The Commentariat -- February 17, 2019
Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and a top adviser, looked on from the crowd, stone-faced. -- Washington Post ...
... Griff Witte & Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: "An annual security conference where Western allies have long forged united fronts erupted Saturday into a full-scale assault on the Trump administration's foreign policy. European leaders, would-be Democratic challengers and even the president's Republican backers took the floor to rebuke the president's go-it-alone approach. German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- habitually cautious about provoking Trump -- led the charge, unleashing a stinging, point-by-point takedown of the administration's tendency to treat its allies as adversaries.... Merkel accused the United States of strengthening Iran and Russia with its plans for a speedy military pullout from Syria. She expressed shock that the Trump administration would deem BMWs made in South Carolina a threat to national security.... The crowd gave the German chancellor an extended standing ovation -- a rare display at the normally button-down Munich Security Conference. The customarily reserved Merkel beamed as she took her seat.... Merkel was followed to the podium Saturday by Vice President Pence, who was met with only tepid applause -- and some incredulous looks -- when he proclaimed Trump 'the leader of the free world.'" ...
... Katrin Bennhold & Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany delivered a strong rejoinder on Saturday to American demands that European allies pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and gave a spirited defense of multilateral institutions in a world increasingly marked by great-power rivalry. In an uncharacteristically passionate speech, Ms. Merkel said the nuclear deal was the best way of influencing Iranian behavior on a range of non-nuclear issues, from missile development to terrorism. Without mentioning President Trump or the United States by name in what may be her last speech to this major security conference, Ms. Merkel criticized other unilateral moves, such as Mr. Trump's decision to pull American troops out of Syria, a suggestion that he would withdraw quickly from Afghanistan and his decision to suspend the Intermediate Range Missile Treaty with Russia, which directly affects European security.... Ms. Merkel spoke immediately before the United States vice president, Mike Pence, and addressed a packed auditorium with an audience that included Mr. Trump's daughter Ivanka, as well as the Russian foreign minister and a high-ranking Chinese official, who all pointedly remained seated when the chancellor received a standing ovation. Her reception was in sharp contrast to the polite near-silence that greeted Mr. Pence's address.... Mr. Pence focused less on working together and more on a list of demands for American allies based on American interests, with a heavy emphasis on a combative approach to Iran."
... Idiots Abroad. Washington Post Editors: "Many Europeans suspect that the Trump administration has little regard for the close alliances with Britain, France and Germany that have shaped U.S. foreign policy since World War II, preferring the autocratic ethnonationalism that has emerged in the nations of Central Europe. A bumbling series of appearances across the continent last week by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Pence will surely reinforce those conclusions. Mr. Pompeo began the week by paying court to the Hungarian regime of Viktor Orban, who has become a virtual pariah in European capitals because of his embrace of 'illiberal democracy.'... The secretary of state extended his goodwill tour to Slovakia -- where a leading journalist who exposed government corruption was murdered last year -- before meeting up in Poland with Mr. Pence for a ... poorly-conceived ... U.S.-organized conference on the Middle East.... the broad message of the week is that the Trump administration is aligning itself with those European forces that flout liberal values while denigrating allies that for 75 years have supported U.S. global leadership."
Linda Qiu of the New York Times: "To justify redirecting federal funds to a wall, the president made a litany of assertions about crime, drugs and other issues on the southern border. Nearly all were misleading, exaggerated or false." (Also linked yesterday afternoon) ...
... Glenn Kessler & Meg Kelly of the Washington Post: "Where to begin with President Trump's rambling news conference to announce he was invoking a national emergency to build a border wall? It was chock-full of false and misleading claims, many of which we've previously highlighted.... Here's a summary of 14 of the most noteworthy claims...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon) ...
