Tag: nuclear

Week 13 in Trump

Posted on April 24, 2017 in Politics, Trump

You sunk my battleship!

After a week of raucous town halls, I was expecting there to be a lot of entries under “Stupid Things Politicians Say” but I couldn’t find anything worthy. So here’s what really did happen in Trump’s 13th week.

But first, I missed a few things in the previous week’s recap:

  1. A blast from a suicide car bomber struck several buses that were evacuating civilians from towns around Aleppo, killing over 100 people including children and aid workers.
  2. British intelligence was aware of the links between members of Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives as far back as late 2015.
  3. Paul Manafort borrowed $13 million from Trump-related businesses on the day he left the campaign.
  4. When Trump said that NATO was no longer obsolete, he credited himself with the change, saying his tough stance had made the other countries take their responsibilities more seriously.

 

And now here’s what happened in week 13 under Trump:

Russia:

  1. We learn that the FBI used the Trump dossier to obtain a FISA warrant to surveil Carter Page last year. This means that not only did the FBI think the dossier provided probable cause, but the courts thought so as well, lending credence to the information contained within the dossier.
  2. Documents show that a Russian government think tank developed a strategy to swing the U.S. election to Trump and to undermine our trust in our electoral system. The project was requested by Putin.
  3. U.S. Intelligence announces it’s preparing charges to arrest Julian Assange. A day later, U.K. Election Commission announces an investigation into Leave.EU, the organization behind Brexit led by Nigel Farage. Farage also has ties to Assange and has visited him in the Ecuadorian embassy.
  4. Amidst all the Russian hacking accusations from last year, Trump promised to put together a team to give him a cyber security plan within the first 90 days of his presidency. As of now there is no plan and no team.
  5. Russian military aircraft come near Alaska four times in four days, to be intercepted by American and Canadian fighter jets.

Courts/Justice:

  1. While AG Sessions shuffles the DoJ toward a policy of aggressive law enforcement, as of this week he has not replaced any of the U.S. attorneys who were forced to resign last month. Unless he gets staffed up, he’ll have a hard time getting tougher on crime and immigration.
  2. The DoJ debates bringing criminal charges against members of WikiLeaks over the 2010 leak of military and diplomatic documents, as well as the more recent 2017 leaks around CIA cyber tools. They’re on the hunt for the leakers.
  3. Sessions, speaking of the Hawaiian judge who put a stay on the travel ban, says he is amazed that “a judge sitting on an island in the pacific can issue an order that stops the President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and Constitutional power.” Later, given a chance to walk those comments back, he digs in deeper.
  4. Arkansas puts a prisoner to death for the first time on over a decade. After courts in Arkansas put a stay on the eight executions they wanted to carry out last week (because their execution drugs were expiring), the courts allow the state to go forward in one case. Seven are still on hold.
  5. After Trump’s lawyers failed to make their case that Trump couldn’t be named in a civil suit because he’s president, they argue that protestors had no right to “express dissenting views” during Trump’s campaign rallies.

Healthcare:

  1. Trump debates his next move on the ACA, with certain budget decisions having to be made soon. He can either cut the subsidies and risk pissing off over 11 million people, or he can continue funding, maybe even fix a few things, and risk making it more popular and harder to repeal.
  2. It looks like they’re gearing up to try again next week to repeal and replace the ACA, as House Republicans come up with a new proposal. This version gives states more flexibility, potentially removing protections for those with existing illnesses among other ACA provisions.

International:

