The Commentariat -- April 1, 2018
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' -- Jesus, according to Matthew 25:34-36 (NIV)
Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. 'Caravans' coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL! -- And Easter Morning Message from Our Lord Donald
Yeah, Trump really tweeted that at 9:56 am ET, just as some of you were entering church on Christianity's highest holy day. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie
The Dunning-Kruger Effect Takes over the White House. Philip Rucker & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Fourteen months into the job, Trump is increasingly defiant and singularly directing his administration with the same rapid and brutal style he honed leading his real estate and branding empire. Trump is making hasty decisions that jolt markets and shock leaders and experts -- including those on his own staff. Some confidants are concerned about the situation, while others, unworried, characterize him as unleashed. The president is replacing aides who have tended toward caution and consensus with figures far more likely to encourage his rash instincts and act upon them, and he is frequently soliciting advice from loyalists outside the government. As he shakes up his administration, Trump is prioritizing personal chemistry above all else.... Trump is domineering his strategy regarding the expanding investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, in effect acting as his own lawyer.... On policy, Trump is making sudden decisions without much staff consultation...."
Julian Borger of the Guardian: "None of Trump's serial deadlines is likely to be more consequential than the one looming on 12 May. That is the day on which he must sign a presidential waiver on sanctions on Iran, or violate a landmark multilateral agreement on the future of Iran's nuclear programme signed in 2015 with European allies, the UK, France and Germany, Russia, China and Iran itself.... Tehran, which has stuck so far to the limits on uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities ... would be faced with the dilemma of whether it is worth sticking to an agreement that is providing little or no benefit.... Trump's vocal hostility to the deal has contributed to a drying up of western capital and trading partners, which in itself represents a violation of the [deal]." --safari
A Liar & a Moron. Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "President Trump escalated his assault on Amazon.com on Saturday, accusing the online retail giant of a 'Post Office scam' and falsely stating that The Washington Post operates as a lobbyist for Amazon. In a pair of morning tweets sent during his drive from his Mar-a-Lago estate to the nearby Trump International Golf Club, the president argued that Amazon costs the U.S. Postal Service billions of dollars in potential revenue. Trump has repeatedly advanced this theory, even though officials have explained to him that Amazon's contracts with the Postal Service are profitable for the agency. The president also incorrectly conflated Amazon with The Post and made clear that his attacks on the retailer were inspired by his disdain for the newspaper's coverage. He labeled the newspaper 'the Fake Washington Post' and demanded that it register as a lobbyist for Amazon. The Post is personally owned by Jeffrey P. Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, and operates independently of Amazon.... Trump also criticized California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) for pardoning five ex-convicts facing deportation."
... Manuela Tobias of Politifact breaks down some of the lies in Trump's Amazon tweets. I love this: "Amazon paid nothing in federal taxes this year thanks to tax credits and, in large part, Trump's new tax law."
Randall Eliason in a Washington Post op-ed: "President Trump's now-former attorney John Dowd allegedly told lawyers representing Paul J. Manafort and Michael Flynn last year that the president would consider pardoning the two men if they got into legal trouble. (Dowd has denied the reports.) Much of the news coverage has focused on whether offering pardons to induce a witness not to cooperate in the special counsel's investigation could constitute obstruction of justice. But there is another potential charge that could apply more directly and that prosecutors might have reason to favor: conspiracy to commit bribery.... Thanks to the unusual circumstances in this case, bribery has a significant legal advantage over obstruction of justice.... Even scholars who think that merely granting a pardon could never amount to obstruction agree that a president who took a bribe in exchange for granting a pardon could be charged with bribery."
Trump Loves All Dictators Who Rig Elections. Lauren Bohn in the New Yorker: "This week, Egyptians went to the polls in a three-day Presidential election that observers described as a farce. [President Abdel Fattah El-]Sisi ran against one obscure opponent, Moussa Mostafa Moussa, who is a Sisi supporter himself. Three former high-ranking military leaders who had announced that they would challenge Sisi were arrested or forced out of the race.... Trump Administration officials, meanwhile, praised the vote. The American Embassy in Cairo tweeted, on Monday, 'as Americans we are very impressed by the enthusiasm and patriotism of Egyptian voters.'" There's more. Mrs. McC: Hope Drumpf treated Sisi to a congratulatory call.
