How do you burst the bubble of conspiracy theories? How do you unmuddy the waters stirred up by innuendos and lies and fake news? Seriously folks, we all need to be using our powers of rational thinking and logic. There was a time I would’ve said that if something sounds too outrageous to be true, it probably isn’t. But you can’t make up the shit we’re learning about right now. You just can’t.
Here’s what happened in politics for the week ending October 13…
Missing From Last Week:
- A federal judge says that lawsuits brought by Native Americans to prevent Trump from shrinking the Bears Ears National Monument have legal standing and can move forward.
Shootings This Week:
- There are ELEVEN mass shootings in the U.S. this week (defined as killing or injuring four or more people). Condensed version: Shooters kill 20 people and injure 34.
- A shooter at a Jewish synagogue in Germany is foiled when he can’t get in through the doors of the synagogue. He pushes on the doors, shoots at the locks, and even tries a small explosive to force the doors open. Still, he kills two people outside the synagogue, but the 51 people inside are unharmed.
- Gunmen kill 15 people as they’re worshipping in a mosque in Burkina Faso.
Russia:
- The DOJ argues that the grand-jury materials from Robert Mueller’s investigation shouldn’t be given to Congress, arguing that Congress shouldn’t have been able to obtain information from the Watergate grand jury either.
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- The judge’s response to that argument? “Wow. OK….the department is taking extraordinary positions in this case.”
- She says Trump administration lawyers have given her several extreme arguments in their attempts to prevent the release of information.
- The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee releases its second volume of findings in their investigations into Russian interference in our 2016 elections. This volume focuses on the social media disinformation campaign by the Internet Research Agency (IRA). The much-redacted report finds pretty much the same as all previous investigations:
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- Russia meddled in our elections.
- The IRA, backed by the Kremlin, set out to harm Hillary’s chances of winning and assist Trump in winning.
- The IRA’s purpose was to sow discord in the U.S. and they strongly aimed to stoke racial divisions. Russia continues to do this long after the 2016 elections, including exploiting Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel for the anthem.
- The IRA’s activity increased after the 2016 election.
- Russia’s targeting of the 2016 election is part of a larger, sophisticated, and ongoing disinformation campaign.
- We need sweeping changes to protect ourselves from foreign interference, and we need them now.
- Here’s an excerpt of a communication obtained by the committee detailing an IRA employee’s description of election day:
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- “On November 9, 2016, a sleepless night was ahead of us. And when around 8 a.m. the most important result of our work arrived, we uncorked a tiny bottle of champagne…took one gulp each and looked into each other’s eyes…. We uttered almost in unison: ‘We made America great.’” Welcome to Russia 2.0, comrades. Wake up.
- And in the midst of this, Facebook announces they won’t remove debunked political ads from their platform, citing the right to free speech. So if you believe what you read on Facebook, don’t say I didn’t warn you that you’re reading a bunch of lies.
- Also in the midst of this, Mitch McConnell still refuses to take up House bills addressing election fraud, voter suppression, and election security.
Legal Fallout:
- Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says that Trump once asked him to try to get the DOJ to drop a case against an Iranian-Turkish gold trader.
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- Why on earth would Trump be interested in this case? Maybe because Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted the case dismissed.
- The trader, Reza Zarrab, has since agreed to cooperate with the prosecution in the case, which centered on efforts to help Iran evade sanctions by hiding money transfers in gold sales.
- A Turkish official from state bank Halkbank was found guilty in the case, and Zarrab also implicated Erdogan.
- Zarrab was Rudy Giuliani’s client at the time.
- Can we just take a moment to remember that the reason Michael Flynn is in trouble is from his work for Erdogan?
- It’s an up and down week for Trump’s attempts to keep his finances private.
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- At the beginning of the week, a federal judge rules that Trump’s accounting firm must release eight years of his tax returns.
- Then a federal court grants Trump a temporary stay on releasing those returns to the Manhattan D.A.
- But by the end of the week, a federal appeals court rules that the accounting firm must release Trump’s financial records to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. I’m not sure what the implications are for the Manhattan D.A.’s case.
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- Even the lone dissenting judge says that impeachment is the only valid way to get the records (though she doesn’t actually say that would work).
- In case you’re wondering, the judges rejected the argument that sitting presidents can’t be criminally investigated.
- A judge rules that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has been violating a court order by continuing to collect student debts for a college that has folded. The judge threatens her with jail time.
- Attorney General William Barr meets with Rupert Murdoch. Who knows what they talk about, but two days later, Shepherd Smith announces his last day at Fox News.
- Trump Organization refuses to pay the Scottish government’s legal costs in Trump’s failed lawsuit to block a wind farm near his golf course.
Impeachment:
Including all this info just makes this too long, so I moved it out into its own post. You can skip right over to it if that’s your focus.
Courts/Justice:
- The Supreme Court Justices decide on what they’ll hear in the next session. Jumping right into the political fray, they’ll hear cases about abortion, guns, LGBTQ rights, separation of church and state, immigration, congressional oversight, and presidential power.
