The Commentariat -- September 2, 2019
Here's what the workers who put food on our tables are doing today. Uh, Happy Labor Day.
Afternoon Update:
Someone in the Trump Regime Still Can Be Embarrassed. Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would reconsider its decision to force immigrants facing life-threatening health crises to return to their home countries, an abrupt move last month that generated public outrage and was roundly condemned by the medical establishment. On Aug. 7, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, without public notice, eliminated a 'deferred action' program that had allowed immigrants to avoid deportation while they or their relatives were undergoing lifesaving medical treatment.... On Monday, the [Department of Human Services] said in a statement that while limiting the program was 'appropriate,' officials would 'complete the caseload that was pending on August 7.' The statement said that deportation proceedings had not been initiated against anyone who had received the letter. However, it did not say whether it would continue to grant immigrants extensions to stay in the country.... When asked for clarification, an agency official said..., 'Whether a very limited version of deferred action will continue forward at U.S.C.I.S. is still under review....'"
Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump spent Labor Day morning by sending out a series of tweets attacking what he calls the Fake News media. While Category 5 Hurricane Dorian slowly makes its way to the South Atlantic coast of the United States, dangerously threatening coastal areas from Florida, north to the Carolinas..., he first attacked a report published Sunday night by The Washington Post [also linked below], that claimed Trump aides privately, and anonymously, admit that it was a' lost summer' for the White House as President Trump got lost in a sea of controversial distractions.... He then appeared to go after the entire institution of the free press..., taking a page from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in calling out the 'LameStream Media' who he sees as having gone 'totally Crazy!'" ...
... Well, that's SOP, but how did Trump celebrate great American workers on Labor Day? ...
... Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday lashed out at American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) President Richard Trumka a day after the labor union leader criticized Trump's trade deal in a Fox News interview. Trump, in a Labor Day morning tweet, claimed that Trumka doesn't share the same critique of Trump's trade deal when 'he is with me at the White House.... Just watched AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on @FoxNews and thought to myself how different he is on TV tan he is when he is with me at the White House. Likes what we are doing until the cameras go on,' Trump tweeted. The president targeted the AFL-CIO head after Trumka said that unions were not ready to back the president's 'unenforceable' replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)."
Hong Kong. Greg Torode, et al., of Reuters: "Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she has caused 'unforgivable havoc' by igniting the political crisis engulfing the city and would quit if she had a choice, according to an audio recording of remarks she made last week to a group of businesspeople. At the closed-door meeting, Lam told the group that she now has 'very limited' room to resolve the crisis because the unrest has become a national security and sovereignty issue for China amid rising tensions with the United States. 'If I have a choice,' she said, speaking in English, 'the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology.' Lam's dramatic and at times anguished remarks offer the clearest view yet into the thinking of the Chinese leadership as it navigates the unrest in Hong Kong, the biggest political crisis to grip the country since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989."
Danica Kirka of the AP: "British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shot down the notion that he wanted an early election to secure Brexit, insisting Monday that it wasn't the way to get a deal done. Johnson decried parliamentary action set for Tuesday that is meant to delay Britain's departure from the European Union, arguing that it would 'chop the legs' out of the U.K. position. He spoke moments after lawmakers posted a copy of the proposed bill on Twitter, making clear that they would press the government to seek a delay if there's no deal."
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"Trump's Lost Summer." Philip Rucker & Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "The two months between Independence Day and Labor Day offered a fresh and vivid portrait of the president as seen by Trump's critics -- incompetent, indecisive, intolerant and ineffective.... Privately, many of the president's advisers and outside allies bemoan what they consider to be a period of missed opportunity and self-sabotage.... Some White House aides and outside Trump allies ... describ[e] an administration in which the president has crashed through the remaining guard rails. Trump could have worked strategically to solidify his position and broaden his appeal. Instead, his words and actions this summer served to further divide the country and to harden public opinion about the ever-polarizing president." ...
