|
FOCUS: Is John Kelly's White House Honeymoon Period Already Over? |
 |
|
Sunday, 03 September 2017 10:57 |
|
Stefansky writes: "It's becoming more and more clear ... that a rift is growing between Trump and Kelly, for the same reasons rifts developed between the president and all the other former members of his staff: Kelly's just doing his job, which is managing Trump, which is essentially impossible."
John Kelly at the Medal of Honor ceremony on July 31, 2017. (photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters)
Is John Kelly's White House Honeymoon Period Already Over?
By Emma Stefansky, Vanity Fair
03 September 17
Trump is not the kind of president who likes to be managed.
 t this point, any position within Donald Trump’s administration is subject to change. Since former Marine general John Kelly joined the White House to replace Reince Priebus as chief of staff in late July, everything has seemed to be going, at least by Trump standards, unusually well. Yes, there was the “very fine people on both sides“ moment, with Kelly memorably hanging his head in frustration. But it’s been a less chaotic period by all accounts, and Trump has even taken a few opportunities to give Kelly compliments on Twitter.
That may be coming to end, as it’s becoming more and more clear, according to a new report from The New York Times, that a rift is growing between Trump and Kelly, for the same reasons rifts developed between the president and all the other former members of his staff: Kelly’s just doing his job, which is managing Trump, which is essentially impossible..
A number of sources from inside the administration reported tension between the president and Kelly to the Times, evidenced by a few incidents like last month’s rally in Arizona, where Trump was visibly irritated by Kelly’s insistence that the president keep talk of politics during the rally to a minimum. He reportedly lashed out at Kelly, and the Times reports that Kelly later told a few aides that he had never been spoken to like that in his career, and he would not tolerate such behavior again.
“It is inevitable that a guy who will not be contained and does not want to be handled or managed was going to rebel against the latest manager who wanted to control him,” Trump adviser Roger Stone said of the situation. By several accounts Kelly was hired on to clean things up and make the administration run more efficiently—which he has succeeded in doing. Under Kelly’s management, Trump “now has time to think,” as he’s said repeatedly to one of his senior aides who spoke to the times. And in his quest to remove any bumps in the road to efficiency, the Chief of Staff was a supporter of the removals of Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, and Anthony Scaramucci.
But as soon as Kelly tries to manage the president, by controlling the flow of information to his desk or the constant stream of visitors, Trump has been inclined to fight back. Though the Times reports that Kelly has given no indication that he plans to leave his position soon, it’s unclear how long the two may be able to co-exist. And with other staffing musical chairs still happening, Kelly may simply be the final proof that there is no true taming the chaos endemic to the Trump White House.
 |
|
When Your First Move Is to Threaten Lynching, Maybe Something's Wrong |
|
|
Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=11104"><span class="small">Charles Pierce, Esquire</span></a>
|
|
Sunday, 03 September 2017 08:41 |
|
Pierce writes: "When the first club out of the bag is lynching, you ought to rethink your club selection just a bit, I'm thinking. Maybe lay up and not try to clear the pond of Stupid in front of the green."
A Confederate monument. (photo: Getty Images)
When Your First Move Is to Threaten Lynching, Maybe Something's Wrong
By Charles Pierce, Esquire
03 September 17
This week in Confederate monuments.
 exas being its own category for the foreseeable future, let's begin in Missouri, where a state legislator is fed up with all this tearing down of the monuments to armed white supremacy, and he's got an Old South-themed solution for the whole danged business. From Fox2 in St. Louis:
Osceola Republican Rep. Warren Love said in a Facebook post Wednesday that he hopes whoever vandalized the monument is "hung from a tall tree with a long rope." He later told The Associated Press that he didn't really mean that and says he thinks it's terrible when someone vandalizes an object of remembrance. Love apologized in a later post he provided to AP.
When the first club out of the bag is lynching, you ought to rethink your club selection just a bit, I'm thinking. Maybe lay up and not try to clear the pond of Stupid in front of the green.
Then, of course, there's this delightful chap from Georgia, who was a bit more specific in his warnings than was Representative Love. From the AJC:
State Rep. Jason Spencer, a Woodbine Republican, also wrote former state Rep. LaDawn Jones that "people in South Georgia are people of action, not drama" and suggested some who don't understand that "will go missing in the Okefenokee…Too many necks they are red around here," he wrote. "Don't say I didn't warn you about 'em."
Spencer, of course, was only looking out for the well-being of his learned colleague, bless his heart.
"She is from Atlanta – and the rest of Georgia sees this issue very differently," said Spencer, who was elected in 2010 to represent the southeast Georgia district. "Just trying to keep her safe if she decided to come down and raise hell about the memorial in the back yards of folks who will see this as an unwelcome aggression from the left."
And this, which I just can't…naw, I got nothing.
