The Commentariat -- May 29, 2018

Afternoon Update:

"That Was Quick." Daily Beast: "ABC on Tuesday afternoon announced it has canceled its popular Roseanne reboot after its eponymous star, Roseanne Barr, went on a racist Twitter tirade. 'Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,' ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement." ...

... AP News: "Roseanne Barr has apologized for suggesting that former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett is a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and the 'Planet of the Apes.'... Meanwhile, comic Wanda Sykes, who is a consulting producer on 'Roseanne,' tweeted that she would not be returning to the show. Barr's now-deleted tweet read: 'muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.' It was part of a busy period on Twitter for Barr, who wrote tweets or retweeted attacks on Michael Moore, Chelsea Clinton and George Soros." ...

... MEANWHILE, Megyn Kelly Is Outraged She & Her Kids Might See a Homeless Person. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "NBC host Megyn Kelly on Tuesday lashed out at Starbucks over a policy that allows anyone to sit in the store or use the bathrooms -- even if they are not paying customers.... 'For the paying customers who go in with their kids, do you really want to deal with a mass of homeless people or whoever is in there -- could be drug addicted, you don't know when you're there with your kids paying for the services of the place.'" Mrs. McC: Megyn may have left Fox "News," but Fox has not left Megyn. If you can't pop for a $5 Peppermint Mocha, you don't belong in a restroom where Megyn sets her Skinny Vanilla Latte ass. No word NBC News is upset with that. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I find Kelly's performance worse than Barr's. Roseanne was making another of her signature tasteless "jokes," & she was doing it on her own time. Kelly was voicing her insensitive opinion on air on what is ostensibly an NBC News show. Roseanne apologized. Kelly did not. P.S. Let's ask Kelly if Jesus & Santa are still white.

Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it would proceed with plans to impose a series of punitive trade-related measures on China in the next month, intensifying pressure on Beijing as trade talks between the countries continue. The White House said in a statement that the United States would move ahead with its plan to levy 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of imported Chinese goods, despite recent remarks by Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, and other administration officials that the tariffs would be suspended while the countries continued their negotiations.... The White House said it would detail the final list of goods that will be subject to the tariffs by June 15, and the duties would be imposed shortly after that...."

Greg Sargent: "What's notable about [Trump's] new spin [on immigration policy] — that Democrats are to blame for the policy change -- isn't just that it's flatly false on its face. It's also that, by making this claim, Trump and the White House are basically admitting that their own policy is a moral abomination.... What is actually driving the change is that Trump and administration officials don't want high numbers of people to be crossing the border to apply for asylum at all, no matter what they are fleeing."

Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "... Donald Trump alleged Tuesday -- without providing any evidence -- that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation will meddle in the midterm elections to benefit Democrats. Trump's claim is his latest attack on the credibility of the Russia investigation as being politically motivated, though it's a significant new step in his attacks on what is intended to be an independent probe working to get to the bottom of Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. 'The 13 Angry Democrats (plus people who worked 8 years for Obama) working on the rigged Russia Witch Hunt, will be MEDDLING with the mid-term elections, especially now that Republicans (stay tough!) are taking the lead in Polls'" Trump tweeted. 'There was no Collusion, except by the Democrats!'" ...

... Byron Wolf of CNN: Trump's witch-hunt charges are working.

Capitalism is Deadly. Barry Meier of the New York Times: "Purdue Pharma, the company that planted the seeds of the opioid epidemic through its aggressive marketing of OxyContin, has long claimed it was unaware of the powerful opioid painkiller's growing abuse until years after it went on the market. But a copy of a confidential Justice Department report shows that federal prosecutors investigating the company found that Purdue Pharma knew about 'significant' abuse of OxyContin in the first years after the drug's introduction in 1996 and concealed that information. Company officials had received reports that the pills were being crushed and snorted; stolen from pharmacies; and that some doctors were being charged with selling prescriptions.... Prosecutors recommended that three top Purdue Pharma executives be indicted on felony charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, that could have sent the men to prison if convicted. But top Justice Department officials in the George W. Bush administration did not support the move.... Instead, the government settled the case in 2007.... That decision followed meetings with a Purdue Pharma defense team whose advisers included Rudolph Giuliani...."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to hear a challenge to an Arkansas law that could force two of the state's three abortion clinics to close. As is their custom, the justices gave no reasons for turning away the appeal. The case will continue to be litigated in the lower courts. The law concerns medication abortions, which use pills to induce abortions in the first nine weeks of pregnancy. The law, enacted in 2015, requires providers of the procedure to have contracts with doctors who have admitting privileges at a hospital in the state. Abortion clinics in Arkansas said they were unable to find any doctors willing to sign such contracts. After the Supreme Court's action, Planned Parenthood said it would for now stop providing medication abortions in the state."

*****

Julie Davis & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Last week, President Trump promoted new, unconfirmed accusations to suit his political narrative: that a 'criminal deep state' element within Mr. Obama's government planted a spy deep inside his presidential campaign to help his rival, Hillary Clinton, win -- a scheme he branded 'Spygate.' It was the latest indication that a president who has for decades trafficked in conspiracy theories has brought them from the fringes of public discourse to the Oval Office. Now that he is president, Mr. Trump's baseless stories of secret plots by powerful interests appear to be having a distinct effect. Among critics, they have fanned fears that he is eroding public trust in institutions, undermining the idea of objective truth and sowing widespread suspicions about the government and news media that mirror his own.... Students of Mr. Trump's life and communication style argue that the idea of conspiracies is a vital part of his strategy to avoid accountability and punch back at detractors, real or perceived, including the news media.... Former aides to the president ... said paranoia predisposed him to believe in nefarious, hidden forces driving events. But they also said political opportunism informed his promotion of conspiracy theories." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: "Deep inside his campaign"? Trump ran a bare-bones campaign with a teeny cadre of top staffers. So I'd like reporters to ask, "Who was the Obama/Clinton/FBI the spy?" The number of possibilities is limited. Tell us who the spy is, Mr. President*. ...