  1. The number of civilian casualties in the Mideast has increased dramatically under Trump. It’s unclear if this is from more intensive fighting or policy changes.
  2. Israeli defense officials say that Syria still has chemical weapons.
  3. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May calls for a general election in June though she had previously said she would wait until the regularly scheduled elections in 2020. This could strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations with the EU if she wins. The pound rebounds to a six-month high after the announcement.
  4. Trump calls Turkey President Erdogan to congratulate him on winning his referendum that basically consolidates government powers and sets Turkey on a path away from democracy and toward authoritarianism.
  5. Trump says both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were “outplayed by this gentleman,” referring to Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Un has only been North Korea’s leader since 2012. Bill Clinton dealt with Un’s father.
  6. After a mixup between where the White House thought their warships were and where the warships actually were, the warships are now headed toward the Korean Peninsula.
  7. Vice President Pence pays a visit to South Korea and to the DMZ, putting North Korea on notice that the “era of strategic patience is over.”
  8. The North Korean envoy at the UN warns that they will retaliate in kind to any U.S. strike.
  9. Against Chinese opposition, South Korea is deploying an American missile defense system called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.
  10. While Trump continues to criticize Iran and say they’re not living up to their end of the deal, Tillerson says Iran is sticking to the rules of the nuclear agreement. He also says, though, that the agreement is still being evaluated for its efficacy.
  11. The Trump administration denies Exxon its requested waiver against Russian sanctions in order to complete a business deal with Russian oil company Rosneft. Waivers have been granted in the past, but this specific deal seems to have been frozen in 2014.
  12. China and Russian vessels follow Trump’s “armada” on its way to North Korea, saying they are just there to stabilize the situation.
  13. Trump announces the nomination of former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown to the position of ambassador to New Zealand.
  14. A shooter kills one policeman and wounds another on the Champs Elysees, with ISIS claiming responsibility for his actions. This is backed up by a note found in the gunman’s pocket.
  15. GM pulls out of Venezuela after the government says they’re taking over GM’s car manufacturing plant there. The plant hasn’t put out a car since 2015, and now all those employees are out of a job.
  16. The euro dips leading up to the elections in France. It looks like there will be a runoff election between the two candidates with the most votes, center-left Emmanuel Macron and far-right Marine Le Pen. This election is being billed as a referendum, and all other parties quickly united afterward against the far-right candidate.

Legislation:

  1. The Montana legislature is proposing a strange anti-abortion bill. “The bill, S.B. 282, defines fetal viability at 24 weeks’ gestation and prevents abortions past that point, even in a medical emergency. A pregnant person whose fetus stands a 50 percent chance of survival outside the womb would be forced to undergo a C-section or induced labor. Additionally, under the proposed law, a doctor who provides an abortion past 24 weeks could face charges of homicide.” This is the third anti-abortion bill they’ve put forward this year.
  2. As part of an effort to dismantle some of Obama’s financial regulations, Trump signs an executive order establishing a review of any major tax regulations Obama set last year. He also signed two memos that could change or eliminate parts of the Dodd-Frank reforms. If you remember, these reforms were designed to prevent the “too big to fail” problem from re-occurring.
  3. Trump signs a “buy American, hire American” executive order that directs federal agencies to crack down on fraud and abuse in the H-1B visa program, but that doesn’t change anything about the current program.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. An immigrant protected by DACA is deported. There are varying stories on this, but the gist is that he didn’t have his ID with him and couldn’t prove his DACA status. Within three hours he was back in Mexico with no due process.
  2. In a twist of irony, Judge Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump said last year could not hear his case fairly because he was Mexican, is the judge who will hear the above case.
  3. The border wall, if built, will likely go through the middle of Big Bend National Park.
  4. Controversy continues around the wall over how much it will cost (estimates are anywhere from $20-70 billion) and who will pay (people who send money to Mexico, taxpayers, child tax credits – even if the child is a U.S. citizen, trade revenue).
  5. None of the congressional politicians in border states (Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico) support funding for the border wall.
  6. Due to the new, more restrictive policies on entering the U.S., Emirates airlines starts cutting flights to the U.S. They say that travel demand is down.
  7. Even Canadian travel to the U.S. is down because of the new travel policies. There’s a feeling that America isn’t welcoming like it used to be.
  8. AG Sessions says they can’t promise they won’t deport DREAMers, though Trump says they have no plans to deport DREAMers right now and that they should “rest easy.” Mm-hmm.
  9. Ever since the election, doctors report seeing a surge in children suffering from Trump-related anxiety related. Symptoms include panic attacks and physical pain, such as chest pain and headaches. These children largely belong to the minorities targeted by Trump’s early rhetoric.
  10. Nikki Haley denounces the detention and killing of gay men in Chechnya. If you aren’t following this story, you should be. They are committing horrendous atrocities against the LGBTQ community there.
  11. AG Sessions sends letters to nine jurisdictions, including all of California, requesting proof that they’re cooperating with ICE and threatening that they’ll lose funding if they don’t.
  12. As part of the above, Sessions accuses New York City of being soft on crime, saying that the city is “crumbling under the weight of illegal immigration and violent crime.” Of note, murder is down 82% from its peak, and crime in general is down 76%. NYC crime is at its lowest recorded level in decades.
  13. Though Trump said it was a bad deal, Pence says the U.S. will honor the refugee agreement with Australia.

