When you hear the word bipartisan, reach for your gun.
There is a conservative majority in Congress that persists no matter which party controls the big corner offices. When you hear the word bipartisan, remember that it is most often used to describe something like Bob Corker and Mark Warner, just say, getting together to craft a deal to advance corporate interests at your expense.
Quadruple bogey.
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning aired a pop quiz:
"The capital city of your closest ally is attacked. Do you…:"(By the way, the answer is E.)
A) Retweet Drudge before being briefed.
B) Use the attack to lobby the Supreme Court overturn lower court rulings that said your travel ban is unconstitutional.
C) Openly attack the mayor of the city under assault and quote him out of context.
D) Go golfing for the 22nd time in your 19-week tenure.
E) All of the above.
The political horse race
Democrats for Ohio governor in the news today: Schiavoni, Pillich, Whaley, Sutton, Cordray, Springer... The only question: Who will Win, Place and Show?
The mainstream media never -- never! -- tells us what candidates stand for. We knew far more about Always Dreaming on Derby morning than we'll know about our next governor when we get up on election day.
The mainstream media never -- never! -- tells us what candidates stand for. We knew far more about Always Dreaming on Derby morning than we'll know about our next governor when we get up on election day.
Body slamming the electorate
Absentee balloting, as it was originally conceived, is a good and necessary thing. There is no reason that people away from home, disabled or living in nursing facilities should be denied their franchise. But the abuse of absentee voting by both parties has reached a point where in many districts the outcome of elections are determined by party loyalists who have not bothered to consider and compare the actual candidates.
A dramatic example of this is happening this week in Montana's special congressional election, where the local sheriff’s office cited GOP candidate Greg Gianforte on a charge of misdemeanor assault for “body slamming” journalist Ben Jacobs after he asked the Republican about the GOP's recently passed health-care bill. It is more than likely that at least some voters undecided or leaning toward Gianforte will reconsider their vote in light of his seeming inability to control himself under pressure. How likely do you think it is that the outcome of the race will be changed, however, when you consider that election analysts estimate that roughly two-thirds of early votes had already been cast before one of the candidates faced an assault charge?
One possible way of fixing early voting abuse would be to permit absentee ballots to be mailed no sooner than three days before election day; ballots with earlier postmarks would be disqualified. To keep party operatives from rounding up ballots weeks in advance and bulk mailing them within the deadline, absentee ballots would also be required under penalty of law to be signed on the day they were mailed. Such a deadline would not seriously inconvenience any of the intended users of absentee voting, those actually absent from their precincts, while allowing campaigns to play out to the fullest extent possible.
A dramatic example of this is happening this week in Montana's special congressional election, where the local sheriff’s office cited GOP candidate Greg Gianforte on a charge of misdemeanor assault for “body slamming” journalist Ben Jacobs after he asked the Republican about the GOP's recently passed health-care bill. It is more than likely that at least some voters undecided or leaning toward Gianforte will reconsider their vote in light of his seeming inability to control himself under pressure. How likely do you think it is that the outcome of the race will be changed, however, when you consider that election analysts estimate that roughly two-thirds of early votes had already been cast before one of the candidates faced an assault charge?
One possible way of fixing early voting abuse would be to permit absentee ballots to be mailed no sooner than three days before election day; ballots with earlier postmarks would be disqualified. To keep party operatives from rounding up ballots weeks in advance and bulk mailing them within the deadline, absentee ballots would also be required under penalty of law to be signed on the day they were mailed. Such a deadline would not seriously inconvenience any of the intended users of absentee voting, those actually absent from their precincts, while allowing campaigns to play out to the fullest extent possible.
For the Record:
"This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!" -- Pres. Donald Trump
"As the Representative of Salem, MA, I can confirm that this is false." -- Rep. Seth Moulton
"As the Representative of Salem, MA, I can confirm that this is false." -- Rep. Seth Moulton
A new New Deal
In another ridiculous discussion of Bernie Sanders' undermining of the grand old Democratic Party, this: "We are the only party in the last 100 years to successfully push this country toward real progress."