... Why Trump Will Get Worse. Jeet Heer of the New Republic: "Trump is unique in American politics in having no real institutional, ideological or partisan loyalty. He's really out for himself, which makes his threats to bring down American institutions all too plausible.... While Nixon was also willing to attack his enemies' 'witch hunt,' ultimately he was enough of a party man to realize that his fate was tied to the GOP. Once the Republican Congress turned against him in 1974, Nixon resigned.... Nixon was motivated by the fact that he could've lost his government pension if he was impeached and removed from office. For Trump, such a pension would be a minor consideration since he can make much more money through his brand, which would be best preserved by fighting as hard as possible so he keeps the loyalty of his most enthusiastic supporters.... The deeper [Trump] sinks in scandal, the more mud Trump will sling."

Happy Memorial Day! Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today. Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for Blacks and Hispanics EVER (& women in 18years), rebuilding our Military and so much more. Nice! -- Donald Trump, Monday morning

On Memorial Day, the president takes some time to remember that dead soldiers are grateful to him. -- Josh Barro ...

This is the most inappropriate comment that a POTUS has ever made. Self-promotion on a day to remember the fallen, and wishing those remembering their deceased loved ones a 'happy' holiday is appalling. -- VoteVets ...

... Jacqueline Thomsen of the Hill: "Social media users criticized President Trump for a Memorial Day tweet claiming that fallen service members 'would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today.' Trump sent the tweet on Monday to mark the holiday honoring fallen heroes, and used the opportunity to tout statistics about the economy under his administration.... Twitter users, including several journalists, quickly criticized the president, saying Trump was making the holiday about himself." ...

We can never truly repay the debt we owe our fallen heroes. But we can remember them, honor their sacrifice, and affirm in our own lives those enduring ideals of justice, equality, and opportunity for which generations of Americans have given that last full measure of devotion. -- President Barack Obama, Monday ...

... David Frum of the Atlantic: "Trump's perfect emptiness of empathy has revealed itself again and again through his presidency, but never as completely and conspicuously as in his self-flattering 2018 Memorial Day tweets. . They exceed even the heartless comment in a speech to Congress -- in the presence of a grieving widow -- that a fallen Navy Seal would be happy that his ovation from Congress had lasted longer than anybody else's.... On every Memorial Day, Americans should pray for peace. On this Memorial Day and the next, and the one after that, Americans should pray with extra fervor -- because war, if it comes, will come under the leadership of a man unequal to the job."

David Lynch & Damian Paletta of the Washington Post: "President Trump is merging his national security and trade goals in a blur of tactical improvisation that risks alienating U.S. allies and opening American businesses to costly retaliation, according to several Republican lawmakers, business executives and former U.S. officials. The president last week initiated a Commerce Department investigation that could lead to tariffs of up to 25 percent on foreign cars.... The president's fluid approach to national and economic security ... has left allies and adversaries baffled over U.S. intentions, according to foreign diplomats.... He also engages in freewheeling bargaining that treats vital strategic considerations as the equivalent of commercial factors, leaving negotiating partners unsure of his true priorities.... The auto tariffs are the second time in less than three months that the president has cited national security as a justification for protectionism. Yet his recent call for leniency for ZTE, a Chinese telecom company crippled by its punishment for violating U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea, showed that he would bend on a genuine security threat, analysts said." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This sort of analysis is starting to annoy me. It treats Trump's impulsive, erratic "decisions" (which he may or may not change within 24 hours) as if there's some rational strategy or policy principle underlying his moves, rather than "saw it on Fox or CNBC," "can make money on this," and/or "makes me look all-powerful." ...

... ** That said, Paul Krugman's explanation of why Trump's proposed auto tariff is absurd & counterproductive is a must-read for anyone who knows as little about international trade law as Trump & I do.

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House communications director's job has been vacant for two months. But in practice, it has been filled since the day Hope Hicks said farewell to her unofficial replacement -- President Trump himself. The president also has unofficially performed the roles of many other senior staffers in recent months, leaving the people holding those jobs to execute on his instincts and ideas.... Largely gone are the warring factions that dominated life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the first year of Trump&'s term, replaced by solo players -- many with personal connections to the president and their own miniature fiefdoms -- laboring to do their jobs and survive.... Rather than struggling to manipulate the president to follow their personal agendas, the senior staff members of Trump's Year 2 ... focus on trying to curb his most outlandish impulses while generally executing his vision and managing whatever fallout may follow."

Kim Tong-Hyung of the AP: "... Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that a top North Korean official is headed to New York for talks on an upcoming summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as diplomatic efforts also accelerated in Asia."