Andrew Restuccia of Politico: "The White House is now asserting that recently departed Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin resigned. Shulkin has made it clear in his public comments that he was forced out.... In announcing the removal of Shulkin as VA secretary, Trump tapped Defense Department official Robert Wilkie as the acting leader of the department, bypassing Shulkin's deputy, who was next in line to succeed him. That decision has reignited a debate among legal experts about the president's ability to hand-pick replacements for ousted Cabinet secretaries. The debate centers on vague language in the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, which gives the president broad authority to temporarily fill a vacancy at a federal agency with an acting official if the current office holder 'dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office.' A person familiar with Shulkin's dismissal strongly disputed that Shulkin resigned, noting that he did not submit a resignation letter.... Under normal circumstances, the VA's No. 2, Deputy Secretary Thomas Bowman, would have stepped in as secretary after Shulkin departed. But Trump and many in the White House have clashed with Bowman, believing him to be opposed to efforts to move toward more privatized veterans health services."
All the Whitey-White House Interns.... Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "The White House released a photo Friday of its spring 2018 interns -- and the Internet quickly noted a lack of people of color.... The intern photo -- and the photos of previous intern groups of the Trump White House -- provided a window into understanding why there could be such low representation of people of color at top levels of the Trump administration: Diversity has to start at the bottom."
Ryan Devereaux of The Intercept: "[Guled]Muhumed is one of 30 Somali men who say they were subjected to a horrifying week of abuse at a for-profit immigrant detention center in Texas last month. Their allegations, which included claims of physical and sexual abuse, as well racial slurs, were detailed in a chilling report published last week.... ICE has refused to confirm whether it has opened an investigation into what happened at the West Texas Detention Facility, a for-profit operation run by LaSalle Corrections.... As a high school administrator and youth counselor, Muhumed spearheaded a program in his community to turn refugee children, particularly young Somalis, away from drugs, crime, and radicalism. He has spoken out publicly against the terrorist groups that wield considerable power in Somalia [where he'll be deported]." --safari
The American Serfdom. Joel Kotkin & Wendell Cox of The Daily Beast: "The share of homeownership has dropped most rapidly among the key shapers of the American future -- millennials, immigrants, minorities. Since 2000, the home ownership among those under 45 has plunged 20 percent.... Rents are rising as well. According to Zillow, for workers between the ages of 22 and 34, rent costs claim upwards of 45 percent of income in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Miami, compared to closer to 30 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. The basic reality: America's new generation, particularly in some metros, increasingly seems destined to live as renters, without ever enjoying equity in property." --safari ...
... Abdallah Fayyad of The Atlantic: "Up until the civil-rights era, segregation was largely reinforced, if not promoted, by federal and local governments. In the 1930s, for example, the Federal Housing Administration incentivized developers to build suburbs for whites only, and the Public Works Administration built separate and unequal housing projects.... And like de jure segregation -- when the government legally engineered ghettos into existence -- de facto segregation continues to exacerbate wealth and racial inequality today.... The continued resistance to integration is not about residents bending to the will of a free market; it's about the preservation of white wealth, a measurable guarantee for the advancement of white Americans at the cost of everyone else." --safari
Tom Dart of the Guardian recounts the emotional agony of teaching in America's 'active shooter drills' education system. --safari
The "Free Press" in Trump's America. Brian Schatz of Mother Jones: "You might know Sinclair Broadcasting, the largest owner of local TV stations in the nation, from 2004, when it required its affiliates to air an anti-John Kerry propaganda film as a news segment and then fired one of its employees who spoke against it. Or from last year, when Last Week Tonight's John Oliver bludgeoned it in an 18-minute segment. Or from earlier this month, when CNN's Brian Stelter discovered that it would be forcing its anchors to record 'media bashing' promos that parallel ... Donald Trump's incendiary complaints about the 'fake news' media -- 'a promotional campaign,' as Stelter puts it, 'that sounds like pro-Trump propaganda.'... Sinclair Broadcasting is well on its way to reaching three-quarters of all American homes.... Now, the media-bashing promos are in, and Deadspin put together a terrifying 98-second video that shows how far Sinclair Broadcasting is willing to go to bring right-wing propaganda into your living room." Watch the video. ...
... Timothy Burke of Deadspin: "... with the help of a friendly federal government, [Sinclair] is about to swallow up another 40 television stations -- increasing its reach and its lead over competitors like Hearst and Scripps." ...
... Wikipedia has a list of Sinclair's local O&O stations. Mrs. McC: It came as a surprise to me that many of Sinclair's stations are affiliates of national news media like ABC & NBC News. In many communities, Sinclair owns more than one local broadcaster, so viewer are kinda screwed.
More in Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha. Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: Laura Ingraham is going on a week-long "Easter vacation. The network told The Washington Post the vacation was pre-planned. But the break comes as she is facing some of the harshest criticism so far on her five-month-old Fox News show -- and a growing advertiser revolt around comments she made about David Hogg, a survivor of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., and activist."
New York Times: "In his message on Sunday, the pope called for peace in a world marked by war and conflict. He cited a need to end the 'carnage' in 'the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria'; urged 'reconciliation' in the Middle East; and pressed for 'the fruits of dialogue' to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula. He also called attention to the 'hunger, endemic conflicts and terrorism' suffered by parts of Africa."
