mad advising the incompetent leading the stupids, all relying on the obsequious."
Presidential Race 2020. Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC News: "New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will declare his bid for the presidency on Thursday, a campaign spokesperson said Wednesday, joining the almost two dozen other candidates already competing for the Democratic nomination. De Blasio will make the formal announcement Thursday morning and then travel to Iowa and South Carolina for multiple stops over four days. His wife, Chirlane McCray, who has been a highly visible presence and close adviser during his six years at City Hall, will join him for part of the trip." Mrs. McC: Forgive me cynicism, but I'm guess that McCray, who is black, will "join him" on the South Carolina leg of the two-state trip.
Mike Cason of al.com: "Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed the bill to make abortion a felony in Alabama, the governor’s office announced." Mrs. McC: Ivey looks like a sweet little ole grandma. Appearances are deceiving. ...
... Kate Riga of TPM: “The Alabama abortion ban sent to the governor's desk Tuesday is even too severe for televangelist Pat Robertson, who called it an 'extreme law.' 'I think Alabama has gone too far, they've passed a law that would give a 99-year prison sentence to those who commit abortions,' he said Wednesday on 'The 700 Club.' 'There's no exception for rape or incest. It's an extreme law and they want to challenge Roe v. Wade, but my humble view is that this is not the case we want to bring to the Supreme Court because I think this one'll lose.'" ...
... BUT. Chip, Chip, Chipping Away. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Abortion rights are at risk at the Supreme Court, but the short-term threat may not come from extreme measures like the one passed by Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday. The court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is more likely to chip away at the constitutional right to abortion established in 1973 in Roe v. Wade than to overturn it outright. It will have plenty of opportunities to do so. As soon as Monday, the court could announce whether it will hear challenges to three provisions of Indiana abortion laws on issues like the disposal of fetal remains and an 18-hour waiting period after state-mandated ultrasound examinations. The court will in the coming months almost certainly agree to hear a challenge to a Louisiana law that could reduce the number of abortion clinics in the state to one.... Lower courts will almost certainly strike down the Alabama statute and other direct bans on abortion.... The Supreme Court ... can simply deny review after lower courts strike down laws squarely at odds with Roe." ...
... A Modern Horror Story. Julian Borger & Liz Ford of the Guardian: “C-Fam has emerged from the extreme right fringe on the issue of abortion, sexual orientation and gender identity to become a powerful player behind the scenes at the UN. With a modest budget and a six-strong staff led by the president Austin Ruse, it has leveraged connections inside the Trump administration to enforce a rigid orthodoxy on social issues, and helped build a new US coalition with mostly autocratic regimes that share a similar outlook. And that coalition has already significantly shifted the terms of the UN debate on women's and LGBT rights." The details in this story are flabbergasting. This is a hate group. Fer instance, "In 2015, a Catholic priest on the organization's board resigned in protest at Ruse's comment that 'the hard-left human hating people that run modern universities should be taken out and shot.'" Nikki Haley, whom Republicans imagine as the first U.S. female president, seemed to be in lock-step with the group when she was U.N. ambassador. Thanks to safari for the link.
News Lede
New York Times: "I. M. Pei, the Chinese-born American architect who began his long career working for a New York real-estate developer and ended it as one of the most revered architects in the world, has died. He was 102."
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Reader Comments (17)
Chambliss is over 50 years old, married and has three daughters. He has shown that he knows nothing about pregnancy, reproduction (despite claiming he has read up on these topics before introducing his bill), or women’s bodies. To be able to maintain that level of ignorance of the world around you, up close and personal, is truly a remarkable achievement.
I wish that Democrats would change the rhetoric. This is about the government sitting in our doctors’ surgeries, telling us what medical care we are allowed to receive, and when. This is big brother government. This is not even “only” about women, but the families, communities and societies in which women live. Everyone has some relationship with a woman. Denying medical treatment to any woman affects us all.
I know it’s not relevant to getting it to SCOTUS ASAP, but how is it to be enforced? How will they they know if you are travelling out of ‘Bamma to procure a termination? I know, a wall, check points, vaginal ultrasounds at every border crossing. Monitor every woman’s menstrual cycles. Jobs! JFC. They’re just sex obsessed dirty old men. Why have any medicine at all, interfering with some god’s will.