... ** Adam Gopnik of the New Yorker: "The prudential argument, against impeachment, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ... seems to favor still, is that the crucial thing for those who resist Donald Trump -- stipulating in advance that he's an autocrat at daily war with the basic premises of liberal democracy -- is to win elections in 2020. The only meaningful defeat is a political defeat.... The principled case [for impeachment] ... is summed up in three words: Trump's a crook.... The task of holding Trump accountable becomes more urgent for a simple reason: he's getting worse.... There is another, pragmatic reason to pursue impeachment.... Trump is a dangerous and unfit President.... The normalization of Trump and Trumpism -- allowing those things to be defined merely as a political problem needing a political cure -- degrades democracy."
We don't even know what's coming at us. All we know is it's possibly the biggest. I have -- I'm not sure that I've ever even heard of a Category 5. I knew it existed. And I've seen some Category 4's -- you don't even see them that much. But a Category 5 is something that -- I don't know that I've ever even heard the term other than I know it's there. That's the ultimate, and that's what we have unfortunately. -- Donald Trump, at a briefing with officials at FEMA's headquarters in Washington, D.C., Sunday ...
... Devan Cole of CNN: "In September 2017, nearly eight months into Trump's presidency, Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane ever recorded outside the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, affected at least nine US states. That same month, Hurricane Maria devastated the US territory of Puerto Rico, leaving behind an island that is still struggling to recover. Last October, Hurricane Michael, which was originally designated as a Category 4, barreled into the Florida Panhandle as the third Category 5 hurricane to blast the US since Trump.... Trump has previously indicated several other times that Category 5 hurricanes are unprecedented weather events that either he or others had never heard of or witnessed. In the days between the landfalls of Hurricane Irma and Maria, he said he 'never even knew' they existed.... In October 2017, Trump claimed nobody has ever heard of a (Category) 5 hitting land,' and earlier this year, he again said he had never heard of a hurricane of that intensity.... The US has seen a number of Category 5 storms in recent memory -- including Hurricane Katrina in 2005...."
"It Could Have Been Worse." First Responders, law enforcement, the police, the FBI, Governor Abbott, incredible the job they did. It is tragic. But they did it an incredible job under the circumstances. Another very sick person, so I just want to thank you everybody involved.... As bad as it was, it could have been worse, but it was certainly bad, very very sad situation.... Background checks, I will say that for the most part, sadly, if you look at the last four or five, going back even five or six or seven years, for the most part, as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it. -- Donald Trump, to reporters, Sunday ...
... David Edwards of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump on Sunday sought to downplay the mass shooting that left at least seven dead near Odessa, Texas.... When pressed on gun legislation, Trump argued that improved background checks would not have stopped any of the recent mass shootings." Mrs. McC: I guess we should look at this as an encouraging sign of Trump's mental acuity. True, he can't remember Cat 5 hurricanes Irma & Maria from two years ago (he does "remember" all the billions he thinks he "gave" to ungrateful Puerto Ricans), but he can remember a mass shooting that occurred a month ago (no doubt because unpatriotic Democrats are still nagging him to take away everybody's guns). ...
... Likely [Trump will] dust off the DVD of an old speech blaming [the Odessa shooting] on 'mental illness'. -- Bobby Lee, in a comment Sunday morning
For the most part, sadly, if you look at the last four or five (shootings) going back even five or six or seven years, for the most part, as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it. So it's a big problem. It's a mental problem. It's a big problem. -- Donald Trump, hours later ...
... Darlene Superville of the AP: "... Donald Trump expressed a commitment Sunday, hours after the latest deadly mass shooting, to work with a divided Congress to 'stop the menace of mass attacks.' He said any measures must satisfy the competing goals of protecting public safety and the constitutional right to gun ownership and seemed to cast fresh doubt on the merits of instituting more thorough background checks for gun purchases." (Also linked yesterday.) More theories on the causes of mass shootings linked under Beyond the Beltway beltway. Mrs. McC: Denialism, it turns out, leads to very creative, albeit delusional, ideas.
Sir Donald Recalls. Justin Wise of the Hill: "PresidentTrump on Sunday targeted actress Debra Messing after she called for publicizing the list of donors who are reportedly attending a Beverly Hills fundraiser where the president is slated to appear.... 'I have not forgotten that when it was announced that I was going to do "The Apprentice," and when it then became a big hit, helping NBC's failed lineup greatly, @DebraMessing [-- then a star of 'Will & Grace' --] came up to me at an Upfront & profusely thanked me, even calling me "Sir,"' Trump said on Twitter. "How times have changed!'" ...