This is absolutely true. It also ended about 45 years ago. The history of the country since the early 1970s is a record of decline. And since the 70s, the Democrats have held the reins of power more often than the Republicans. In that time, we have suffered militarization of foreign policy and, domestically, of the police; incarceration of vast numbers of citizens; severe decline of infrastructure; neglect of public services; huge transfers of public wealth into private hands; decimation of the middle class; a housing crisis; increased poverty...
It is true that more Democrats than Republicans resisted these developments, but not a majority and not the leadership; that is an argument for electing Democrats with those principles and policy goals; it is not an argument favoring continuing control of the party by neoliberals. Most Democrats agree on social issues (abortion excepted), but that's not why we're Democrats; you can be a liberal on social issues and still favor right-wing and libertarian economic policies. The reason to make progressive economic policies primary is that they are the area of broadest agreement among Democrats (neo-liberals excepted), and the guarantee of a decent life -- basic income, a roof over one's head, the ability to be properly educated and trained, protection from impoverishment by medical catastrophe, job loss or old age -- has the broadest appeal to the electorate.
History will look back at the last 40 years as the Reagan-Clinton era. It is time to turn in a different direction, back toward the road to economic and social justice that was the promise of Democrats like Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson. We need a new New Deal. The goal should be a great society, not an okay one.
This is absolutely true. It also ended about 45 years ago. The history of the country since the early 1970s is a record of decline. And since the 70s, the Democrats have held the reins of power more often than the Republicans. In that time, we have suffered militarization of foreign policy and, domestically, of the police; incarceration of vast numbers of citizens; severe decline of infrastructure; neglect of public services; huge transfers of public wealth into private hands; decimation of the middle class; a housing crisis; increased poverty...
It is true that more Democrats than Republicans resisted these developments, but not a majority and not the leadership; that is an argument for electing Democrats with those principles and policy goals; it is not an argument favoring continuing control of the party by neoliberals. Most Democrats agree on social issues (abortion excepted), but that's not why we're Democrats; you can be a liberal on social issues and still favor right-wing and libertarian economic policies. The reason to make progressive economic policies primary is that they are the area of broadest agreement among Democrats (neo-liberals excepted), and the guarantee of a decent life -- basic income, a roof over one's head, the ability to be properly educated and trained, protection from impoverishment by medical catastrophe, job loss or old age -- has the broadest appeal to the electorate.
History will look back at the last 40 years as the Reagan-Clinton era. It is time to turn in a different direction, back toward the road to economic and social justice that was the promise of Democrats like Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson. We need a new New Deal. The goal should be a great society, not an okay one.
From the Your-Mouth-To-God's-Ear Desk:
“I’m not a candidate for FBI director.” -- Rudy Giuliani, at the Trump hotel bar in D.C. after midnight early Wednesday morning.
Who's on first?
It's revealing that the establishment media in the U.S., having taken repeated notice of the number of French voters who abstained or cast blank ballots in the French presidential election to raise questions about Emmanuel Macron's legitimacy ("blank invalid ballots account for 9% of all registered voters; abstention rate at 24.52%"), is not similarly troubled about the U.S. government's legitimacy given that about 40% of adult Americans routinely abstain from voting.
"French election results: The case for saying Marine Le Pen actually came third," as one headline put it. Applying this analysis to November's results, Donald Trump came in third, Hillary Clinton second, and -- to the relief of most Americans -- None of the Above is president of United States.
"French election results: The case for saying Marine Le Pen actually came third," as one headline put it. Applying this analysis to November's results, Donald Trump came in third, Hillary Clinton second, and -- to the relief of most Americans -- None of the Above is president of United States.
From the Money-Talks-Bullshit-Walks Desk:
“No district is off the table." -- Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, the House Democratic campaign chairman.
Except, so far, for Kansas and Montana. In other words, except for two out of three.
Except, so far, for Kansas and Montana. In other words, except for two out of three.
Fight!
Republican Tommy Pope is favored over Democrat Archie Parnell in SC's 5th District next month. That contest is unlikely to see the same magnitude of investment from national parties and superpacs currently flooding the special elections in Georgia and Montana. Apparently, it will be more like the Kansas race that was narrowly lost because of the national Democrats' disinterest.