Climate/EPA:

  1. Even though business leaders listed eliminating EPA regulations as one of the top targets to increase business, many of America’s corporations (from Apple to Wal-Mart) plan to continue their plans to fight climate change and move toward renewable energy.
  2. Not really a climate event, but thousands of scientists and science supporters marched on Earth Day in support of science-driven policy in 600 cities on 6 continents.

Budget/Economy:

  1. The Institute of Library and Museum Sciences is on the chopping block in Trump’s proposed budget. This program finances programs at 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums across the country.
  2. Trump is itching to get rolling on tax reform, but Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says that it’s not realistic to expect that a plan will be signed by August.
  3. I’m not sure if this exactly falls under Economy, but Trump starts an investigation into steel imports, specifically to see whether the U.S. makes enough of its own steel to defend itself if needed.
  4. While Congress is out on recess this week, everyone is bracing for a budget showdown. The money runs out on April 28, and a new budget needs to be passed to avert a shutdown. After weeks of negotiation between Democrat and Republican leaders, Trump says the budget must include funding for the border wall and an increased border patrol; Democrats say no way. Even Republicans say that’s an argument for another time. Looks like it will come down to border wall funding and ACA repeal.
  5. Politicians in Mexico consider retaliatory options to Trump’s constant criticism of Mexico and Mexicans, including aligning with China and reducing their dependence on American goods.
  6. The Dow Jones dips after Trump announces his massive tax cut plan to be presented next week.
  7. After opposition from the U.S., IMF leaders drop a pledge to fight protectionist trade policies, but still say they will work to reduce trade imbalances. Earlier they said that protectionist policies could throw a wrench in the currently improving global growth.

Elections:

  1. Jason Chaffetz says he won’t run again for office in 2018, and he might not even finish out his term. An opponent has out-raised him 4 to 1, and he’s drawn ire for recent comments on the ACA. Rumors abound about his reasons, but nothing holds water yet.
  2. Georgia’s 6th district holds a highly publicized primary election. Big news because this seat has been held by a wide margin by the GOP for decades, but a newcomer Democrat is giving them a run. Jon Ossoff needed just over 50% of the vote to win outright, but he received 48.1% so there’s a runoff between him and the leading Republican, Karen Handel, in June.
  3. Voting machines were stolen from an election officials vehicle days before the Georgia election.

Miscellaneous:

