Now we know it can be done. For 11 minutes on Thursday night, a departing staff member at Twitter performed an act of conscience as his last duty before he left his job. He shut down the president's Twitter account.
On reading this, the immediate impulse is to cheer. Even many of Trump's own staff and political allies long to do the same thing. And yet . . . consider the implications.
It is the president's main means of communication with the public -- and, in some instances, it is the way he announces his major decisions. Think of the possibilities for mischief . . . having control of the president's messages.
Think of the possibilities for espionage. Think of the possibilities for starting World War III. Don't blame the staff member. Blame the president for using an unsecured mode of communication. It must drive his security people nuts.
And meanwhile, he refuses to take seriously that Russian have hacked emails or manipulated media stories, to our detriment. And Trump has no interest in getting the truth or in preparing for the next onslaught on our 2018 mid-term elections -- in exactly one year from now.
Ralph
Saturday, November 4, 2017
Trump claims credit for everything good; blames others for everything bad.
One thing that has become very clear about Trump as commander-in-chief is that he loves adulation and basks in success. But he shuns any responsibility when things don't go well.
Take the recent deaths of four U.S. special forces soldiers in Niger, for example. Trump went days without mentioning it; and, when finally pushed for comment by reporters, he was quick to make clear that he "wasn't the one to specifically order" the mission. "I have generals -- they are great generals. . . . I gave them the authority to do what's right so that we win. That's the authority they have," Trump is quoted as saying.
And indeed he did, early on, turn over military decision-making to "my generals." Given Trump's lack of experience and judgment, that may be the lesser of two evils; but it evades the honorable position that the one at the top accepts responsibility. Of even more concern is that his abdication of commander-in-chief responsibility violates the traditions of ultimate civilian control of our military.
Take the recent deaths of four U.S. special forces soldiers in Niger, for example. Trump went days without mentioning it; and, when finally pushed for comment by reporters, he was quick to make clear that he "wasn't the one to specifically order" the mission. "I have generals -- they are great generals. . . . I gave them the authority to do what's right so that we win. That's the authority they have," Trump is quoted as saying.
And indeed he did, early on, turn over military decision-making to "my generals." Given Trump's lack of experience and judgment, that may be the lesser of two evils; but it evades the honorable position that the one at the top accepts responsibility. Of even more concern is that his abdication of commander-in-chief responsibility violates the traditions of ultimate civilian control of our military.
Former National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor says that, unlike Obama who always took responsibility for deaths of servicemen overseas, Trump does not. "Every time he's asked to comment on casualties or an operation that goes badly, he pushes responsibility onto his military leadership. It's weak and cowardly and shows a lack of accountability," Vietor said.
The awful, terrorist truck attack on pedestrians and bicyclists in lower Manhattan on Halloween is another example. Trump wasted no time, not even waiting for the facts, in blaming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for supporting the visa program under which the truck driver, Sayfullo Saipov, immigrated from Uzbekistan to our country in 2010.
Of course, it's red meat for his rabid base, but how vapid and useless is Trump's attempt to politicize this tragedy. Yes, the truck driver, who killed eight and injured many more, left a note in the truck pledging allegiance to ISIS. But, without even waiting for the facts, to call for immigration policy changes is irresponsible and harmful to peaceful Muslims whose cooperation we need.
Saipov came to live in the U.S. in 2010 under a visa lottery program that encourages people from countries with a low rate of immigration to the U.S. There was nothing in Saipov's background to point to a risk when he came to live here seven years ago. He became radicalized while living here legally. Tighter vetting in 2010 would not have excluded him.
What a striking contrast is Trump's response when the attacker is Muslim. Donald Trump, the president, has publicly called for the death penalty for Saipov. That may not be what the courts decide; but one prosecutor has said that such a statement from the president could make it difficult for the accused to get a fair trial. And, even though he is not an American citizen, we do still grant our rule of law to non-citizens living in the U.S.
Look at the difference in Trump's attitude when a White Supremacist made a similar vehicular attack on a crowd at their rally in Charlottesville. Does anyone remember the president calling for extreme vetting of white supremacists or neo-Nazi or Alt-Right groups? No, in fact, he went out of his way to "normalize" them, saying that a lot of people in their group were "good people" who came out to protest removing their "heritage" statues. And I don't remember Trump calling for the death penalty for that young white man who used his car to mow down a crowd.
Nor did Trump call for changing laws that allow converting AK-15s into rapid-fire machine guns -- after the Dallas massacre. With Donald Trump, it's all about keeping his dwindling base close and supplying their vital nutrients of fear and hatred of "those others" -- so he can play the demagogue in exchange for their roars of approval and their votes.
Ralph
The awful, terrorist truck attack on pedestrians and bicyclists in lower Manhattan on Halloween is another example. Trump wasted no time, not even waiting for the facts, in blaming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for supporting the visa program under which the truck driver, Sayfullo Saipov, immigrated from Uzbekistan to our country in 2010.
Of course, it's red meat for his rabid base, but how vapid and useless is Trump's attempt to politicize this tragedy. Yes, the truck driver, who killed eight and injured many more, left a note in the truck pledging allegiance to ISIS. But, without even waiting for the facts, to call for immigration policy changes is irresponsible and harmful to peaceful Muslims whose cooperation we need.
Saipov came to live in the U.S. in 2010 under a visa lottery program that encourages people from countries with a low rate of immigration to the U.S. There was nothing in Saipov's background to point to a risk when he came to live here seven years ago. He became radicalized while living here legally. Tighter vetting in 2010 would not have excluded him.