So much for the "50 States" strategy.
If the Democrats are serious about winning in 2018 and 2020, they will need to treat every contest seriously, not least because a losing race can lay the foundation for a win later and can influence outcomes in neighboring districts and in contests further up the political food chain, such as governor and senator. The Working Families Party, Greens, independents, et al might want to look at whether the Democrats' strategy of giving up various congressional districts and senate seats without a fight is an opportunity.
So much for the "50 States" strategy.
If the Democrats are serious about winning in 2018 and 2020, they will need to treat every contest seriously, not least because a losing race can lay the foundation for a win later and can influence outcomes in neighboring districts and in contests further up the political food chain, such as governor and senator. The Working Families Party, Greens, independents, et al might want to look at whether the Democrats' strategy of giving up various congressional districts and senate seats without a fight is an opportunity.
Yelling at buildings is not enough
The resistance is gratifying and fun and maybe consciousness-raising, but real change will come from an aggressive and eventually victorious opposition.
In the fight over the omnibus spending bill, the Democrats didn't do too badly: no funding for the border wall; no penalty for sanctuary cities; no rollback of environmental programs; no gutting of consumer financial protections; plus funding for ACA subsidies, Planned Parenthood, miners’ health benefits, and Medicaid payments for Puerto Rico.
But both the reactionaries now in power and the neoliberals they replaced must be overcome in 2018 and 2020 if the republic is to be set back on the road toward economic and social justice from which it was deflected 40 years or so ago. It will do us no good to go back to the politics and policies that made the reactionaries' victory possible -- inevitable -- in the first place.
Comprehensive Government Funding Bill Released (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations).
At the gym
Amazon Prime streaming just delivered, in sequence, R. Stevie Moore, Delbert McClinton, Ben Webster, Eden Atwood, the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, Jim Hall, Bessie Smith, Johnny Hodges, Horace Tapscott, Tommy Dorsey, Alan Holdsworth, Hoagy Carmichael, the MGs, Glenn Miller, Don Byas, Bach's Mein Herze, Casey Bill Weldon, Billy Eckstein, Anita O'Day, Ida Cox with Papa Charlie Jackson, and Isaac Hayes.
Newspeak
"War is Peace" has been the watchword of U.S. foreign policy for decades. Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama: each liked to wave his gun around. Dropping bombs on people is a presidential pastime, because it is as easy as ordering dessert and, for the commander in chief, politically risk free, American voters valuing as they do looking tough over being tough. Joining the Democrats in rechristening the various military adventures he inherited as "Trump's wars" will not end militarism. To succeed, the peace movement, should it remobilize, will need to take on both parties. Both are drenched in blood.
quote unquote: Woody Allen
"More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly." -- Woody Allen
DINO Mite
Sen. Joe Manchin ("D"-WV) attended Donald Trump’s signing Tuesday of his executive order on energy, designed to unwind former President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. Manchin said in a statement that "the Clean Power Plan failed to balance economic and environmental interests.”
Beto v. Ted: Anglo with Mexican name to challenge Cuban-American with Anglo name
Former punk rocker and moderate Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke of El Paso will announce on Friday that he’ll challenge Senator from Hell Ted Cruz in 2018, according to the Houston Chronicle. Democratic establishment favorite Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio is among other Texas Democrats mulling a run (if you're keeping score at home, Castro was 123rd in the liberal rankings in 2013; O'Rourke ranked 54th).
About that referendum?
We were just kidding.
In November, citizens around the U.S. said they wanted minimum-wage hikes, higher taxes, and criminal-justice reform. Now their elected officials are trying to roll those changes back. “This isn’t how democracy works,” said Justine Sarver, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a nonprofit that works with progressive ballot campaigns. “You don’t get to pick and choose when you like a process and when you don't.”