Another A-mazing Coincidence. Sui-Lee Wee of the New York Times: "China this month awarded Ivanka Trump seven new trademarks across a broad collection of businesses, including books, housewares and cushions. At around the same time, President Trump vowed to find a way to prevent a major Chinese telecommunications company from going bust, even though the company has a history of violating American limits on doing business with countries like Iran and North Korea.... Mr. Trump himself has more than 100 trademarks in China. Several United States senators have criticized these trademarks, warning it could be a breach of the United States Constitution and that foreign governments could use Mr. Trump's trademarks to influence foreign policy decisions.... The trademarks are not the only Trump-related deal that took place around the time of Mr. Trump's pledge to save ZTE. On May 15, an Indonesian company called MNC Group, which is partnering with the Trump Organization to build a six-star hotel and golf course in Indonesia, said it had struck a deal with an arm of the Metallurgical Corporation of China, a state-owned construction company, to build a theme park next door to the planned Trump properties." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Erika Kinetz of the AP: "Ivanka Trump's brand continues to win foreign trademarks in China and the Philippines, adding to questions about conflicts of interest at the White House.... On Sunday, China granted the first daughter's company final approval for its 13th trademark in the last three months, trademark office records show. Over the same period, the Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump's company provisional approval for another eight trademarks, which can be finalized if no objections are raised during a three-month comment period.... 'Ivanka Trump's refusal to divest from her business is especially troubling as the Ivanka brand continues to expand its business in foreign countries,' Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in an email Monday. 'It raises significant questions about corruption, as it invites the possibility that she could be benefiting financially from her position and her father's presidency or that she could be influenced in her policy work by countries' treatment of her business.'... Ivanka Trump and her father ... have pursued trademarks in dozen of countries. Those global trademarks have drawn the attention of ethics lawyers because they are granted by foreign governments and can confer enormous value." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Jim Fallows of the Atlantic on why & how the U.S. government should manage trade issues with China, whose economy will rather soon surpass the U.S. as the largest in the world. Fallows' ultimate advice: "Speak softly & carry a big stick." Funny, nothing about insults or taking bribes.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Melania Trump has not been seen in public since May 10. Reporters are beginning to wonder where she is. My guess is that whatever minor kidney surgery she may have had, the 48-year-old First Lady also had some cosmetic surgery, & her bruises are showing. I get that.

A Bronx Cheer for Rudy. Zachary Ripple of the New York Daily News: Rudy Giuliani "was at [Yankee] Stadium to celebrate his 74th birthday on Memorial Day, with the PA announcer sharing the news with the crowd and wishing him a happy birthday. The fans, however, greeted him with hearty boos."

Danielle McLean of ThinkProgress: "U.S. Customs and Border Protection is changing up its story about why one of its officers shot and killed an unarmed 19-year-old last week. Claudia Patricia Gómez González, a Guatemalan migrant hoping to earn money in the U.S., was shot and killed by an unnamed 15-year veteran of the border patrol, after crossing into the U.S. near Laredo, Texas. Initially, the federal agency claimed a group of undocumented immigrants started hitting the officer with 'blunt objects' during an unprovoked attack while he patrolled a residential street searching for 'illegal activity.' Gómez González, who was shot and fatally wounded by the agent, was named as 'one of the assailants,' of that attack according to the New York Times. But in an updated statement on Friday, the agency now says they were told by the officer that a group of immigrants 'rushed him' instead of complying with demands to get on the ground. CBP no longer refers to the deceased woman as an assailant, but merely as a 'member of the group,' the Times wrote."

Congressional Race. Laura Vozzella & Jenna Portnoy of the Washington Post: "Rep. Thomas Garrett (R-Va.) announced Monday that he is struggling with alcoholism and will abandon his run for a second term in Congress so he can focus on recovery and his family. Garrett, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, is the 48th Republican to retire or announce they will not seek reelection to the House this year.... The former Virginia state senator was facing a robust challenge from his Democratic challenger, journalist and author Leslie Cockburn.... In recent days, unnamed former staffers had accused him and his wife of mistreating staff who worked in his congressional office. But in a videotaped statement, Garrett said his departure from politics was spurred by his addiction.... His announcement caps a week of turmoil in Garrett's Washington office, marked by the resignation of his chief of staff, Jimmy Keady; an online news report that Garrett was thinking about dropping his reelection bid; and a news conference Thursday in which he insisted he was running."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Judges appointed by Republican presidents gave longer sentences to black defendants and shorter ones to women than judges appointed by Democrats, according to a new study that analyzed data on more than half a million defendants.... 'These differences cannot be explained by other judge characteristics and grow substantially larger when judges are granted more discretion.'... The new study [by two Harvard law professors] ... find[s] that black defendants are sentenced to 4.8 months more than similar offenders of other races.... Republican appointees are tougher on crime over all, imposing sentences an average of 2.4 months longer than Democratic appointees.' (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

... Leonard Greene of the New York Daily News: "Now that the patriot police have turned what was a peaceful protest about police brutality and social injustice into a flag-waving, jingoistic shame fest, the NFL can make amends with the black players it has insulted with its new no-kneel policy by singing a different tune. For just one week of the league's 17-week season, the NFL should bench 'The Star Spangled Banner,' and replace it with -- wait for it -- 'The Negro National Anthem.' 'Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing,' as the anthem is officially known, is every bit as patriotic as the song that kicks off every major professional sporting event in America."

Natalie Kitroeff of the New York Times: Homeownership is an impossible dream for many 20- and 30-something people burdened with large student debt.

Way Beyond the Beltway

... Saskya Vandoorne, et al., of CNN: "A young Malian migrant who rescued a child dangling from a balcony will be made a French citizen and has been offered a job by the Paris fire brigade, the office of the French presidency said. Video of the rescue showed 22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama climbing up four floors of the apartment building in just seconds to rescue the child, to cheers from onlookers. By the time Parisian emergency services arrived at the building, he had already pulled the child to safety. President Emmanuel Macron invited Gassama to the Élysée Palace on Monday, where he was given a certificate and a gold medal for performing an act of courage and dedication." Mrs. McC: I'm guessing Mali counts as a "shithole country." (Also linked yesterday.)

Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura< & Alan Cowell of the New York Times: "Ireland's vote on Friday to end its near ban on abortion, overwhelmingly supporting change in what used to be a bastion of Roman Catholic influence, has inspired many calls in Belfast, London and elsewhere for similar liberalization in British-ruled Northern Ireland, whose draconian laws governing the termination of pregnancy date to the 19th century.... Northern Ireland has blocked all efforts from London to liberalize its abortion law, which permits termination only if the life of the woman is endangered. There are no other exceptions -- not rape, incest or fatal fetal abnormality -- and those violating the ban could in theory ... be given a life sentence."

Apropos to some of today's commentary:

The Commentariat -- May 28, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Another A-mazing Coincidence. Sui-Lee Wee of the New York Times: "China this month awarded Ivanka Trump seven new trademarks across a broad collection of businesses, including books, housewares and cushions. At around the same time, President Trump vowed to find a way to prevent a major Chinese telecommunications company from going bust, even though the company has a history of violating American limits on doing business with countries like Iran and North Korea.... Mr. Trump himself has more than 100 trademarks in China. Several United States senators have criticized these trademarks, warning it could be a breach of the United States Constitution and that foreign governments could use Mr. Trump's trademarks to influence foreign policy decisions.... The trademarks are not the only Trump-related deal that took place around the time of Mr. Trump's pledge to save ZTE. On May 15, an Indonesian company called MNC Group, which is partnering with the Trump Organization to build a six-star hotel and golf course in Indonesia, said it had struck a deal with an arm of the Metallurgical Corporation of China, a state-owned construction company, to build a theme park next door to the planned Trump properties." ...

... Erika Kinetz of the AP: "Ivanka Trump’s brand continues to win foreign trademarks in China and the Philippines, adding to questions about conflicts of interest at the White House.... On Sunday, China granted the first daughter's company final approval for its 13th trademark in the last three months, trademark office records show. Over the same period, the Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump's company provisional approval for another eight trademarks, which can be finalized if no objections are raised during a three-month comment period.... 'Ivanka Trump's refusal to divest from her business is especially troubling as the Ivanka brand continues to expand its business in foreign countries,' Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in an email Monday. 'It raises significant questions about corruption, as it invites the possibility that she could be benefiting financially from her position and her father's presidency or that she could be influenced in her policy work by countries' treatment of her business.'... Ivanka Trump and her father ... have pursued trademarks in dozen of countries. Those global trademarks have drawn the attention of ethics lawyers because they are granted by foreign governments and can confer enormous value."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Judges appointed by Republican presidents gave longer sentences to black defendants and shorter ones to women than judges appointed by Democrats, according to a new study that analyzed data on more than half a million defendants.... 'These differences cannot be explained by other judge characteristics and grow substantially larger when judges are granted more discretion.'... The new study [by two Harvard law professors] ... find[s] that black defendants are sentenced to 4.8 months more than similar offenders of other races.... Republican appointees are tougher on crime over all, imposing sentences an average of 2.4 months longer than Democratic appointees."

... Saskya Vandoorne, et al., of CNN: "A young Malian migrant who rescued a child dangling from a balcony will be made a French citizen and has been offered a job by the Paris fire brigade, the office of the French presidency said. Video of the rescue showed 22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama climbing up four floors of the apartment building in just seconds to rescue the child, to cheers from onlookers. By the time Parisian emergency services arrived at the building, he had already pulled the child to safety. President Emmanuel Macron invited Gassama to the Élysée Palace on Monday, where he was given a certificate and a gold medal for performing an act of courage and dedication." Mrs. McC: I'm guessing Mali counts as a "shithole country."

*****

Friday I looked up from my work when I heard a bugle playing taps. There was an elderly man standing by the lake across from my house, no doubt practicing for a Memorial Day observance. He reminded me of my father's service & my uncle's during World War II. Then I realized the elderly man was far younger than my father & uncle would be. He may well be a Viet Nam vet. I expect he was about my age. Old has crept up on me; I'm not quite aware of it yet. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Michael Shear & David Sanger of the New York Times: "The United States and North Korea on Sunday kicked off an urgent, behind-the-scenes effort to resurrect a summit meeting between their two leaders by June 12, racing to develop a joint agenda and dispel deep skepticism about the chances for reaching a framework for a lasting nuclear agreement in so little time. Technical and diplomatic experts from the United States made a rare visit to North Korea to meet with their counterparts, American officials said on Sunday. Before any summit meeting, the American team, led by Sung Kim, a veteran diplomat, is seeking detailed commitments from Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, about his regime's willingness to abandon its nuclear weapons program." ...

     ... Then Comes the Embarrassing, Childish Buffoonery: In a tweet Sunday night, President Trump confirmed the meetings in the North Korean part of Panmunjom, a 'truce village' in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas. He also expressed his administration's newfound optimism about the meeting, further embracing the conciliatory language both sides have used since he canceled the planned meeting in a bitterly worded letter to Mr. Kim on Thursday. 'I truly believe North Korea has brilliant potential and will be a great economic and financial Nation one day,' Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter after a second straight day of golf at his Virginia club. 'Kim Jong Un agrees with me on this. It will happen!'" ...