  1. The White House holds the annual Easter Egg Roll. Despite early reports that it would be a fiasco, the event went off fine though with a smaller crowd than previous years.
  2. Todd Ricketts withdraws his nomination to Deputy Secretary of commerce reportedly because it was too hard to divest from his finances well enough to meet the requirements of the Office of Government Ethics.
  3. Trump announces a campaign rally to be held on the same day as the press correspondents dinner.
  4. On the day the Ivanka had dinner with the president of China, she was awarded three Chinese trademarks.
  5. The legal team of fake news master Alex Jones says that his work on InfoWars is performance art and that the character he plays is a persona. Rush Limbaugh has said the same about himself. So for those of you listening to these two for a dose of reality, maybe it’s time to stop. A side note, Trump is friends with and listens to both of these guys.
  6. This isn’t really political news, but Bill O’Reilly and Fox cut ties after his sexual harassment suits become public. He will be paid $10s of millions as part of the exit agreement, and it took advertiser withdrawal to prompt the firing not the alleged sexual misconduct itself.
  7. The public sidewalk in front of the White House is closed indefinitely for safety reasons.
  8. Ivanka hires a chief of staff to assist her in her unpaid role in the White House.
  9. Trump replaces U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy with his deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams.
  10. Alabama politicians are having a rough year. First the Speaker of the House, Mike Hubbard (R) was forced to retire due to multiple felonies. Then Governor Robert Bentley (R) resigned pending impeachment. Now the Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roy Moore, is removed from his position because he (again) told officials they don’t have to follow the Federal Supreme Court rules, this time on same-sex marriage.
  11. A lawmaker in Florida resigns after going on a (possibly alcohol aided) tirade laden with racial slurs.
  12. Trump, reverting to his old narrative, says that people who participated in the Tax Marches across the country are paid protestors.
  13. The main proponent of getting CalExit on the ballot withdraws the petition under controversy. One of the main leaders of the effort has decided to take up permanent residence in Russia. You can’t make this up.
  14. UC Berkeley cancels an upcoming speech by Ann Coulter on fears of violence, but later reverses the decision after receiving criticism. Score one for free speech.
  15. To back up the fact that it’s not UC Berkeley students responsible for violent riots, it turns out that the Patriot’s Day protestors in Berkeley traveled from all over the country to cause trouble there. According to the LA Times, “Many freely admitted they were there to make trouble and that peaceful protest… really wasn’t their goal.” Conversations on social media also show that they were working on ways to smuggle in weapons.
  16. After thousands of peaceful protests across since the election, Kellyanne Conway calls on Democratic leaders to tell people to stop the violent protests. Even though we know about the radical anti-fascists (antifa) and the black bloc instigating most of the violence, as in Berkeley above.
  17. According to an analysis by The NY Times and ProPublica, Trump is filling federal agencies with lawyers and consultants who will be creating policy for the very industries from which they received their last paychecks, setting up a huge potential for conflicts of interest.

Polls:

  1. A recent poll indicates that not only do politics alter both parties’ expectations about the economy, but politics also alter how voters think the economy is actually performing now. Last October, GOP voters in Wisconsin thought the economy had gotten worse over the last year by a margin of 28 points. In March, they thought it had gotten better by a margin of 54 points. Data show that economic indicators haven’t changed much at all, but the political landscape has.
  2. Trump’s approval rating is up a bit, to 42%.
  3. In February, 62% of Americans thought Trump was keeping his promises. That number dropped to 45% in early April.
  4. In February, 59% thought Trump was a strong and decisive leader. That number dropped to 52% in early April.
  5. 36% of Americans see Trump as honest and trustworthy.
  6. On his overall performance, 16% of voters give Trump an A; 24% give him an F. Congress didn’t get very high marks in this Politico poll either.

Week 12 in Trump

Posted on April 17, 2017 in Politics, Trump

In week 12, we had the usual international intrigue, quietly signed resolutions, and a number of policy reversals. I also added a new category, Stupid Things Politicians Say. Sadly necessary.

Here’s what happened last week.

Russian Investigation:

  1. American authorities request the arrest of Russian hacker Peotr Levashov in Spain. His wife had told Russian state media RT that he was one of the hackers involved in the 2016 U.S. elections.
  2. Documents show that Paul Manafort actively courted Trump in order to get a foothold in his campaign. Manafort claims it was the other way around.
  3. Tillerson says Russia needs to confront their meddling in our elections and Europe’s to evaluate how it fits in with their long-term goals. He also says that things won’t improve between our countries as long as this is ongoing.
  4. Both Republicans and Democrats in the House review the documents that Devin Nunes saw at the White House and that he later said unmasked the names of Trump associates who were incidentally surveilled. Members of both parties agree that there’s no there there. Nunes’ original reaction appears to have led to Trump’s accusations of Susan Rice, but it seems Rice hasn’t done anything illegal or out of the usual.
  5. We now know that the FBI obtained a secret FISA warrant last year to surveil communications of Carter Page, who was an adviser to Trump at the time. This indicates that federal agencies had probable cause to think that Page is or was an agent of a foreign power (or in layman’s terms, a spy).
  6. Documents surface that confirm that a pro-Russian political party in the Ukraine made payments to Paul Manafort. This supports the “black ledger” that was found last year with a list of payments along with accusations that money was being laundered through his company.

