The Conversation -- March 12, 2024
The New York Times is live-updating the House hearing of testimony by Special Counsel Robert Hur. It looks like Gym Jordan is running the hearing, so no doubt it will all go very smoothly. And totally fairly. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I couldn't stand to watch the hearing, but the Times updates are are helpful. The reporters' analysis suggests to me that Hur -- a Republican -- is bending hard toward Republicans. For instance,
Charlie Savage: "As Republicans like Representative Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey use their questioning of Hur to portray Biden's and Trump's actions as equivalent in order to disparage the charges against Trump, Hur could respond by repeating what he wrote in his report, that there are clearly 'several material distinctions' between the two cases, and the allegations against Trump, if proved, 'present serious aggravating facts' unlike the evidence involving Biden. It is notable Hur is choosing not to speak up." Emphasis added.
Glenn Thrush (pinned item): "It is not unusual for witnesses in federal cases to cite their faulty recollections in interviews with investigators, particularly about events that occurred years earlier. But Mr. Hur included references to Mr. Biden's memory that did not relate directly to retaining classified documents -- including the president's struggle to recall the year (2015) when his son Beau died." ~~~
~~~ Marie: IOW, as we all know, there's a difference between (1) conveniently repeating "I don't recall" in the way, say, Cassidy Hutchinson's Trump-paid lawyer advised her to do in order to avoid providing incriminating answers, and (2) innocently forgetting a specific date or event that may have occurred many years in the past and/or may have nothing to do with the matter at hand.
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Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Monday called for major new spending initiatives to lower costs for health care, child care and housing and enough new taxes on the wealthy and major corporations to pay for those proposals and also shave $3 trillion off the national debt over the next decade. Biden's reelection year budget lays out the broad policy planks that many leading liberals have pushed him to embrace as he campaigns for another four years in the White House. With Republicans in control of the House, the proposals stand almost no chance of becoming law.... In a $7.3 trillion budget for fiscal year 2025, Biden would have Congress offer universal prekindergarten education, provide 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, expand anti-poverty tax credits and create a new tax break for first-time home buyers." (Also linked yesterday.) NPR's report is here.
Sahil Kapur, et al., of NBC News: "... Donald Trump opened the door Monday to 'cutting' spending under Social Security and Medicare, drawing swift pushback from President Joe Biden and elevating a key policy battle in the 2024 election.... Biden's campaign tweeted out the video and the president responded quickly: 'Not on my watch.'... Biden has ruled out benefit cuts to the programs. In his State of the Union speech last week, Biden said he'd 'protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Perry Stein & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "When Robert K. Hur testifies to Congress on Tuesday about his investigation of President Biden's handling of classified documents, he is expected to defend a special counsel process created to shield fraught cases from political interference.... [Hur] said in [his] report that a jury might see Biden as 'a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,' not a criminal trying to break the law.... The report fueled White House anger at [Attorney General Merrick] Garland, who Biden aides say has over-relied on special counsels ... in a way they believe has insulated the attorney general from some of the Justice Department's toughest decisions.... [White House officials] accuse Garland of allowing prosecutor David Weiss's investigation of Hunter Biden's business dealings to drag on for years, only to result in a plea deal that embarrassingly collapsed in public and led to Weiss's appointment as a special counsel. Two indictments quickly followed -- on gun and tax charges -- that Biden allies say would not be levied against most Americans in similar circumstances. And White House officials and Biden's allies say the Hur report contained gratuitous and inappropriate swipes at the president's age and memory -- political kryptonite for congressional oversight committees and voters in an election year." ~~~
~~~ Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "Hur says he didn't sanitize his findings on [President] Biden but also didn't disparage him unfairly. Hur will say in prepared remarks that he was aware of the need to explain why he'd decided not to charge the president. Such explanations are common but usually confidential; and so he didn't hold back, particularly in this case."
Annie Karni & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "House Republican leaders are moving this week to pass legislation that would force the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell the platform or face being barred in the United States, even after ... Donald J. Trump came out against targeting the popular social media app he once vowed to ban. Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and the majority leader, said on Monday that the House would try to speed the bill to passage under special procedures reserved for noncontroversial legislation, which require a two-thirds majority for passage. The approach reflected the bill's growing momentum on Capitol Hill during an election year in which members of both political parties are eager to demonstrate a willingness to be tough on China.... It is not clear what the bill's prospects would be in the Senate, where Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, has not committed to bringing it up."
Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump offered a rambling and confusing explanation on Monday of why he had reversed himself on whether the United States should ban TikTok over concerns that its Chinese ownership poses a threat to national security. In a CNBC interview, Mr. Trump said that he still considered the social media app a national security threat but that banning it would make young people 'go crazy.' He added that any action harming TikTok would benefit Facebook, which he called an 'enemy of the people.'... Mr. Trump tried to ban TikTok while in office, pushing its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform to a new owner or face being blocked from American app stores. A House committee advanced legislation last week that would similarly force TikTok to cut ties with ByteDance. In a powerful display o bipartisanship -- rare these days in Washington -- the top Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party used nearly identical language to describe the risks of TikTok.... The full House is expected to vote on the legislation on Wednesday. President Biden said last week that he would sign the measure into law if it reached his desk.... On Monday, asked about suspicions that he had been 'paid off' to change his view on TikTok after a meeting with a major TikTok investor, the billionaire Jeff Yass, Mr. Trump denied it." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: In yesterday's thread, Akhilleus made the shocking allegation, "He's for sale!" Oh, could it be? Gosh, Rachel Maddow suspects Trump, too. She brings receipts. Time-stamped: ~~~
Marie: It's worth pointing out that the public doesn't know ... where Chubb got the funding to back Donald Trump's $91MM bond in the the Carroll case. I've seen some speculation on the Internets, but until we get some quasi-reliable, apparently fact-based reports, I'm not linking any of the speculative musing.
Josh Dawsey, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump asked Elon Musk last summer whether the billionaire industrialist would be interested in buying Trump's social network Truth Social, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation. The overture to Musk ... did not lead to a deal. But the conversation, which has not been previously reported, shows the two men have communicated more than was known. The two have had other conversations, too, Trump advisers say, about politics and business.... Musk once belittled Truth Social, posting in 2022 that Trump's site had a 'terrible name' and that it was 'time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.' Trump responded on Truth Social by posting a photo of the two men in the Oval Office alongside a caption: When Musk visited 'the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects ... I could have said "drop to your knees and beg," and he would have done it.'..."
No. Self. Control. Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "Donald Trump on Monday once again denied allegations by E. Jean Carroll that he raped and defamed her, despite facing nearly $90 million in civil penalties for making similar statements about the writer. Carroll's attorney quickly responded that they are closely monitoring Trump's latest remarks about her -- and suggested that a third defamation lawsuit could be in store for the former president. Trump in an interview on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' claimed that several civil court judgments against him in New York -- two of them in Carroll's favor -- will cause companies to leave the state.... They're 'the most ridiculous decisions,' Trump said, 'including the "Ms. Bergdorf Goodman," a person I'd never met.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Trump Employee 5 Speaks. Katelyn Polantz, et al., of CNN: "A longtime Mar-a-Lago employee who is a central witness in the investigation into ... Donald Trump's handling of classified documents is now speaking publicly because he believes that voters should hear the truth about his former boss and the case before the November election. Brian Butler, who is referenced as 'Trump Employee 5' in the classified documents indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith, told CNN in an exclusive interview that he doesn't believe the criminal case against Trump is a 'witch hunt,' as the former president has claimed. Butler gave testimony to federal investigators that informed crucial portions of last year's criminal obstruction charges against Trump and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta, a personal aide to Trump, and Carlos De Oliveira, a property manager at Mar-a-Lago who had been Butler's closest friend until recently. Butler, who was employed at Mar-a-Lago for 20 years, has spoken repeatedly with investigators, paying for his own attorney and breaking with the orbit around Trump....