Beyond the Beltway
Alexei Koseff of the Sacramento Bee: "Amid a brewing legal battle with the Trump administration over California's liberal immigration policies, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday granted pre-Easter pardons to five immigrants facing possible deportation. They were among 56 pardons and 14 commutations that the Democratic governor handed down ahead of the Sunday holiday. The majority were convicted of drug-related or other nonviolent crimes, according to Brown's office. Executive clemency is particularly significant for immigrants, since they can be deported for old convictions, even if they have legal resident status. By forgiving their criminal records, Brown eliminates the grounds on which they could be targeted for removal from the country." ...
... Alicia Cohn of the Hill: "President Trump on Saturday called out California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) over immigration policy, marking further escalation in the dispute between the Trump administration and the Golden State. Brown signed 'sanctuary state' legislation last October in a rebuke of Trump’s increased immigration restrictions. Trump has repeatedly blasted the state as hosting immigrants in the country illegally who commit crimes, a charge he repeated on Saturday. 'Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown pardoned 5 criminal illegal aliens whose crimes include (1) Kidnapping and Robbery (2) Badly beating wife and threatening a crime with intent to terrorize (3) Dealing drugs,' he tweeted. 'Is this really what the great people of California want?'" ...
... Foxycat. Daniel Politi of Slate: "'Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown pardoned 5 criminal illegal aliens whose crimes include (1) Kidnapping and Robbery (2) Badly beating wife and threatening a crime with intent to terrorize (3) Dealing drugs. Is this really what the great people of California want?' the President wrote on Twitter while tagging Fox News. The tag to Fox News is appropriate considering that the language he used in the tweet was pretty much a copy of a graphic that was broadcast on Fox & Friends."
Jamiles Lartey of the Guardian: "A[n African-American] Texas woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to vote in the 2016 presidential election when she was ineligible because she was on probation. Crystal Mason, 43, will appeal the punishment handed down this week in Fort Worth, according to her attorney. The sentence was handed down despite the fact that Mason's provisional ballot was not ultimately counted.... She testified that she did not know people convicted of felonies could not vote until they had completed their sentences.... The case is reminiscent of that of another Texas woman, Rosa Ortega, who was sentenced to eight years for illegally voting in several elections because, according to her, she believed her permanent residency card made her a US citizen. According to the Washington Post, of 38 Texas prosecutions for illegal voting between 2005 and 2017, only one resulted in a sentence of more than three years." --safari
Way Beyond
Hazen Balousha & Oliver Holmes of the Guardian: "Gaza hospitals, running low on blood and overstretched by the huge number of wounded, were reeling after one of the enclave’s bloodiest days outside of open war, in which Israeli soldiers shot 773 people with live ammunition, according to the ministry of health. Fifteen of the wounded died, said the ministry spokesperson Dr Ashraf al-Qidra. 'Most of the dead were aged between 17 and 35 years old,' he said. 'The injuries were on the upper part of the body.' He added that the remainder of the wounded, some of whom were in a critical condition, had been 'shot with live ammunition'. The violence erupted on Friday after mass demonstrations took place demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to land in Israel.... More than 1,400 people were wounded, mostly by bullets but also rubber-coated rounds and tear-gas inhalation, the health ministry said.... The UN security council held emergency talks to discuss the risks of further escalation but failed to agree on a statement. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has called for an independent and transparent investigation into the violence, according to his spokesman Farhan Haq."
News Ledes
Washington Post: "The Fighting Irish, playing in their fifth national championship game since their 2001 title, defeated the Bulldogs, 61-58. Notre Dame trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, making its comeback the largest ever in a women's national championship game. Arike Ogunbowale hit a three-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining to win the game."
Washington Post: "Stephen Reinhardt, a liberal-leaning judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in California, whose rulings overturned bans on same-sex marriage and physician-assisted suicide and declared prison overcrowding unconstitutional, died March 29 in Los Angeles. He was 87. He had a heart attack while visiting his dermatologist's office, 9th Circuit spokesman David Madden said. Judge Reinhardt, considered a liberal icon in legal matters, was an active member of the court, which he joined in 1980 after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter." ...
... Joanne Mariner, a former clerk to Judge Reinhardt, writes a remembrance in Slate.
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Reader Comments (13)
See the gate is now open and no longer too early to wish everyone a happy Easter Fools' Day.
Gee. Had no idea it was The Post that graveled the Pretender. Thought all along it was taxes.
Might have to subscribe.
And the Lord cometh down and sayeth to all the bunnies in their burrows––"Heed my call, little bunnies, go forth and bring chocolate eggs to all in my kingdom and wish the poor sods a Happy Easter while you are at it. Rejoice and get thee hopping–––and when you get to that White House on the hill leave your droppings on the front porch for good measure and for smite. As you know, I'm a master at smites, smittens and smots––part of my character, I guess.
