https://www.salon.com/2018/10/03/daddys-boy-new-york-times-investigation-exposes-the-breadth-of-trumps-lies-and-corruption/
"Part of the Donald Trump myth has always been the idea that he was much more successful than his father. That too is BS. Fred Trump was massively rich, and his wealth is what supported Trump throughout his career. The Times procured hundreds of thousands of confidential documents, including 200 tax returns from Fred Trump's business that show many years of shady business practices designed to hide all these transactions -- which add up to Donald Trump receiving at least $413 million in today's dollars. Trump has always said he got "peanuts” from his father. That's a lot of peanuts. And they started rolling in when he was a tiny boy. The Times found that even as a toddler, he was earning the equivalent of $200,000 a year in contemporary dollars. He and was a millionaire by the time he was eight years old. Year after year he received more money from his father's various trusts, until he was getting $5 million a year all the way into his 50s. It's always been unclear how Trump could maintain his luxurious lifestyle even when his businesses were all cratering in the '80s and '90s. Now we know. Fred Trump took very good care of his boy even after he found out that Donnie was fiddling with the will without telling anyone and had his daughter Maryanne (now a federal judge) find someone to draw up papers stripping his son of sole control over Fred’s estate."
Friday, October 5, 2018
A financial history of Donald Trump: From daddy's little boy, to Putin's best partner
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/5/1801568/-A-financial-history-of-Donald-Trump-From-daddy-s-little-boy-to-Putin-s-best-partner?utm_campaign=recent
"By 2004, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts was forced to file bankruptcy. And this time, it really was Donald Trump’s money and Donald Trump’s assets on the line. Trump couldn’t get a loan. He couldn’t get a casino license. His days as a would-be casino mogul were over. Just as Donald Trump was being selected to be a pretend billionaire on The Apprentice, his real life failures were catching up with him. This was also the period of Trump trying to make money off of just being Trump. Trump water, Trump steaks, and Trump magazine were just a few of the ‘T’ brands that appeared, and swiftly disappeared, in the mid-aughts. The threat that Trump would ever be ousted from the eponymous tower built under his father’s reign was always remote. At his low point, Trump still controlled a plethora of properties that did produce an income in the millions and he really was able to sell his name, though never for the kind of numbers he’s asserted. But Trump’s net worth was a fraction of what he claimed, and his ability to make a deal for more than a used car was far more constrained than his eight-figure income would suggest. Fortunately for Trump, he did have a way out of his doldrums. It went back to Atlantic City. Not to his investors, but the friends he made laundering money for Russian mobsters."
"By 2004, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts was forced to file bankruptcy. And this time, it really was Donald Trump’s money and Donald Trump’s assets on the line. Trump couldn’t get a loan. He couldn’t get a casino license. His days as a would-be casino mogul were over. Just as Donald Trump was being selected to be a pretend billionaire on The Apprentice, his real life failures were catching up with him. This was also the period of Trump trying to make money off of just being Trump. Trump water, Trump steaks, and Trump magazine were just a few of the ‘T’ brands that appeared, and swiftly disappeared, in the mid-aughts. The threat that Trump would ever be ousted from the eponymous tower built under his father’s reign was always remote. At his low point, Trump still controlled a plethora of properties that did produce an income in the millions and he really was able to sell his name, though never for the kind of numbers he’s asserted. But Trump’s net worth was a fraction of what he claimed, and his ability to make a deal for more than a used car was far more constrained than his eight-figure income would suggest. Fortunately for Trump, he did have a way out of his doldrums. It went back to Atlantic City. Not to his investors, but the friends he made laundering money for Russian mobsters."
Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation may be how every Trump associate permanently avoids prosecution
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/brett-kavanaugh-s-confirmation-may-be-how-every-trump-associate-ncna916681
"If confirmed by the Senate to a Supreme Court seat, Judge Brett Kavanaugh immediately could be a crucial vote to decide whether the constitution bars any state’s efforts to prosecute Trump campaign officials and aides for state crimes if President Trump has already pardoned them for federal crimes."
"If confirmed by the Senate to a Supreme Court seat, Judge Brett Kavanaugh immediately could be a crucial vote to decide whether the constitution bars any state’s efforts to prosecute Trump campaign officials and aides for state crimes if President Trump has already pardoned them for federal crimes."
Trump and McConnell Take Gaslighting to New Level in Kavanaugh Confirmation Fight
Trump and McConnell Take Gaslighting to New Level in Kavanaugh Confirmation Fight:
"The use of an anti-Semitic trope to condemn protesters for exercising their First Amendment rights signals a turning point in the authoritarian trajectory of our politics."
"The use of an anti-Semitic trope to condemn protesters for exercising their First Amendment rights signals a turning point in the authoritarian trajectory of our politics."
Editorial: Kavanaugh lied under oath. This alone is disqualifying.
https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-kavanaugh-lied-under-oath-this-alone-is-disqualifying/article_4aa8be43-695c-5d9e-8844-94d045dcb77e.html
"Even under oath, Judge Brett Kavanaugh doesn’t meet the same level of truthfulness that he certainly would demand of anyone appearing in his court."
"Even under oath, Judge Brett Kavanaugh doesn’t meet the same level of truthfulness that he certainly would demand of anyone appearing in his court."
USA TODAY editorial board: Vote no on Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/10/05/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-we-urge-senators-vote-no-editorials-debates/1527514002/
"Based on Kavanaugh’s failure to live up to his own description of judicial attributes, he disqualified himself."
"Based on Kavanaugh’s failure to live up to his own description of judicial attributes, he disqualified himself."
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Former Koch staffer appointed to key EPA position
https://thinkprogress.org/koch-epa-industry-david-dunlap-chemical-water-1f08cfa2fb01/
"The Environmental Protection Agency has hired a former Koch Industries staffer who worked on water and chemical policy to fill a key role within the agency, continuing a Trump administration trend of appointing company insiders to oversee the industries they are meant to regulate."
"The Environmental Protection Agency has hired a former Koch Industries staffer who worked on water and chemical policy to fill a key role within the agency, continuing a Trump administration trend of appointing company insiders to oversee the industries they are meant to regulate."
Tax Dodger Donald Trump Is Looking Out for His Own Kind
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a23580840/donald-trump-republicans-slash-irs-funding-enforcement/
"In typical Trumpian fashion, it was not enough to scam the government. His father engineered a trickle-down scam, where this family—whose scion now bills himself as a Fighter For The Forgotten Man as a politician—used the mechanisms of tax avoidance to also squeeze the little guy with artificial rent hikes."
"In typical Trumpian fashion, it was not enough to scam the government. His father engineered a trickle-down scam, where this family—whose scion now bills himself as a Fighter For The Forgotten Man as a politician—used the mechanisms of tax avoidance to also squeeze the little guy with artificial rent hikes."
Trump pick to run Social Security allegedly impersonated police officer to avoid trespassing charge
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-pick-social-security-allegedly-impersonated-police-officer-666aa57d9212/
"Like other Trump nominees, Saul has no background in the field he was chosen to lead."
"Like other Trump nominees, Saul has no background in the field he was chosen to lead."
