The Commentariat -- Nov. 26, 2016
Rory Carroll of the Guardian: "Fidel Castro has died at the age of 90, Cuban state television announced on Saturday, ending an era for the country and Latin America." -- CW ...
... Castro's New York Times obituary, by Anthony dePalma, is here. "Fidel Castro had held onto power longer than any other living national leader except Queen Elizabeth II. He became a towering international figure whose importance in the 20th century far exceeded what might have been expected from the head of state of a Caribbean island nation of 11 million people." -- CW
David Sanger of the New York Times: "The Obama administration said on Friday that despite Russian attempts to undermine the presidential election, it has concluded that the results 'accurately reflect the will of the American people.' The statement came as liberal opponents of Donald J. Trump, some citing fears of vote hacking, are seeking recounts in three states -- Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania -- where his margin of victory was extremely thin." -- CW
Rosalind Helderman & Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "Days after Donald Trump's election victory, a news agency in the former Soviet republic of Georgia reported that a long-stalled plan for a Trump-branded tower in a seaside Georgian resort town was now back on track. Likewise, the local developer of a Trump Tower planned for Buenos Aires announced last week, three days after Trump spoke with Argentina's president, that the long-delayed project was moving ahead. Meanwhile, foreign government leaders seeking to speak with Trump have reached out to the president-elect through his overseas network of business partners, an unusually informal process for calls traditionally coordinated with the U.S. State Department. All of it highlights the muddy new world that Trump's election may usher in 00 a world in which his stature as the U.S. president, the status of his private ventures across the globe and his relationships with foreign business partners and the leaders of their governments could all become intertwined." -- CW ...
... New York Times Editors: "Recent days have produced several examples of how Mr. Trump's financial interests will threaten the integrity of the government.... Even without a federal rule requiring Mr. Trump to place his assets in a blind trust, he could run afoul of the Constitution's Emoluments Clause, which prohibits American officials from receiving income and gifts from foreign governments without the approval of Congress. Federal bribery laws also prohibit government officials from receiving anything of value in exchange for official acts.... For starters, Congress should create a process to review existing and future deals Mr. Trump and his family strike with foreign governments or companies linked to those governments to ensure there are no arrangements that could affect Mr. Trump's policy decisions. Mr. Trump still hasn't released his tax returns, which Congress should also demand.... Republicans' ... failure to act will make them responsible for any scandal that might emerge from the ties between Mr. Trump's presidency and his business." -- CW
... Judd Legum of ThinkProgress: "Members of the Electoral College should not make Donald Trump the next president unless he sells his companies and puts the proceeds in a blind trust, according to the top ethics lawyers for the last two presidents. Richard Painter, Chief Ethics Counsel for George W. Bush, and Norman Eisen, Chief Ethics Counsel for Barack Obama, believe that if Trump continues to retain ownership over his sprawling business interests by the time the electors meet on December 19, they should reject Trump." -- unwashed
New York Times Editors: "Donald Trump will take office as president facing a tsunami of litigation over his business practices and personal behavior. He may have settled the fraud suits involving Trump University, but at least 75 other lawsuits are underway against him or his companies, according to USA Today. Its investigation found more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades, ranging from contract disputes to real estate battles to harassment and discrimination claims. In short, Mr. Trump could find himself in a near-constant stream of court fights while he tries to focus on running the country." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Good Luck, Suckers. Katrin Bennhold of the New York Times: "As many Americans are trying to figure out what kind of president they have just elected, the people of Balmedie, a small village outside the once oil-rich city of Aberdeen, say they have a pretty good idea. In the 10 years since Mr. Trump first visited, vowing to build 'the world's greatest golf course' on an environmentally protected site featuring 4,000-year-old sand dunes, they have seen him lash out at anyone standing in his way. They say they watched him win public support for his golf course with grand promises, then watched him break them one by one." ...
... CW: I know we've heard this story before, but it's worth revisiting. Trump's spite walls are the worst. But I love that a couple of residents are flying Mexican flags & one raised a "Hillary for President" flag.
Harper Neidig of the Hill: "Fox News is reporting that Donald Trump's transition team wants Mitt Romney to publicly apologize for railing against the president-elect during the campaign. A transition official told Fox's Ed Henry that some in Trump's inner circle want the former Massachusetts governor to apologize in order to be seriously considered for the secretary of State." CW: Finally, after decades, Mitt knows what it feels like to be a dog on the roof of a car. ...