I'm on the go so can't contribute behind the scenes, but here are a few more links to brighten the news portal today.
(@Marie feel free to erase this message if you post the links above).
Cadet BoneSpurs and Neo-Nazi Steven Miller think war veterans are less worthy of citizenship than the few civilians who qualify: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/latest-news/article230269884.html
Jared doesn't know what the fuck his immigration "plan" says, and his Harvard education couldn't even teach him the complexities of PowerPoint: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/05/jared-kushner-doesnt-understand-his-own-immigration-plan/amp
And some insider knowledge of how the anti-abortion zealots and renowned word police infiltrated the sleaziest presidunce*'s administration: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/may/16/cfam-rightwing-white-house-anti-abortion-un
BOLTON MAKES HIS MOVE:
I'd like to imagine when Johnny was a wee tot, for sport he'd get dogs, cats and maybe even some rats on occasion, and force them into corners which made them plenty mad causing them to attack and then WHACK! Johnny would hit them with a stick or in the case of the rat, shoot the durn thing. "See mommy? they be after me, I had to defend myself."
Times have changed but not Johnny––he still harbors those killer instincts ––he's still licking his chops over the war in Iraq. Today he appears to be the one who is methodically setting the stage for war––forcing Iran into a corner.
"“There are two ways Bolton can be stopped: either Trump can fire him or Congress can pass legislation to block a war before it starts. It’s time for our leaders to stop sleepwalking and the public to speak out as an unrestrained Iraq war architect repeats the playbook from that generational catastrophe with Iran.”
––––Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council
OUR BODIES, OURSELVES
Alabama's draconian decision to own women's bodies is a joke. We all know what their mission is but the fact that they actually voted for its implementation is a pitiful thing––and lo–-Kay Ivy, who looks like a "sweet little ole grandma" is out to getcha and as she smiles pink foam forms around her mouth ––"More tea, dear?"
Safari, I loved a phrase in your Guardian article describing a cabal of hard right fascistic dictatorships, in cahoots with the trump mafia in the UN, as “the axis of medievals”.
So the new Trump/Miller immigration "overhaul" involves proficiency with English, competence, and the ability to pass a civics test?
Mr. Best Words-Doofus-Know-Nothing-about-Civics would never get into the country.
Memo to Jerry Nadler:
Jerry, Jerry, Jerry...
Words don't mean jack. Calling Trump a king and complaining that he's ignoring your requests, day after day after day, doesn't do anything. You Democrats are looking like Mac, the 97 lb weakling in those old Charles Atlas cartoons. Republicans kick sand in your face (or, like the incredibly snide and insulting Barr, laugh right to your face) and get away with it. Then they come back the next day and do it again.
Either impeach Trump or acknowledge to everyone that you're just there to shine his shoes.
I'd suggest that Nadler and the Democrats send away for Charles Atlas' book explaining how to be a "real man" so they can beat up the bullies, but they'd end up holding press conferences to explain that violence is not the answer.
Each day that goes by, Trump and Republican traitors get stronger and stronger and Democrats look more and more like hapless schmucks. They have all the leverage but they refuse to use it. Why? Rush Limbaugh might say bad things about them? "Independent" voters won't like it? There are still three or four hundred other fancy ploys involving threats of future hearings still to be tried out? There are a few good names they haven't called Trump yet? How about "Meanie"? Or "Stinky poo-poo pants? Oh, wait. I know. "Your mother wears army boots!" Always a winner.
Honestly, I give up.
We're fucked.
The purchase price of over $91 million for a piece of shit thing by piece of shit pretend artist Jeff Koons is a perfect example of Trump's Amerika, where shills and con artists make out like bandits. And it's also fitting that a Mnuchin paid that kind of money for this execrable piece of dreck by a guy whose other "well known" works are self-glorification pictures of himself as a studly porn star having sex with his actual porn star wife of the time. I know that theory-addled "critics" love to rave about Koons' "ironic aesthetic" as if that makes his crap any more valuable or important, but it's still a bald swindle on an epic scale.