The rest of the story:
The Legislators Working to Thwart the Will of Voters by David A. Graham (The Atlantic)
In November, citizens around the U.S. said they wanted minimum-wage hikes, higher taxes, and criminal-justice reform. Now their elected officials are trying to roll those changes back. “This isn’t how democracy works,” said Justine Sarver, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a nonprofit that works with progressive ballot campaigns. “You don’t get to pick and choose when you like a process and when you don't.”
The rest of the story:
The Legislators Working to Thwart the Will of Voters by David A. Graham (The Atlantic)
I care, you care, we all care for Obamacare
Except for two Democratic members of the House.
The House Budget Committee yesterday approved 19-17 a motion to send GOP legislation to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law to the full House w/o the support of three Republicans: Reps. Mark Sanford, Dave Brat and Gary Palmer, all Freedom Caucus members. Two Democrats, NY Rep. John Faso and MN Rep. Jason Lewis, voted to move the bill out of committee. Without the Democratic votes, the bill would have failed in committee.
Democratic voters in the NY-19 and MN-02 congressional districts may want to start looking at primary challengers.
The House Budget Committee yesterday approved 19-17 a motion to send GOP legislation to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law to the full House w/o the support of three Republicans: Reps. Mark Sanford, Dave Brat and Gary Palmer, all Freedom Caucus members. Two Democrats, NY Rep. John Faso and MN Rep. Jason Lewis, voted to move the bill out of committee. Without the Democratic votes, the bill would have failed in committee.
Democratic voters in the NY-19 and MN-02 congressional districts may want to start looking at primary challengers.
quote unquote: Jimmy Breslin
The People Polled
From FOX poll released yesterday:
"I'm going to read you the names of several individuals, groups, and items. Please tell me whether you have a generally favorable or unfavorable opinion of each one."
Favorable:
Bernie Sanders 61%
Planned Parenthood 57%
The 2010 health care law, also known as Obamacare 50%
Mike Pence 47%
Donald Trump 44%
Elizabeth Warren 39%
Paul Ryan 37%
Nancy Pelosi 33%
Sanctuary cities 33%
WikiLeaks 31%
Chuck Schumer 26%
Mitch McConnell 20%
The Freedom Caucus 19%
Trump does not represent America.
"Americans disagree with President Donald Trump's immigration priorities, according to a new CNN/ORC poll, with nearly two-thirds of Americans saying they'd like to see a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants rather than deportations.
"Trump has made tough border security and strict enforcement of US immigration laws a focal point of his campaign and presidency -- using some of his first executive orders to pave the way for far more deportations and detentions as well as ordering the construction of a Southern border wall.
"But a CNN/ORC poll released Friday finds that the public is actually moving in the opposite direction since Trump has won election." -- CNN 2017-03-17
"Trump has made tough border security and strict enforcement of US immigration laws a focal point of his campaign and presidency -- using some of his first executive orders to pave the way for far more deportations and detentions as well as ordering the construction of a Southern border wall.
"But a CNN/ORC poll released Friday finds that the public is actually moving in the opposite direction since Trump has won election." -- CNN 2017-03-17
Raising a brown boy in the time of Donald J. Trump
Sikh-American civil rights advocate Valarie Kaur's plea to her country.
Least Shocking Headline of the Day:
As Rebels Move Out of Colombia Drug Trade,
Corporations Look to Move In -- NewYork Times 2017-03-10
Corporations Look to Move In -- NewYork Times 2017-03-10
"No," he explained.
"Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he's never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency." -- Carson adviser Armstrong Williams, The Hill, 11/15/16.
"Ben Carson Is Confirmed as HUD Secretary" -- New York Times, 3/2/17.
"Ben Carson Is Confirmed as HUD Secretary" -- New York Times, 3/2/17.
Priorities
"The City Council feels a need for speed when it comes to substantially shortening the runway at Santa Monica Airport." -- Today's paper.
This is the same city council that, in 30 years and counting, has not been able to deliver a commissioned stop sign to Main Street between Hill and Ashland.
And where are those promised parklets, by the way?
This is the same city council that, in 30 years and counting, has not been able to deliver a commissioned stop sign to Main Street between Hill and Ashland.
And where are those promised parklets, by the way?
What did Donald Trump know, and when did he know it?