What a striking contrast is Trump's response when the attacker is Muslim. Donald Trump, the president, has publicly called for the death penalty for Saipov. That may not be what the courts decide; but one prosecutor has said that such a statement from the president could make it difficult for the accused to get a fair trial. And, even though he is not an American citizen, we do still grant our rule of law to non-citizens living in the U.S.
Look at the difference in Trump's attitude when a White Supremacist made a similar vehicular attack on a crowd at their rally in Charlottesville. Does anyone remember the president calling for extreme vetting of white supremacists or neo-Nazi or Alt-Right groups? No, in fact, he went out of his way to "normalize" them, saying that a lot of people in their group were "good people" who came out to protest removing their "heritage" statues. And I don't remember Trump calling for the death penalty for that young white man who used his car to mow down a crowd.
Nor did Trump call for changing laws that allow converting AK-15s into rapid-fire machine guns -- after the Dallas massacre. With Donald Trump, it's all about keeping his dwindling base close and supplying their vital nutrients of fear and hatred of "those others" -- so he can play the demagogue in exchange for their roars of approval and their votes.
Ralph
Friday, November 3, 2017
"So here's where we are . . ." re Mueller
Michelle Goldberg's New York Times column brought us up to date on the Robert Mueller investigation. Indictments have been served on Paul Manafort and Rick Gates; and a guilty plea and "active cooperation" obtained from a foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos. Goldberg writes:
"The question is no longer whether there was cooperation between Trump's campaign and Russia, but how extensive it was. . . . Trump, more gangster than entrepreneur, has long surrounded himself with bottom-feeding scum; and, for all his nationalistic bluster, his cmpaign was a vehicle for Russian subversion."
Manafort was Trump's campaign chair during the crucial Republican National Convention and continued until he had to resign due to some of the things that came to light that are now in the indictment. Gates was Manifort's deputy and business partner, who is charged with most of the same counts; but notably Gastes was kept on by the campaign for some time after Manafort was pushed out.
Papadopoulos has confessed he met with Russian operatives and tried to set up a meeting with Trump campaign officials and Russians who were offering dirt from Clinton emails -- even before it was publicly revealed that the DNC had been hacked by Russia.
Goldberg concludes with: "So here's where we are. Trump put Manafort -- an accused money-launderer and unregistered foreign agent -- in charge of his campaign. Under Manafort's watch, the campaign made at least two attempts to get compromising information about Clinton from Russia. Russia, in turn, provided hacked Democratic emails to WikiLeaks.
"Russia also ran a giant disinformation campaign against Clinton on social media and attempted to hack voting systems in at least 21 states. In response to Russia's election meddling, Barack Obama's administration imposed sanctions. Upon taking office, Trump reportedly made secret efforts to lift them. He fired the FBI director James Comey to stop his investigation into 'the Russia thing'; as he told Lester Holt. The day after the firing, he met with Russia's foreign minister and its ambassador to America and told them: 'I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off.'"
There are a lot more connections, involving many more of the Trump associates. And yet Trump and his apologists would have us believe it's all a witch hunt, that we need to get rid of Mueller and open investigations into Clinton -- and how she colluded with the Russians . . . but for what? To bring about her own defeat? Duh!
Ralph
"The question is no longer whether there was cooperation between Trump's campaign and Russia, but how extensive it was. . . . Trump, more gangster than entrepreneur, has long surrounded himself with bottom-feeding scum; and, for all his nationalistic bluster, his cmpaign was a vehicle for Russian subversion."
Manafort was Trump's campaign chair during the crucial Republican National Convention and continued until he had to resign due to some of the things that came to light that are now in the indictment. Gates was Manifort's deputy and business partner, who is charged with most of the same counts; but notably Gastes was kept on by the campaign for some time after Manafort was pushed out.
Papadopoulos has confessed he met with Russian operatives and tried to set up a meeting with Trump campaign officials and Russians who were offering dirt from Clinton emails -- even before it was publicly revealed that the DNC had been hacked by Russia.
Goldberg concludes with: "So here's where we are. Trump put Manafort -- an accused money-launderer and unregistered foreign agent -- in charge of his campaign. Under Manafort's watch, the campaign made at least two attempts to get compromising information about Clinton from Russia. Russia, in turn, provided hacked Democratic emails to WikiLeaks.
"Russia also ran a giant disinformation campaign against Clinton on social media and attempted to hack voting systems in at least 21 states. In response to Russia's election meddling, Barack Obama's administration imposed sanctions. Upon taking office, Trump reportedly made secret efforts to lift them. He fired the FBI director James Comey to stop his investigation into 'the Russia thing'; as he told Lester Holt. The day after the firing, he met with Russia's foreign minister and its ambassador to America and told them: 'I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off.'"
There are a lot more connections, involving many more of the Trump associates. And yet Trump and his apologists would have us believe it's all a witch hunt, that we need to get rid of Mueller and open investigations into Clinton -- and how she colluded with the Russians . . . but for what? To bring about her own defeat? Duh!
Ralph
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Don Trump, Jr. -- Such a good Dad.
Donald Trump, Jr. tweeted out a picture of his 3 year old daughter Chloe in her Halloween costume (a police uniform), holding her pail of trick-or-tweet candy. Daddy Don's tweeted message was this:
He's not talking about sharing with kids who were sick or who are unable to walk, or maybe whose single parent had to work three jobs and couldn't make a costume. No, he definitely conveys that he wants to teach Chloe to scorn those who don't have her privileges and want to take hers away from her.