Corporate Front Groups Lobby to Confirm Brett Kavanaugh. On the Supreme Court, He Could Give Them Vastly Expanded Power.
https://theintercept.com/2018/10/04/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-confirmation-corporate-regulations/
"The interests backing Kavanaugh are hoping that his confirmation will tilt the court and undercut potentially dozens of government policies on clean elections, environmental regulations, bank regulations, and predatory lending, in addition to weakening organized labor."
"The interests backing Kavanaugh are hoping that his confirmation will tilt the court and undercut potentially dozens of government policies on clean elections, environmental regulations, bank regulations, and predatory lending, in addition to weakening organized labor."
Voter Suppression Is Deeply Embedded in the Republican Party. Brett Kavanaugh Helped Put It There.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23585673/voter-suppression-republican-brett-kavanaugh-don-mcgahn/
"The entire Republican project ever since the Florida burglary of 2000—in which Kavanaugh was an accessory after the fact—has been to find a way to hang onto power while the party itself is shrinking down to an old, white, Southern base. Every institution of government that the Republicans have controlled for nearly 20 years has been tasked with this, and now they pretty much control all of them, at least until the first week of November. Brett Kavanaugh has been at the center of those efforts. So has Don McGahn. This is the part of the tale that is not about the president* at all."
"The entire Republican project ever since the Florida burglary of 2000—in which Kavanaugh was an accessory after the fact—has been to find a way to hang onto power while the party itself is shrinking down to an old, white, Southern base. Every institution of government that the Republicans have controlled for nearly 20 years has been tasked with this, and now they pretty much control all of them, at least until the first week of November. Brett Kavanaugh has been at the center of those efforts. So has Don McGahn. This is the part of the tale that is not about the president* at all."
Brett Kavanaugh Lied Brazenly and Repeatedly Under Oath. Any Law Student Knows He Cannot Sit on the Supreme Court
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/10/04/brett-kavanaugh-lied-brazenly-and-repeatedly-under-oath-any-law-student-knows-he
"It feels self-evident, but a judge who cannot obey the law cannot be expected to apply it."
"It feels self-evident, but a judge who cannot obey the law cannot be expected to apply it."
Republicans Defend and Cover Up Trump’s Tax Fraud
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/10/republicans-defend-and-cover-up-trumps-tax-fraud.html
"Rubio and Brady helpfully clarify the issue in the midterm elections. Republican control means Trump’s rampant corruption will have a willing partner in Congress."
"Rubio and Brady helpfully clarify the issue in the midterm elections. Republican control means Trump’s rampant corruption will have a willing partner in Congress."
Why the FBI’s Kavanaugh Investigation Is So Troubling
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/fbi-kavanaugh-investigation-findings-733118/
"The feds did not interview key witnesses — including former classmates who claim they can corroborate sexual misconduct allegations and lies under oath"
"The feds did not interview key witnesses — including former classmates who claim they can corroborate sexual misconduct allegations and lies under oath"
The entire mainstream legal profession tells the Senate: Don't put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/4/1801516/-The-legal-profession-to-the-Senate-Don-t-put-Kavanaugh-on-the-Supreme-Court
"From Harvard Law School (which cancelled the class Kavanaugh was scheduled to teach) to the American Bar Association to thousands of law professors, the legal profession has made it clear that this is not a man who should serve on the highest court of the land for life. The nearly 1,000 law professors publicly opposing Kavanaugh that Jen Hayden highlighted on Wednesday now number more than 1,700—and counting."
"From Harvard Law School (which cancelled the class Kavanaugh was scheduled to teach) to the American Bar Association to thousands of law professors, the legal profession has made it clear that this is not a man who should serve on the highest court of the land for life. The nearly 1,000 law professors publicly opposing Kavanaugh that Jen Hayden highlighted on Wednesday now number more than 1,700—and counting."
Here are all the ways the effort to clear Kavanaugh was a farce
https://thinkprogress.org/ridiculous-process-white-house-senate-republicans-pushing-brett-kavanaugh-on-supreme-court-17010cf15538/
"Conservatives say the process has been thorough and meaningful. That couldn't be further from the truth."
"Conservatives say the process has been thorough and meaningful. That couldn't be further from the truth."
Amid Growing Outrage Over Confirmation Process, Corporate Powers Spending Millions to Help GOP Ram Through Pro-Business Kavanaugh
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/10/04/amid-growing-outrage-over-confirmation-process-corporate-powers-spending-millions
"As Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump try to sell a "sham" FBI probe to the public in hopes of tempering impassioned protests of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault, corporate powers are covertly pouring millions of dollars into efforts to push through the corporate-friendly judge's confirmation."
"As Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump try to sell a "sham" FBI probe to the public in hopes of tempering impassioned protests of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault, corporate powers are covertly pouring millions of dollars into efforts to push through the corporate-friendly judge's confirmation."
In Trump, GOP Grifters Welcomed the Biggest of Them All
https://www.thedailybeast.com/in-trump-gop-grifters-welcomed-the-biggest-of-them-all?ref=home
"Trump was the logical culmination of all the moves Republicans have made in the last 25 years or so to degrade the norms of our democracy, he is also the logical culmination of everything they’ve done to turn the economy from one that helped the broad middle class to one that serves only those at the top. Put more succinctly: Of course they elected a plutocrat tax cheat. They spent 30 years making the world safe for plutocrat tax cheats!"
"Trump was the logical culmination of all the moves Republicans have made in the last 25 years or so to degrade the norms of our democracy, he is also the logical culmination of everything they’ve done to turn the economy from one that helped the broad middle class to one that serves only those at the top. Put more succinctly: Of course they elected a plutocrat tax cheat. They spent 30 years making the world safe for plutocrat tax cheats!"
This is who Trump is—and who Republicans are, every one of them
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/3/1801233/-This-is-who-Trump-is-and-who-Republicans-are-every-one-of-them?utm_campaign=trending
"Really, there are no words left for how grotesque the man is in every possible way, or how grotesque his cheering, vapid, and brick-stupid supporters are. He has been a criminal his whole life. He has been a business failure his whole sorry existence, propped up solely by his papa and whatever crime rings he could ingratiate himself to. He has assaulted whichever women he wanted to assault, and gotten away with it each time via threats or cash payments or simply lying. The sneering, raging manchild of his rallies is who he is, and who his party is. It is who Mitch McConnell is, and Chuck Grassley, and yes, Jeff Flake. It is every one of his enablers, and every pundit who stares into a camera and declares that the human toilet is not doing the things that every American can plainly see him doing. To hell with them all. There is no possible redemption there."
"Really, there are no words left for how grotesque the man is in every possible way, or how grotesque his cheering, vapid, and brick-stupid supporters are. He has been a criminal his whole life. He has been a business failure his whole sorry existence, propped up solely by his papa and whatever crime rings he could ingratiate himself to. He has assaulted whichever women he wanted to assault, and gotten away with it each time via threats or cash payments or simply lying. The sneering, raging manchild of his rallies is who he is, and who his party is. It is who Mitch McConnell is, and Chuck Grassley, and yes, Jeff Flake. It is every one of his enablers, and every pundit who stares into a camera and declares that the human toilet is not doing the things that every American can plainly see him doing. To hell with them all. There is no possible redemption there."