... Anna Fifield of the Washington Post: "A team of U.S. officials crossed into North Korea on Sunday for talks to prepare for a summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, as both sides press ahead with arrangements despite the question marks hanging over the meeting. Sung Kim, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and former nuclear negotiator with the North, has been called in from his post as envoy to the Philippines to lead the preparations, according to a person familiar with the arrangements. He crossed the line that separates the two Koreas to meet with Choe Son Hui, the North Korean vice foreign minister, who said last week that Pyongyang was 'reconsidering' the talks." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "President Trump's attempt to blame Democrats for separating migrant families at the border is renewing a political uproar over immigration, an issue that has challenged Trump throughout his presidency and threatens to grow more heated as he imposes more restrictions to stem the flow of illegal immigration. In one of several misleading tweets during the holiday weekend, Trump pushed Democrats to change a 'horrible law' that the president said mandated separating children from parents who enter the country illegally. But there is no law specifically requiring the government to take such action, and it's also the policies of his own administration that have caused the family separation that advocacy groups and Democrats say is a crisis.... As he detailed the 'zero-tolerance' policy during a pair of appearances May 7, Attorney General Jeff Sessions stressed: 'If you don't want your child separated, then don't bring them across the border illegally. It's not our fault that somebody does that.'... 'He [Trump] used DACA kids as a bargaining chip, and it didn't work,' said Kevin Appleby ... of the Center for Migration Studies.... 'So now he's using vulnerable Central American families for his nativist agenda. It's shameless.'"

P.D. Pepe pointed out the New York Times' editors' Guide to Presidential Etiquette in the Age of Trump. Unfortunately, most if it is way worse than eating a New York slice with a fork. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.

Trump Tweets Some Stuff, Ctd. Brent Griffiths of Politico: "... Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that the Russia probe has 'devastated and destroyed' the reputations of people, continuing his weekend Twitter assault against the Robert Mueller investigation.... 'Who's going to give back the young and beautiful lives (and others) that have been devastated and destroyed by the phony Russia Collusion Witch Hunt? They journeyed down to Washington, D.C., with stars in their eyes and wanting to help our nation.... They went back home in tatters,' the president wrote on Twitter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Rudy Says Some Stuff, Ctd. Tom McCarthy of the Guardian: "... Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday that his repeated imputations of a supposed scandal at the heart of the Robert Mueller investigation -- which Donald Trump calls 'Spygate' -- amounted to a tactic to sway public opinion and limit the risk of the president being impeached. 'Of course we have to do it to defend the president,' Trump's lawyer told CNN State of the Union host Dana Bash, who accused him of being part of a campaign to undermine the Mueller investigation.... 'It is for public opinion,' Giuliani said of his public campaign of dissimulation. 'Because eventually the decision here is going to be impeach or not impeach. Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, are going to be informed a lot by their constituents. And so our jury -- and it should be -- is the American people.'" ...

... Connor O'Brien of Politico: "Asked in an interview with CNN's 'State of the Union' if he believed special counsel Robert Mueller's probe was legitimate, [Rudy] Giuliani responded, 'Not anymore.' 'I did when I came in, but now I see Spygate,' Giuliani told host Dana Bush...." ...

... Cheyenne Haslett of ABC News: "Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said he sees 'no evidence' to support President Trump's claims that the FBI used an informant to gather information on his campaign, but that instead the federal probe was focused on 'individuals with a history of links to Russia that were concerning.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Jacqueline Thomsen of the Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) fact-checked President Trump's tweet claiming that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe is 'phony,' noting that it has led to several indictments and guilty pleas. 'I hate repeating myself Mr. President, but let me remind you again: Special Counsel Mueller's investigation has either indicted or secured guilty pleas from 19 people and three companies -- that we know of,' Schumer tweeted Sunday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee on Sunday called on voters to 'throw the bums out' of Congress whom he has accused of trying to help President Trump undermine the special counsel's Russia probe. 'The only thing tha makes this possible is a Congress that is complicit,' Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said on ABC News's 'This Week,' naming several conservative leaders in the Republican Party and accusing 'a weak' Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) of refusing to 'stand up for the independence of the Justice Department.' 'As long as there's a majority in Congress that is willing to do this president's will and as long as we have a deeply unethical president, there's only one remedy,' Schiff said."

Everything Is Going Very Smoothly, Ctd. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "Shortly after word leaked that Kelly Sadler had taken a nasty shot at John McCain, President Trump convened a meeting in the Oval Office for a tiny group of communications staffers, according to sources familiar with the gathering. Sadler, Mercedes Schlapp, Raj Shah, and John Kelly all gathered ... for a conversation with Trump about the leaking problem. They were the only people in the room, though the door to the outer Oval was open.... The president told Sadler she wouldn't be fired for her remark. He added, separately in the conversation, that he's no fan of McCain. Then Trump ... told Sadler he wanted to know who the leakers were. Sadler then stunned the room: To be completely honest, she said, she thought one of the worst leakers was Schlapp, her boss. Schlapp pushed back aggressively and defended herself in the room.... Sadler went on to name other people she also suspected of being leakers. The allegation -- like a previous internal meeting to deal with leaking -- ultimately got leaked to us."

