Back: Jan. 1-7, 2019
This blog contains links to my almost 100 Capitol Hill Blue (CHB) columns plus selected news items of the day.
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This blog contains links to my almost 100 Capitol Hill Blue (CHB) columns plus selected news items of the day.
Jan. 23, 2019
The case for an all female ticket in 2020, By Hal Brown
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| Click above to read story |
Jan. 22, 2019
I haven't thought of anything to write about for Capitol Hill Blue today. Fortunatey editor Doug Thompson has three good columns.
For those of you who don't subsribe to the Washington Post, here are some excerpts from their article about the Sims book "Team of Vipers"
Sims depicts Trump as deeply suspicious of his own staff. He recalls a private huddle in which he and Keith Schiller, the president’s longtime bodyguard and confidant, helped Trump draw up an enemies list with a Sharpie on White House stationery. “We’re going to get rid of all the snakes, even the bottom-feeders,” Trump told them.
As White House director of message strategy, Sims regularly met Trump at the private elevator of the residence and accompanied him to video tapings — carrying a can of Tresemmé Tres Two hair spray, extra hold, for the boss. At one such taping, about an hour after Trump had tweeted that he saw MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski “bleeding badly from a facelift,” the president sought feedback from Sims and Spicer.
“They’re going to say it’s not presidential,” Trump said, referring to the media. “But you know what? It’s modern-day presidential.” The president then raged about the “Morning Joe” program on which Brzezinski appears and instructed Spicer, “Don’t you dare say I watch that show.”
At times, Trump evinced less rage than a lack of interest. Sims recounts one time when Ryan was in the Oval Office explaining the ins and outs of the Republican health-care bill to the president. As Ryan droned on for 15 minutes, Trump sipped on a glass of Diet Coke, peered out at the Rose Garden, stared aimlessly at the walls and, finally, walked out.
He paints Spicer, counselor Kellyanne Conway and communications adviser Mercedes Schlapp in an especially negative light, calling Conway “the American Sniper of West Wing marksmen” and describing her agenda as “survival over all others, including the president.”
Sims writes that former aide Omarosa Manigault cursed members of the Congressional Black Caucus when they asked for a moment of privacy in the West Wing after meeting with Trump and before addressing the media.
“Privacy?!” Manigault said. “You think you can come up in our house and demand [expletive] privacy? Hell, no! You must be outta your . . . mind.”
Jan. 21, 2019
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The president addressed reporters during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day saying, before he turned on his heals and walked quickly away ignoring reporter's questions:
“Good morning, everybody, It’s a great day. It’s a beautiful day. And thank you for being here. Appreciate it.”
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." April 16, 1963, Birmingham, Alabama
Note the words which appear on each side of Trump's head: "a threat to" on the left and on the right "everywhere."
In his visit he did not mention the civil rights icon, but he did touch a wreath while someone else moved it a foot or two. His orange combover look more riciulous than usual from the back.
It almost seemed to be a cosmic message from MLK, which was visible on the wall sending him a clear message.
Trump could have chosen to walk along the wall and pretended to read the 14 quotes inscribed there. Yeah. Right, as if that would ever happen.
- "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." (March 31, 1968, National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.)
- "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." (1963, Strength to Love)
- "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." (December 10, 1964, Oslo, Norway)
- "Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in." (April 18, 1959, Washington, D.C.)
- "I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against it not in anger but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and above all with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as a moral example of the world." (February 25, 1967, Los Angeles, California)
- "If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective." (December 24, 1967, Atlanta, Georgia)
- "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." (April 16, 1963, Birmingham, Alabama)
- "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits." (December 10, 1964, Oslo, Norway)
- "It is not enough to say 'We must not wage war.' It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace." (December 24, 1967, Atlanta, Georgia)
- "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." (February 25, 1967, Los Angeles, California)
- "Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies." (April 4, 1967, Riverside Church, Manhattan, New York)
- "We are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream." (December 5, 1955, Montgomery, Alabama)
- "We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience." (April 16, 1963, Birmingham, Alabama)
- "True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice." (April 16, 1963, Birmingham, Alabama)
It is often difficult to select the most outrageous grotesquely vomitacious comment for the week coming from Trump or his minions. Here's a contender from the Vice President (watch video here)
“So what the president has directed us to do is to reach out with rank-and-file Democrats in the House and in the Senate. What the president presented yesterday really is an effort to bring together ideas from both political parties. I think it is an act of statesmanship on the president’s part.”