Happy Easter people–––have fun!
Trump has solved a major problem. He was confronted daily with people who disagreed with him. You can't be worth your job if you cannot agree with the smartest person on earth. The solution is simple, all information comes from FOX 'news'. Since the Trump brain is never wrong, we no longer deal with the word 'embarrassed'.
P.S. I have repeatedly thought since my retirement ends my business trips to Europe I now avoid being embarrassed.
So let me get this straight. Trump whines loudly about the small amount of taxes paid by Amazon, but when confronted, in an election debate, with the likelihood that he himself pays no taxes, he claims that that makes him smart. It’s okay for him, but not someone who won’t bow down to him. Spoken like a true dictator.
Please to be explaining to me how dangling a pardon in front of a couple of suspects, with the understanding that they would clam up and not roll over on the boss, in other words monkey wrenching an investigation into collusion by the Russian stooge in the White House, is not obstruction of justice. This must be one of those cases where where what is legal has nothing to do with what is just.
Akhilleus,
Or just think of it (as most historians will, should we survive to think at all) as the April Fools' Presiduncy, a really bad trick we've played on ourselves.
In Groundhog Day style, one day follows the other, but there's no need to change the date until the Pretender is gone.
April Fools year round.
Found "The Daily Beast" piece on home ownership particularly intriguing. It's another sign of growing inequality I've mentioned a few months ago to a researcher at the Washington Budget and Policy Center, so I sent the link on to her.
Also sent it to one of my sons. Our brief dialog follows.
G: "Yes, but to the extent this article takes the position that urban sprawl is a good thing because it brings down housing costs I strongly disagree. If cities are going to promote densification they need to reduce barriers rather than erect them."
K: "The message of growing inequality was, of course, what most interested me. I took the sprawl as an unfortunate consequence whom some perhaps equally unfortunately consider to be a solution."
Overall, what's happening here is a reality we're hellbent on constructing with full knowledge of the consequences of our actions, yet nonetheless unwilling to take any action that will mitigate or halt the obvious harm we are doing.
It's a hard truth that applies to everything from nuclear proliferation to urban sprawl, and notably to everything the Pretender's administration is up to.
Millennials are SOL with rent costs increasing to 45% of income. Most rentals managed by private equity real estate development/management corporations require income to be three fold higher than the rent to qualify for a lease agreement (Seattle/Puget Sound market). A college grad, with student loans to pay off, and a $15/hr entry level wage has few housing choices.
Certain policy makers are focused on raising living wages, but no one is talking about the role of real estate corporations raising rents to satisfy investor returns at the expense of stake holders. Capitalism is wonderful.
During rehearsal for this morning's service, I rather pointedly and vigorously un-simplified a contraction in a verse of "This Joyful Eastertide," rendering it once again as " 'Til _Triumph_ from East to West..." Several nearby singers looked around, but the director took it in stride. "Trebles, you took that section to fast. No rushin'." One alto was NOT amused.
It stayed "Triumph" for the service.
...too fast...
@KenW: Wasn't sure which Daily Beast article you referred to, so I went looking. Didn't find it, but came across an older article from January 19, 2013 that was quite interesting.
Janna Malmud Smith Income Inequality Within Families is Emerging as a Major Issue:
(Excerpt):
"Conversely, when people feel more equal, they feel happier and closer. For the past few years, I’ve been interviewing fishermen and their families on a Maine island, and over and over I’ve heard islanders utter more or less the same words. (I’m offering a composite here.) “We had little when we were growing up. But, you know, it didn’t matter. We had a good time. “ Why? I ask. Well, … really—I get told repeatedly—I think it was because everybody was in the same boat.
Gradually I caught on. My interviewees knew that they could deal with backbreaking work and the tough times because they felt they were in it together with everyone else. Or, as one woman observed, “We didn’t know we were poor until I grew up and then I was like, "..‘Wow we were poor!’”"
This says so much.
MAG,
Just came in from trying to find the oil drain plug on my lawn mower; consulted the internet, dutifully checked RC and found your question. (April marks the traditional time of my first lawn mowing of the year; any earlier is by my lights PMS or premature mowing syndrome.). Google didn't answer my question very satisfactorily, tho' it did hint I can't find the plug because walk-behind mowers haven't had drain plug for years.
Who knew?
Your question is easier, and I'm pleased to have a ready answer to something. Shoulda been more specific.
"The American Serfdom" article linked above.
@ Ken, if you haven't already done so, tilt your mower to the side and look at the underside of the engine housing, next to where the shaft comes out. You may find a plug there. Mine has a 3/8"-square female socket. Others may be 3/8 male.