Under Cover of Kavanaugh, Republicans Passed Huge Tax Cuts for the Wealthy
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/10/03/under-cover-kavanaugh-republicans-passed-huge-tax-cuts-wealthy
"While Americans watched the Senate, House Republicans passed an extra $3 trillion tax cut for rich people and corporations"
"While Americans watched the Senate, House Republicans passed an extra $3 trillion tax cut for rich people and corporations"
Largest coalition of Christian churches in US demands Kavanaugh nomination be withdrawn
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/3/1801277/-Largest-coalition-of-Christian-churches-in-the-U-S-demands-that-Kavanaugh-nomination-be-withdrawn?utm_campaign=trending
"Brett Kavanaugh’s support list keeps getting shorter and shorter. On Wednesday, he lost the support of a whole bunch of Christian churches, as the National Council of Churches—a coalition of 38 denominations, the largest of its kind—published a statement demanding that his beleaguered nomination process to the Supreme Court be stopped, once and for all."
"Brett Kavanaugh’s support list keeps getting shorter and shorter. On Wednesday, he lost the support of a whole bunch of Christian churches, as the National Council of Churches—a coalition of 38 denominations, the largest of its kind—published a statement demanding that his beleaguered nomination process to the Supreme Court be stopped, once and for all."
The Cruelty Is the Point
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/
"We can hear the spectacle of cruel laughter throughout the Trump era. There were the border patrol agents cracking up at the crying immigrant children separated from their families, and the Trump adviser who delighted white supremacists when he mocked a child with down syndrome who was separated from her mother. There were the police who laughed uproariously when the president encouraged them to abuse suspects, and the Fox News hosts mocking a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub massacre (and in the process inundating him with threats), the survivors of sexual assault protesting Senator Jeff Flake, the women who said the president sexually assaulted them, and the teen survivors of the Parkland school shooting. There was the president mocking Puerto Rican accents shortly after thousands were killed and tens of thousands displaced by Hurricane Maria, the black athletes protesting unjustified killings by police, the women of the #MeToo movement who have come forward with stories of sexual abuse, and the disabled reporter whose crime was reporting on Trump truthfully. It is not just that they enjoy this cruelty, it is that they enjoy it with each other. Their shared laughter at the suffering of others is an adhesive that binds them to each other, and to Trump. Taking joy in that suffering is more human than most would like to admit. Somewhere on the wide spectrum between adolescent teasing and the smiling white men in the lynching photographs are the Trump supporters whose community is built by rejoicing in the anguish of those they see as unlike them, who have found in their shared cruelty an answer to the loneliness and atomization of modern life. The laughter undergirds the daily spectacle of insincerity, as the president and his aides pledge fealty to bedrock democratic principles they have no intention of respecting."
"We can hear the spectacle of cruel laughter throughout the Trump era. There were the border patrol agents cracking up at the crying immigrant children separated from their families, and the Trump adviser who delighted white supremacists when he mocked a child with down syndrome who was separated from her mother. There were the police who laughed uproariously when the president encouraged them to abuse suspects, and the Fox News hosts mocking a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub massacre (and in the process inundating him with threats), the survivors of sexual assault protesting Senator Jeff Flake, the women who said the president sexually assaulted them, and the teen survivors of the Parkland school shooting. There was the president mocking Puerto Rican accents shortly after thousands were killed and tens of thousands displaced by Hurricane Maria, the black athletes protesting unjustified killings by police, the women of the #MeToo movement who have come forward with stories of sexual abuse, and the disabled reporter whose crime was reporting on Trump truthfully. It is not just that they enjoy this cruelty, it is that they enjoy it with each other. Their shared laughter at the suffering of others is an adhesive that binds them to each other, and to Trump. Taking joy in that suffering is more human than most would like to admit. Somewhere on the wide spectrum between adolescent teasing and the smiling white men in the lynching photographs are the Trump supporters whose community is built by rejoicing in the anguish of those they see as unlike them, who have found in their shared cruelty an answer to the loneliness and atomization of modern life. The laughter undergirds the daily spectacle of insincerity, as the president and his aides pledge fealty to bedrock democratic principles they have no intention of respecting."
Republicans Have Decided to Ignore All of Brett Kavanaugh’s Lies
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/10/republicans-have-decided-to-ignore-all-of-kavanaughs-lies.html
"we now know for certain that that testimony, all delivered in the same earnest pitch of an innocent man pleading for his good name, was filled with demonstrable lies. Many of these lies were already apparent at the beginning of the week. Now the evidence is even more damning."
"we now know for certain that that testimony, all delivered in the same earnest pitch of an innocent man pleading for his good name, was filled with demonstrable lies. Many of these lies were already apparent at the beginning of the week. Now the evidence is even more damning."
Five Reasons Why the GOP Is Rushing to Confirm Kavanaugh
https://truthout.org/articles/five-reasons-why-the-gop-is-rushing-to-confirm-kavanaugh/
"Potentially most consequential for Trump is the case of Gamble v. US, which could affect his ability to pardon his associates, and even himself."
"Potentially most consequential for Trump is the case of Gamble v. US, which could affect his ability to pardon his associates, and even himself."
Will the Next Women’s March Be Taxed?
http://prospect.org/article/will-next-womens-march-be-taxed
"A National Park Service plan to impose harsh new fines and restrictions on public protesters takes Donald Trump’s assault on the First Amendment to a whole new level."
"A National Park Service plan to impose harsh new fines and restrictions on public protesters takes Donald Trump’s assault on the First Amendment to a whole new level."
The "Fix Is In, Folks": Though She Admits Not Fully Reading It, Susan Collins Describes FBI Probe as "Very Thorough"
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/10/04/fix-folks-fix-though-she-admits-not-fully-reading-it-susan-collins-describes-fbi
"the FBI probe—constrained from the start by Republicans in the Senate and the White House—was nothing but an orchestrated "whitewash" to give fence-sitting lawmakers the cover they needed to ultimately vote "yes" on Kavanaugh."
"the FBI probe—constrained from the start by Republicans in the Senate and the White House—was nothing but an orchestrated "whitewash" to give fence-sitting lawmakers the cover they needed to ultimately vote "yes" on Kavanaugh."
Brett Kavanaugh Also Lied About His Rulings on the Environment
https://theintercept.com/2018/10/04/brett-kavanaugh-environmental-rulings/
"When it comes to wildlife, Kavanaugh’s record is even worse, according to an analysis by William Snape, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. In his 12 years on the federal bench, Kavanaugh had a say in 18 decisions affecting wildlife; taking split decisions into account, he ruled against the animals 96 percent of the time, according to Snape. For comparison, Snape also ran the numbers for Judge David Sentelle, a conservative, who ruled against wildlife 57 percent of the time, and Judge Merrick Garland, a moderate, who came down against wildlife 46 percent of the time."