Eric Levitz of New York: "On Friday morning, the president of the United States announced that America was suffering from a national emergency, that invaders were pouring across its southern border -- and that Rush Limbaugh is a 'great guy' who can 'speak for three hours without taking a phone call; try doing that some time!' That last declaration wasn't nearly as much of a non sequitur as one would hope. Donald Trump's decision to override the will of Congress -- and unilaterally fund his border wall through a fictitious emergency -- was the direct product of his affection for conservative media personalities. On Tuesday night, Sean Hannity told his viewers that he could tolerate Trump signing a bipartisan spending bill that lacked funding for 'the wall,' so long as the president simultaneously used an emergency order to unilaterally finance his signature policy. Three days later, Trump did exactly that." Levitz points out that Trump's base is so solid, he could have promoted -- and forced upon the GOP Congress -- actual populist & progressive legislation and not lost any of his base. He's a dick because he wants to be a dick, not because he has to be.
Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "House Democrats are taking their first real steps to force ... Donald Trump to divulge information about his private conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, setting up an extraordinary clash with the White House over Congress' oversight authority. Rep. Adam Schiff, the Intelligence Committee chairman, and Rep. Eliot Engel, the Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, told Politico they are actively consulting with House General Counsel Douglas Letter about the best way to legally compel the Trump administration to turn over documents or other information related to the president's one-on-one discussions with the Russian leader.... In particular, Democrats say they want to find out what Trump and Putin discussed during their private meeting in Helsinki last July, where Trump put himself at odds with the U.S. intelligence community and declared -- while standing next to the Russian president -- that the Kremlin did not interfere in the 2016 elections." (Also linked yesterday)
Dwight Garner in the New York Times: Former FBI acting director Andrew McCabe's "'The Threat' is a concise yet substantive account of how the F.B.I. works, at a moment when its procedures and impartiality are under attack. It's an unambiguous indictment of Trump's moral behavior.... McCabe writes. 'The work of the F.B.I. is being undermined by the current president.'... McCabe's accounts of his baffled interactions with Jeff Sessions, the former attorney general, would be high comedy if they were not so dire.... We see a Sessions who is openly racist.... He spends a good deal of time talking about Hillary Clinton and her email server. He argues that [James] Comey, whom he admires, made crucial mistakes in how he handled the matter. 'As a matter of policy, the F.B.I. does everything possible not to influence elections. In 2016, it seems we did.'"
Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "President Trump&'s pick to be the next United Nations ambassador withdrew from consideration Saturday, the State Department said. The department's spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, had been tapped to succeed Nikki Haley at the United Nations, but her name was never formally sent to the Senate for confirmation. The withdrawal is related to the employment of a nanny who was in the country illegally, said three people.... But according to a person familiar with Nauert's situation, the nanny was in the country legally.... It is unclear if she will return as spokeswoman." ...
... Matthew Lee of the AP: "Heather Nauert, picked by ... Donald Trump to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations but never officially nominated, has withdrawn from consideration, the State Department said.... Nauert's impending nomination had been considered a tough sell in the Senate, where she would have faced tough questions about her relative lack of foreign policy experience, according to congressional aides. A potential issue involving a nanny that she and her husband had employed may also have been a factor in her decision to withdraw, according to one aide. That issue, which was first reported by Bloomberg on Saturday, centered on a foreign nanny who was legally in the U.S. but did not have legal status to work, according to the aide.... The aide said some involved in the vetting process saw Nauert&'s inexperience and questions about her ability to represent the U.S. at the U.N. as a larger issue."
Presidential Race 2020. Holly Otterbein of Politico: "Bernie Sanders, inching closer to a second bid for the White House, has recorded a campaign video in which he says he is running for president in 2020, according to two people familiar with the spot.... Another hint that Sanders is getting closer to a launch: As Politico reported this week, the Sanders team has been interviewing people for top staff positions."