... digby: "... apologizing would be a terrible mistake. It would show the world that Trump expects everyone to bow down before him, show fealty, abase themselves. Giving the world a public display of such dominating, bullying behavior is not a good idea. If Trump wants Romney he and his virtual brownshirts need to treat him with respect. Otherwise, there's no earthly reason for him to do it." -- CW ...
... Julian Borger of the Guardian: "The Trump transition has already overturned the normal practice of choosing top cabinet members behind closed doors, turning it into a spectacle with contenders boarding a golden elevator in Trump headquarters in New York in front of the cameras on their way to making their pitch to [Trump].... However, [Rudy] Giuliani's open campaign in the press and public interventions by Trump aides have set new precedents in the selection process.... 'I probably have travelled in the last 13 years as much as Hillary did in the years she was secretary of state,' Giuliani said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Friday. 'My knowledge of foreign policy is as good, or better, than anybody they're talking to.'" -- CW
Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke has long been one of President-elect Trump's most controversial supporters, not least because four different people have died in the jail he oversees since this past April alone. And now it looks like Trump might be about to reward Clarke for his loyal service on the campaign trail by potentially offering him a job in his administration. Breitbart News, which has long been the Trump campaign's unofficial press organ, brings us word that Trump is set to meet with Clarke at Trump Tower on Monday." -- CW
Benjamin Wermund & Kimberly Hefling of Politico: "Civil rights groups say they're 'deeply concerned' that the extension of civil rights protections to gay and transgender students by President Barack Obama's Education Department will be dismantled by Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's pick to lead the department. They note the DeVos family has a long history of supporting anti-gay causes -- including donating hundreds of thousands to groups that push 'conversion therapy' -- raising questions about how, if at all, she would address discrimination against gay and transgender students. However, a top official from Equality Michigan, a gay rights group from DeVos' home state, believes her personal views aren't accurately reflected by her family's past donations and expresses hope she will protect LGBT kids -- while also noting plans to watch her actions." -- CW ...
... Douglas Harris, in a New York Times op-ed: "... Donald J. Trump's selection of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education has sent shock waves through the educational establishment. Understandably so, since this is a clear sign that Mr. Trump intends a major national push to direct public funds to private and charter schools.... As one of the architects of Detroit's charter school system, she is partly responsible for what even charter advocates acknowledge is the biggest school reform disaster in the country.... The DeVos nomination is a triumph of ideology over evidence that should worry anyone who wants to improve results for children." -- CW
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Conservative radio host Charles Sykes in Politico Magazine: "Trump's victory means that the most extreme and recklessly irresponsible voices on the right now feel emboldened and empowered. And more worrisome than that, they have an ally in the White House.... The new media will not only provide propaganda cover for the administration, but also direct the fire of a loose confederation of conservative outlets against critics and dissenters. Already, Fox's Sean Hannity has urged Trump to freeze out the mainstream media.... The 'fake news' that we are now obsessing over is only the latest leading indicator of the perils of our new post-truth media/political world. Indeed, what we learned this year was that the walls are down, the gatekeepers dismissed, the norms and standards of journalism and fact-based discourse trashed.... So what is this brave new conservative media going to look like? Probably more like Alex Jones than National Review." -- CW
Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "An election recount will take place soon in Wisconsin, after former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein filed a petition Friday with the state's Election Commission, the first of three states where she has promised to contest the election result. The move from Stein, who raised millions since her Wednesday announcement that she would seek recounts of Donald Trump’s apparent election victories in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, came just 90 minutes before Wisconsin's 5 p.m. Friday deadline to file a petition." -- CW ...
... Michael Gerstein of the Detroit News: "Elections officials are preparing for a possible presidential election recount in Michigan that could begin as soon as next week, state Director of Elections Chris Thomas said Friday. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has indicated she plans to jumpstart a recount in the Great Lakes state over fears that Michigan's election results could have been manipulated by hackers. Republican ... Donald won the state by 10,704 votes over Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to unofficial updated results posted Wednesday." -- CW ...
... Amie Parnes of the Hill: "President Barack Obama called Hillary Clinton to persuade her to concede the White House on election night, according to a forthcoming book on Clinton's defeat.... Obama's call left a sour taste in the mouths of some Clinton allies who believe she should have waited longer, and there's now a fight playing out between the Obama and Clinton camps over whether to support an effort to force the Rust Belt states to recount their votes." -- CW
One More Way Trump Will Fleece U.S. Taxpayers. Pamela Brown, et al., of CNN: "The US Secret Service is considering renting one floor in Trump Tower to protect ... Donald Trump and his family by turning it into a 24-7 command post, a law enforcement official told CNN Friday. According to Jared Horowitz, who is with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank and responsible for available commercial space at Trump Tower, the floors available to rent with the average floor office space running between 13,500 square feet to 15,500 square feet cost about $1.5 million a year. The law enforcement official says the current plans for security at Trump Tower would differ if the future first family were living at the White House full time and Trump's wife Melania and their son Barron were not staying behind in New York City through the Spring." -- CW
Trump Makes Kids Sick. Andrew Gumbel of the Guardian: "At doctors' offices across the United States, a new diagnosis has been popping up in the medical files of immigrant children, their friends and their families: fear of Trump. Since the 8 November election, pediatricians and clinics serving undocumented immigrants and other low-income patients have reported a spike in anxiety and panic attacks, particularly among children who worry that they or their parents might now face deportation." -- CW ...