General Michael Flynn's traitorous actions are part of a GOP tradition stretching back at least as far as the Nixon-Kissinger "signals" to North Vietnam and Reagan's Iran-Contra-temps, itself organized by the National Security Council.
Reading List:
Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, resigns over Russia lies by Yochi Dreazen (Vox) The fall of Michael Flynn: A timeline 8y Glenn Kessler (Washington Post). Michael Flynn Is Out - Will Trump Be Next? by Mike Ludwig (Truthout)
The Missing Pieces of the Flynn Story (New York Times editorial).
Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence by Michael S. Schmidt, Mark Mazzetti and Matt Apuzzo (New York Times).
Michael Flynn's White House Tenure: It's Funny 'Cause It's Treason by Stephen Colbert (YouTube).
Reading List:
Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, resigns over Russia lies by Yochi Dreazen (Vox) The fall of Michael Flynn: A timeline 8y Glenn Kessler (Washington Post). Michael Flynn Is Out - Will Trump Be Next? by Mike Ludwig (Truthout)
The Missing Pieces of the Flynn Story (New York Times editorial).
Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence by Michael S. Schmidt, Mark Mazzetti and Matt Apuzzo (New York Times).
Michael Flynn's White House Tenure: It's Funny 'Cause It's Treason by Stephen Colbert (YouTube).
Not The Onion: AZ introduces DIY executions.
As states have faced challenges to carrying out executions by lethal injection, various work-arounds and alternatives have been proposed, including the return of electric chairs and firing squads. Arizona may have come up with the most original concept yet: an invitation for lawyers to help kill their own clients.
The rest of the story:
Arizona's execution protocol invites death row inmates'lawyers to provide drugs to kill their own clients – a suggestion attorneys describe as ludicrous: Arizona unveils new death penalty plan - bring your own lethal injection drugs by Tom Dart (The Guardian)
The rest of the story:
Arizona's execution protocol invites death row inmates'lawyers to provide drugs to kill their own clients – a suggestion attorneys describe as ludicrous: Arizona unveils new death penalty plan - bring your own lethal injection drugs by Tom Dart (The Guardian)
From the It's-All-About-Me Desk:
After exploring the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam for about an hour, Justin Bieber felt it necessary to set down his thoughts about the experience. "Truly inspiring to be able to come here," he wrote in the museum's "special guest" book. "Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber."
quote unquote: Albert Einstein
"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” ― Albert Einstein
Carpe diem
Democrats are moving quickly to harness grass-roots anger over Donald Trump's first weeks in office in hopes of reclaiming the House majority in next year’s midterms. As of this week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is hiring full-time operatives to do political organizing work in 20 key GOP-held districts, including that of Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton, in what is an unusually early investment in House races that won't have declared candidates for months. New Mexico Rep. Ben Ray Luján is heading up the effort. Senate Democrats should do the same in every state with a contest next year.
Crowded CA 34
Gov. Jerry Brown has called a special election June 6 and a primary April 4 to replace Xavier Becerra in the 34th Congressional district. The Progressive Caucus member's departure after 24 years in the House creates an unexpected opening in the heavily Democratic district that includes downtown Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Chinatown and Highland Park.
At least a dozen people have expressed interest in running. Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez raised $300,000 in December for the race. According to the L.A. Times,ormer LA City Council staffer Sara Hernandez attracted the second largest amount, $200,000; followed by former Obama administration aide Alejandra Campoverdi with $106,000 and Arturo Carmona, most recently the deputy political
director for Latino outreach for the Bernie Sanders campaign and executive director of Presente.org, with $93,000.
Gomez has the endorsement of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest public employee union in the nation; at the time he was elected to the state assembly, he was political director for the United Nurses Association of California. Other candidates in the race also have backgrounds in organized labor: Wendy Carrillo is a former journalist and local labor activist and Raymond Meza is an organizer for the Service Employees International Union Local 721, which was central in the "Fight for $15" campaign to increase the minimum wage.
Jimmy Gomez is far and away the front runner, but if Arturo Carmona gains the endorsement of the Sanders organization and is able to raise a commensurate amount of dough, at least the campaign will be more interesting to watch.