Within hours, Don Jr.'s tweet generated over 50,000 replies, many responding by pointing out that he was not describing socialism, but sharing -- generally considered a good thing. Another response theme was pointing out that the candy was given to Chloe (like her father's inherited wealth), not something she did anything to earn or deserve. "Amir" suggested: "Or you could just take 99% of Chloe's candy, eat it and tell her to wait for it to trickle down." And still others were critical of Don's use of his 3 year old daughter for political sniping.
My own reaction was to Don Jr.'s derogatory feelings toward those he deems as undeserving, i.e., "some kid who sat home" -- and to "it's never too early to teach her" what to hate. Which of course immediately brought to mind the great song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "South Pacific:"
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!
Sounds like the Trump attitude gets passed down through generations in an intentional and determined process. Teach the kids to be privileged and snobbish and selfish.
But starting at three? . . . by being robbed of your Halloween candy? Maybe that's what it takes to harden those little hearts against the less privileged -- sadistic mistreatment. From an article about Don Jr's upbringing, it sounds like this may have been a repetition of the way he was treated as a child.
Ralph
----------
"I'm going to take half of Chloe's candy tonight and give it to some kid who sat home. It's never to [sic] early to teach her about socialism."
----------
So "socialism" = kindness, sharing? Is that the message? No, his tone said something more like: 'Having your goodies taken away -- and given to s0meone who didn't even try to get his own candy, but just "sat at home" waiting for a handout. That's what is wrong with the world. Everybody wants a hand-out.'He's not talking about sharing with kids who were sick or who are unable to walk, or maybe whose single parent had to work three jobs and couldn't make a costume. No, he definitely conveys that he wants to teach Chloe to scorn those who don't have her privileges and want to take hers away from her.
Within hours, Don Jr.'s tweet generated over 50,000 replies, many responding by pointing out that he was not describing socialism, but sharing -- generally considered a good thing. Another response theme was pointing out that the candy was given to Chloe (like her father's inherited wealth), not something she did anything to earn or deserve. "Amir" suggested: "Or you could just take 99% of Chloe's candy, eat it and tell her to wait for it to trickle down." And still others were critical of Don's use of his 3 year old daughter for political sniping.
My own reaction was to Don Jr.'s derogatory feelings toward those he deems as undeserving, i.e., "some kid who sat home" -- and to "it's never too early to teach her" what to hate. Which of course immediately brought to mind the great song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "South Pacific:"
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!
Sounds like the Trump attitude gets passed down through generations in an intentional and determined process. Teach the kids to be privileged and snobbish and selfish.
But starting at three? . . . by being robbed of your Halloween candy? Maybe that's what it takes to harden those little hearts against the less privileged -- sadistic mistreatment. From an article about Don Jr's upbringing, it sounds like this may have been a repetition of the way he was treated as a child.
Ralph
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Short takes, November 1, 2017
News of Robert Mueller's three indictments dominated the news on Monday -- some say it's a historic moment, even more than the first indictments in the Watergate scandal that led to Nixon's resignation. In this crisis-a-day Trump news era, other important (or just interesting) news items tend to get over-looked. So here are a few short takes to catch up.
1. The ever expanding Amazon company is conducting a search for a second headquarters city, to be called HQ2. They project 50,000 new jobs, huge warehouse and office space needs, and a boost to the local economy. Over 200 cities submitted proposals by last week's deadline. Some pundits are saying that Atlanta is a front runner, because of it's geographic location, it's airport hub, it's wealth of young, tech work force, and the state's business-friendly, tax-break inducements. To be honest, other predictors didn't even mention Atlanta. Drawbacks would be its local traffic/commute problems and its legislature still trying to pass "religious-freedom" laws.
2. A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against implementing President Trump's ban on transgender people serving openly in the military. The judge stated that plaintiff's seeking to overturn the ban were likely to prevail in a trial based on their argument that it violates due process under the 5th amendment. President Obama had removed obstacles to trans troops last year, and then Trump issued his ban in August this year. Five plaintiffs have sued, and that trial will go forward; but the judge's order means Trump's order cannot be implemented prior to the trial.
3. A study done by the Kaiser Foundation has determined that President Trump's threatening to cut off subsidy payments to offset high health insurance premiums purchased through the ACA exchanges -- as well as other uncertainties he has injected into the market -- have led to increased premiums from 7% to 38% in different state markets. Web sites for signing up begin today. Enrollments are expected to be reduced due to all the interference from Trump and his team, who are trying to make the program fail.
4. Former House Majority Leader John Boehner, a victim of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus that blocked Boehner efforts to get legislation passed, has begun to speak his mind about fellow Republicans . . . quite openly, often with pithy expletives. He called Rep. Jim Jordan, founder of the Freedom Caucus, "an a--hole" and "a legislative terrorist." About Jason Chaffetz, former chair of the House Oversight Committee, Boehner said he was "a total phony. . . . It's always about Chaffetz." He said that in general the Congress is a mixed bag. "We've got some of the smartest people in America . . . and we've got some of the dumbest," he told Politico. Regarding the "deep, troubling divisiveness" in America now, he blamed an increasingly polarized media. He took particular aim at radio host Mark Levin, whom he blamed for dragging Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity "to the dark side."