... Don Hazen of AlterNet: "Jeff Gillenkirk was a fine journalist, writer, novelist, communicator, husband, father and friend.... Jeff had a heart attack and died on Tuesday, November 22.... The painful, sad irony is that just before he died, Jeff wrote the popular AlterNet article published November 20, 'The New PTSD: Post-Trump Stress Disorder.'... Always sensitive to trends and to what people were feeling, Jeff described how PTSD was keeping him up at night and how therapists are dealing with their patients' overwhelming sense of fear and panic attacks about the future." -- CW
Esme Cribb of TPM: "Minority leader-elect Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released a defiant statement on Friday in response to reports that Congressional Republicans plan to shift Medicare towards a more privatized system now that the GOP controls both chambers of Congress and the White House. 'The Republicans' ideological and visceral hatred of government could deny millions of senior citizens across the country the care they need and deserve,' Schumer said.... 'To our Republican colleagues considering this path, Democrats say: make our day. Your effort will fail, and this attack on our seniors will not stand.'" CW: Don't just make a statement, Chuck. Put it in an ad. Run the ad in Florida at least. How many Republican voters do you think read TPM?
Heather Caygle of Politico: "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Friday released her picks to fill out the Democratic leadership ranks next Congress, unveiling a list that includes many longtime allies of the recently tested leader. The slate, which will be considered by members during leadership elections Wednesday, includes lawmakers who have been supportive of Pelosi's 14-year tenure leading the caucus and comes as she faces a challenge from Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan for the top post." -- CW ...
... Dana Milbank: "Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, will be 77 next year. Steny Hoyer, her deputy, will be 78. Jim Clyburn, the No. 3 Democratic leader, will be 77. Their current ages, if combined, would date back to 1787, the year George Washington presided over the signing of the Constitution. It is time for them to go." -- CW
This Will Not Go Well. Julia Wong of the Guardian: "The US Army has ordered the closure of the main encampment established by activists opposing the Dakota Access pipeline, according to a letter released by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Citing federal regulations governing public lands, Colonel John W. Henderson of the army corps of engineers wrote to Standing Rock Sioux tribal chairman Dave Archambault that he was ordering the closure by 5 December. The order was 'to protect the general public from the violent confrontations between protestors and law enforcement officials that have occurred in this area, and to prevent death, illness, or serious injury' from the winter weather." -- CW
Beyond the Beltway
Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "'The bus driver drives fast,' the Woodmore Elementary School [Chattanooga, Tenn.,] student wrote. The driver of Bus No. 366, the child added, drove so that it felt 'like the bus is going to flip over.' And when a student stood in the aisle, the child wrote, the driver 'stops the bus and he makes people hit their head.' Five days later, the bus driver, Johnthony K. Walker, driving 37 children home from Woodmore, strayed from his route and crashed, leaving six children dead in one of the country's deadliest school bus wrecks in recent years. The crash, for which Mr. Walker has been charged with vehicular homicide, is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Chattanooga police. Records released Friday night by the Hamilton County Department of Education showed that Mr. Walker's behavior was a frequent worry this semester.... Mr. Walker, 24..., worked for Durham School Services, a contractor based in Illinois that says it carries more than one million schoolchildren each day." -- CW
Madeline Schmitt of KRQE Albuquerque: Customers & store personnel at Smith's grocery store in Albuquerque, N.M., defended a woman wearing a hijab after another woman yelled at her with remarks like, "Get out of our country, you don't belong here, you're a terrorist!" -- CW ...
... Erik Loomis of LG&$: "This is how we have to react. Right now, racists are fully empowered to yell and scream and beat and kill people of color. The way we stop them is to stand up collectively and fight for those we see oppressed. That's what people did in Albuquerque...." -- CW
German ARD and Der Spiegel interview Barry. "...outgoing US President Barack Obama discusses the legacy he has built and his worries about the future of democracy, as well as...the man who will succeed him in office." -- unwashed: After reading, try to imagine FFvC's responses to some of their questions.