... The Tell. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: How we know that never happened: Trump claims Messing called him "Sir."
Ioan Grillo of the New York Times: "... eight Mexican citizens [were] among the 22 people who died in the [El Paso] attack, in which a man named Patrick Crusius is accused of shooting shoppers in a Walmart with an AK-style rifle. Most of the other victims were Americans of Mexican descent.... Mexico';s foreign secretary, Marcelo Ebrard..., has called for terrorism charges to be filed against Mr. Crusius and has said Mexico may ask for his extradition here.... The massacre indeed looks to be a political act designed to sow terror and hate.... But even without such charges, prosecutors and the police need to make clear that the case is a political crime of terror rather than the random act of a madman.... It is certainly terrorism when a person or group murders innocent civilians in the name of a political or religious cause. The El Paso shooting appears to fit this definition to the letter." Mrs. McC: Grillo never specifically mentions Trump's direct contribution to white supremacist violence. But he might as well have accused Trump of inciting terrorism. ...
Tim Craig of the Washington Post: "Sitting in lawn chairs plopped in the middle of train tracks, two coal miners smoked and chewed tobacco to pass the time. There's been little else to do here for the past four weeks, except wave at motorists who honk in support of these homegrown heroes waging a national struggle over workers' rights. Since Chris Rowe and Chris Sexton were laid off from their mining jobs this summer along with 300 co-workers, they have been camped out ... in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, blocking a train car full of coal from going to market. Their protest is against coal company Blackjewel, which halted operations in July without settling its final salary obligations to ... an estimated 1,800 ... workers across the country. But it's also become a declaration against corporate bankruptcy laws that they say deprioritize workers' interests.... Trump won 85 percent of the vote [here].... At the camp, there is an informal policy against speaking about Trump or partisan issues, underscoring the president's continued popularity in areas where the local economy has continued to suffer." The protest has been going on since July 29. "The Labor Department has sought an injunction to prevent Blackjewel from moving the rail car, which is estimated to have about $1 ;million in coal, according to local media reports." (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race 2020
Mark Leibovich of the New York Times: "'How badly do you want to be president?' Joseph R. Biden Jr. was asked after a recent speech in Prole, Iowa. The answer to such an inquiry would appear self-evident in the case of Mr. Biden, who began his running-for-president routine more than three decades ago; in other words, very badly, one would assume.... Remarkably, after all this time, Mr. Biden stumbles to come up with a clear answer.... Mr. Biden's campaign has been jackhammering home the premise that he is best suited to winning a general election against an incumbent who must not be re-elected.... Clearly, other candidates have far more identifiable 'whys' attached to their enterprises." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: If the only candidates running in 2020 were a former Republican (Jim Webb, Lincoln Chaffee), a handsome milquetoast former governor (Martin O'Malley), (a socialist Bernie Sanders) & a single-issue professor (Lawrence Lessig), then, yes, we would welcome good ole Joe. But there are a half-dozen solid candidates in the race, any of whom has the potential to beat Trump. Yo, Joe, you should go.
Don Junior Concerned about Biden's Ethics. Eric Levitz of New York: "This week, Donald Trump ... made clear that increasing off-season bookings at the Trump National Doral Miami Golf Club was one of the United States' top objectives at the [G-7] conference.... Trump's proposal would effectively compel foreign governments to make direct contributions to his family fortune, while also awarding his one of his properties exceedingly valuable international exposure. It could also put world leaders at unnecessary risk: Trump's resort is adjacent to one of Doral's busiest intersections, and its lobby was the site of a firefight between an armed man and police last year. Meanwhile..., foreign heads of state would ostensibly be descending on South Florida near the start of hurricane season. In other news from the weekend, Joe Biden's younger brother's former business partners accused ... [Joe]'s sibling of promising them special favors from a Biden campaign and/or presidency, as part of a broader 'fraudulent scheme to bankrupt them and steal their business models.'... [A] lawsuit [brought by the partners against James Biden] does not allege any wrongdoing on Joe Biden's part, nor does it indicate that the former vice-president had any awareness of his brother's unseemly offers.... Nevertheless, for stalwart champions of ethics in government like Donald Trump Jr., the allegations against James Biden raise serious questions about his older brother's fitness for office."