"Butler told CNN how he unknowingly helped Nauta deliver boxes of classified information from Mar-a-Lago to the former president's plane in June 2022 -- the same day that Trump and his attorney were meeting with the Justice Department at Mar-a-Lago about the classified documents.... Butler also was a witness in the room to several conversations that allegedly capture how Trump was positioning his closest aide Nauta, De Oliveira and others to thwart federal authorities. De Oliveira told Butler, for instance, about Nauta traveling [secretly] to Palm Beach in late June 2022, at a time when Nauta and De Oliveira were allegedly interested in deleting surveillance tapes of a storage room where the boxes had been kept at the club, according to the indictment.... At one point in his interviews, Butler says he told investigators that Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt repeated classified submarine secrets following a conversation with Trump in spring 2021." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: We now know that, according to Butler, Trump carried about 15 "beautiful boxes" to Bedminster. But, in this June 2023 Guardian story, we learned, "... when the new searches of the Trump properties by contractors took place, they found no classified documents at Bedminster, according to people familiar with what they certified to the then chief US judge in Washington, Beryl Howell, who was overseeing the grand jury litigation." We also know that Trump had classified documents at Bedminster because, according to the indictment, he showed at least one of them to Mark Meadows' biographer and other people unauthorized to receive classified information. So what happened to the contents of the 15 boxes Mar-a-Lago employees put on the plane bound for Bedminster? From what we know so far, Trump is still hiding them. Somewhere.
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "... within 30 seconds [of getting into his armored vehicle after his speech at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021, Donald Trump's] conversation with his lead Secret Service agent took a ... contentious turn, according to a transcript released on Monday of an interview by House investigators of another Secret Service agent who was driving the car. Mr. Trump wanted to go to the Capitol, but his lead agent, Robert Engel, said no, telling him there was no plan in place. 'The president was insistent on going to the Capitol,' recounted the driver, whose name was not disclosed. 'It was clear to me he wanted to go to the Capitol. He was not screaming at Mr. Engel. He was not screaming at me. Certainly his voice was raised, but it did not seem to me that he was irate -- certainly not, certainly didn't seem as irritated or agitated as he had on the way to the Ellipse.'
"But, the driver said, Mr. Trump never lunged for the steering wheel or physically accosted the agents, contradicting one of the most sensational and hotly disputed elements of testimony given to the House Jan. 6 committee by a White House aide.... Mr. Trump had already begun the morning in a 'pretty agitated, pretty irritated' mood on his way to the Ellipse, the driver testified. The president's voice contained a 'tinge of anger' as he spoke with Mr. Engel, who rode with him in the vehicle.... '... He was pushing pretty hard to go,' the agent testified. He added, 'The thing that sticks out most was he kept asking why we couldn't go, why we couldn't go, and that he wasn't concerned about the people that were there or referenced them being Trump people or Trump supporters.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Just a reminder: Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony was, as far as we know, truthful. She did not testify as to what happened in the Beast; she testified as to what another Secret Service agent, Tony Ornato, told her happened in the Beast. We don't know at this point why Ornato embellished the story: to impress Hutchinson or because an eye-witness told him the more dramatic story about Trump's lunging at the driver & grabbing the steering wheel. ~~~
~~~ Scott Wong & Kyle Stewart of NBC News: "A House committee investigating the special Jan. 6 committee released a sweeping report Monday that Republicans say demonstrates that four other White House employees did not corroborate key witness Cassidy Hutchinson's dramatic account of ... Donald Trump's actions that day. 'None of the White House Employees corroborated Hutchinson's sensational story about President Trump lunging for the steering wheel of the Beast...,'" says the 81-page target="_blank">report by the House Administration Committee's oversight subcommittee, led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., a section of which was obtained by NBC News in advance of its release.... One of the GOP's top priorities has been to discredit Hutchison...."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Stephen Robinson, in Public Notice, writes that the MSM keep covering Donald Trump as if at any moment he could suddenly "pivot" to normal behavior, and they highlight his "scripted moments" when he says something that is not off-the-wall bigoted, unhinged and/or untrue. The media offer no such possibility for Trump's opponents; rather they have written about Hillary Clinton's "confronting her untrustworthiness" and Joe Biden's delivering a "too-political" SOTU speech that presented a view that was merely "different" from Trump's. Thanks to RAS for the link.
Ella Lee of the Hill: "Peter Navarro, once an economic adviser to former President Trump, has been ordered to report to a Miami prison March 19 to begin serving a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Navarro, 74, was convicted last year on two counts of contempt of Congress -- one for failing to produce documents related to the probe and another for skipping his deposition." (Also linked yesterday.)