5. Georgia's junior senator, David Purdue, continues to be a Trump admirer and advocate, even likening him to Winston Churchill as "nobody's choirboy . . . [but] a man of destiny" who pulled his country through in dangerous times by being "willing to break some eggs." Purdue continues, about Trump: "Here we've got, I believe, a man that's willing to break some eggs in Washington. He doesn't know what the traditions are or the rules or anything else. He's just trying to get results. That's why the people back home relate to that so strongly, I believe."
Yes, but throughout history, crowds have flocked to populists who promised to break up the established order; but some of them turn out to be dictators. The danger from Trump and his ilk (Bannon, Bussey, and Miller), and from the ambitions of the money behind him (the Mercers) is that the eggs they're trying to break are the very building blocks of democracy: the Constitution, the rule of law, voting rights, civil rights, and due process.
6. Trump's first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski is blaming the FBI for not warning the campaign that Paul Manafort was under investigation for some of the multiple charges on which he was indicted on Monday. What's becoming clear is that the Trump campaign didn't even try to vet people it was putting in high places. That put our national security at great risk. We had people, like Manafort and Flynn and their underlings, with ties to Russians who wanted nothing more than to gain influence, and perhaps blackmail power, over the Trump administration.
Even a cursory attempt would have found red flags about Manafort. Just from reading news accounts, I found it strange that they would make a person campaign manager who had come to them, offering to work for no salary -- following his close involvement with the pro-Russia, deposed Ukraine president. Was anybody even slightly suspicious about that? Now we know that, shortly after he became Trump campaign chair, he was emailing a Russian oligarch close to Putin talking about how they can make use of Manafort's new position, it now seems likely, in order to settle some financial obligations between Manafort and the oligarch. Same story for Michael Flynn regarding what was missed by not vetting him -- ties to Russians.
In his self-serving plaint about the FBI for "not warning" them, Lewandowski explained that the campaign "didn't have the ability" to discover such things. True, they didn't have access to secret FBI files; but that's one of the things a responsible campaign makes provisions to do. Team Trump either didn't care or wanted it that way. Besides, there was enough in the free press and common sense to have warned them off -- about both Manafort and Flynn. The other suspicion is that maybe they did know -- and wanted them anyway because of their connections to Russians close to Putin.
Ralph
PS: Yes, I'm aware that four of my six "other" news stories are Trump-related. Even when I try to avoid news about him, he is malignantly invasive . . . everywhere. Really, he's like a cancer.
1. The ever expanding Amazon company is conducting a search for a second headquarters city, to be called HQ2. They project 50,000 new jobs, huge warehouse and office space needs, and a boost to the local economy. Over 200 cities submitted proposals by last week's deadline. Some pundits are saying that Atlanta is a front runner, because of it's geographic location, it's airport hub, it's wealth of young, tech work force, and the state's business-friendly, tax-break inducements. To be honest, other predictors didn't even mention Atlanta. Drawbacks would be its local traffic/commute problems and its legislature still trying to pass "religious-freedom" laws.
2. A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against implementing President Trump's ban on transgender people serving openly in the military. The judge stated that plaintiff's seeking to overturn the ban were likely to prevail in a trial based on their argument that it violates due process under the 5th amendment. President Obama had removed obstacles to trans troops last year, and then Trump issued his ban in August this year. Five plaintiffs have sued, and that trial will go forward; but the judge's order means Trump's order cannot be implemented prior to the trial.
3. A study done by the Kaiser Foundation has determined that President Trump's threatening to cut off subsidy payments to offset high health insurance premiums purchased through the ACA exchanges -- as well as other uncertainties he has injected into the market -- have led to increased premiums from 7% to 38% in different state markets. Web sites for signing up begin today. Enrollments are expected to be reduced due to all the interference from Trump and his team, who are trying to make the program fail.
4. Former House Majority Leader John Boehner, a victim of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus that blocked Boehner efforts to get legislation passed, has begun to speak his mind about fellow Republicans . . . quite openly, often with pithy expletives. He called Rep. Jim Jordan, founder of the Freedom Caucus, "an a--hole" and "a legislative terrorist." About Jason Chaffetz, former chair of the House Oversight Committee, Boehner said he was "a total phony. . . . It's always about Chaffetz." He said that in general the Congress is a mixed bag. "We've got some of the smartest people in America . . . and we've got some of the dumbest," he told Politico. Regarding the "deep, troubling divisiveness" in America now, he blamed an increasingly polarized media. He took particular aim at radio host Mark Levin, whom he blamed for dragging Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity "to the dark side."
5. Georgia's junior senator, David Purdue, continues to be a Trump admirer and advocate, even likening him to Winston Churchill as "nobody's choirboy . . . [but] a man of destiny" who pulled his country through in dangerous times by being "willing to break some eggs." Purdue continues, about Trump: "Here we've got, I believe, a man that's willing to break some eggs in Washington. He doesn't know what the traditions are or the rules or anything else. He's just trying to get results. That's why the people back home relate to that so strongly, I believe."
Yes, but throughout history, crowds have flocked to populists who promised to break up the established order; but some of them turn out to be dictators. The danger from Trump and his ilk (Bannon, Bussey, and Miller), and from the ambitions of the money behind him (the Mercers) is that the eggs they're trying to break are the very building blocks of democracy: the Constitution, the rule of law, voting rights, civil rights, and due process.