Every race for Congress counts now, and this is an opportunity to preserve progressive numbers in the federal legislature.
Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez racks up endorsements from Latino elected officials in fight for Becerra's congressional eat. (L.A. Times)
Arturo for Congress
At least a dozen people have expressed interest in running. Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez raised $300,000 in December for the race. According to the L.A. Times,ormer LA City Council staffer Sara Hernandez attracted the second largest amount, $200,000; followed by former Obama administration aide Alejandra Campoverdi with $106,000 and Arturo Carmona, most recently the deputy political
Gomez has the endorsement of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest public employee union in the nation; at the time he was elected to the state assembly, he was political director for the United Nurses Association of California. Other candidates in the race also have backgrounds in organized labor: Wendy Carrillo is a former journalist and local labor activist and Raymond Meza is an organizer for the Service Employees International Union Local 721, which was central in the "Fight for $15" campaign to increase the minimum wage.
Jimmy Gomez is far and away the front runner, but if Arturo Carmona gains the endorsement of the Sanders organization and is able to raise a commensurate amount of dough, at least the campaign will be more interesting to watch.
Every race for Congress counts now, and this is an opportunity to preserve progressive numbers in the federal legislature.
Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez racks up endorsements from Latino elected officials in fight for Becerra's congressional eat. (L.A. Times)
Arturo for Congress
Poor Mike Pence.
He was promised that he'd be the real president.
How mortifying to be forced to defer to President Bannon.
How mortifying to be forced to defer to President Bannon.
That's what makes him an expert.
According to the AP, Trump's voter fraud expert, Gregg Phillips, whose unsubstantiated claim that the election was marred by 3 million illegal votes was tweeted by the president, was listed on the rolls in Alabama, Texas and Mississippi, according to voting records and election officials in those states.
Don't mourn. Organize!
An ActBlue fundraising page for former Democratic congressional staffer Jon Ossoff’s special election bid to replace GOP Rep. Tom Price passed $420,000 this morning.
The Democrats need to contest every seat that comes up, even if there is little chance of winning this time, to build support for 2018 and 2020. And not with Blue Dogs.
Fight for every seat on the progressive platform that polls show most Americans overwhelmingly support.
Jon Ossoff for Congress.
Jon Ossoff's ActBlue page.
The Democrats need to contest every seat that comes up, even if there is little chance of winning this time, to build support for 2018 and 2020. And not with Blue Dogs.
Fight for every seat on the progressive platform that polls show most Americans overwhelmingly support.
Jon Ossoff for Congress.
Jon Ossoff's ActBlue page.
Who will Trump name Poet Laureate?
a) Donovan, because, you know, Bob Dylan
(and because “In love pool eyes float feathers after the struggle/The hopes burst and shot joy all through the mind/Sorrow more distant than a star/Multi colour run down over your body/Then the liquid passing all into all/Love is hot, truth is molten”)
b) Tim McGraw, because, you know, Poet Lariat
(and because "I don't know why I act the way I do/Like I ain't got a single thing to lose/Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy/I guess that's just the cowboy in me")
c) David Petraeus, because, you know, General Petraeus
(and because what do you need to know about poetry to be Laureate, anyway?)
(and because “In love pool eyes float feathers after the struggle/The hopes burst and shot joy all through the mind/Sorrow more distant than a star/Multi colour run down over your body/Then the liquid passing all into all/Love is hot, truth is molten”)
b) Tim McGraw, because, you know, Poet Lariat
(and because "I don't know why I act the way I do/Like I ain't got a single thing to lose/Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy/I guess that's just the cowboy in me")
c) David Petraeus, because, you know, General Petraeus
(and because what do you need to know about poetry to be Laureate, anyway?)
Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tunes
If you think that Rep. Keith Ellison, the chair of the House Progressive Caucus, is going to win the DNC job in a walk, be aware that the party's neoliberals are not going to give up without a fight: e.g., Politico says former "Labor Secretary Tom Perez has raised over $825,000 in his bid to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee."