Courts/Justice:

  1. Neil Gorsuch is sworn in as a Supreme Court justice.
  2. In another strike against gerrymandering, a federal judge upheld a lower court’s 2014 ruling that a Texas voter ID law passed in 2011 had the intent to discriminate against blacks and Latinos. This opens the possibility that certain Texas districts could be placed under preclearance, which means they can’t implement any voting changes without approval from the U.S. Attorney General or the U.S. District Court for D.C.
  3. Gerrymandering continues to be a big issue in the courts – there are at least six active cases. As one radio host told his guest this week “I’m sorry to keep bringing you back on the same goddamn law.”
  4. AG Jeff Sessions plans to end the National Commission on Forensic Science, a scientific partnership to improve forensic science standards. The commission was chartered by Obama in 2013, so I can only assume this is why it’s being disbanded.
  5. It turns out that the money behind Gorsuch’s ad campaign came from the Judicial Crisis Network.
  6. Impeachment hearings begin for Alabama’s governor Robert Bentley. Bentley is accused of using government resources to cover up an affair. He subsequently resigns and is replaced by Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey.
  7. Based on requests from Elizabeth Warren and Elijah Cummings, the GAO announces an investigation into Trump’s transition regarding the use of funds and conflicts of interest.
  8. In response to lawsuits accusing Trump of inciting violence at some of his campaign rallies, his legal team says he is immune from lawsuits because he won the election. Hmmm… they might want to revisit Jones v. Clinton.

Healthcare:

  1. Trump says he wants to renew efforts at repealing and replacing the ACA.
  2. Trump threatens to withhold ACA payments to insurance companies in the billions of dollars in order to cause the healthcare system to blow up. He thinks this will force Democrats to work with him on a solution. Insurance companies warn that this would cause chaos in the individual markets.
  3. The administration later recants and continues to make the payments, possibly because the CBO found that the healthcare exchanges are likely to stay stable and Standard & Poor found that the markets could become profitable, refuting the theory that the ACA is in a death spiral.

International:

  1. The White House accuses Putin of trying to hide Assad’s role in the chemical attack the previous week, and officials think that Putin was aware of the attack before it happened. There is no evidence Russia was involved, though a Russian drone flying over the hospital that Assad later bombed could point to some coordination.
  2. Putin suggests that the chemical attack was a false flag attack, designed by the U.S. to frame Assad. He also compares the U.S. assessment of the Syrian chemical attack to us going into Iraq based on (seemingly incorrect) intelligence over weapons of mass destruction. Even though the results of this attack are readily apparent.
  3. After several days of back and forth over whether it would happen, Tillerson meets in person with Putin. Both agree that relations between our countries are at a low.
  4. Tillerson says Russia has to choose between Assad and the US.
  5. Russia vetoes a UN resolution that would’ve required Assad to cooperate with an independent investigation into the chemical attacks.
  6. Trump hasn’t tried to set up a meeting with Pope Francis during the G7 summit in Italy. This is a pretty unusual omission for a sitting president.
  7. A bomb explodes near the German soccer team’s bus. The suspect is an Iraqi with alleged ties to ISIS, though there is no solid evidence as of now.
  8. Hot on the heels of the 59 tomahawk missiles launched at Syria, the U.S. drops the MOAB (mother of all bombs), our largest non-nuclear bomb, in Afghanistan with the intent to destroy a network of tunnels and caves used by ISIS. It’s reported that 94 ISIS military were killed, and a network of tunnels and caves was destroyed along with weapons and ammunition.
  9. The U.S. warns of using a preemptive strike against North Korea if we suspect they’re going to test a nuclear weapon. North Korea responds by saying they’d strike first.
  10. China mobilizes 25,000 troops and its military is on nationwide alert given the tensions with North Korea. China is urging cool heads and de-escalation between the U.S. and North Korea.
  11. The day before Easter and the day after its annual military parade, North Korea attempted another missile launch which failed, blowing up almost immediately.
  12. A North Korean official says that Trump’s tweets are behind the escalating tensions between us.
  13. In Syria, a U.S. drone attack killed at least 18 Syrian allies in what the Pentagon is calling the worst friendly fire incident in the war against ISIS.
  14. Interesting comparison on support for airstrikes in Syria:
    • In 2013, 38% of Democrats supported them; in 2017, that number is 37%.
    • In 2103, 22% of Republican supported them; in 2017, that number is 86%.