Spencer also asked that we include a picture he provided of him standing in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. monument that was unveiled Monday on the Georgia Capitol grounds.
Jason Spencer ran unopposed in 2016. Just sayin'.
Let's move north to Iowa, where the skids were greased for the state to allow Apple to loot the treasury in exchange for at least several potential jobs, except that the citizens have gotten a whiff of profiteering in the air. From Bleeding Heartland:
The Iowa Economic Development Authority and the city of Waukee refused to release details about the deal with Apple until shortly before the authority's board rubber-stamped $20 million in state tax incentives, plus about $194 million from the suburb west of Des Moines. In return, Apple has promised its $1.375 billion data center will come online by 2020, with 50 full-time employees earning at least $29.12 per hour.
The editorial board of The Des Moines Register, which never has been confused with the Daily Worker, seems dubious about the process.
News of the project broke Wednesday, but documents spelling out the amount of incentives were released about 90 minutes before the state economic development board met Thursday. The meeting's agenda included a 10-minute public comment period before approval. The city of Waukee declined to provide the public any information before its council voted to give Apple more than $194 million in property tax abatement and water and sewer infrastructure improvements. Shouldn't residents have a say in a proposal that will affect city revenues for at least the next 20 years? "This isn't our project," said Waukee Mayor Bill Peard, who, like the rest of us, is just along for the ride. Can the rest of us afford to wait before the next giveaway comes along? Do we hope that in the next legislative session, lawmakers will get serious about rethinking a tax code riddled with worm holes? Reforming a system that favors out-of-state corporations over Iowa-based businesses? Will any state leader look beyond the hype and seriously examine what we've gained in jobs and economic growth from attracting data centers? A few warehouses full of servers do not make us a hotbed of innovation.
Clearly, the answer to all these question is…MAGA! A local cleric also wrote a letter to the Register, pointing out economic priorities that seemed…askew.
We also recently learned that visits to Iowa nursing homes to monitor them for safety and compliance with state regulations are being eliminated because of state budget cuts. Iowa, where are our priorities? When your loved one dies in an unmonitored nursing home, just send the funeral bill to Apple. It's the least they can do. When will we learn the difference between boon and boondoggle?
The universal answer to that question apparently is, "Never." I mean, Wisconsin still can't get its budget passed because it had to wrestle with its own mega-giveaway to a blow-in corporation. Meanwhile, the state's public schools are due to open and there's nobody home in Madison to pay the bills. Why? Because roads, that's why. From the AP, via WMTV:
The Joint Finance Committee is set to meet Monday to address Walker's plan to give public, voucher and charter schools an additional $649 million over the next two years. The budget is now eight weeks late thanks to Republican infighting over how to pay for road projects in the face of a nearly $1 billion shortfall in the state's transportation fund. Walker and Senate Republicans want to borrow more money and delay major projects. Assembly Republicans want to raise more revenue and have suggested raising the gas tax or vehicle registration, both nonstarters for the governor.
I have it on very good authority that the guys in the deer camps up around Lake Superior are in imminent danger of having to survive all winter on road kill rather than drive on roads where potholes could swallow a young SUV whole.
And we conclude, as is our wont, in the great state of Oklahoma, where Blog Official Petrochemical Mutant Inspector Friedman of the Plains brings us the story of how Sooners are coming together to help their fellow humans south of the Red River. From KFOR-TV:
Along with several Oklahoma teams are voluntary agencies who are also sending staff and volunteers to support relief efforts in Texas. Agencies such as the American Red Cross, Children's Disaster Services, Convoy of Hope, Mercy Chefs, Operation BBQ Relief, the Salvation Army and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief will be going to Texas.
Operation BBQ Relief?
Oh, hell yeah.
Operation BBQ Relief was founded in May 2011 in response to a need for relief efforts in tornado-stricken Joplin, Missouri, a community of about 50,000 residents. Volunteers from competition BBQ teams from eight states answered the need to help feed displaced families, police, fire, National Guard and emergency personnel. We were able to serve over 120,000 meals over 13 days. Food was delivered to shelters, hospitals, senior living communities and the Humane Society. Volunteers loaded food into vehicles and delivered directly to families in the impacted areas. The operation was made possible by all who contributed food and supplies and funding from across the country.
You may know it by its other name: Coleslaw Sans Frontieres.
God, I love my country.
This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.
|
|
|
Deporting Dreamers |
|
|
Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=46005"><span class="small">David Leonhardt, The New York Times</span></a>
|
|
Saturday, 02 September 2017 13:46 |
|
Leonhardt writes: "Immigration hard-liners have the benefit of being able to make a very clear case: The United States should enforce its laws."
Dozens of immigration advocates and supporters attend a rally outside of Trump Tower along Fifth Avenue on August 15, 2017, in New York City. (photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Deporting Dreamers
By David Leonhardt, The New York Times
02 September 17
 mmigration hard-liners have the benefit of being able to make a very clear case: The United States should enforce its laws.