Day-One Dictator Vows to Release Violent Insurrectionists. Megan Lebowitz of NBC News: "... Donald Trump said Monday that one of his first acts as president if he wins in November would be to 'free' those charged and convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 'My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!' Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. It appeared to be the first time that he has definitively referred to releasing the Jan. 6 defendants as a Day One priority."
Melissa Quinn of CBS News: "Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge will leave her post atop the department later this month, the White House announced Monday. Fudge has helmed the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, since the start of the Biden administration and is set to depart March 22. President Biden praised Fudge's leadership in a statement shortly after she announced her departure." (Also linked yesterday.)
Mark Walker of the New York Times: "A six-week audit by the Federal Aviation Administration of Boeing's production of the 737 Max jet found dozens of problems throughout the manufacturing process at the plane maker and one of its key suppliers, according to a slide presentation reviewed by The New York Times.... For the portion of the examination focused on Boeing, the F.A.A. conducted 89 product audits, a type of review that looks at aspects of the production process. The plane maker passed 56 of the audits and failed 33 of them, with a total of 97 instances of alleged noncompliance, according to the presentation." ~~~
~~~ Lori Aratani & Niha Masih of the Washington Post: "A former Boeing employee who raised quality-control and safety concerns over the company's aircraft production was found dead this week, according to authorities in South Carolina. John Barnett, 62, was a quality manager with Boeing who retired in 2017 after several decades with the company. He died March 9 from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Charleston County coroner's office said in a statement. The Charleston City Police Department is investigating, it added.... In a 2019 New York Times story, Barnett was one of several whistleblowers who raised quality issues at Boeing's South Carolina plant where the company builds its 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Barnett said he had discovered clusters of metal shavings left near electrical systems for flight controls, which he said could have 'catastrophic' results if the shavings penetrated the wiring." The BBC News story is here.
Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: This past week, both Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) used incidents of violence against women to falsely implicate President Biden and to defend Donald Trump, who has been found liable for raping E. Jean Carroll. ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Britt and her office have responded to the fact checks of the speech with defiance. But their attempted justifications are little better, and [sex-trafficking victim Karla Jacinto Romero] herself has now taken issue with Britt's use of her story.... Britt herself took to 'Fox News Sunday,' where she was asked to weigh in on the fact checks. She claimed that she never intended to suggest this had happened on [President] Biden's watch, but that she wanted to spotlight the human cost of trafficking by the cartels.... In addition to Jacinto's story not involving Biden, the United States or even the border, it also doesn't involve the cartels. Jacinto testified to Congress in 2015 that she was trafficked by a 'professional pimp.'... Pointing to a story that doesn't involve Biden, immigration or the cartels and is two decades old to attack Biden's present-day border policies and warn about the cartels doesn't really make any sense. (You could even make a case that, to the extent U.S. immigration policy is involved at all, the anecdote reinforces the need for an accessible asylum process for victims like Jacinto.)"
Presidential Race
digby: "Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont on CBS urged his supporters to vote for President Biden despite the widespread opposition among them to Biden's continued backing of Israel. 'The fight continues to change Biden's policy in Gaza, but the contrast between Biden and Trump is day and night,' he said. 'The election of Trump would be a disaster for this country and, in my view, the world.'... If you care about Gaza you have to do everything you can to make sure Biden is re-elected. Otherwise, you are consigning them to total hopelessness."
Trump Purges RNC. Josh Dawsey & Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "The new leadership team at the Republican National Committee -- picked by former president Donald Trump -- started firing dozens of employees days after taking over, according to three people.... About 60 people were told they were no longer employed, according to a person with direct knowledge of the changes.... [Trump advisor & newly-installed committee chief-of-staff Chris LaCivita reportedly planned and effected the firings.]... LaCivita also told some contractors that they would not be renewed...." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. The Politico report, which broke the news, is here.