“And honestly, the hearts and minds of the American people are thinking a lot today about [this] being the weekend we remember the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. One of my favorite quotes from Dr. King was, ‘Now is the time to make real the promises of Democracy. You think of how he changed America, he inspired us to change through the legislative process, to become a more perfect union. That’s exactly what President Trump is calling on the Congress to do, come to the table in a spirit of good faith.”
Jan. 19, 2019
BELOW: I noted that HUFFPOST had an unusal image (for them) for their main story, the roller coaster showing a decidely unfrightening roller coaster, but the headline said "DC Upside Down" but the roller coaster was upside-up... I wondered why they couldn't find a photo with an upside down roller coaster...took me 10 minutes.
Blog News
While on the subject of the Netherlands... read this excellent QUORA answer by a citizen:
Originally Answered: How can a person verify whether Donald Trump is telling a lie or the bitter truth?
Jan. 18, 2019
Below, this is not my idea. Someone in a NY Times story comment suggested it. I just tweeted it.
Romney: Another rubber stamp, Trump enabler? by Hal Brown, CHB columnist
Jan. 17, 2019
CHB story:
Trump's deadly and dangerous disease threatens us all, by Hal Brown
Tucker Carlson Gets Hilariously Owned By His Own On-Screen Graphics
Jan. 16, 2019
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| Hamberders by any other news & more chilling news, by Hal Brown In the News Believable: Dem rep: Trump pulling US from NATO would be grounds for impeachment
and
Un(Tucken)believable: 'So Our Kids Get to Die' For Baltic States?: Tucker
By Allan Lichtman distinguished professor of history at American University.
If Trump is found to have committed felonies on behalf of the Russians, Pence would likely be implicated as well, even if he was not involved directly. One has to assume that Pence is either the most out of touch politician, or that he was at least aware of the betrayal. Remember, it was Pence who, as head of the Trump transition team, backed the hiring of Michael Flynn as national security adviser. Acting Attorney General Sally Yates at the time had warned the White House that federal officials believed that Flynn was “compromised with respect to the Russians.”
If there is evidence of Trump selling out to the Russians, and Pence took any part in covering it up, then the vice president could also be found guilty of an impeachable crime or the concealment of a felony. The United States Code clearly provides that an individual “having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years.”
If Trump and Pence are swept away by conviction or resignation, then Pelosi becomes president under the law. Under the 25th Amendment, and with the consent of Congress, she can then appoint a vice president of choosing, just as Richard Nixon appointed Gerald Ford after Spiro Agnew pleaded guilty to tax evasion and resigned. This is how, in the great irony of ironies, Nancy Pelosi could become president of the United States.
(My thought is that we would probably end up having a new vice president who was acceptable to Republicans because the appointment requires Congrssional approval.)
and what a wonderful bigoted team President Pence and First Lady Karen Pence would be if Trump was gone and he was president: Karen Pence Is Working At A School That Bans LGBTQ Employees And KidsMeanwhile Nancy stuck it hard and sharp to the egomanical president who was champing at the bit to regale the nation with another prime-time nothing burger (that's spelled burger)
Dear Mr. President (ILLUSTRATED with drawings by DonkeyHotey):
On January 3rd, it was my privilege as Speaker to invite you to deliver the State of the Union address on January 29th. The Constitution calls for the President to “from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.” During the 19th Century and up until the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, these annual State of the Union messages were delivered to Congress in writing. And since the start of modern budgeting in Fiscal Year 1977, a State of the Union address has never been delivered during a government shutdown.