"When it comes to wildlife, Kavanaugh’s record is even worse, according to an analysis by William Snape, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. In his 12 years on the federal bench, Kavanaugh had a say in 18 decisions affecting wildlife; taking split decisions into account, he ruled against the animals 96 percent of the time, according to Snape. For comparison, Snape also ran the numbers for Judge David Sentelle, a conservative, who ruled against wildlife 57 percent of the time, and Judge Merrick Garland, a moderate, who came down against wildlife 46 percent of the time."
Republican Senate hopeful Martha McSally lies about her pre-existing condition record
https://thinkprogress.org/arizona-senate-martha-mcsally-lies-pre-existing-conditions-71d974ab3df9/
"Rep. Martha McSally (R), her party’s nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, was a staunch supporter of the Trumpcare legislation to repeal Obamacare, literally telling her Republican House colleagues that they needed to get the “f**king thing” done. Now that she is under fire for her vote for the wildly unpopular legislation, she is simply lying to her constituents and pretending that the bill would not have eliminated insurance protections for the more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing medical conditions."
"Rep. Martha McSally (R), her party’s nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, was a staunch supporter of the Trumpcare legislation to repeal Obamacare, literally telling her Republican House colleagues that they needed to get the “f**king thing” done. Now that she is under fire for her vote for the wildly unpopular legislation, she is simply lying to her constituents and pretending that the bill would not have eliminated insurance protections for the more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing medical conditions."
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
The Dubious Fiction of Donald Trump’s Fortune Has Been Exposed
https://truthout.org/articles/the-dubious-fiction-of-donald-trumps-fortune-has-been-exposed/
"Thanks to the Times report, we now fully understand why Donald Trump has been so unwilling to release his tax returns. Among other things, his calamitous financial history goes a long way toward explaining how he got himself all tangled up with Russian oligarch money in the first place. After Trump had wrung the last coppers from his father’s empire in an effort to paper over his failures (which begs the question: How does one go bankrupt multiple times after getting millions from Mom and Dad?), those willing to loan him money were few and far between. Should we ever see the final report from the Mueller investigation, odds are it will begin with the highly mobile decimal point on Trump’s bottom line. This is only part of the problem for Trump today. His entire adult existence, beginning well before he monsooned his way into national politics, is premised on the long fiction of his wealth, power and ability to cut a deal."
"Thanks to the Times report, we now fully understand why Donald Trump has been so unwilling to release his tax returns. Among other things, his calamitous financial history goes a long way toward explaining how he got himself all tangled up with Russian oligarch money in the first place. After Trump had wrung the last coppers from his father’s empire in an effort to paper over his failures (which begs the question: How does one go bankrupt multiple times after getting millions from Mom and Dad?), those willing to loan him money were few and far between. Should we ever see the final report from the Mueller investigation, odds are it will begin with the highly mobile decimal point on Trump’s bottom line. This is only part of the problem for Trump today. His entire adult existence, beginning well before he monsooned his way into national politics, is premised on the long fiction of his wealth, power and ability to cut a deal."
Understanding why the FBI moved an apparently unrelated case to Robert Mueller might explain a lot
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/2/1800829/-Understanding-why-the-FBI-moved-an-apparently-unrelated-case-to-Robert-Mueller-might-explain-a-lot
"According to Politico, Cheri Jacobus was a Republican consultant who was considered for a job with the Trump campaign in the spring of 2015—and ended up triggering an FBI investigation into a Trump super PAC. Jacobus was interviewed to be the Trump campaign communication director, but the interviews were apparently “contentious.” Afterward Jacobus told the campaign she was not interested in the post, and the following October she was quoted on at least one item that had ruled out the position: Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had told Jacobus about plans to create a Trump super PAC—a level of coordination that directly violates FEC regulations. And that’s when things went from super PAC to super weird. According to the Politico story, Jacobus was approached by a man posing as an English barrister representing clients who wanted to make a large contribution to an anti-Trump PAC. Jacobus passed them along to someone operating such a PAC. But the “barrister” began pumping the PAC representatives for information on their tactics and resources, leading them to believe he didn’t represent potential clients so much as … Trump. Meanwhile, Jacobus was receiving multiple calls from make-believe “clients” of the make-believe barrister. It’s not known if John Barron or John Miller was among them. Jacobus was also fighting with Trump’s team. A regular Fox News commentator during the primaries, she was singled out as a “dummy” in one of Trump’s tweets and attacked in the press by Lewandowski. Then the summer of 2016, Jacobus’s email and online files were hacked and the contents of her accounts deleted. It was all enough to trigger an FBI investigation … and now that investigation has been turned over to Robert Mueller."
"According to Politico, Cheri Jacobus was a Republican consultant who was considered for a job with the Trump campaign in the spring of 2015—and ended up triggering an FBI investigation into a Trump super PAC. Jacobus was interviewed to be the Trump campaign communication director, but the interviews were apparently “contentious.” Afterward Jacobus told the campaign she was not interested in the post, and the following October she was quoted on at least one item that had ruled out the position: Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had told Jacobus about plans to create a Trump super PAC—a level of coordination that directly violates FEC regulations. And that’s when things went from super PAC to super weird. According to the Politico story, Jacobus was approached by a man posing as an English barrister representing clients who wanted to make a large contribution to an anti-Trump PAC. Jacobus passed them along to someone operating such a PAC. But the “barrister” began pumping the PAC representatives for information on their tactics and resources, leading them to believe he didn’t represent potential clients so much as … Trump. Meanwhile, Jacobus was receiving multiple calls from make-believe “clients” of the make-believe barrister. It’s not known if John Barron or John Miller was among them. Jacobus was also fighting with Trump’s team. A regular Fox News commentator during the primaries, she was singled out as a “dummy” in one of Trump’s tweets and attacked in the press by Lewandowski. Then the summer of 2016, Jacobus’s email and online files were hacked and the contents of her accounts deleted. It was all enough to trigger an FBI investigation … and now that investigation has been turned over to Robert Mueller."
This Vicious Buffoon Is a Vessel for All the Worst Elements of the American Condition
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23579738/donald-trump-mock-christine-blasey-ford-sexual-assault/
"Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House. The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We have had good presidents and bad—a Buchanan is followed by a Lincoln who is followed by an Andrew Johnson, and so forth. But we never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president* as currently occupies the office. We have had presidents who have been the worthy targets of scalding scorn, but James Callender went after giants. We never have had a president* so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt. Watch him make fun of the woman again. Watch how a republic dies in the empty eyes of an empty man who feels nothing but his own imaginary greatness, and who cannot find in himself the decency simply to shut the f*ck up even when it is in his best interest to do so. Presidents don't have to be heroes to be good presidents. They just have to realize that their humanity is our common humanity, and that their political commonwealth is our political commonwealth, too. Watch him again, behind the seal of the President of the United States. Isn't he a funny man? Isn't what happened to that lady hilarious? Watch the assembled morons cheer."
"Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House. The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We have had good presidents and bad—a Buchanan is followed by a Lincoln who is followed by an Andrew Johnson, and so forth. But we never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president* as currently occupies the office. We have had presidents who have been the worthy targets of scalding scorn, but James Callender went after giants. We never have had a president* so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt. Watch him make fun of the woman again. Watch how a republic dies in the empty eyes of an empty man who feels nothing but his own imaginary greatness, and who cannot find in himself the decency simply to shut the f*ck up even when it is in his best interest to do so. Presidents don't have to be heroes to be good presidents. They just have to realize that their humanity is our common humanity, and that their political commonwealth is our political commonwealth, too. Watch him again, behind the seal of the President of the United States. Isn't he a funny man? Isn't what happened to that lady hilarious? Watch the assembled morons cheer."
The New York Times Proves President Trump Is a Crook
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/10/president-trump-crook-new-york-times-proves.html
"One of the great accomplishments of Trump’s presidency has of course been to make America a place of even more unequal justice. The IRS budget for enforcement of tax cheating by the rich is collapsing. Trump is making the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency tasked with cracking down on fraudulent credit cards and banking, almost helpless. It has taken sundry other steps to protect corporations that rip off consumers from facing any consequences. Trump’s presidency will enable more Trumps. His career as white-collar criminal who ran for president as an alleged business genius is a metaphor for the exact thing he is doing as president. He is the crook who got away with it."
"One of the great accomplishments of Trump’s presidency has of course been to make America a place of even more unequal justice. The IRS budget for enforcement of tax cheating by the rich is collapsing. Trump is making the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency tasked with cracking down on fraudulent credit cards and banking, almost helpless. It has taken sundry other steps to protect corporations that rip off consumers from facing any consequences. Trump’s presidency will enable more Trumps. His career as white-collar criminal who ran for president as an alleged business genius is a metaphor for the exact thing he is doing as president. He is the crook who got away with it."
In Destroying Social Security, GOP Has No Plans for Elderly Americans
https://truthout.org/articles/in-destroying-social-security-gop-has-no-plans-for-elderly-americans/
"For decades, congressional Republicans have been rigorously supported by Republican presidents like George W. Bush and Donald Trump in vain attempts to steal the trillions from the “lock-box” of the self-sustaining Social Security Trust Fund. In 2017, it stood at $2.9 trillion, an astronomical sum that could easily cover those tax-cut bills today."
"For decades, congressional Republicans have been rigorously supported by Republican presidents like George W. Bush and Donald Trump in vain attempts to steal the trillions from the “lock-box” of the self-sustaining Social Security Trust Fund. In 2017, it stood at $2.9 trillion, an astronomical sum that could easily cover those tax-cut bills today."
GOP congressman lies to his constituents about his vote for Obamacare repeal
https://thinkprogress.org/gop-iowa-congressman-david-young-pretends-he-stood-up-to-party-pre-existing-conditions-95f66a6ac579/
"Rep. David Young (R-IA) voted for TrumpCare but hopes his constituents won't notice."
"Rep. David Young (R-IA) voted for TrumpCare but hopes his constituents won't notice."
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html
"President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents, an investigation by The New York Times has found. Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help. But The Times’s investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day. Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings."
"President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents, an investigation by The New York Times has found. Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help. But The Times’s investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day. Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings."
Donald Trump got at least $413 million from his father while committing 'outright fraud'
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/2/1800900/-Donald-Trump-got-at-least-413-million-from-his-father-while-committing-outright-fraud
"According to the New York Times, Donald Trump engaged in a series of “dubious tax schemes … including outright fraud” to funnel at least $413 million in funds from his father’s pocket to his own. It’s not just that Trump inherited much of his father’s empire upon the death of Fred Trump. Tens of millions of dollars poured down on Donald Trump from the time he was a toddler. Donald Trump’s “salary” at the age of 3 was $200,000 a year. He wasn’t just born on third base: his father bought him the stadium. Donald Trump has long pretended to be a “self-made” man. Sure, he grew up in gold-plated luxury. Yes, he was walked through private school, prep school, and private college with a bag of money buying his way. And okay, so he did take a million or two from his pop to get things started. But then … well, as it turns out the several million dollars that Trump’s father continued to slip him to prop up his flailing casinos and tottering real estate schemes was just a fraction of what really flooded from Trump the Elder to Trump the Bone Spurier. Trump didn’t even learn to lie, swindle, and scam on his own. That also came from his old man. Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings. The total amount that slid from Trump’s parents to Donald and his siblings was over $1 billion. That massive level of gift should have netted over half a billion in taxes for the IRS. Instead they not only paid a mere 5 percent of what they owned, Trump and his family used their sham corporations to actually take a tax break from these transfers."
"According to the New York Times, Donald Trump engaged in a series of “dubious tax schemes … including outright fraud” to funnel at least $413 million in funds from his father’s pocket to his own. It’s not just that Trump inherited much of his father’s empire upon the death of Fred Trump. Tens of millions of dollars poured down on Donald Trump from the time he was a toddler. Donald Trump’s “salary” at the age of 3 was $200,000 a year. He wasn’t just born on third base: his father bought him the stadium. Donald Trump has long pretended to be a “self-made” man. Sure, he grew up in gold-plated luxury. Yes, he was walked through private school, prep school, and private college with a bag of money buying his way. And okay, so he did take a million or two from his pop to get things started. But then … well, as it turns out the several million dollars that Trump’s father continued to slip him to prop up his flailing casinos and tottering real estate schemes was just a fraction of what really flooded from Trump the Elder to Trump the Bone Spurier. Trump didn’t even learn to lie, swindle, and scam on his own. That also came from his old man. Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings. The total amount that slid from Trump’s parents to Donald and his siblings was over $1 billion. That massive level of gift should have netted over half a billion in taxes for the IRS. Instead they not only paid a mere 5 percent of what they owned, Trump and his family used their sham corporations to actually take a tax break from these transfers."
How Our Air and Water Will Grow More Toxic Under Trump
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-mercury-poison-731648/
"Exhibit A: On Sunday, The New York Times reported that the administration is planning to roll back mercury regulations on coal-fired power plants. Mercury, as most people know, is one of the most toxic substances on earth. It is potentially harmful to everyone, but pregnant women and children are by far the most vulnerable. How toxic is mercury? Consider this: In 1997, Dr. Karen Wetterhan, a researcher at Dartmouth College, accidentally spilled a single drop of dimethylmercury, a highly concentrated form often used in lab research, on her hand. She didn’t worry about it — she was wearing latex gloves. She washed the mercury off immediately and didn’t think about it again until five months later, when she began bumping into walls and slurring her words. Her doctors were not able to diagnose what was wrong, then she told them about the drop of mercury. They did a blood test: mercury poisoning. A few months later, Dr. Wetterhan was dead. Coal-fired power plants are by far the largest emitters of mercury in the United States."