Anatomy of a Trump Speech. Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "On the last Friday in February, the day before the South Carolina primary, Trump took the stage in Rock Hill, S.C., where he spoke for just over an hour and a half. A close examination of his remarks that day offers an anatomy of a Trump rally speech. Like many of his recent speeches, it was long and laden with resentments, offering a dark vision for the nation that terrifies Democrats and animates his Republican base. It touched on recurring themes, including his election denialism, his promise of a sudden transformation in another Trump term and his claims of persecution and martyrdom. Perhaps more importantly, Trump's stump speech provides a road map of what a second Trump term might look like -- fulfilling his promises to root out the so-called 'deep state' of civil servants, harshly cracking down on illegal immigration and crime, and pulling back from the world stage. It also reveals many of his weaknesses as a candidate, such as sometimes slurring his words, confusing names of world leaders and attacking minorities in offensive ways.... One constant [in his stump speech] is that it is certain to contain a slew of falsehoods and mistruths, ranging from hyperbole to outright lies...." (Also linked yesterday.)
The Violent Revolution Is Not Over. Annie Gowen of the Washington Post: "A Republican fundraiser in the Kansas City suburbs on Friday night at which attendees beat and kicked an effigy of President Biden has sparked bipartisan outrage and calls for the GOP leaders responsible for the event to resign. At the 'Grand Ol' Party' fundraising event at the Overland Park Convention Center -- hosted by and promoted on the Facebook page of the Johnson County Republican Party -- attendees paid $100 to $300 a ticket to hear a keynote speech from musician Ted Nugent. It also featured a booth where attendees kicked and swung a foam bat at a mannequin topped with a rubber Biden mask, posts on social media showed." The chairwoman of the Johnson County Republican Party blamed outsiders for the violent incident. "The state GOP ... blamed the incident on an outside exhibitor and a former state party member...." Thanks to RAS for the link.
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Florida. Win for People; Loss for DeSanctimonious. Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: "A lawsuit settlement over Florida's 'don't say gay' statute announced Monday affirms that teachers and students can discuss LGBTQ+ issues and have access to related library books, largely canceling many of the impacts of the signature legislation from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The settlement was immediately praised by rights groups who said it marked a major victory for LGBTQ+ students, teachers and families who were effectively barred from speaking about their own personal lives or loved ones in same-sex relationships." The AP's story is here.
Wisconsin. Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "A group seeking to oust the Republican speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly over his handling of Donald Trump's 2020 reelection loss in the state submitted signatures Monday in hopes of forcing a recall election.... Trump supporters have been persistently targeting [Speaker Robert] Vos since the 2020 election, when Trump narrowly lost Wisconsin.... While Vos launched an investigation into the results, he resisted Trump's pressure to figure out a way to overturn the outcome, calling it impossible and unconstitutional.... In 2022, Trump backed a primary challenger to Vos, who prevailed by a slim margin."
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Haiti. Emiliano Mega of the New York Times: "Haiti's prime minister, who has come under growing pressure to resign as gangs have overrun the country, said late Monday that he would step down once a transitional council had been established, to pave the way for the election of a new president and help restore stability. 'The government that I lead will withdraw immediately after the installation of this council,' Prime Minister Ariel Henry said in a speech posted on social media."
Israel/Palestine, et al.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "A dire shortage of food and ongoing Israeli strikes in Gaza have made for a somber start to Ramadan -- normally a time of dawn-to-dusk fasting and celebration -- after a cease-fire failed to be agreed by the start of the Muslim holy month. A ship loaded with desperately needed humanitarian aid has departed Cyprus for Gaza, as part of the maritime aid corridor announced by the United States and its allies last week.... Israel's military said that approximately 100 rockets were launched Tuesday morning from Lebanon toward the Golan Heights, a disputed strip of land on the border between Israel and Syria. The IDF said its fighter jets struck three rocket launchers used in the attack in response."
Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "A group of Democratic senators urged President Biden on Monday to stop providing offensive weapons to Israel for the war against Hamas until it lifts restrictions on U.S.-backed humanitarian aid going into Gaza. In a letter to Mr. Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, and seven Democrats argued that by continuing to arm Israel, Mr. Biden was violating the Foreign Assistance Act, which bars military support from going to any nation that restricts the delivery of humanitarian aid.... The act says that as soon as the president is made aware that a country is blocking or restricting the delivery of American humanitarian assistance, no U.S. military aid can be provided."
Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "A new American intelligence assessment released on Monday raised doubts about whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel could stay in power, as the C.I.A. director said a hostage deal was the most practical way to halt, at least temporarily, the war in Gaza. The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment expressed concerns about Israel's vision for the end of the war and said that Mr. Netanyahu's right-wing coalition 'may be in jeopardy.' 'Distrust of Netanyahu's ability to rule has deepened and broadened across the public from its already high levels before the war, and we expect large protests demanding his resignation and new elections,' the report said. 'A different, more moderate government is a possibility.' The report predicted that Israel would struggle to achieve its goal of 'destroying Hamas.'"
Ukraine, et al.
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The president of Poland plans to use a White House meeting with President Biden on Tuesday to propose that most NATO countries increase their military spending by at least half to meet what he sees as the growing threat of Russian aggression against Europe and the United States. The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had made clear that NATO must take more seriously the possibility that Moscow would move against one or more members of the alliance. To prepare for that, he said, each NATO country should spend at least 3 percent of its own economy on military needs, up from a current goal of 2 percent."
David Sanger & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "Senior intelligence officials [-- CIA Director William Burns & Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and others --] warned on Monday that without additional American aid, Ukraine faced the prospect of continued battlefield losses as Russia relies on a network of critical arms suppliers and drastically increases its supply of technology from China. In public testimony during the annual survey of worldwide threats facing the United States, the officials predicted that any continued delay of U.S. aid to Ukraine would lead to additional territorial gains by Russia over the next year, the consequences of which would be felt not only in Europe but also in the Pacific.... If the House approved the $60 billion in security assistance for Ukraine that passed the Senate, Mr. Burns said, Kyiv would be able to strike a strategic blow against Russia."
Claudia Chiappa of Politico: "Donald Trump will totally stop funding Ukraine if he wins the U.S. election in November, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said following a meeting between the right-wing figureheads. 'He will not give a penny in the Ukraine-Russia war,' Orbán told Hungarian state media Sunday. 'Therefore, the war will end, because it is obvious that Ukraine can not stand on its own feet.' The longtime allies met last Friday at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, a summit which was lambasted by U.S. President Joe Biden.... According to Orbán, Trump has a 'detailed plan' to end the war in Ukraine, which marries with Hungary's interests. Orbán, who has maintained contact with Putin amid Russia's full-scale invasion, has repeatedly said he is opposed to sending more money and weapons to Kyiv." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
CNBC: "Inflation rose again in February, keeping the Federal Reserve on course to wait at least until the summer before starting to lower interest rates. The consumer price index, a broad measure of goods and services costs, increased 0.4% for the month and 3.2% from a year ago, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. The monthly gain was in line with expectations, but the annual rate was slightly ahead of the 3.1% forecast from the Dow Jones consensus."
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Reader Comments (11)
During the State of the Union speech the other night, Bible Mike glowered and shook his head as President Biden talked about corporations not paying their fair share. Getting away with murder, taxationally speaking. Because, ooooh capitalism! He can’t say that about our great corporations!
Yesterday, in the midst of testifying about shoddy work and use of defective parts on Boeing planes, whistleblower John Barnett, a former Boeing supervisor, was found dead in his truck, of a “self inflicted” gun shot wound. Police were surprised to find that Mr. Barnett had shot himself in the back 27 times, pausing only once to reload.
Okay, I made that last part up, but it seems odd, wouldn’t you say?
And, oh look! Yesterday, on a fight from Sydney to Auckland, a Boeing plane went into a sudden nosedive ejecting 50 passengers from their seats. Whoopsie! This just weeks after the door on another Boeing plane blew off in mid flight. All out!
But hey, Boeing said it was soooorry to hear about Mr. Barnett, that rat bastard who snitched on our shoddy assembly line procedures.
Bible Mike sends his condolences too.
Right.
“That’s the sound of the men, working on the chain gaaaang, well don’t you know, that’s the sound of the men working on the chaaaaiiin gang. All day long they holler…oooh, ahhhh…”
Oh, sorry. Just thinking about Peter Navarro getting ready for his time in the big house. What might Pete do while incarcerated?
Some ideas:
Get a nickname. Big Petey? Pete the Cheat? I dunno…something with street cred vibe, not Pete-er.
Work on his lats. Plenty of time now for lots of reps with the weights.
Learn a cool prison handshake. Talk to the brothers.
Get a prison tat. Something white supremacy-like, maybe?
Join a prison gang. Aryan Brotherhood would be about right.