From the Duh! Desk:
“Privately, some leading Democratic strategists worry that" Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, "despite some forceful criticism, will lean too much toward making deals with Trump.”
"FOURTEEN Senate Democrats joined all but one Senate Republican in confirming Rep. Mike Pompeo as the new CIA director on Monday evening, failing a crucial first test of whether Democrats would present a united front to defend human rights and civil liberties in the Trump era.
"Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the lone member of his party to vote against his confirmation.
"Pompeo is a far-right Kansas Republican who has in the past defended CIA officials who engaged in torture, calling them 'patriots.' Last week, he left the door open to torture by acknowledging in his written responses to the Senate Intelligence Committee that he would be open to altering a 2015 law prohibiting the government from using techniques not listed in the Army Field Manual.
"As a member of Congress, he repeatedly appeared on the radio program hosted by anti-Muslim activist Frank Gaffney, and has portrayed the war on terror as a conflict between Islam and Christianity. He has also claimed that 'Islamic leaders across America [are] potentially complicit' in terrorism because they supposedly don’t speak out against it, which is not true.
"While Pompeo’s confirmation was opposed by Human Rights Watch, it netted votes from a variety of Senate Democrats, including the caucus’ leader: Chuck Schumer of New York.
"In addition to his stances on torture and Islam, Pompeo has also come under fire for his views on surveillance. In a 2016 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, he attacked a 2015 law that that he voted for, which ended the bulk collection on phone records by the NSA. The op-ed calls on the government to collect 'all metadata' and 'lifestyle' details on Americans.
"The CIA is prohibited by executive order from conducting electronic surveillance inside the United States. But the specific rules and policies governing CIA surveillance are secret and can be reinterpreted without public debate. Despite a push for transparency following the revelations in documents from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Obama administration did not declassify a secret legal opinion about the CIA’s collection of financial records. And days before President Trump took office, the Obama administration issued new rules that would allow the CIA to sift through much of the raw data the NSA collects on Americans.
"In his confirmation hearing, Pompeo tried to assure Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that there were 'legal boundaries'" to compiling dossiers on Americans, but that the government would be 'grossly negligent' to ignore 'publicly available' information.
"On the Senate floor Monday, Wyden called Pompeo 'the wrong man for the job.'
“'On issue after issue,' Wyden said 'the congressman has taken two, three, or four positions, depending on when he says it and who he is talking to. He has done this with surveillance, with torture, with Russia, and a number of other subjects.'
"He added: 'Congressman Pompeo does not seem familiar with the broad consensus that torture, in addition to being illegal, immoral and contrary to our national values, does not work.'
"But Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said on the floor that although he does 'not agree with some of the views that Congressman Pompeo' holds, he 'convinced me that he will follow the law banning torture.'
"Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, called the confirmation vote 'a clear sign that Congress has not done enough ‘extreme vetting’ of President Trump’s nominees’ views on human rights.'
"She continued: 'While Pompeo sailed through his confirmation hearing, his written answers to the Senate contradict his earlier testimony and could lay the groundwork for the agency to return to torture and secret detention. Torture is a war crime and a grave human rights violation.'
'The Democrats who voted to confirm Pompeo were:
Joe Donnelly of Indiana
Dianne Feinstein of California
Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire
Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota
Tim Kaine of Virginia
Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Jack Reed of Rhode Island
Brian Schatz of Hawaii
Chuck Schumer of New York
Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
Mark Warner of Virginia
Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island
Angus King, the independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, also voted in favor of Pompeo’s confirmation."
-- Zaid Jilani & Alex Emmons on The Intercept
"Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the lone member of his party to vote against his confirmation.
"Pompeo is a far-right Kansas Republican who has in the past defended CIA officials who engaged in torture, calling them 'patriots.' Last week, he left the door open to torture by acknowledging in his written responses to the Senate Intelligence Committee that he would be open to altering a 2015 law prohibiting the government from using techniques not listed in the Army Field Manual.