Beyond the Beltway
Texas. Video Games! Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: David Turner, "the mayor of Odessa, Texas is saying that red flag laws, or any other gun regulations wouldn't have stopped the [Odessa] gunman from killing seven people and injuring 22 others.... 'But you do realize there was a shooting and the mass shooting in El Paso not too far ago, far away, just about a month ago,' [MSNBC's Kendis] Gibson [said to Turner in an interview]. 'Again, with an assault rifle. This is an assault rifle. Isn't there something common in all of this?' 'Yeah. I think it's a problem of the heart, to be honest with you,' Turner explained. 'We have so many violent video games.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Whether the gunman had mental health issues, or watched too many video games (there's no published evidence of this, so far), or a "problem of the heart" or was upset he got fired (likely the proximate inspiration for the murderous rampage) or whatever, the one reason he was able to kill & maim & terrify so many people was that he had an assault rifle. Every political reporter should ask every gun-loving politician why individual Americans need assault weapons. And, no, "people like to go to the shooting range" is not a need. ...
... Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "Texas state Rep. Matt Schaefer (R) declared that he wouldn't vote for any gun control measures several hours after a series of deadly shootings in his state led to at least seven deaths on Saturday. Schaefer posted a screed on Facebook railing against 'red flag' laws, universal background checks, mandatory buybacks, or bans on AR-15s, claiming that 'none of these so-called gun-control solutions will work to stop a person with evil intent.' The Republican lawmaker's proposed solution to mass shootings? Prayer. 'YES to praying for victims. YES to praying for protection. YES to praying that God would transform the hearts of people with evil intent,' he wrote. Schaefer also suggested that 'discipline in the homes' and men not leaving their families would also prevent gun violence. 'YES to God, and NO to more government intrusions,' he concluded." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: My favorite part of Schaefer's post: "I am NOT going to use the evil acts of a handful of people to diminish the God-given rights of my fellow Texans. Period." Schaefer has elevated five old guys on the Supreme Court to gods, because it is they, not a supernatural being as Schaefer writes, who gave his fellow Texans the "right" to amass arsenals in the name of the Second Amendment. Very sacrilegious, Matt. And here I thought the god to whom Matt prayed commanded, "Thou shalt not kill."
... Steve M. checked out Breitbart comments, and found some more interesting "causes" of mass shootings, especially the Odessa shooting. Here's his summary: "Transsexuals, porn, critiques of toxic masculinity, and immigrant doctors killed those people in Texas -- except the shooting was probably a staged incident, because it didn't take place in Chicago."
News Ledes
AP: "The bodies of four people killed by a raging fire that swept through a dive-boat off the Southern California coast were recovered Monday as authorities said more than two dozen others remained missing and feared dead. Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll says the four bodies had injuries consistent with drowning. Searchers continued to look for more than two dozen other people who were aboard the vessel Conception, which burned while anchored off Santa Cruz Island.... The Coas [Guard] said the vessel was believed to have carried 38 people, including five crew members who jumped off the boat soon after the fire ignited before dawn."
Washington Post: "At least 5 people are dead after Hurricane Dorian's catastrophic assault on the Bahamas, the prime minister said Monday." At 5:30 pm ET, this is a breaking news story. ...
... The Miami Herald front page links to numerous hurricane-related stories. The paper is providing free, unlimited access to all of its stories as Hurricane Dorian approaches Florida....
... New York Times live updates are here. "Hurricane Dorian battered the Bahamas overnight, with the eye of the storm lingering over Grand Bahama Island early Monday.... Early images and video emerging from the Abaco Islands, which were hit especially hard overnight, showed scenes of devastation as the powerful, slow-moving storm churned its way through the islands. The footage showed roofs torn from houses and cars and debris bobbing along inundated streets battered by strong winds and heavy rains." ...
... "The [Washington] Post has removed article limits on coverage of Hurricane Dorian to make these stories available without a subscription."
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Reader Comments (10)
Assault weapons have no value for home defense as they endanger anyone within a mile if fired and endanger any child or other person in the home in any room.