"Exhibit A: On Sunday, The New York Times reported that the administration is planning to roll back mercury regulations on coal-fired power plants. Mercury, as most people know, is one of the most toxic substances on earth. It is potentially harmful to everyone, but pregnant women and children are by far the most vulnerable. How toxic is mercury? Consider this: In 1997, Dr. Karen Wetterhan, a researcher at Dartmouth College, accidentally spilled a single drop of dimethylmercury, a highly concentrated form often used in lab research, on her hand. She didn’t worry about it — she was wearing latex gloves. She washed the mercury off immediately and didn’t think about it again until five months later, when she began bumping into walls and slurring her words. Her doctors were not able to diagnose what was wrong, then she told them about the drop of mercury. They did a blood test: mercury poisoning. A few months later, Dr. Wetterhan was dead. Coal-fired power plants are by far the largest emitters of mercury in the United States."
Monday, October 1, 2018
How We Know Kavanaugh Is Lying
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/09/how-we-know-kavanaugh-is-lying
"This man should not serve another day as any kind of judge"
"This man should not serve another day as any kind of judge"
If the Senate Applies the Jeff Flake Standard, Brett Kavanaugh Must Be Rejected
https://www.thenation.com/article/if-the-senate-applies-the-jeff-flake-standard-brett-kavanaugh-must-be-rejected/
"The Republican senator says evidence of lying to the Judiciary Committee should prevent confirmation of Trump’s pick."
"The Republican senator says evidence of lying to the Judiciary Committee should prevent confirmation of Trump’s pick."
Kavanaugh Lied to the Judiciary Committee—Repeatedly
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/kavanaugh-lied-senate-judiciary-committee.html
"Some of his lies, about the testimony of witnesses and the integrity of investigations, go to the heart of our system of justice. Any senator who votes to put this man on the Supreme Court is saying that such lies don’t matter."
"Some of his lies, about the testimony of witnesses and the integrity of investigations, go to the heart of our system of justice. Any senator who votes to put this man on the Supreme Court is saying that such lies don’t matter."
Jeff Flake Says Brett Kavanaugh's Nomination Is 'Over' If He Lied to the Senate. So What Are We Still Doing Here?
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a23545277/jeff-flake-brett-kavanaugh-lies-committee-fbi-investigation/
"a lack of concern for what is true is a dangerous attribute for any judge—much less one who seeks to help wield the definitive, crushing power of the Supreme Court."
"a lack of concern for what is true is a dangerous attribute for any judge—much less one who seeks to help wield the definitive, crushing power of the Supreme Court."
Brett Kavanaugh can’t stop lying
https://thinkprogress.org/brett-kavanaugh-cant-stop-lying-to-senators-about-big-and-small-details-c3731bb128af/
"The U.S. Supreme Court nominee keeps lying about things that can be easily debunked."
"The U.S. Supreme Court nominee keeps lying about things that can be easily debunked."
Whitewash Week Has Officially Begun for Brett Kavanaugh and His Allies
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23549349/brett-kavanaugh-whitewash-week/
"The White House, of course, has both thumbs, both feet, and a bag of cannonballs on the scale."
"The White House, of course, has both thumbs, both feet, and a bag of cannonballs on the scale."
Brett Kavanaugh’s Fox News Interview Is Now Testimony Under Oath
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/brett-kavanaughs-fox-news-interview-731612/
"The SCOTUS nominee also responds in the affirmative when the questioner asks if Kavanaugh understands that entering his answers to Fox News as testimony means that he is “subject to felony prosecution if you’re lying"."
"The SCOTUS nominee also responds in the affirmative when the questioner asks if Kavanaugh understands that entering his answers to Fox News as testimony means that he is “subject to felony prosecution if you’re lying"."
Jeff Flake doesn't need an FBI investigation to prove Kavanaugh is a liar, just his eyes and ears
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/1/1800552/-Jeff-Flake-doesn-t-need-an-FBI-investigation-to-prove-Kavanaugh-is-a-liar-just-his-eyes-and-ears
"What we learned in all these hours of testimony from Kavanaugh is that he cannot NOT lie. He's lied on really big stuff. He's lied on really little stuff. He's gone out of his way to lie about things that are easily disproved, like the drinking age in Maryland. Or emails that came from his very own White House email account. When cornered, when questioned, or when challenged he either lies or he becomes belligerent and bullying, like when he attacked Sen. Amy Klobuchar for her questioning on his alcohol use. Kavanaugh's need to lie is bordering on pathological. We don't need an FBI investigation to show that. Jeff Flake doesn't need an FBI investigation to discover it. He watched it with his own eyes. If he doesn't believe his own eyes, then clearly he's not acting in good faith."
"What we learned in all these hours of testimony from Kavanaugh is that he cannot NOT lie. He's lied on really big stuff. He's lied on really little stuff. He's gone out of his way to lie about things that are easily disproved, like the drinking age in Maryland. Or emails that came from his very own White House email account. When cornered, when questioned, or when challenged he either lies or he becomes belligerent and bullying, like when he attacked Sen. Amy Klobuchar for her questioning on his alcohol use. Kavanaugh's need to lie is bordering on pathological. We don't need an FBI investigation to show that. Jeff Flake doesn't need an FBI investigation to discover it. He watched it with his own eyes. If he doesn't believe his own eyes, then clearly he's not acting in good faith."
Trump’s EPA makes ‘sneaky’ move to hamstring its children’s health office
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epas-sneaky-new-move-in-its-war-on-childrens-health-74fc9f55ce84/
"Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Andrew Wheeler isn’t going to end Trump’s war on children’s health. But the former coal lobbyist does have sneakier tactics than his much-investigated predecessor Scott Pruitt. Wheeler has put the Director of the Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP), Dr. Ruth Etzel, on administrative leave without explanation. Etzel, as the EPA’s website notes, is an award-winning pediatrician and public health expert whose career “to protect children from hazards in the environment” spans three decades. “This seems like a sneaky way for the E.P.A. to get rid of this program and not be upfront about it,” as Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha told the New York Times. Dr. Hanna-Attisha is the pediatrician whose tests of children’s blood revealed elevated lead levels in Flint Michigan’s water. And a former EPA official called the move “highly unusual.” The Trump EPA has been working to undermine the children’s health office for a while, according to several people in and out of the agency who spoke to the Times. For instance, the paper reports that since July, the EPA has stalled a year-long effort by the OCHP to develop an inter-agency strategy to cut children’s lead exposure. What’s especially worrisome with this is that children are much more vulnerable to pollution and toxins than adults because key organs are still developing, they put things in their mouth (like lead paint), and “they eat more, drink more, and breathe more in proportion to their body size,” as the OCHP website explains."
"Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Andrew Wheeler isn’t going to end Trump’s war on children’s health. But the former coal lobbyist does have sneakier tactics than his much-investigated predecessor Scott Pruitt. Wheeler has put the Director of the Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP), Dr. Ruth Etzel, on administrative leave without explanation. Etzel, as the EPA’s website notes, is an award-winning pediatrician and public health expert whose career “to protect children from hazards in the environment” spans three decades. “This seems like a sneaky way for the E.P.A. to get rid of this program and not be upfront about it,” as Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha told the New York Times. Dr. Hanna-Attisha is the pediatrician whose tests of children’s blood revealed elevated lead levels in Flint Michigan’s water. And a former EPA official called the move “highly unusual.” The Trump EPA has been working to undermine the children’s health office for a while, according to several people in and out of the agency who spoke to the Times. For instance, the paper reports that since July, the EPA has stalled a year-long effort by the OCHP to develop an inter-agency strategy to cut children’s lead exposure. What’s especially worrisome with this is that children are much more vulnerable to pollution and toxins than adults because key organs are still developing, they put things in their mouth (like lead paint), and “they eat more, drink more, and breathe more in proportion to their body size,” as the OCHP website explains."