Koons is a much smoother con man than Trump, but still a con man.
The state of America. Authenticity and true worth have been replaced by liars and phony, trumped up jokes that are presented, like Trump and his entire band of crooks, as exceptional and worth untold millions when none of them are worth the price of admission to a cheap carny sideshow to see the deaf three-headed dog chase the blind one-legged cat.
Is this a joke? Bill de Blasio is now running for president? Jesus. How many does this make? 25? 30? 53? But where's the Little Flower Girl and Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy? How come they're not in the race? While Democrats sort out their circular firing squad, Trump is working on ratfucking ANOTHER presidential election and R's will help him. Radio stations are playing his speeches as if we're in the Soviet Union circa 1953 and all those big money guys who avoided him the first time around are shoveling shekels into his war chest like their lives depended on it. Meanwhile, the MSM is wondering which Democrat to attack first. And hey, they have so many to choose from!
There are too many people and too little time to sort all this out. Voters are already confused and the current pack makes it highly unlikely that the low information voters (which describes most voters) will take the time to figure out who they like better than Trump. And most of THEM will just shrug their shoulders and pull the lever for the traitor. At least they can pick him out of a lineup (where he should spend the next few years before going to prison for life).
Sorry, I'm just a little bit disgusted today by Democratic insecurity, feebleness, and all around suicidal tendencies, unaccompanied by anything resembling a fucking plan.
I'm not sure how they're pulling this off, but the Dems are looking worse every single day they drag their feet and flick their tongues at the camera. How is it possible that only Michael Cohen has pitched the dirt on Agent Orange since they've taken power? When Nancy took the gavel she bragged about being able to chew gum and walk at the same time. All I'm seeing is a lot of ass scratching, shoulder shrugging, deadline-extending, bellyaching and pouting, and I actually pay attention!
Looking weak next to an obese, vindictive man baby is not a good look.
@Akhilleus: I share your frustration, but much more importantly, I imagine millions of other Democrats do, too. And Walter Dellinger makes the important point that even more millions of Americans don't know what's going on because House Democrats have been playing the more-information card & not hammering what a criminal Trump is. The only reasons I can figure out they're doing this is (1) they're so scared their lose the Trumpbot vote (news flash: they will, no matter what), and (2) Nancy wants to spread the "glory" around: if the House went right into impeachment proceedings, the Judiciary Committee probably would run the whole shebang, whereas now, several committees -- Intelligence, Banking, Ways & Means, & perhaps others -- have pieces of the Trump pie a la mode.
There may be some wisdom in this, but it does seem wiser to quit playing footsie with Trump, Barr, Mnuchin, Ltd. & get an impeachment hearing up & running. (It could go on for a long time.) There's no reason the House couldn't adjust the rules, if necessary, to allow Judiciary to farm out some of its inquiries to other committees.
Pelosi keeps (correctly) calling Congress the "Article I" body; she should prove that by whacking Trump. The next time Bill Barr asks her if she brought the handcuffs, she should pull them out & clap them on his fat wrists, then hand him over to the sergeant-at-arms.
An interesting op-ed in WaPo by Walter Dellinger.
"I have become increasingly concerned about how the country has received the Mueller report. The Republican talking point is that it exonerated the president. The message from the Democratic House, meanwhile, is that the report is inconclusive. Those responses, one mendacious, one tepid and both erroneous, have shaped public understanding. They have not only allowed the president falsely to claim vindication but also left the public without a clear understanding of just how damning the report is...
All I am saying is that every day we should have been shouting from the rooftops: “The president is failing to defend democracy from attack”; “The president’s campaign welcomed and encouraged Russia’s efforts to change our election results”; “The president obstructed justice”; and “The president daily undermined the rule of law.” But we have instead been whispering in the hallways of Congress that “we need to see the redactions.” That emphasis is a mistake that needs to be (and hopefully can be) rectified."
Sorry, for the previous post. I failed to see it was already mentioned above.