Christian Reiermann of Der Spiegel: "[The] kind of trade policy bluster coming from the newly elected president is generating unease in Berlin. The German government is concerned that Germany could soon fall into...[FFvC's] sights as well."
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Reader Comments (14)
"Castro Dead. Trump takes Credit. 'Trump delivers on his promise to free Cuba from Castro' said the president-elect. When told he made no such promise, Trump said 'Just ask Florence Henderson. I told her all about my plan. Lying media.'"
Michigan goes R, Cubs win series, Castro dies ... something's going on. I don't know what, but we oughtta get to the bottom of it.
DJT doesn't need Mitt to make a public apology. If he nominates him, he'll just say at some point that "we talked, and Mitt apologized, and I told him it was OK." Mitt, being a wimp, would just stand there looking uncomfortable.
http://sfbaytimes.com/san-franciscos-official-response-to-the-election-of-trump/
The definition of the truly great America.
If you want to get a flavor of Libre Cuba back when Castro, waving his weapon of choice, rode into Havana and changed that little island for good and for a good long time see the excellent Sidney Pollock film, "Havana"–-the theme alone is haunting.
@Patrick: "what's going on?" sang Marvin Gaye in his day and Barry Gordy wasn't happy. Marvin wanted to sing about what was going on in Vietnam and in our racially compromised country. Gordy was fearful of backlash and black-lash but Marvin was right–-his records soared. Barry ate crow while Marvin dined on "told ya so's."
I find it odd that Betsy DeVos would give money to organizations
supporting 'conversion therapy' when she has the greatest conversion
therapy tool known to mankind. Play straight, get married, give me
some grandchildren or you don't get that billion dollars we promised
you at birth. Or could be she feels sorry for the lower classes, non-
billionaires who can't use that tactic.
Unlamented Silent Cal once broke from his habitual taciturnity to utter: The business of America is business.
Memorable enough line, but it always seemed an extremely limited point of view. With Trump's election I'm reconsidering. Might be one of those times to give reluctant credit where credit is due.
We are on a path to tear down all walls between government and business. Government and business have always worked together, many times far too closely. But there was always the sense and sometimes the reality of government's ability to at least occasionally stand between the people and the predators. If in the last forty or so years, that image has been tarnished, it still existed. Post Bush Crash we got Dodd-Frank and the CPB. Even Bush II, bidnessman that he styled himself, made a show of going after his Enron buddies.
But with Trump and the very public ascent of the business barbarians to power all pretense is lost. The questionable degree of integrity K Street's penetration of our national government has left that government is already a public casualty of Drumpf's election.
We can expect the bid prices for natural resources on public lands to plummet. We will sell our schools, our parks and the public lands themselves--cheap. A few will get richer and the country and its people will be impoverished.
But that's the nature of business when it is separated from conscience or when it institutional superego is itself corrupted and joins hands with its corruptors.
The barbarians are no longer at the gate. They're running the show.
And BTW I don't expect the Kochs to keep their distance from the Dumpf. They are far closer kin than they so far care publicly to admit. They just thought he would lose.
@Marie, just read your excellent comment to Chuck Schumer about his response to Republicans' plans to privatize Medicare.
So, I sent him an email and told him to do what you said.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I see that some have discovered that some of what passes for news is fake.
This is a surprise?
Lying in newspapers has occurred for centuries (the contumely, lies and innuendo exchanged between proponents of Jefferson and Adams formed an early playbook of how to go about deceiving the public) and Faux News has been practicing and perfecting the art for twenty years.
That news is often fake is itself fake news 'cause it ain't news atall.
Greenwald has a scary piece in the Intercept:
https://theintercept.com/2016/11/04/three-new-scandals-show-how-pervasive-and-dangerous-mass-surveillance-is-in-the-west-vindicating-snowden/
Who's watch list are you on?
Not sure I believe the story about Obama persuading Hillary to concede. If it were true, however, do you really think she would have listened to him? Oh wait, I guess she needs a man to tell her what do do.
Clinton doesn't owe Obama anything and he should butt out. I've said this before in other comments, I'm at the point of being embarrassed at this man's desperate need to appear gracious. It's absolutely maddening.
In case anybody wants to email Chuck and pass along Marie's suggestion,
https://www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/email-chuck
Schumer is like a shark in more ways than one. He has no backbone; it's all cartilage and very flexible.
Even in these dark days this story still warms me heart.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/04/donald-trump-marvin-roffman-casino-lawsuit-213855