International:
Syria/Kurds:
- Trump’s surprise announcement about abandoning our Kurdish allies in Syria alarms the rest of our allies for its sheer impulsiveness.
- U.S. troops begin to withdraw from the area.
- The Pentagon, the State Department, soldiers on the ground in Syria, and even Republican Members of Congress harshly criticize Trump’s decision, and Trump seems surprised by this.
- Trump defends the move, saying it’s time to get out of these endless wars. But he’s just moving those troops to Iraq; he’s not bringing them home. He also defends himself by saying that the Kurds didn’t help us with Normandy, a line he got from a Fox contributor (and since when is that how we measure our allies?).
- Trump invites Turkish President Erdogan to the White House.
- Turkey says they want to combat Kurdish soldiers in the border area and create a safe zone for Syrian refugees now living in Turkey.
- The White House says we’ve defeated the ISIS caliphate, but experts say ISIS is regrouping already. They also say this is the most destabilizing move we could’ve made.
- Trump threatens Turkey if they do anything Trump thinks is off-limits. But Turkey immediately mobilizes their forces at the border and begins their assault against the Kurds, launching airstrikes and firing artillery. In other words, they’re bombing the Kurds.
- The White House says that Turkey will take over control of over 12,000 suspected ISIS fighters captured and held by Kurdish allies. The U.S. takes custody of two ISIS militants known for beheading their enemies. Some ISIS militants escape after Turkish forces start shelling nearby areas.
- Kurdish civilians begin to flee, and some soldiers begin to leave their posts to go home and protect their families. These are people who were forced to flee ISIS fighters just a few years ago. International Rescue Committee estimates 64,000 people have already fled, and that number could end up being more than 300,000.
- Turkey strikes at least six towns along the border, killing at least two dozen people and critically injuring 19, mostly civilians and several children.
- The fighting escalates on the second day after Trump’s announcement, and Saudi-backed Syrian fighters join in, killing Kurdish captives. A Kurdish politician is also killed. This whole thing has just tossed fuel on Syria’s 8-year-long war.
- To be clear, Turkey, a NATO nation, bombed an area where hundreds of U.S. troops were stationed. What could go wrong? Maybe this: A contingent of U.S. Special Forces is caught in Turkish artillery fire, and they withdraw instead of firing back. Because we’re not at war. Right? Are we?
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- The U.S. forces say Turkey targeted them.
- Even with this, the order to withdraw all U.S. troops from the area doesn’t come until the end of the week.
- A National Security Council member says Trump got rolled and out-negotiated by Erdogan.
- The Secretary of Defense and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff both call their counterparts in Turkey to try to get them to back down.
- Even Russia blames the U.S. for the chaos at the Syrian border.
- Trump says he’ll move some troops from Syria to Saudi Arabia. Also, the Pentagon says they’re sending 1,800 troops to Saudi Arabia to protect their oil fields from alleged attacks from Iran. One Saudi prince admits they really don’t know where the U.S. stands on Syria.
- Trump has two towers in Turkey, one residential and the other offices, in a single complex with a shopping mall and theaters.
- The UN calls an emergency meeting of the Security Council to condemn Turkey’s attack on our Kurdish allies. Russia opposed the condemnation, as did the U.S. (despite Trump’s claims that he’d hold Turkey in check).
- The bombing of four Syrian hospitals within a 12-hour period in May has been traced back to the Russian Air Force.
Other International:
- Trump says he’s thinking about withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty, which is seen as a cornerstone of global defense. The treaty lets us monitor Russian military deployments and lets them monitor ours. The treaty has 34 signatory countries.
- The State Department announces they’ll impose visa restrictions on certain Chinese government officials believed to be responsible for the detention and surveillance of Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups.
- Military generals agree on a few things about Trump’s military leadership:
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- He isn’t interested in policy details and disdains expertise and process, and thus he makes ill-informed decisions.
- He thinks his own gut feelings are genius, and only trusts his own instincts.
- He’d rather keep perceived enemies confused than stick to a strategy, increasing the risk of a miscalculation.
- He likes others to agree with him but is himself a contrarian.
- His ideas of the military are simplistic and outdated.
- He’s risked unnecessary wars and created major problems for his field commanders in combat operations. They’re saving his hide right now.
- A U.S. peace envoy meets with the Taliban for the first time since Trump canceled the Labor Day weekend peace talks with the Taliban and Afghan government.
- Violent protests continue in Ecuador until the president comes to an agreement with protestors to end austerity measures. Protestors and officials both help clean up the residual mess.
- The Hong Kong protests have been ongoing since March, and protesters just upped their game by using flash mob tactics to avoid arrest. I don’t mean to make light of it; the protests have been violent and destructive at times, and many of the citizens are tired of it.
Border Wall/Shutdown/National Emergency:
- Yet another federal judge rules that Trump’s emergency declaration to fund his border wall is unlawful. The complainants argued that the wall didn’t qualify as an emergency and Trump overstepped his authority.