All the Best People, Ctd. David Pittman of Politico: "The White House official who will shape a large part of the administration's drug price plan worked on many of the same issues as an industry lobbyist, raising questions about whether he violated ... Donald Trump's ethics rules. Joe Grogan -- who has sweeping authority over drug pricing, entitlement programs and other aspects of federal health policy at the Office of Management and Budget -- didn't obtain a waiver from a directive Trump issued during his first week in office that imposed a two-year cooling-off period between lobbying and regulating on the same 'specific issue area.' Grogan worked as the top lobbyist for Gilead Sciences until he arrived at OMB last March, dealing with issues including how much federal health programs would pay for its medicines. Gilead was the company that in 2014 effectively set off the drug price controversy with Sovaldi, its breakthrough hepatitis C cure that cost $1,000 per pill and triggered a lengthy and highly critical Senate Finance Committee probe." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Keith H. points to a story that, um, everybody missed. Jim Dean of Veterans Today: "Congress stepped up to the plate with a surprise unanimous vote [in the House] attaching an amendment to a Defense authorization bill stating that 'no law exists which gives the president power to launch a military strike against the Islamic Republic.'" As the National Iranian American Council noted, "The amendment could be stripped out in negotiations with the Senate...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Darryl Fears of the Washington Post: "Across [New Jersey's] Atlantic Coast strip, mayors in nearly every city teamed with council members, conservationists, business leaders and residents to craft resolutions that denounced the [Trump administration's] proposal to widen federal offshore leasing to 90 percent of the outer continental shelf, an effort that began just days after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the plan in January. They helped put New Jersey at the forefront of resistance to Trump's 'energy dominance' agenda.... Last month, New Jersey became the first Atlantic state to adopt a legal barrier to offshore drilling. Lawmakers passed a bill, signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D), that prohibits oil exploration in state waters, which extend three miles from shore. An amendment to the law went further, barring the construction of infrastructure such as a pipeline to deliver oil and natural gas from drilling platforms in federal waters that start where state waters end.... And a Republican state senator in Delaware submitted a bill in mid-May that mirrors those of the state's northern neighbors. Some chamber of commerce estimates put the economic impact of coastal Atlantic beach tourism at $95 billion a year."

"The Trump Effect." Noah Berlatsky at NBC News: "Political scientists Steven V. Miller of Clemson and Nicholas T. Davis of Texas A&M have released a working paper ... [on a] study [which] finds a correlation between white American's intolerance, and support for authoritarian rule. In other words, when intolerant white people fear democracy may benefit marginalized people, they abandon their commitment to democracy.... For instance, people who said they did not want to live next door to immigrants or to people of another race were more supportive of the idea of military rule, or of a strongman-type leader who could ignore legislatures and election results.... The Founders supported democracy as long as it was restricted to white male property holders.... The GOP has increasingly been embracing a politics of white resentment tied to disenfranchisement.... The growing concentration of intolerant white voters in the GOP ... has created a party which appears less and less committed to the democratic project."

Millions of Republicans Are Delusional/Suckers. Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "Almost half of the Republican respondents in a new poll said they believe millions of voters illegally cast ballots in the 2016 presidential election, as President Trump has claimed. Forty-eight percent of Republicans in the HuffPost/YouGov poll said they believe as many as 5 million votes were cast illegally, compared to 17 percent who said they do not. More than one-third of Republican respondents, 35 percent, said they are unsure." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I do think this poll result speaks to the larger point that one has to be delusional (or really, really rich) to vote Republican. Democracy cannot function if one of the two major political parties is fundamentally dishonest.

No, You're Not Getting a Raise. Steve Levine of Axios: "Very few Americans have enjoyed steadily rising pay beyond inflation over the last couple of decades, a shift from prior years in which the working and middle classes enjoyed broad-based wage gains as the economy expanded.... Now, executives of big U.S. companies suggest that the days of most people getting a pay raise are over, and that they also plan to reduce their work forces further.... This was rare, candid and bracing talk from executives atop corporate America, made at a conference Thursday at the Dallas Fed.... To cash in, workers will need to shift to higher-skilled jobs that command more income."

Louis Lucero of the New York Times: "Hoping to thwart a sophisticated malware system linked to Russia that has infected hundreds of thousands of internet routers, the F.B.I. has made an urgent request to anybody with one of the devices: Turn it off, and then turn it back on. The malware is capable of blocking web traffic, collecting information that passes through home and office routers, and disabling the devices entirely, the bureau announced on Friday. A global network of hundreds of thousands of routers is already under the control of the Sofacy Group, the Justice Department said last week. That group, which is also known as A.P.T. 28 and Fancy Bear and believed to be directed by Russia's military intelligence agency, hacked the Democratic National Committee ahead of the 2016 presidential election, according to American and European intelligence agencies."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Angela Giuffrida, et al., of the Guardian: "A standoff over Italy’s future in the eurozone has forced the resignation of the populist prime minister-in waiting, Giuseppe Conte, after the country’s president refused to accept Conte's controversial choice for finance minister. Sergio Mattarella, the Italian president who was installed by a previous pro-EU government, refused to accept the nomination for finance minister of Paolo Savona, an 81-year-old former industry minister who has called Italy's entry into the euro a 'historic mistake'.... Italy has been without a government since elections on 4 March ended in a hung parliament. The country is now expected to go to the polls again in the autumn. The president's move to quash Savona's nomination was unprecedented in recent history...." ...

... Update. Giada Zampano of Politico: "Italy's President Sergio Mattarella on Monday asked Carlo Cottarelli to try and form a government after an attempt to forge a populist coalition failed. Cottarelli, 64, a former International Monetary Fund senior official known as 'Mr. Scissors' for making cuts to public spending, would lead a technocratic government. But he faces an uphill task getting the necessary support. He will face staunch opposition from the two populist forces that won most votes in the March 4 election -- the anti-establishment 5Star Movement and the far-right League. Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, which had previously promised its support to a government backed the president, said Monday it will vote against the new Cabinet."

The Commentariat -- May 27, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Keith H. points to a story that, um, everybody missed. Jim Dean of Veterans Today: "Congress stepped up to the plate with a surprise unanimous vote [in the House] attaching an amendment to a Defense authorization bill stating that 'no law exists which gives the president power to launch a military strike against the Islamic Republic.'" As the National Iranian American Council noted, "The amendment could be stripped out in negotiations with the Senate...."