6. Trump's first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski is blaming the FBI for not warning the campaign that Paul Manafort was under investigation for some of the multiple charges on which he was indicted on Monday. What's becoming clear is that the Trump campaign didn't even try to vet people it was putting in high places. That put our national security at great risk. We had people, like Manafort and Flynn and their underlings, with ties to Russians who wanted nothing more than to gain influence, and perhaps blackmail power, over the Trump administration.
Even a cursory attempt would have found red flags about Manafort. Just from reading news accounts, I found it strange that they would make a person campaign manager who had come to them, offering to work for no salary -- following his close involvement with the pro-Russia, deposed Ukraine president. Was anybody even slightly suspicious about that? Now we know that, shortly after he became Trump campaign chair, he was emailing a Russian oligarch close to Putin talking about how they can make use of Manafort's new position, it now seems likely, in order to settle some financial obligations between Manafort and the oligarch. Same story for Michael Flynn regarding what was missed by not vetting him -- ties to Russians.
In his self-serving plaint about the FBI for "not warning" them, Lewandowski explained that the campaign "didn't have the ability" to discover such things. True, they didn't have access to secret FBI files; but that's one of the things a responsible campaign makes provisions to do. Team Trump either didn't care or wanted it that way. Besides, there was enough in the free press and common sense to have warned them off -- about both Manafort and Flynn. The other suspicion is that maybe they did know -- and wanted them anyway because of their connections to Russians close to Putin.
Ralph
PS: Yes, I'm aware that four of my six "other" news stories are Trump-related. Even when I try to avoid news about him, he is malignantly invasive . . . everywhere. Really, he's like a cancer.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Indictments begin to close in on Trump
In a much anticipated moment, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his deputy and business partner Rick Gates have been indicted by the Mueller team on multiple charges. Both have have pled "not guilty" on all charges. Many of the charges, including money laundering, go back decades and have to do with Manafort's work for a pro-Russian Ukrainian government official.
Other charges against Manafort and Gates include conspiracy to defraud the United States, acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government, making false statements, and failure to file reports on foreign bank and financial accounts.
Trump and his people have been quick to proclaim that this is old stuff that has nothing to do with his campaign. But the indicted Manafort is the same Manafort who was the Trump campaign manager when he won the nomination, and Gates was his deputy. Even if the alleged crimes occurred before, it's the same man with the same connections with Russians -- including the oligarch to whom Manafort offered to give "special briefings" while he was campaign manager. So that line just won't wash.
There was a third indictment, which at first seemed minor -- a campaign aide had pled guilty to making false statements and was now cooperating with investigators.
But on reflection, and especially after reading The Guardian's account, we should not be lulled by the White House spin. This is very similar to the Trump Tower meeting with Russians "bringing dirt" on Hillary -- except there were follow up meetings to this one. Here's how The Guardian article began:
The perjury had to do with lying about when the contacts occurred. Initially he told the FBI the contacts were before he joined the Trump campaign. It was later shown, and he confessed, that it had been in April 2016, after he was already an adviser to the Trump national security team. Note: This was two months prior to the infamous June Trump Tower meeting with the Russian lawyer supposedly peddling dirt on Clinton. Manafort was campaign chair during that whole period, from March to August 2016.
A former federal prosecutor, Renato Mariotti, sees this as Mueller putting pressure on Manafort and Gates to cooperate, hoping for lighter sentences -- as Papadopoulos has done. That is very plausible, especially with the serious jail-time Manafort and Gates will probably face.
I think Mueller's strategy is clear. Indicting Manafort and Gates now, hoping to flip them to being witnesses against Team Trump. By including Papadopoulos, Mueller challenges Trump's false claim that it has nothing to do with his campaign. We now have two separate instances where Trump team members (Papadopoulos in Europe; Trump Jr., Manafort, and Kushner in Trump Tower) taking meetings with Russians offering dirt on Hillary.
Stay tuned.
Ralph
Other charges against Manafort and Gates include conspiracy to defraud the United States, acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government, making false statements, and failure to file reports on foreign bank and financial accounts.
Trump and his people have been quick to proclaim that this is old stuff that has nothing to do with his campaign. But the indicted Manafort is the same Manafort who was the Trump campaign manager when he won the nomination, and Gates was his deputy. Even if the alleged crimes occurred before, it's the same man with the same connections with Russians -- including the oligarch to whom Manafort offered to give "special briefings" while he was campaign manager. So that line just won't wash.
There was a third indictment, which at first seemed minor -- a campaign aide had pled guilty to making false statements and was now cooperating with investigators.
But on reflection, and especially after reading The Guardian's account, we should not be lulled by the White House spin. This is very similar to the Trump Tower meeting with Russians "bringing dirt" on Hillary -- except there were follow up meetings to this one. Here's how The Guardian article began:
"The special investigation into Russian election meddling closed in dramatically on Donald Trump on Monday, as news broke that a former foreign policy adviser pleaded guilty to perjury over his contacts with Russians linked to the Kremlin and the president’s former campaign manager and another aide faced charges of money laundering.
"In a day of rapid and surprising developments in Washington, George Papadopoulos, the former foreign policy adviser, was revealed to have pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to FBI investigators over his contacts last year with two Russians with apparently close ties to their government. One was an unnamed Russian professor . . . who offered “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. Another was a woman who portrayed herself as “Putin’s niece.”The Guardian goes on to say that, although the woman turned out not to be related to Putin, these two links did lead Papadopoulos "to extensive contacts with Russian officials regarding a Putin-Trump meeting and other high-level exchanges."