In September 2018, Secretary Nielsen designated State of the Union Addresses as National Special Security Events (NSSEs), recognizing the need for “the full resources of the Federal Government to be brought to bear” to ensure the security of these events. The extraordinary demands presented by NSSEs require weeks of detailed planning with dozens of agencies working together to prepare for the safety of all participants.
The U.S. Secret Service was designated as the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating, planning, exercising, and implementing security for National Special Security Events by Public Law 106-544, December 19, 2000. However, both the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security have not been funded for 26 days now — with critical departments hamstrung by furloughs.
Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29th.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
NANCY PELOSI
Speaker of the House
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Story Number Two
Burger King mocks Trump for misspelling ‘hamburgers’ in incoherent early-morning tweet: "hamberders"
Jan. 14, 2019
Evening Breaking News:
Two federal judges just blocked Trump’s rollback of Obamacare’s birth control mandate
Leaked: Transcripts reveal Congress and FBI feared Trump fired Comey ‘at the behest’ of Russia
CNN has obtained a series of transcripts of closed-door meetings between members of Congress and FBI officials that reveal the FBI feared that Trump could have fired the bureau’s former director “at the behest of the Russian government.”
‘Clinical sociopath’ Trump’s ‘mental illness’ helps him lie to people: business reporter
Excerpt:
“I have known Donald Trump since 1987,” (Kurt) Eichenwald wrote. “Like everyone else who knows him well, before he became a politician, I know he is liar, a narcissist, and eventually I knew he was mentally ill. At that time, he professed to be a democrat. This had nothing to do with politics.”
Eichenwald remembered pitching an editor a story after Trump lied about a stock trade.
“The editor did not even look up from his computer and said the words I remember to this day: ‘Dog [bites] man. Donald Trump lies,'” Eichenwald said. “In other words, everyone in the financial world KNEW Trump was a pathological liar, in 1987. Proving it was like proving the sun rose in the morning.”
------ A person who did business with Trump over the years told me in 2016, "If you asked him, Donald would tell you I'm his best friend." This struck me as odd, so I said, "And what would you say HE is?" A pause, then the man replied: "A clinical sociopath."
Trump’s downfall is all but certain because his tantrums follow this predictable historical pattern - History News Network
Excerpt: Such is the primordial narrative: an ineffectual and reactionary leader makes attempts at increasingly more power which triggers a crisis that leads to his downfall while presenting the opportunity for unprecedented, radical political change from the opposition. Had (King) Charles been less vainglorious, perhaps the civil wars could have been avoided, but he was and as a result what ultimately presented itself was the possibility of something far more daring than mere incremental change. The same template is in evidence during the American Revolution. Had moderate voices like Prime Minister William Pitt been heeded, had George III been less intemperate regarding the imposition of the Intolerable Acts, than perhaps America would still simply be part of the British Empire. As it was, the hardening of George’s position allowed for the introduction into the world of the radical democratic philosophy which defined the American Revolution, and which flowered during the Articles of Confederation when many states adopted shockingly egalitarian constitutions. Similarly, on the eve of the American Civil War, most northerners were not abolitionists, yet increasing belligerence from the Southern slave-owning class, in the form of the Missouri Compromise and especially the Fugitive Slave Act, rapidly radicalized the northern population. In the years following the Civil War there was radical possibility in Reconstruction, when true democratic principles were installed in southern states for the first time.
We’ve already seen the arrival of new radical possibilities in opposition to the reactionary leader. Does anyone credibly think that we’d have elected several Democratic Socialists were it not for Trump? Does anyone believe that we’d finally be able to consider policy proposals like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, and the restitution of a proper marginal tax rate, had it not been for the rightful frustration and anger at the reactionary Republican agenda? Suddenly the Democrats are suggesting actual ideas and not just the furtherance of the collapsing neo-liberal consensus; suddenly it seems as if actual change might be possible. In this sense, Trump has ironically accomplished something that the Democrats themselves haven’t been able to do – he’s pushed them to the left.