"As a member of Congress, he repeatedly appeared on the radio program hosted by anti-Muslim activist Frank Gaffney, and has portrayed the war on terror as a conflict between Islam and Christianity. He has also claimed that 'Islamic leaders across America [are] potentially complicit' in terrorism because they supposedly don’t speak out against it, which is not true.
"While Pompeo’s confirmation was opposed by Human Rights Watch, it netted votes from a variety of Senate Democrats, including the caucus’ leader: Chuck Schumer of New York.
"In addition to his stances on torture and Islam, Pompeo has also come under fire for his views on surveillance. In a 2016 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, he attacked a 2015 law that that he voted for, which ended the bulk collection on phone records by the NSA. The op-ed calls on the government to collect 'all metadata' and 'lifestyle' details on Americans.
"The CIA is prohibited by executive order from conducting electronic surveillance inside the United States. But the specific rules and policies governing CIA surveillance are secret and can be reinterpreted without public debate. Despite a push for transparency following the revelations in documents from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Obama administration did not declassify a secret legal opinion about the CIA’s collection of financial records. And days before President Trump took office, the Obama administration issued new rules that would allow the CIA to sift through much of the raw data the NSA collects on Americans.
"In his confirmation hearing, Pompeo tried to assure Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that there were 'legal boundaries'" to compiling dossiers on Americans, but that the government would be 'grossly negligent' to ignore 'publicly available' information.
"On the Senate floor Monday, Wyden called Pompeo 'the wrong man for the job.'
“'On issue after issue,' Wyden said 'the congressman has taken two, three, or four positions, depending on when he says it and who he is talking to. He has done this with surveillance, with torture, with Russia, and a number of other subjects.'
"He added: 'Congressman Pompeo does not seem familiar with the broad consensus that torture, in addition to being illegal, immoral and contrary to our national values, does not work.'
"But Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said on the floor that although he does 'not agree with some of the views that Congressman Pompeo' holds, he 'convinced me that he will follow the law banning torture.'
"Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, called the confirmation vote 'a clear sign that Congress has not done enough ‘extreme vetting’ of President Trump’s nominees’ views on human rights.'
"She continued: 'While Pompeo sailed through his confirmation hearing, his written answers to the Senate contradict his earlier testimony and could lay the groundwork for the agency to return to torture and secret detention. Torture is a war crime and a grave human rights violation.'
'The Democrats who voted to confirm Pompeo were:
Joe Donnelly of Indiana
Dianne Feinstein of California
Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire
Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota
Tim Kaine of Virginia
Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Jack Reed of Rhode Island
Brian Schatz of Hawaii
Chuck Schumer of New York
Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
Mark Warner of Virginia
Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island
Angus King, the independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, also voted in favor of Pompeo’s confirmation."
-- Zaid Jilani & Alex Emmons on The Intercept
EPA: Enable Polluters Act
When I moved to Elay in the 70s, on "smog days" the authorities would urge you to "[s]tay inside, don't move around too much and drive as little as possible;" you couldn't walk barefoot on the beach for all the tar balls and hypodermic needles; and there was a cancer epidemic among lifeguards (from the water, not the sun). Now the ocean is mostly safe and, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, there have been no Stage 1 smog alerts since 2003, no Stage 2 alerts since 1988, and the last Stage 3 alert was in 1974. This is a must-watch.
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quote unquote: Mark Twain for 2017/01/20
"Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day."
-- Mark Twain
Inauspicious start
Nobody wants to be at inauguration. Can't give tickets away. Scalpers taking yuge beating. As @realDonaldTrump would say: Sad.
Who's counting? ... Oh, right.
Three thousand charter buses applied for D.C. parking permits for Barack Obama’s first inauguration; 1,200 applied for the Jan. 21, 2017 Women’s March; 200 applied for Donald Trump’s inauguration (Washington Post).
"City expected to ban bunnies and spiders from performing on The Pier."
Just another of countless examples of the The City That Always Sleeps' codification of mediocrity. From banning ponies at the farmer's market to dumbing down any attempt at improving the visual landscape, the city staff can be counted on to choose conformity over diversity and vapidity over creativity every time. In the latest blow to a vibrant city life, the staff is shutting down live music at another restaurant on Main Street. Basta.
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