The perjury had to do with lying about when the contacts occurred. Initially he told the FBI the contacts were before he joined the Trump campaign. It was later shown, and he confessed, that it had been in April 2016, after he was already an adviser to the Trump national security team. Note: This was two months prior to the infamous June Trump Tower meeting with the Russian lawyer supposedly peddling dirt on Clinton. Manafort was campaign chair during that whole period, from March to August 2016.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tried to dismiss the 30 year old Papadopoulos as a one-time "volunteer" on the national security team, who really had nothing much to do with anything of importance. However, HuffPost has a picture of him sitting at a conference table among a group of ten other men, and looking very much a part of the group -- with President Trump at one end and Attorney General Sessions at the other end. The caption calls it a meeting of the "national security team," taken in 2016.
The Guardian's account includes this: "The charges which Papadopoulos accepted as part of his guilty plea said Trump was present at a meeting of national security advisers where Papadopoulos boasted of his Russian connections and said he could help organize a meeting with Putin."
Back to Manafort and Gates: Their alleged crimes are much more serious; but the Papadopoulos perjury plea -- announced at this time -- sends a powerful message. This is not a witch hunt that has nothing to do with Trump. Mueller has evidence of potential collusion that goes to the top. And lying to investigators is a punishable crime.
The Guardian's account includes this: "The charges which Papadopoulos accepted as part of his guilty plea said Trump was present at a meeting of national security advisers where Papadopoulos boasted of his Russian connections and said he could help organize a meeting with Putin."
Back to Manafort and Gates: Their alleged crimes are much more serious; but the Papadopoulos perjury plea -- announced at this time -- sends a powerful message. This is not a witch hunt that has nothing to do with Trump. Mueller has evidence of potential collusion that goes to the top. And lying to investigators is a punishable crime.
A former federal prosecutor, Renato Mariotti, sees this as Mueller putting pressure on Manafort and Gates to cooperate, hoping for lighter sentences -- as Papadopoulos has done. That is very plausible, especially with the serious jail-time Manafort and Gates will probably face.
Stay tuned.
Ralph
Monday, October 30, 2017
EPA cancels own scientists planned talks
The EPA under Scott Pruitt is slashing regulations and bans on dangerous chemicals, right and left. He has abandoned the Clean Power Plan, and scrubbed the department web site of information helpful to state ecology programs.
Now it's widely reported that the EPA has, at the last minute, barred three of its own research scientists from delivering the talks they had planned to give last weekend at a conference highlighting New England's largest estuary, where temperatures have risen 3 degrees and water levels have risen 7 inches over the past century.
The scientists were reportedly going to discuss research evidence of climate change effects as a cause of these alarming increases. But now our government is refusing to let them speak. Please tell me how this differs from a totalitarian state.
Ralph
Now it's widely reported that the EPA has, at the last minute, barred three of its own research scientists from delivering the talks they had planned to give last weekend at a conference highlighting New England's largest estuary, where temperatures have risen 3 degrees and water levels have risen 7 inches over the past century.
The scientists were reportedly going to discuss research evidence of climate change effects as a cause of these alarming increases. But now our government is refusing to let them speak. Please tell me how this differs from a totalitarian state.
Ralph
Trump declares opioids "national public health emergency" -- but no extra funds
Back in August, with some pressure, Trump said he would declare the opioid crisis a national emergency. The reason that's important is that it usually means that a lot more money for prevention and treatment will be allocated.
In mid-October, some members of the media asked why he had not yet done it, and Trump said that he was going to make the declaration . . . soon. Why is he dragging his feet? It makes no sense. In 2016, 64,000 Americans died of overdoses of opioids. It's now the leading cause of death in some age groups.
Or maybe it does make sense. The Republicans are trying to pass a budget -- and they had already cut the funding for mental health and addiction treatment by a significant amount. To pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
Sure enough, on October 26th, when Trump finally got around to making his formal announcement declaring opioid addiction a "national public health emergency," there was no talk of any extra funding for prevention or treatment.
Not only that, but the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act was what had been providing some extra treatment funding for addiction treatment. And we all know what Trump and the Republicans have been trying to do with that.
What Trump did offer was three-fold, according to the a New York Times editorial: (1) stopping the flow of drugs from Mexico by building his wall; (2) banning the sale of one opioid that he did not name but called "evil;" and (3) producing "really big, really great advertising" to tell young people not to take drugs, because, you see, "If we can teach young people not to take drugs, it's really really easy not to take them."
That's the plan??? No additional money for treatment? No money for beefing up the drug enforcement agencies? No campaign to go after doctors who prescribe opioids indiscriminately and become "opioid suppliers"? And still no replacement for Tom Price to head HHS or an appointee to head the Office of Drug Control Policy. In fairness, Trump did propose Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) for the latter job but had to withdraw the nomination when it was revealed that Marino had helped drug wholesalers make it harder to crack down on black market drug dealers.
Thirty years ago, Nancy Reagen was soundly ridiculed for her advice to young people about drugs with her infamous advice: "Just say no." But our problem is far far, vastly worse now than it was then . . . and "Just say no" didn't work then either.
Ralph
In mid-October, some members of the media asked why he had not yet done it, and Trump said that he was going to make the declaration . . . soon. Why is he dragging his feet? It makes no sense. In 2016, 64,000 Americans died of overdoses of opioids. It's now the leading cause of death in some age groups.