Legislation:

  1. In Alabama, the Senate votes to allow the Briarwood Presbyterian church in Birmingham to form its own police force.
  2. The New York legislature passes a law making tuition at state or city colleges free for residents making less than a specified income. This will be phased in over three years.
  3. Trump signs another resolution overturning Obama-era rules. This reversal allows states to defund clinics that perform abortions even though federal funds legally cannot be used to fund abortions.
  4. Later that same day, Trump signs the 13th resolution overturning Obama-era rules. This reversal cuts a Labor Department regulation that would’ve allowed states and counties to expand retirement savings accounts for people who don’t get those through their employers.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. The North Caroline legislature puts forth a bill to ban same sex marriage in the state. The bill doesn’t make it to the house floor and won’t be heard this year.
  2. Two members of groups labeled as hate groups by the SPLC are assigned to positions in immigration agencies in the White House. John Feere worked at CIS and Julie Kirchner worked at FAIR.
  3. ICE officials stop distributing their weekly report of cities and counties not cooperating with immigration because they kept getting it wrong. This report is required as part of the executive orders signed by Trump in January.
  4. The U.S. tourism industry has upped their estimated losses to $7 billion due to extreme vetting and other travel-related regulations enacted by Trump.
  5. Newly released data show that phones are being searched twice as frequently this year as last year for travelers entering the U.S. The data also show that the searches primarily target Muslims and that the searches are often accompanied by hostile questioning.
  6. AG Sessions toured the U.S./Mexico border and unveiled new guidance for enforcing immigration law.

Climate/EPA:

  1. Scott Pruitt says we should exit the Paris climate accord, which has been endorsed by all but about 20 countries. However, according to the rules of the agreement, it takes three years for a country to withdraw with a one-year waiting period. So it wouldn’t happen until the current presidential term is up.
  2. Trump solicits comments from business leaders on which regulations to get rid of. Not surprisingly the EPA and labor are the two biggest targets. Look for more regulation changes to come around these suggestions.
  3. The EPA proposes cutting programs that protect children (and the rest of us) from lead exposure including lead paint removal regulations and emissions testing, the two largest contributors of exposure to lead. Studies show that exposure to too much lead as a child results in developmental issues and possible violence, and it is largely irreversible.
  4. Trump prepares an order to expand offshore drilling, including Arctic drilling.
  5. 61% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of environmental issues. 79% of Americans under 35 disapprove.

Budget/Economy:

  1. The Trump administration looks to end the federal hiring freeze because of complaints that it’s hampering the government’s ability to get things done. Apparently the freeze increased the VA’s backlog of benefits claims, delayed processing Social Security payments, caused childcare facilities for military personnel to close, and reduced the number of FDA employees working on approving new drugs.
  2. Trump scraps the tax reform platform that was part of his election campaign and starts planning from scratch again. Time is tight, as Mnuchin set an August deadline for the plan.
  3. On top of the infrastructure plan being put on the back-burner, recent governmental actions will reduce infrastructure spending across the country. Cutbacks are largely around train lines and transportation grants.
  4. After Trump says that the dollar is getting too strong the dollar index reaches its lowest level of the month.
  5. The tax bill being drafted includes a repeal of the Johnson Amendment, which is in place to prevent church leaders from making political endorsements.
  6. 60% of Americans say that corporations and the very wealthy are likely not paying their fair share in taxes.
  7. The U.S. and China agree to a 100-day trade plan and avoid a trade war.
  8. The Office of Budget Management plans to send guidance to government agencies telling them to plan for big cuts.

Flip-flops:

In one week Trump changes his stance on a bunch of campaign statements.