Family Separation:
- Loopholes in our immigration laws let judges grant custody of migrant children to American parents without notifying the deported parents of those children. In some cases, foster families ignore requests from the Department of Homeland Security to return the children. This isn’t new to the Trump administration.
Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:
- A white police officer called to investigate a home late at night because the front door was open shoots the black women inside playing video games with her nephew. The woman, Atatiana Jefferson, heard noises outside so she stood up and got her handgun. That’s when the officer shot her through the window, without announcing himself and without warning. He’s charged with murder. He also resigns.
- Contradicting all medical science, a Florida judge rejects a Tampa ordinance banning conversion therapy for LGTBQ minors because he says it limits parental rights to make healthcare choices for their kids.
- Over 100 activists are arrested at a protest outside the Supreme Court while they heard arguments for three LGBTQ employment cases.
- Two towns in Alabama—Montgomery and Talladega—elect their first black mayors.
- Three separate courts block Trump’s efforts to keep low-income immigrants out of the country (his “public charge” rule).
Climate:
- The climate change activist group Extinction Rebellion holds demonstrations and die-ins across the globe, closing down streets and at times vandalizing public property. The group says the demonstrations will last for two weeks.
- Almost 600 former EPA officials call for an investigation into the Trump administration’s treatment of California. They accuse the administration of abusing their authority by retaliating against California officials for not following Trump’s political agenda.
- The House Science Committee finds that Commerce Department officials, not NOAA staff, were responsible for issuing the statement rebuking National Weather Service staff in Alabama who contradicted Trump’s warning that Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama hard.
- Typhoon Hagibis is the largest to hit Japan in decades. It causes widespread flooding, leaves at least 35 dead, and injures 166 people.
- Arctic ice melt has started a power struggle in the area because it’s opened up access to oil and gas reserves. Every country wants a piece of it.
Budget/Economy:
- Employment grew more in Obama’s first 31 months than it did in Trump’s first 31 months (1.5 million more). In fairness, Obama started out with a lot more room to grow than Trump did.
- According to Pro Publica, the new limits on state and local taxes and to mortgage interest deductions resulted in a reduction or plateau in home values in some areas. Areas in the Northeast and Chicago saw the biggest drops.
- In 2018, for the first time on record, the 400 wealthiest Americans paid the lowest tax rate of all income groups. People who’re making more than $1 million per year paid a lower tax rate than all of us. Is that how anybody really thinks this should work?
- The U.S. and China announce an interim trade deal, a truce if you will. China will buy more agricultural products and start to open its economy, and the U.S. won’t implement the planned tariff hikes.
- The Treasury Department considers rolling back a rule designed to prevent American companies from moving money offshore in order to avoid taxes.
Elections:
- In response to Facebook refusing to remove an ad from the Trump campaign smearing Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren takes out a Facebook ad claiming that Mark Zuckerberg endorsed Trump. She then goes on to explain that it’s a lie, but Facebook wouldn’t take the ad down even knowing it was full of lies.
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- Several media outlets refuse to air Trump’s ad because it’s full of misinformation.
Miscellaneous:
- Trump awards former Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese with the Medal of Freedom, one of our highest civilian honors. Meese was directly implicated in three scandals under Reagan, including the Iran-Contra affair.
- The Oath Keepers say they’ll protect Trump supporters at his rally in Minneapolis, which draws an enormous protest outside the arena. Several neighboring businesses donate their proceeds for the day to groups like Planned Parenthood.
- Trump is mad at the rally, under pressure from impeachment hearings. And it shows. As one person put it, his words “were stunning in ugliness & tone.”
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- He targets Representative Ilhan Omar and Somali refugees in the city with the largest concentration of Somali refugees. He says he’d protect cities like Minneapolis from refugees they don’t want.
- He as much as says that Somalis bring violent ideologies to our shores. He calls Omar an “America-hating Socialist.”
- He says the Bidens got rich off Americans, though there’s no evidence of that. Also, with his kids making international deals left and right, he shouldn’t be pointing any fingers.
- He says Biden “was only a good vice president because he knew how to kiss Barack Obama’s ass.”
- He calls Speaker Nancy Pelosi “really stupid.”
- One of the few voices of truth on Fox News, Shepherd Smith, announces his sudden departure from the network to explore “another chapter.” This comes at a time when tensions between the opinion division (Carlson, Hannity, Perry, Ingraham, etc.) and the news division (Smith, Baier, Wallace, etc.) are at a peak. Do you suppose this is what Barr and Rupert Murdoch met about the other night? If I were Brett Baier or Chris Wallace, I’d be polishing my resume.
- Mark Zuckerberg has been having informal meetings with conservative politicians and journalists. He’s discussing free speech and partnerships.
Polls:
- A Fox poll indicates a record high level of support for impeachment.
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- 51% want Trump impeached and removed from office.
- 4% want him impeached by not removed from office.
- 40% are opposed to impeachment.