Anna Fifield of the Washington Post: "A team of U.S. officials crossed into North Korea on Sunday for talks to prepare for a summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, as both sides press ahead with arrangements despite the question marks hanging over the meeting. Sung Kim, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and former nuclear negotiator with the North, has been called in from his post as envoy to the Philippines to lead the preparations, according to a person familiar with the arrangements. He crossed the line that separates the two Koreas to meet with Choe Son Hui, the North Korean vice foreign minister, who said last week that Pyongyang was 'reconsidering' the talks."

Trump Tweets Some Stuff, Ctd. Brent Griffiths of Politico: "... Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that the Russia probe has 'devastated and destroyed' the reputations of people, continuing his weekend Twitter assault against the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 'Who's going to give back the young and beautiful lives (and others) that have been devastated and destroyed by the phony Russia Collusion Witch Hunt? They journeyed down to Washington, D.C., with stars in their eyes and wanting to help our nation. ... They went back home in tatters,' the president wrote on Twitter."

Rudy Says Some Stuff, Ctd. Connor O'Brien of Politico: "Asked in an interview with CNN's 'State of the Union' if he believed special counsel Robert Mueller's probe was legitimate, [Rudy] Giuliani responded, 'Not anymore.' 'I did when I came in, but now I see Spygate,' Giuliani told host Dana Bush...."

Cheyenne Haslett of ABC News: "Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said he sees 'no evidence' to support President Trump's claims that the FBI used an informant to gather information on his campaign, but that instead the federal probe was focused on 'individuals with a history of links to Russia that were concerning.'"

Jacqueline Thomsen of the Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) fact-checked >President Trump's tweet claiming that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe is 'phony,' noting that it has led to several indictments and guilty pleas. 'I hate repeating myself Mr. President, but let me remind you again: Special Counsel Mueller's investigation has either indicted or secure guilty pleas from 19 people and three companies -- that we know of,' Schumer tweeted Sunday."

All the Best People, Ctd. David Pittman of Politico: "The White House official who will shape a large part of the administration's drug price plan worked on many of the same issues as an industry lobbyist, raising questions about whether he violated ... Donald Trump's ethics rules. Joe Grogan -- who has sweeping authority over drug pricing, entitlement programs and other aspects of federal health policy at the Office of Management and Budget -- didn't obtain a waiver from a directive Trump issued during his first week in office that imposed a two-year cooling-off period between lobbying and regulating on the same 'specific issue area.' Grogan worked as the top lobbyist for Gilead Sciences until he arrived at OMB last March, dealing with issues including how much federal health programs would pay for its medicines. Gilead was the company that in 2014 effectively set off the drug price controversy with Sovaldi, its breakthrough hepatitis C cure that cost $1,000 per pill and triggered a lengthy and highly critical Senate Finance Committee probe."

P.D. Pepe pointed out the New York Times' editors' new Guide to Presidential Etiquette in the Age of Trump. Unfortunately, most if it is way worse than eating a New York slice with a fork.

Millions of Republicans Are Delusional/Suckers. Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "Almost half of the Republican respondents in a new poll said they believe millions of voters illegally cast ballots in the 2016 presidential election, as President Trump has claimed. Forty-eight percent of Republicans in the HuffPost/YouGov poll said they believe as many as 5 million votes were cast illegally, compared to 17 percent who said they do not. More than one-third of Republican respondents, 35 percent, said they are unsure." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I do think this poll result speaks to the larger point that one has to be delusional (or really, really rich) to vote Republican. Democracy cannot function if one of the two major political parties is fundamentally dishonest.

*****

Peter Baker & Katie Benner of the New York Times: "For more than a year, President Trump has been at war with law enforcement agencies that answer to him, interjecting himself into an investigation in which he himself is a subject. And he has escalated the conflict drastically in recent days by accusing the F.B.I. of placing a 'spy' inside his 2016 campaign, pressuring the agencies to reveal secret information and demanding an investigation of his investigators. The confrontation has no precedent in the modern era and holds great stakes not just for the president but for the relative autonomy for law enforcement investigations established after Watergate.... Since even before taking office, Mr. Trump has disparaged intelligence agencies that concluded that Russia sought to influence the election on his behalf, at one point in effect comparing them to Nazis. He has publicly badgered law enforcement officials to shut down the Russia investigation and instead open inquiries into his political adversaries. But he went even further last week by effectively ordering an investigation into the actions taken regarding his campaign." ...

... It's Working! Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "President Trump is waging a war of attrition against special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation. If his goal is to poison the reception to whatever Mueller's findings turn out to be, as seems evident from what he and his allies have done, he is making progress. The slow but steady separation of public opinion underscores the degree of success in the president's strategy. Through constant tweets in which he has used exaggeration, distortion and outright falsehoods -- combined with the activities of his congressional supporters in hectoring the Justice Department and the FBI -- Trump hopes to turn the ultimate confrontation into one more partisan battle.... Step by step, week by week, the president and his allies cross lines that legal experts insist should not be crossed. The president's ongoing conflict with the Justice Department and his inflammatory tweets about the Mueller investigation have become so commonplace that it can be easy for people to forget how abnormal it all is." ...

... This Russia Thing, Ctd. Spanish Edition. Michael Isikoff of Yahoo! News: "The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia's Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby's annual convention in Louisville, Ky., in May 2016, a top Spanish prosecutor said Friday. Spanish organized crime said that bureau officials in recent months requested and were provided transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov, a convicted Russian money launderer.... Asked if he was concerned about Torshin's meetings with Donald Trump Jr. and other American political figures, [José] Grinda [of the Spanish police] replied: 'Mr. Trump's son should be concerned.'... Torshin has been the subject of intensifying U.S. government and congressional scrutiny over the past year and was recently among a lengthy list of oligarchs and Russian political figures sanctioned by the Treasury Department."