Trump Tax Plan 2.0 Cements the Worst Economic Policy in a Generation
https://truthout.org/articles/trump-tax-plan-2-0-cements-the-worst-economic-policy-in-a-generation/
"Consolidating wealth at the top of the income spectrum is not a stated goal of the tax plan, but it is the effect. Taken together with decades of compounding income and wealth inequality, tax plan 2.0 deals a serious blow to the possibility of economic mobility in this country. The richest one percent of Americans now take home an average of 26 times as much income as the bottom 99 percent. In 2016, it would have taken a middle-income worker 347 years at a large corporation to earn as much as the CEO earned in a single year. It didn’t used to be that way: In 1980, it would have taken that worker 40 years to earn as much as the CEO. And average wages for the lowest income workers have actually declined, after adjusting for inflation, since 1979."
"Consolidating wealth at the top of the income spectrum is not a stated goal of the tax plan, but it is the effect. Taken together with decades of compounding income and wealth inequality, tax plan 2.0 deals a serious blow to the possibility of economic mobility in this country. The richest one percent of Americans now take home an average of 26 times as much income as the bottom 99 percent. In 2016, it would have taken a middle-income worker 347 years at a large corporation to earn as much as the CEO earned in a single year. It didn’t used to be that way: In 1980, it would have taken that worker 40 years to earn as much as the CEO. And average wages for the lowest income workers have actually declined, after adjusting for inflation, since 1979."
Hurricane Florence Released Tons of Coal Ash in North Carolina. Now the Coal Industry Wants Less Regulation.
https://theintercept.com/2018/09/28/north-carolina-coal-ash-hurricane-florence/
"EVEN AS COAL ash storage basins are leaking massive amounts of pollution in the wake of Hurricane Florence, the coal industry is working on a novel legal strategy to stop the federal regulation of this toxic byproduct of coal combustion. The very same week that coal ash turned some river water in North Carolina into gray pudding and the pollution amassed to the point that it could be seen from space, coal companies have been successfully limiting their liability for this contamination under the Clean Water Act. The coal industry was already enjoying a banner year under the Trump administration — one capped by the rollback of a 2015 Environmental Protection Agency rule that had set basic limitations on the disposal of coal ash. The waste contains carcinogens and neurotoxins, including arsenic, boron, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, lithium, and mercury, and is often stored in unlined pits. The 2015 rule required that any coal ash storage facility within five feet of a groundwater aquifer be closed. The new rule, which the EPA finalized in July, extended the time coal companies have to close those ash ponds by 12 months, allowed states to suspend the monitoring of some groundwater near coal ash waste sites, and removed a requirement that only engineers can sign off on changes to coal ash ponds."
"EVEN AS COAL ash storage basins are leaking massive amounts of pollution in the wake of Hurricane Florence, the coal industry is working on a novel legal strategy to stop the federal regulation of this toxic byproduct of coal combustion. The very same week that coal ash turned some river water in North Carolina into gray pudding and the pollution amassed to the point that it could be seen from space, coal companies have been successfully limiting their liability for this contamination under the Clean Water Act. The coal industry was already enjoying a banner year under the Trump administration — one capped by the rollback of a 2015 Environmental Protection Agency rule that had set basic limitations on the disposal of coal ash. The waste contains carcinogens and neurotoxins, including arsenic, boron, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, lithium, and mercury, and is often stored in unlined pits. The 2015 rule required that any coal ash storage facility within five feet of a groundwater aquifer be closed. The new rule, which the EPA finalized in July, extended the time coal companies have to close those ash ponds by 12 months, allowed states to suspend the monitoring of some groundwater near coal ash waste sites, and removed a requirement that only engineers can sign off on changes to coal ash ponds."
How Feedback Loops Are Driving Runaway Climate Change
https://truthout.org/articles/how-feedback-loops-are-driving-runaway-climate-change/
"NOAA’s 2017 Arctic Report Card states unequivocally that the Arctic “shows no sign of returning to reliably frozen region of recent past decades.” The Executive Summary of the report also adds, “Arctic paleo-reconstructions, which extend back millions of years, indicate that the magnitude and pace of the 21st century sea-ice decline and surface ocean warming is unprecedented in at least the last 1,500 years and likely much longer.” A recent report from National Geographic revealed that some of the ground in the Arctic is no longer freezing, even during the winter. Along with causing other problems, this will become yet another feedback loop in the Arctic, causing yet more greenhouse gasses to be released from permafrost than are already being released and impacting the entire planet."
"NOAA’s 2017 Arctic Report Card states unequivocally that the Arctic “shows no sign of returning to reliably frozen region of recent past decades.” The Executive Summary of the report also adds, “Arctic paleo-reconstructions, which extend back millions of years, indicate that the magnitude and pace of the 21st century sea-ice decline and surface ocean warming is unprecedented in at least the last 1,500 years and likely much longer.” A recent report from National Geographic revealed that some of the ground in the Arctic is no longer freezing, even during the winter. Along with causing other problems, this will become yet another feedback loop in the Arctic, causing yet more greenhouse gasses to be released from permafrost than are already being released and impacting the entire planet."
Stay of Execution for Yellowstone Grizzly Bears as Court Rules Trump Admin Illegally Gutted Protections
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/09/25/stay-execution-yellowstone-grizzly-bears-court-rules-trump-admin-illegally-gutted
"First Nations tribes and green groups celebrated a federal court's ruling late Monday that the Trump administration acted illegally when it gutted the Endangered Species Act's (ESA) protections for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park region."
"First Nations tribes and green groups celebrated a federal court's ruling late Monday that the Trump administration acted illegally when it gutted the Endangered Species Act's (ESA) protections for grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park region."
The soaring cost of climate change, especially for the U.S.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/30/1771160/-The-soaring-cost-of-climate-change-especially-for-the-U-S
"A new study delivers more bad news about climate change: The U.S. is second only to India in experiencing the negative economic consequences of greenhouse gas emissions. The study projects the loss to be a whopping $250 billion a year in this country alone. The study, by researchers at the University of California at San Diego and published in Nature Climate Change, looks at the social cost of carbon, or SCC, a commonly employed metric of the expected economic damages from carbon dioxide emissions. A basic definition of the social cost of carbon is the measure, in dollars, of the long-term damage done by the release of a metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions in a given year. The study measured the effects of the social cost of carbon on each of the world’s nearly 200 countries. The four countries with the highest economic losses from the social cost of carbon are India, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Brazil. China, the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, places fifth. The U.S. cost was put at $48 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions, while most countries, especially those in more northern latitudes, had costs of $10 or less per ton of CO2 emissions. Why does this matter, besides the obvious conclusion that climate change is costing the world a lot of money in addition to the damage to our individual health and the health of the planet? Because Donald Trump’s administration wants to scale back the regulations now in place for greenhouse gas emissions."