Assault weapons are designed to kill people. Assault weapons are bought by people planning to kill or people pretending to kill. Some derive pleasure from pretending to kill blacks, yellows, politicians past and present and whoever they may hate.
Unfortunately, there is no way to tell the planners from the pretenders so action called for.
Ban the sale and resale.
Make it illegal to transport the weapons anyplace. For a fee a police officer could transport weapons between home and firing range.
Having an assault weapon any place but home or range will be a big crime and financial disaster.
Since the pretenders may still pretend to kill those they hate at the range or in their garage shouting Bang! Bang! they may all keep their assault pretenders and we will not buy them.
Poor God–-he's all tuckered out by listening to fruitcakes like Texas Rep. Matt Schaefer who puts all the responsibility for gun control on Him. He's even more pissed when he hears that evangelical voice of Tony Perkins who blames all these shooting sprees on a driving force of getting rid of God from the public square and then adds "by teaching kids science such as evolution in schools."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tony-perkins-mass-shootings_n_5d6cb130e4b011080451591d
It still–-and I know it shouldn't––makes me crazy when I realize we have people in influential places that spout this nonsense. That kind of mindset is preventing the good over evil if we want to parse it in their language.
And speaking of influential figures : Loved Gopniks' "There is another pragmatic reason to pursue impeachment––"Trump is a dangerous and unfit president." By normalizing Trump and adding up all the lies day after day––"allowing these things to be defined merely as a political problem needing a political cure–––degrades democracy."
And God just shakes his head in sorrow at what man has wrought in His name. Guilt is good.
P.S. Marie––are you in any danger there in Ft. Meyers?
@PD Pepe: Nope. I sold my house in Florida. (Well, I do still have a rental property there, only because I don't want to disrupt my tenants' lives.) I live in New Hampshire now, "first in the nation." But thanks for asking.
@Mrs. McC: And we rarely have hurricanes here in NH. It's the blizzards and ice storms we get to watch out for.
News blurb on the Emerson College radio station this morning regarding the Texas shootings: "...still no word on motive."
The motive is: "I have an assault weapon and I wanna use it."
If I were to speculate on a motive, it would start
1. with the job firing,
2. guy doesn't have many options and now no income,
3. there the truck payment, the rent, the food, etc., and
4. being pulled over for not signaling a left turn
(traffic fine $00.00?)
and it's
5. just one more lousy thing in a bad day
....and
6. Seth gotta gun right handy (cause in Texas you can)
...and
7. the pressure builds. SNAP!
https://abc7ny.com/17-month-old-child-among-victims-wounded-in-odessa-shooting/5506974/
Gov. Abbot read from a text written by the mother of the17 month toddler who was shot. In addition to not understanding the mother's emotions in this text, I find Gov. Abbot's use of this text disturbing. He read the text at a new conference.
"Thank you for praying, this is all of our worst nightmares, but thank God she's alive and well," Abbott read. "Toddlers are funny because they can get shot but still want to run around and play. Thanking God, her mouth is bad but can be fixed, the jaw wasn't hit, only her lip, tongue and cheek. Surgery tomorrow to remove shrapnel from the chest. Thank you for continued prayers."
How about stop and frisk targetting white males 15-50 years old?
@MAG: Those were pretty much my thoughts, too. It usually takes three things to make me crazy. So, (1) grumpy because had to go into work at a job I didn't like & report to a boss I couldn't stand; (2) the SOB fires me, because she says I don't respond well to authority; (3) authority, in the form of a cop, stops me for a minor infraction & is surly, too.
I might address the cop with some nasty words; I might yell at the cop; he might threaten to arrest me or flat-out cuff me. (Mind you, I have never actually yelled at or been rude to a policeman -- and yes, yes, I have been stopped for a violation more than once.)
But it would never, ever occur to me to shoot the guy, then shoot as many other people as I could find, including a baby. Nothing could make me think of that, or think I wish I could do that, no matter how distraught I was. Nothing. There is no little place that can be called up from the deep recesses of my mind that wants me to lash out & murder innocent strangers.
I've long thought there was a wide spectrum of thoughts & reactions to events, & that we all were capable of having those thoughts even if we didn't act on them. It turns out that's not true.