“If this was any other subject, if this was tax evasion and we said, well, they only really violated a little bit of — they only cheated on their taxes a little, you wouldn’t be saying hey, should they really be going to be prison or should they be getting a fine?” as Sean Spicer argued from the White House lectern, when he was still press secretary.
“At some point, laws are laws,” Spicer said. “And if people have a problem with the law, whether it’s at the local, state or federal issue, then we should petition our lawmakers and the executive at that particular branch of government and change it.”
READ MORE
|
|
Put Them in Prison |
|
|
Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=11104"><span class="small">Charles Pierce, Esquire</span></a>
|
|
Saturday, 02 September 2017 08:51 |
|
Pierce writes: "I know that it's very hard to make these cases and all the other excuses we've heard why the inherently criminal class that is our financial services sector cannot be prosecuted for their various and sundry offenses."
John Stumpf. (photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Put Them in Prison
By Charles Pierce, Esquire
02 September 17
The ugly Wells Fargo saga takes an uglier turn.
know that it's very hard to make these cases and all the other excuses we've heard why the inherently criminal class that is our financial services sector cannot be prosecuted for their various and sundry offenses. And I know that it doesn't help with the civility problem we have in our politics to call names. But you'll pardon me for saying that someone ought to bury the fcking rat bastards at Wells Fargo under the goddamn jail. From the AP:
The scope of Wells Fargo's fake accounts scandal grew significantly on Thursday, with the bank now saying that 3.5 million accounts were potentially opened without customers' permission between 2009 and 2016. That's up from 2.1 million accounts that the bank had cited in September 2016, when it acknowledged that employees under pressure to meet aggressive sales targets had opened accounts that customers might not have even been aware existed. Wells Fargo said Thursday that about half a million of the newly discovered accounts were missed during the original review, which covered the years 2011 to 2015. After Wells Fargo acknowledged the fake accounts last year, evidence quickly appeared that the sales practices problems dated back even further. So Wells Fargo hired an outside consulting firm to analyze 165 million retail bank accounts opened between 2009 and 2016. Wells said the firm found that, along with the 2.1 million accounts originally disclosed, 981,000 more accounts were found in the expanded timeline. And roughly 450,000 accounts were found in the original window.
I'm no lawyer, although I occasionally act as legal counsel in the shebeen here, but it seems to me that what we're dealing with here are 3.5 million individual acts of fraud by Wells Fargo. They opened fake accounts with the real names of their customers, and then charged those customers for the privilege of being defrauded. This seems neither difficult nor complicated. It seems to me that you'd have to transport the RICO indictment on this criminal enterprise by barge. Instead, Wells Fargo paid a $185 million fine to the regulators, and it settled a class-action suit brought by its universe of marks to the tune of $142 million. Oh, and lest we forget:
The scandal was the biggest in Wells Fargo's history. It cost then-CEO John Stumpf his job, and the bank's once-sterling industry reputation was in tatters.
I think I speak for the entire class when I say that I could care less about the bank's "once sterling reputation."
Wells Fargo said last month that roughly 570,000 customers were signed up for and billed for car insurance that they didn't need or necessarily know about. Many couldn't afford the extra costs and fell behind in their payments, and in about 20,000 cases, cars were repossessed. Other customers have filed lawsuits against Wells Fargo saying they were victims of unfair overdraft practices. Wells Fargo said Thursday that of the 3.5 million accounts potentially opened without permission, 190,000 of those incurred fees and charges. That's up from 130,000 that the bank originally said. Wells Fargo will refund $2.8 million to customers, in addition to the $3.3 million it already agreed to pay. In addition, San Francisco-based Wells admitted that 528,000 customers were likely signed up for online bill payment without authorization. It'll refund $910,000 in fees to those customers.
By the way, John Stumpf, the CEO who presided over this monumental criminal empire, walked away from his job with a get-the-fck-outta-here package of $130 million. (With an opposing view, here's a guy from Fox Business who wished everyone would leave poor John Stumpf aloooooonnnnne! After all, he did voluntarily step down, and he gave back a sum equal to nearly a third of his walkaway money, so what do you vicious citizen mobs want, anyway?) This is the way the world works. But here is a helpful comparison. When he finally got sent up for life, John Gotti oversaw a criminal enterprise was worth about $600 million. Of course, there wasn't much you could buy when you were in 23-hour lockdown at Marion. The estimated net worth of Wells Fargo in 2016, even after these revelations first came to light, was nearly $90 billion. Gotti clearly got involved with the wrong rackets.
|
|
orth Korea put on an extraordinary two-part show of its nuclear ambitions Sunday, releasing photos of leader Kim Jong Un next to what it described as a H-bomb for an ICBM, then actually detonating a device in its sixth and by far most powerful nuclear test to date.