"A new study delivers more bad news about climate change: The U.S. is second only to India in experiencing the negative economic consequences of greenhouse gas emissions. The study projects the loss to be a whopping $250 billion a year in this country alone. The study, by researchers at the University of California at San Diego and published in Nature Climate Change, looks at the social cost of carbon, or SCC, a commonly employed metric of the expected economic damages from carbon dioxide emissions. A basic definition of the social cost of carbon is the measure, in dollars, of the long-term damage done by the release of a metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions in a given year. The study measured the effects of the social cost of carbon on each of the world’s nearly 200 countries. The four countries with the highest economic losses from the social cost of carbon are India, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Brazil. China, the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, places fifth. The U.S. cost was put at $48 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions, while most countries, especially those in more northern latitudes, had costs of $10 or less per ton of CO2 emissions. Why does this matter, besides the obvious conclusion that climate change is costing the world a lot of money in addition to the damage to our individual health and the health of the planet? Because Donald Trump’s administration wants to scale back the regulations now in place for greenhouse gas emissions."
Taibbi: Why Aren’t We Talking More About Trump’s Nihilism?
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-white-house-climate-change-731440/
"The White House now says we might as well pollute because global catastrophe is inevitable"
"The White House now says we might as well pollute because global catastrophe is inevitable"
Mercury Can Cause Brain Damage In Kids. The EPA Wants To Weaken Rules On Its Emissions.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mercury-epa-mats-rule_us_5bb21460e4b027da00d56346
"The proposal would not completely eliminate MATS, which sets limits on power plant emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants. But it is “designed to put in place the legal justification for the Trump administration to weaken it and several other pollution rules,” and could open the door to a possible full repeal of the regulation, according to The New York Times."
"The proposal would not completely eliminate MATS, which sets limits on power plant emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants. But it is “designed to put in place the legal justification for the Trump administration to weaken it and several other pollution rules,” and could open the door to a possible full repeal of the regulation, according to The New York Times."
More Proof Trump EPA 'Working for Coal Millionaires' as EPA Plan to Weaken Mercury Regulations Revealed
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/10/01/more-proof-trump-epa-working-coal-millionaires-epa-plan-weaken-mercury-regulations
"Acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler counted Murray's company, Murray Energy, among his clients when he worked as a lobbyist before entering government. Bill Wehrum, another top EPA official who authored the proposal, has also represented energy companies as a lawyer. "If finalized, this shameful plan would undermine standards that have already been widely implemented, exposing our kids to more toxic mercury and arsenic just so Andrew Wheeler and Bill Wehrum can appease a handful of their former clients in the coal industry," said Mary Ann Hitt, director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal program, in a statement. "If anyone needed further proof that Wheeler and Wehrum are still working for coal millionaires, this is it"."
"Acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler counted Murray's company, Murray Energy, among his clients when he worked as a lobbyist before entering government. Bill Wehrum, another top EPA official who authored the proposal, has also represented energy companies as a lawyer. "If finalized, this shameful plan would undermine standards that have already been widely implemented, exposing our kids to more toxic mercury and arsenic just so Andrew Wheeler and Bill Wehrum can appease a handful of their former clients in the coal industry," said Mary Ann Hitt, director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal program, in a statement. "If anyone needed further proof that Wheeler and Wehrum are still working for coal millionaires, this is it"."
Congress allows parks program to expire over the weekend
https://thinkprogress.org/congressional-republicans-zinke-allow-countrys-most-successful-conservation-program-to-expire-c2dc46eff642/
"The Republican-controlled Congress allowed the country’s most popular parks program, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to expire Sunday. The lapse threatens access to public lands and water and leaves many potential projects in limbo. “The Land and Water Conservation Fund is the most successful land conservation program in our nation’s history. Congress’s inability to prevent its expiration is a stunning failure and a betrayal of more than a half century of broad bipartisan support,” Colin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said in a statement. “America’s wildlife heritage, outdoor recreation opportunities and public lands are the envy of the world and drive our $887 billion recreation economy.” The Land and Water Conservation Fund provides funding to protect parks, forests, cultural heritage sites, and water resources, at zero expense to taxpayers. The fund, which is paid for through revenues from offshore drilling, was passed in 1964 and has financed projects in all 50 states."
"The Republican-controlled Congress allowed the country’s most popular parks program, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to expire Sunday. The lapse threatens access to public lands and water and leaves many potential projects in limbo. “The Land and Water Conservation Fund is the most successful land conservation program in our nation’s history. Congress’s inability to prevent its expiration is a stunning failure and a betrayal of more than a half century of broad bipartisan support,” Colin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said in a statement. “America’s wildlife heritage, outdoor recreation opportunities and public lands are the envy of the world and drive our $887 billion recreation economy.” The Land and Water Conservation Fund provides funding to protect parks, forests, cultural heritage sites, and water resources, at zero expense to taxpayers. The fund, which is paid for through revenues from offshore drilling, was passed in 1964 and has financed projects in all 50 states."
At the U.N., Trump finds the world literally laughing at him
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-un-trump-finds-the-world-literally-laughing-him
"The underlying claim is, of course, plainly absurd. American history features a great many accomplished presidents, but Donald Trump isn’t one of them, at least not yet. He secured a package of regressive and unpopular tax breaks, but in terms of meaningful successes of historic significance, the Republican amateur is a merely a legend in his own mind. But the trouble is, this president genuinely seems to believe in his own greatness, and when he routinely repeats the line at campaign rallies, Trump’s adoring fans tend to cheer, not scoff. He seemed surprised by the laughter at the General Assembly probably because he’s so unaccustomed to speaking to an audience that has no use for his more ridiculous boasts."
"The underlying claim is, of course, plainly absurd. American history features a great many accomplished presidents, but Donald Trump isn’t one of them, at least not yet. He secured a package of regressive and unpopular tax breaks, but in terms of meaningful successes of historic significance, the Republican amateur is a merely a legend in his own mind. But the trouble is, this president genuinely seems to believe in his own greatness, and when he routinely repeats the line at campaign rallies, Trump’s adoring fans tend to cheer, not scoff. He seemed surprised by the laughter at the General Assembly probably because he’s so unaccustomed to speaking to an audience that has no use for his more ridiculous boasts."
Fox News Edits Out the United Nations Laughing at Trump from Clips of His Embarrassing Speech to the General Assembly @alternet
Fox News Edits Out the United Nations Laughing at Trump from Clips of His Embarrassing Speech to the General Assembly @alternet:
"The right-wing propaganda outlet is doing its best to warp reality in the president's favor."
"The right-wing propaganda outlet is doing its best to warp reality in the president's favor."
UN literally laughs at Trump during speech
https://thinkprogress.org/united-nations-laughs-at-trump-video-4a6d85d2d8fb/
"Before he ran for president, Trump bashed Obama for allegedly being “a laughing stock to the entire World"."
"Before he ran for president, Trump bashed Obama for allegedly being “a laughing stock to the entire World"."
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