Jan. 13, 2019
Jan. 12, 2019
Jan. 11, 2019
Message to Mitch McConnell: You bought him, you own him
CONFRONTATION CHRONICLES
How Robert Mueller Can Write a Report the Justice Department Cannot Suppress
Thursday, January 10, 2019, 6:13 PM
There are too many juicy paragraphs from this article to quote all the good ones. Here are three: My meeting with Trump: A damaged, pathetic personality — whose obvious impairment has only gotten worse
Trump talked very rapidly and virtually nonstop for nearly an hour; not of my campaign or even of politics, but only of himself, and almost always in the third person. He’d given himself a nickname: “the Trumpster,” as in “everybody wants to know what the Trumpster’s gonna do,” a claim he made more than once.
He mostly told stories. Some were about his business deals; others about trips he’d taken or things he owned. All were unrelated to the alleged point of our meeting, and to one another. That he seldom even attempted segues made each tale seem more disconnected from reality than the last. It was funny at first, then pathetic, and finally deeply unsettling.
On the drive home, we all burst out laughing, then grew quiet. What the hell just happened? My first theory, that Trump was high on cocaine, didn’t feel quite right, but he was clearly emotionally impaired: in constant need of approbation; lacking impulse control, self-awareness or awareness of others. We’d heard tales of his monumental vanity, but were still shocked by the sad spectacle of him.
Chuck Rosenberg Can Mueller indict Trump under seal to avoid the statute of limitations expiring while the president's still in office?
Who knew? We know that Pence and Betsy DeVos are fundamentalist evangelicals. This is troubling if Pence becomes president, but right now we have a bigger problem with the Secretary of State (from AlterNet)
One of the less-noticed influencers is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an evangelical Presbyterian who once defined his view of the world as “a never-ending struggle … until the rapture” in a speech at a Wichita megachurch. As America’s top diplomat, he more than anyone else brings these views into the foreign policy sphere — and as an analysis by The Guardian shows, that has profound consequences:
For many US evangelical Christians, one of the key preconditions for [the rapture] is the gathering of the world’s Jews in a greater Israel between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. It is a belief, known as premillenial dispensationalism or Christian Zionism – and it has very real potential consequences forUS foreign policy.
It directly colours views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and indirectly, attitudes towards Iran, broader Middle East geopolitics and the primacy of protecting Christian minorities. In his Cairo visit, Pompeo heaped praise on Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for building the new cathedral, but made no reference to the 60,000 political prisoners the regime is thought to be holding, or its routine use of torture.
Jan. 10, 2019
Jan. 9, 2019
Jan. 8, 2019
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree:
Donald Trump Jr. Says Border Wall Is Like A Zoo Fence Protecting You From Animals
1.
How Pelosi's 'No Wall' Triggers Trump's Dangerous Narcissism - Forbes
EXCERPT: Speaker Pelosi speaks her truth with all the institutional and personal power of a woman proud to have reclaimed her gavel. While saying yes to border security and yes to immigration reform, she’s very clear that Trump can’t have his wall. No means no. The wall is, as she says, an “immorality.” She’s even said that demands for the wall are “like a manhood thing with him — as if manhood can be associated with him.” But he refuses to accept her no. There's to be no compromise. Why? Well, he can't agree to open the government because, as he's been quoted saying, "I would look foolish if I did that." He comes first, before country or even party. Rather than looking for an agreement he's governing like a pathological narcissist, as well as being someone who does indeed have a self-described and documented history of being a sexual predator. That should not be forgotten. Character is everything.
With any other president this would not be an issue. But with Trump it is. Whether he has a diagnosable personality disorder or he has cynically adopted his own version of Roger Stone’s Stone’s Rules as his style leads to the same conclusion; pathological narcissism is his model for leadership. At the core is knowing that one lie or instance of plundering is a scandal. But thousands of them are a different story. They are merely statistics to be ignored. It really doesn’t matter if he’s sick or strategic because President Trump has been racking up huge numbers of both.
One central part of this pathologically narcissistic leadership style is that he always has to see others seeing him as exceptional. A great example is the way he continually repeats lies about winning the “greatest election of all time." He will distort whatever reality there is that interferes with getting others to see him as exceptional, like denying the fact he lost the popular vote by 3 million votes—to a woman no less.
Back: Jan. 1-7, 2019