I am so angry that women constantly have to defend their rights from mealy-mouthed pencil-neck REDNECK men in legislatures. I can't read any more about them. I know PA is planning to join up...I guess I will be marching in Harrisburg, home of the largest, most useless legislature in the country. I know they are feeling left-out right now. Where's THEIR teevee spot? But we still have a veto pen at the ready...
As for Nadler and Pelosi: talk is cheap. How 'bout some action? And it is a matter of shame that Barr was permitted to run his fat mouth at her-- and she lay down and took it.
OT, but I rather like what I have heard from, of all people and places, the governor of Montana. I think 3/4 of the scene-stealers should simply drop out. I agree-- this many people running is ridiculous. It doesn't add to strength at all. I am with AK-- feeling the doomsday scenario more every day. And that is a lot OUR fault. Does the party do ANY screening?? Or have any plan? Or hire anyone for smart PR? Anyone? Anyone?
One other thing about the bloated Democratic field: money.
Every penny on the Treason Party side goes to the Traitor-in-Chief. Probably $500 million or more by the time the primary season is here.
With 20 or 30 (who the hell knows anymore) Democrats, they're lucky to get a buck twenty-five each. Seriously. Okay, Joe has a few mill and so does Bernie, but every dime sent to other candidates means less money in the end for everyone, especially whoever survives this mess.
And speaking of PR, no. The Democrats do not have a PR campaign. But Republicans do. First, they have a 7/24 broadcast network working as Trump's and the party's PR flacks. Then they have the gigantic network of 24 hour wingnut radio screamers. Finally, they have the MSM who have already decided that viewers have had enough of "Trump bashing" so they're all ready to bash the Democrats, because, well, they have to be "fair", right?
Same as it ever was.
And after Trump is reelected, we'll see the movement to make him a three or four term president hitched up to a rocket sled.
Jamie Raskin was suitably irate with Chris Hayes yesterday evening. But he can't go it alone. Where's the eunuch Tom Perez lately and why hasn't he been replaced?
A friend just sent this to me: It's by a doctor who treated a talented woman on her way to be "somebody" but because of a botched abortion (back in the dark days when abortion was illegal) died a horrible, painful death–––alone––even her Christian parents abandoned her and the guy that got her pregnant was long gone.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/5/15/1857998/-Her-Name-Was-Susan?detail=emaildkre
I, myself, and I wrote about my experience here years ago–- was unable to get a legal abortion and married the University football player, had to drop out of college, and completely change my life goals. My baby was stillborn due to cord strangulation. I picked up the pieces, got divorced and went on with my life. But the pain of those years never quite vanish. To say that I am horrified by those that want to dictate how we choose, how we order our life's choices is an understatement.
NJC,
Tom Perez might have been an okay DNC chair 20 years ago (no, hold on, make that 40 years ago) but not now.
Do a Google News search for "Tom Perez" and here are the noun-verb-object headlines:
Tom Perez is such a goddamned weenie...
Tom Perez plans to avoid chaos...
Tom Perez expects Republicans to lie...
Tom Perez asks RNC chair to...blah, blah...
Tom Perez dares RNC (they gave him the finger)...
Tom Perez sidesteps impeachment...(likewise)
Tom Perez urges donors to try to catch up to Trump...(Is that like desiring forest fires to do better next time?)
Tom Perez dodges...
Tom Perez sez "Shouldn't use ill-gotten info..."
Tom Perez sez Mueller report release is sad day.
Tom Perez sez "Trump not above the law"
...and as he says that, Trump and Barr and the Republicans piss on the Constitution and tell Americans that Trump IS above the law, and what you gonna do about it, Demycraps?
Got it? No ledes saying "Tom Perez kicks Republican Ass!" None suggesting "Tom Perez takes the fight to Trump!" And most definitely not a one saying "Democratic Party supports Americans while Trump fucks them in the ass."
Okay, I'll give you that last one. But that's exactly what's happening. Oh...not the first part. At least not so's you'd notice. Democrats don't talk about that.
What's happening is that Tom Perez is inconsequential in the same way that expectoration out the windows of giant pickup trucks in Georgia is inconsequential to rainfall totals.
The Democratic Party has made themselves INCONSEQUENTIAL.
And completely unable to save America from a traitor.