Or maybe it does make sense. The Republicans are trying to pass a budget -- and they had already cut the funding for mental health and addiction treatment by a significant amount. To pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
Sure enough, on October 26th, when Trump finally got around to making his formal announcement declaring opioid addiction a "national public health emergency," there was no talk of any extra funding for prevention or treatment.
Not only that, but the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act was what had been providing some extra treatment funding for addiction treatment. And we all know what Trump and the Republicans have been trying to do with that.
What Trump did offer was three-fold, according to the a New York Times editorial: (1) stopping the flow of drugs from Mexico by building his wall; (2) banning the sale of one opioid that he did not name but called "evil;" and (3) producing "really big, really great advertising" to tell young people not to take drugs, because, you see, "If we can teach young people not to take drugs, it's really really easy not to take them."
That's the plan??? No additional money for treatment? No money for beefing up the drug enforcement agencies? No campaign to go after doctors who prescribe opioids indiscriminately and become "opioid suppliers"? And still no replacement for Tom Price to head HHS or an appointee to head the Office of Drug Control Policy. In fairness, Trump did propose Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) for the latter job but had to withdraw the nomination when it was revealed that Marino had helped drug wholesalers make it harder to crack down on black market drug dealers.
Thirty years ago, Nancy Reagen was soundly ridiculed for her advice to young people about drugs with her infamous advice: "Just say no." But our problem is far far, vastly worse now than it was then . . . and "Just say no" didn't work then either.
Ralph
Sunday, October 29, 2017
"Deer X-ing" signs are for humans
You know those highway signs that say "Deer X-ing" (deer crossing)? Well, it seems that someone tried to use this as a defense in a court case involving a car killing a deer that was crossing the road 'in an unauthorized place.' So the authorities had to clarify with this statement:
"'Deer X-ing' signs are for humans to read. Signs are not put up to tell the deer where to cross, because deer cannot read signs. They are put up to tell human drivers where deer tend to cross and to watch out so as not to hit them."
Duh! Nice try, somebody's lawyer.
"'Deer X-ing' signs are for humans to read. Signs are not put up to tell the deer where to cross, because deer cannot read signs. They are put up to tell human drivers where deer tend to cross and to watch out so as not to hit them."
Duh! Nice try, somebody's lawyer.
Catching up on the Mueller investigation
1. News was leaked on Friday that the Washington Grand Jury, convened by Special Counsel Mueller, has approved an indictment. At this point, we don't know who the person or persons indicted are, and the indictment was sealed.
This will make it more difficult for Republicans to claim that Mueller is conducting a witch hunt with no basis in facts. It means that both a grand jury and a judge have thought the evidence warrants an arrest. NBC has confirmed from two sources with knowledge that Mueller will make the indictment public on Monday. Conservative news sources are flipping out, calling for Mueller to resign, claiming that he has a conflict of interest because . . . friend of Comey, . . . biased toward Clinton. . . . blah, blah, blah.
Already there's a casualty. Long-time, dirty-trickster, Republican operative Roger Stone let loose with a series of profane, sexually explicit and insulting tweets against CNN anchors, who reported CNN's breaking story. Stone is a minor player in the Russia connection, having seemed to have prior knowledge of when Wikileaks was going to release John Podesta's hacked emails and claiming to be in contact with Julian Assange. His tweets clearly violated, multiple times, their language code, so Twitter has banned him, permanently. Couldn't happen to a nastier guy.
2. The July 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer, supposedly bringing dirt on Hillary Clinton, takes on new significance and credibility as it has now been shown that the Russian lawyer did have links to people close to Putin. The best analysis is that this was a "dangle," to test the Trump team's openness to cooperating. They would not have brought anything that would have incriminated themselves until they tested the receptivity. The unknown question is what happened next? Were there other exchanges? Trump Jr. says no. But the evidence does apparently show the Trump team's willingness to collude with Russia to get damaging information on Clinton. Maybe it came in the form of hacked emails released on Wikileaks.
3. Cambridge Analytica, the data enterprise that began working for the Trump campaign in August of 2016, had earlier (June 2016, according to one report) reached out to Wikileaks to offer to help them disseminate the hacked emails from the DNC. One TV analyst pointed out that this was before they were associated with the campaign.
However, the Mercers (Trump's billionaire donors who also bankroll Breitbart News and who brought Bannon to the Trump campaign) are part owners in Cambridge Analytica. So there's the connection. The Mercers backed Ted Cruz until after the convention, then switched to Trump. Also: we've heard nothing about this since; but early on I remember when the data firm was first mentioned in connection with the campaign it was said that Jared Kushner had some connection with the guy who runs the data operation. And, by the way, where is Jared? He's dropped from the news like a hot potato.
4. The top lawyer for the office of Director of National Intelligence under Obama has said that the controversial Steele dossier was not part of the evidence that led the national security agencies to agree collectively that Russia was directly behind the hacking of the DNC emails. In other words, that finding stands, regardless of whether the information in the dossier proves to be true or not. For the record, some of it has been verified as true; and none of it has yet been proved untrue.
5. There has been a frenzy in Republican circles in the past week or so, suggesting that they're trying to distract from something, perhaps something they knew was coming. Suddenly chief Trump bagboy, Rep. David Nunes, who keeps interfering with the House Intelligence Committe investigation, plus Trey Gowdy, who has replaced the chair of the House Oversight Committee, are practically frothing at the mouth over their newly planned investigations into -- wait for it -- Hillary Clinton.