Learn a new skill. I’m guessing he’s got the white collar crime stuff down pat. Maybe learn some blue collar skills, lock picking, safe cracking, leg breaking…never know when these will come in handy when he does his time and goes back to work for the Trump Crime Family.
Find Jesus.
Affirm, like all other inmates, that his lawyer fucked him.
Shave his head.
Work his way up to supervisor in the prison laundry.
Advise other prisoners on insider trading tips.
Bend over in the shower. Okay, maybe not…
Read the fucking Constitution. At long last.
That Joe Biden is a busy guy. One of the latest (of many) conspiracy
thingies is about those jet trails we all see up in the sky, like, about
30,000 miles away.
One popular theory (MAGAts, no doubt) is that Joe has actually
added some sort of chemicals to those trails, so now we'll call them
'chemtrails.'
Those chemicals are causing wildfires all over the world. Those
chemicals are affecting R's brains (?) so they'll vote for Joe Biden.
Those chemicals are causing flooding all over the world. Those chemicals are causing draught all over the world.
Those chemicals are sterilizing certain sections of the population to
control their reproduction.
Just make up your own and the MAGAts will go with it as long as it
can be blamed on Joe Biden.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/chemtrails-one-most-popular-conspiracy-100037741.html
HR Advice
"Some journalists seem bored by the biggest story of our lifetimes
At the New York Times, the journalists count on politics for amusement. It’s a sporting event, a cage match. Republicans vs. Democrats, Sharks vs. Jets, gladiators vs. lions.
The folks at the Times have settled down with their laptops and their popcorn and they want a good show. But what’s this? A Trump-Biden “rerun”? How annoying. They’re thinking of asking for their money back.
But even with ultra-familiar characters like Trump and Biden, a lot of voters have missed key facts. For example, polling shows low awareness of some of Trump’s most extreme statements. If the media are focusing on candidates’ issues rather than their fashion choices, there’s always more to explore. Which is one reason it’s a huge misreading of our political situation to see this year’s election as a “rerun” of 2020."
Trump's team is trying out the small scale version of their plan to install only loyalists in charge of the government. All RNC personnel not MAGAfied enough had to go. Have to be careful of those social media posts from 5 years ago that were insufficiently loyal. Only team players need apply.
John Oliver takes Trump out of a Trump speech. It's just incoherent babbling.
Any big-money donors should be able to see that DiJiT now controls the R finances, even some of the PACs. And should know that DiJiT always leaves his investors holding the bag, losing their investment while he scarpers. So ... if those donors do provide big bucks, they realize that they are betting that if he is re-elected he will be able to turn public policy and money to the donors' benefits -- it won't be DiJiT's money. Even with Citizens United this situation will produce a lot of easily identified quid pro quo arrangements, which we used to call bribes.
Getting worse every day in every way.
Poor Earth
"Trump Victory Could Add 4 Billion Tonnes to US Emissions by 2030, Analysis Finds
The additional emissions would be equivalent to the combined annual emissions of the European Union and Japan.
This extra 4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2030 would cause global climate damages worth more than $900bn, based on the latest U.S. government valuations."
The real world consequences of promoting hate,
Washington Post "In states with laws targeting LGBTQ issues, school hate crimes quadrupled"
Thanks for imbedding the videos of the Democrats on the "select" committee run by Jungle Gym and Dumbass Comber, or whatever his name is, from KY. I only listened to part of it-- that Robert Hur is quite the slickster, very unruffled, even when called out seriously by the Dems, who made great points. He still does not see that he did anything wrong by insulting Biden just for the hell of it. He at least was honest about NOT recommending gratuitous arrest for god-knows-what...that sets him apart. But it sure rams home the fact that Dems don't play for keeps. They keep appointing R special counsels, leaning over backwards to NOT be accused of being unfair. So sick of it all. I thought Swallwell and Schiff were marvelous, and Dean and Raskin and all the rest put it all out there as contrast to Jailbird Fatso. The sad part is: none of it will be carried by the Poison Network, so the idiots in the south and the midwest and west and yes, in Inner Pennsytucky, will not have a clue what any of them were talking about. If only the MSM would at least list all the cases against Fatty so those that can read MIGHT read it...but I digress. Thanks for the videos-- am saving the Daily Show John Stewart for tomorrow...