Elizabeth Dias & Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "Pope Francis has expelled Theodore E. McCarrick, a former cardinal and archbishop of Washington, from the priesthood, after the church found him guilty of sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians over decades, the Vatican said on Saturday. The move appears to be the first time any cardinal has been defrocked for sexual abuse -- marking a critical moment in the Vatican's handling of a scandal that has gripped the church for nearly two decades. It is also the first time an American cardinal has been removed from the priesthood." (Also linked yesterday)
Beyond the Beltway
Illinois. Don Babwin & Caryn Rousseau of the AP: "The man who opened fire and killed five co-workers including the plant manager, human resources manager and an intern working his first day at a suburban Chicago manufacturing warehouse, took a gun he wasn't supposed to have to a job he was about to lose. Right after learning Friday that he was being fired from his job of 15 years at the Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora, Gary Martin pulled out a gun and began shooting, killing the three people in the room with him and two others just outside and wounding a sixth employee, police said Saturday.... Martin, 45, had six arrests over the years in Aurora, for what police Chief Kristen Ziman described as 'traffic and domestic battery-related issues' and for violating an order of protection. He also had a 1995 felony conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi that should have prevented him from buying his gun, Ziman said."
Illinois. Ryan Young, et al., of CNN: "Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN that Chicago Police believe actor Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate an assault on him that he reported late last month. Smollett denies playing a role in his attack, according to a statement from his attorneys. The men, who are brothers, were arrested Wednesday but released without charges Friday after Chicago police cited the discovery of 'new evidence.' The sources told CNN the two men are now cooperating fully with law enforcement.... One of the men has appeared on 'Empire,' [a Chicago Police spokesman] said. A police source also told CNN on Friday night that the men had a previous affiliation with Smollett, but did not provide additional details." ...
... Charlie De Mar of CBS News Chicago: "Jussie Smollett paid two brothers to stage an attack against him, directed them to buy items used in the alleged assault and actually rehearsed it with them, sources say.... The brothers, who were questioned by police this week before being released, were paid $3,500 before leaving for Nigeria and were promised an additional $500 upon their return.... Police raided ... the brothers' home on Wednesday, the same day police met them at O'Hare International Airport, as they were returning from Nigeria."
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Reader Comments (6)
Here's a comment by Akhilleus made late yesterday:
Is there anyone working for Fatty who can spell?
Here’s pretend Sec’y of State, Mike Pompeo, former pretend CIA director, and prior to that, pretend congressman, trying to say something about former Fox reader and current pretend spokesperson at State, Heather Nauert, who, to her credit, turned down Fatty’s offer to make her another highly unqualified jamoke in his circle of unqualified jamokes, as the next Ambassador to the UN:
"Heather Nauert has performed her duties as a senior member of my team with unequalled [sic] excellence,"
Did she have unequaled spelling skills too?
Really, Mike? Try spellcheck, or a dictionary, or run it by someone who knows how to spell. Oh, wait. That would mean someone not working for Fatty.
It used to be when you saw an ungrammatical or poorly spelled press announcement or tweet, you knew right away it came from Fatty. Now, when we see a tweet saying we’re going to invadde Iran, it could be from any number of idiots.
@Akhilleus: Funds for installing Spellcheck on State Department computers have been diverted to Wall, under a presidential* declaration of national emergency.
Lindsey Graham just said it's better for some kid in Kentucky to have a wall on the border than to have a school.
I kid you not.
Today the Times has an excellent piece on one of the REAL crises: The one in the Catholic church: Sexuality in this institution goes way beyond abuse, it goes to the heart of the priesthood into the closet that is trapping thousands of men.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/17/us/it-is-not-a-closet-it-is-a-cage-gay-catholic-priests-speak-out.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
My gay hairdresser had a thing with one of our local priests ( who is now is Italy) and he told me this priest said that the Priesthood was a sanctuary for gay men––it was an open secret but a deadly one. Reading this NYT's piece the comments from priests themselves indicate how sick this religious society is–-how gay men are reduced to not only hiding their sexuality from the world but from themselves.
Last week I saw the film, "Boy Erased," which tells the story about a young gay boy who, because his parents are mired in the Church and its teachings, trot him over to a Conversion Institute. What ensues in this place is abhorrent –-see the film for what these places do to young men––many who do go into the Priesthood.
Some interesting numbers in this one:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/16/opinion/sunday/trump-youth-vote.html?
A CT. judge orders deposition of Alex Jones in Sandy Hook defamation case: FINALLY!!!!!
http://www.wnpr.org/post/connecticut-judge-orders-deposition-alex-jones-sandy-hook-defamation-case