Jonah Shepp of New York: "Less than a year and a half into his term..., Donald Trump has done more damage to U.S. foreign policy credibility than even the right-wing bogeyman version of [President] Obama managed to do in eight years. Yet, strangely, few of these credibility hawks seem particularly perturbed by his choices.... Under Trump, the world is finding that we can no longer be trusted to engage in consultation, deliberation, or dialogue of any kind. Instead, we do whatever we want (or whatever he wants) with no real concern for the impact our decisions have on other countries, be they allies or adversaries. When other countries behave this way, we ... call them rogue states." ...

... Robin Wright of the New Yorker: "In the fifteen months of Trump's Presidency, the United State has witnessed a stunning undoing of long-standing norms — of the U.S.-led world order, core alliances, trade pacts, principles of nonproliferation, patterns of globalization, world institutions, and most of all, U.S. influence. A lot of it began in 2003, with the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But it has accelerated with breathtaking speed since Trump took office. And, in virtually every case, there is increasingly no alternative to replace the institutions, ideas, accords, and relationships that Trump is undoing." ...

... Masha Gessen of the New Yorker ponders how to cling to reality in the Trump era, when many are inclined to react to "an outburst as though it were politics, a tantrum as though it were diplomacy, and a delusion as though it were aspiration."

Brent Griffiths of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Saturday urged voters to pressure Democrats into accepting an immigration deal on his terms, appearing to cite his own administration's 'horrible' policy of stepping up the separation of families held at the U.S.-Mexico border. 'Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there parents once they cross the Border into the U.S. Catch and Release, Lottery and Chain must also go with it and we MUST continue building the WALL! DEMOCRATS ARE PROTECTING MS-13 THUGS,' the president wrote on Twitter.... "The law does not remotely require the administration's family separation practice,' [Lee Gelernt of the ACLU] said. 'The administration is trying to shift the blame to Congress. [But] it's the administration's own choice to seperate [sic.] families. This law his been in effect for years but no prior administration believed it required family separation.'" ...

... Daniel Politi of Slate: "Even though his attempt to shift blame on Democrats for his own policies may be galling, it was hardly new. Earlier this month [Trump] did the same while talking to California officials about immigration policy. 'I know what you're going through right now with families is very tough but those are the bad laws that the Democrats gave us,' Trump told Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. 'We have to break up families. The Democrats gave us that law. It's a horrible thing where you have to break up families.' Factcheck.org declared that statement was 'false.'"

... Lost Children Not Our Concern. Dakin Andone of CNN: "The federal government has placed thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children in the homes of sponsors, but last year it couldn't account for nearly 1,500 of them.... That's more than 19% of the children that were placed by the ORR. But [Steven] Wagner[, acting assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families,] said HHS is not responsible for the children. 'I understand that it has been HHS's long-standing interpretation of the law that ORR is not legally responsible for children after they are released from ORR care,' Wagner said."

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump falsely accused The New York Times on Saturday of making up a source in an article about North Korea, even though the source was in fact a senior White House official speaking ... in the White House briefing room... [to] about 50 reporters, with about 200 or so more on a conference call.... The rules of the briefing imposed by the White House required that the official be referred to only as a 'senior White House official.'... The article, headlined, 'Trump Says North Korea Summit May Be Rescheduled,' said that the United States was 'back in touch with North Korea' and that the meeting might yet happen. Mr. Trump posted on Twitter to denounce part of the article, which reported in the 10th paragraph that 'a senior White House official told reporters that even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed.' In a tweet, the president took issue with that sentence, saying, 'WRONG AGAIN! Use real people, not phony sources.'... Mr. Trump's attack on The Times was only the latest of many efforts by the president to discredit reporting by news organizations by questioning the validity of their sources." ...

... There's a Recording. The "Phony Source" Has a Name & a White House Badge. A.J. Vicens of Mother Jones: "As pointed out by freelance journalist Yashar Ali, the official that Trump says 'doesn't exist' was actually Matt Pottinger of the National Security Council, and Pottinger's statement was recorded (and subsequently posted by Ali)."

Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: "The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, said during a surprise summit meeting that he is determined to meet President Trump and discuss a 'complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,' South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Sunday.Mr. Kim met unexpectedly with Mr. Moon on Saturday to discuss salvaging a canceled summit meeting between Mr. Kim and President Trump, a new twist in the whirlwind of diplomacy over the fate of the North's nuclear arsenal."

John Bowden of the Hill: "Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is using his personal attorney, formerly his administration's attorney general, to block the release of correspondence between his office and the company formerly managed by White House adviser Jared Kushner.... Kushner Companies, a real estate firm now managed by Kushner's brother, benefited under Christie's administration, during which it was the recipient of a $33 million tax credit for the development of One Journal Square Project, a planned skyscraper in Jersey City.... Experts in New Jersey's open records law told the news outlet that Christie's use of his personal lawyer to shield the release of documents from his administration was 'disturbing.'"

Way Beyond the Beltway

Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura of the New York Times: "Ireland voted decisively to repeal one of the world's more restrictive abortion bans, the prime minister said Saturday, sweeping aside generations of conservative patriarchy and dealing the latest in a series of stinging rebukes to the Roman Catholic Church. The surprising landslide cemented the nation's liberal shift at a time when right-wing populism is on the rise in Europe and the Trump administration is imposing curbs on abortion rights in the United States. In the past three years alone, Ireland has installed a gay man as prime minister and has voted in another referendum to allow same-sex marriage." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Nice to see Ireland come crashing into the 20th century as we recede into the 19th.