Yes, it's been revealed that someone who has donated to her campaign also picked up the payment for the investigations that led to the Steele dossier, after the Republican candidate backer stopped paying when his candidate lost the primary. See, it was opposition research looking for damaging info on Trump; so first it was paid for by Republicans, then by Democrats. What don't they understand that needs another investigation? It's just noise. Bur they're grasping at straws, trying to say that the "Russian collusion" is really about Clinton, not Trump. But Steele, who did the investigation of Trump and compiled the dossier, is British, a former MI 5 spy. He was simply doing some private investigative work in Russia, because that's where the facts led him. He was not working for or with the Russians. And Mueller has already gotten information from him.
6. Back in August, Congress voted to impose new sanctions on Russia to punish them for hacking into our election -- exactly what is the core of the Mueller investigation. President Trump very reluctantly signed the bill into law (since only 3 members of the House and 2 members of the Senate voted against it, it was veto-proof). The law gave Trump until October 1st to impose the sanctions. It is now the end of October, and no new sanctions have been imposed.
If I were Mueller, I would count this among the many many examples of Trump's positive, even protective attitude toward Russia, which only bolsters Mueller's case for collusion.
Ralph
This will make it more difficult for Republicans to claim that Mueller is conducting a witch hunt with no basis in facts. It means that both a grand jury and a judge have thought the evidence warrants an arrest. NBC has confirmed from two sources with knowledge that Mueller will make the indictment public on Monday. Conservative news sources are flipping out, calling for Mueller to resign, claiming that he has a conflict of interest because . . . friend of Comey, . . . biased toward Clinton. . . . blah, blah, blah.
Already there's a casualty. Long-time, dirty-trickster, Republican operative Roger Stone let loose with a series of profane, sexually explicit and insulting tweets against CNN anchors, who reported CNN's breaking story. Stone is a minor player in the Russia connection, having seemed to have prior knowledge of when Wikileaks was going to release John Podesta's hacked emails and claiming to be in contact with Julian Assange. His tweets clearly violated, multiple times, their language code, so Twitter has banned him, permanently. Couldn't happen to a nastier guy.
2. The July 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer, supposedly bringing dirt on Hillary Clinton, takes on new significance and credibility as it has now been shown that the Russian lawyer did have links to people close to Putin. The best analysis is that this was a "dangle," to test the Trump team's openness to cooperating. They would not have brought anything that would have incriminated themselves until they tested the receptivity. The unknown question is what happened next? Were there other exchanges? Trump Jr. says no. But the evidence does apparently show the Trump team's willingness to collude with Russia to get damaging information on Clinton. Maybe it came in the form of hacked emails released on Wikileaks.
3. Cambridge Analytica, the data enterprise that began working for the Trump campaign in August of 2016, had earlier (June 2016, according to one report) reached out to Wikileaks to offer to help them disseminate the hacked emails from the DNC. One TV analyst pointed out that this was before they were associated with the campaign.
However, the Mercers (Trump's billionaire donors who also bankroll Breitbart News and who brought Bannon to the Trump campaign) are part owners in Cambridge Analytica. So there's the connection. The Mercers backed Ted Cruz until after the convention, then switched to Trump. Also: we've heard nothing about this since; but early on I remember when the data firm was first mentioned in connection with the campaign it was said that Jared Kushner had some connection with the guy who runs the data operation. And, by the way, where is Jared? He's dropped from the news like a hot potato.
4. The top lawyer for the office of Director of National Intelligence under Obama has said that the controversial Steele dossier was not part of the evidence that led the national security agencies to agree collectively that Russia was directly behind the hacking of the DNC emails. In other words, that finding stands, regardless of whether the information in the dossier proves to be true or not. For the record, some of it has been verified as true; and none of it has yet been proved untrue.
5. There has been a frenzy in Republican circles in the past week or so, suggesting that they're trying to distract from something, perhaps something they knew was coming. Suddenly chief Trump bagboy, Rep. David Nunes, who keeps interfering with the House Intelligence Committe investigation, plus Trey Gowdy, who has replaced the chair of the House Oversight Committee, are practically frothing at the mouth over their newly planned investigations into -- wait for it -- Hillary Clinton.
Yes, it's been revealed that someone who has donated to her campaign also picked up the payment for the investigations that led to the Steele dossier, after the Republican candidate backer stopped paying when his candidate lost the primary. See, it was opposition research looking for damaging info on Trump; so first it was paid for by Republicans, then by Democrats. What don't they understand that needs another investigation? It's just noise. Bur they're grasping at straws, trying to say that the "Russian collusion" is really about Clinton, not Trump. But Steele, who did the investigation of Trump and compiled the dossier, is British, a former MI 5 spy. He was simply doing some private investigative work in Russia, because that's where the facts led him. He was not working for or with the Russians. And Mueller has already gotten information from him.
6. Back in August, Congress voted to impose new sanctions on Russia to punish them for hacking into our election -- exactly what is the core of the Mueller investigation. President Trump very reluctantly signed the bill into law (since only 3 members of the House and 2 members of the Senate voted against it, it was veto-proof). The law gave Trump until October 1st to impose the sanctions. It is now the end of October, and no new sanctions have been imposed.
If I were Mueller, I would count this among the many many examples of Trump's positive, even protective attitude toward Russia, which only bolsters Mueller's case for collusion.
Ralph
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