  1. During the campaign, we were going to label China a currency manipulator. As of now, China is no longer a currency manipulator.
  2. During the campaign, NATO was an obsolete agency. As of now, NATO is no longer obsolete.
  3. During the campaign, Janet Yellen was ruining the country. As of now, Trump likes and respects Yellen and is considering keep her on.
  4. During the campaign, Trump thought low interest rates might cause a recession. As of now, he supports a low interest rate policy.
  5. During the campaign, Trump said “Our military is in shambles!” As of now, “It’s so incredible. It’s brilliant. It’s genius. Our technology, our equipment, is better than anybody by a factor of five.”
  6. During the campaign, Trump said the U.S. Export-Import Bank was excess garbage and agreed with conservatives on shutting it down. As of now, he says “It turns out that, first of all, lots of small companies are really helped, the vendor companies.”
  7. During the campaign, Trump said he would place steep tariffs on Chinese imports. As of now, he says there will be no 45% tariff on Chinese goods.
  8. During the campaign, Trump pushed a non-interventionist stance in Syria. As of now, he’s not only bombed Syria, but also increased troops on the ground.
  9. During the campaign, Trump promised to eliminate the debt in eight years. As of now, Mick Mulvaney says that was hyperbole.
  10. During the campaign, Wikileaks and Julian Assange were doing a service. As of now, Mike Pompeo says “WikiLeaks walks like a hostile intelligence service and talks like a hostile intelligence service.” He calls Assange a narcissist and a fraud.

Miscellaneous:

  1. In a newspaper interview, Trump appears to distance himself from Steve Bannon and diminished the role he played in the campaign. He won’t say whether he still has confidence in Bannon, and claims he didn’t know Bannon until the campaign even though they met six years ago.
  2. Firemen rescue Ben Carson and his wife from a stuck elevator in an affordable housing complex in Miami.
  3. Trump leaves for Mar-a-Lago a day early this week for the Easter weekend. This is his seventh trip there in 12 weeks.
  4. Betsy DeVos reverses some of Obama’s protections for student loan borrowers, including general auditing and accountability requirements for loaners.
  5. The White House announces that visitor logs will be kept secret. Three agencies sue for access.
  6. Trump’s approval rating ticks up a bit following his shows of force abroad.
  7. In what was expected to be the second biggest day of protest since the election, Tax Marches are held across the country to urge Trump to release his taxes for the past five years as is standard for recent presidents.
  8. Trump again claims the marchers are paid protestors, and I again respond, “where’s my #*$&* money?”
  9. In a Kansas district that Republicans have easily won by double-digit margins for the past 25 years, the Republican candidate won by only 7 points. Trump won by 27% and previous Republican candidates have won by margins greater than 30 points.

Stupid Things Politicians Say:

  1. Spicer puts his foot in his mouth while trying to make the point that those who support Assad are in the wrong: “You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to chemical weapons.” He continued to dig himself deeper instead of just correcting himself.
  2. Defending his vote on internet privacy rules, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R – Wisconsin) says, “Nobody’s got to use the Internet.” Huh? Except anybody who works. Or goes to school. Or really, pretty much anyone in the U.S. who wants any chance at success.
  3. Representative Markwayne Mullin (R – Oklahoma) says at a town hall meeting with constituents, “You say you pay for me to do this? That’s bullcrap.” Then doubling down, he says “I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go.”

Week Five in Trump… And I’m Exhausted

Posted on February 27, 2017 in Politics, Trump

Here’s last week’s recap of what happened. Just a note that I’m not including many things from Trump’s speeches in the recaps unless they’re really newsworthy. There’s just too much in them to call out. Plus this list isn’t getting any shorter!

  1. Several “Not My President” rallies are held in cities around the country, including one in front of Trump Tower in NYC. I get the sentiment, but the fact of the matter is he actually IS the president.
  2. British parliament debates whether to downgrade Trump’s visit from a state visit.
  3. Trump names Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as national security advisor. This is after Petraeus withdrew and Harwood declined when they learned they couldn’t select their own staff (which appears to be under Steve Bannon’s purview).
  4. In his first week, McMaster separates radical terrorists from Islam, saying that terrorists pervert their religion. This contradicts the current attitude in the administration.
  5. Russia begins to put together a psychological profile of Trump for Putin. Their initial conclusion is that Trump is a risk taker and can be naive.
  6. Russian officials have confirmed that they had contact with Trump aides during the 2016 campaign, while Russia was interfering in the election.
  7. The week before Michael T. Flynn resigned, someone delivered a proposal to him outlining how Trump could lift the Russia sanctions.
  8. Texts are hacked from Paul Manafort’s daughter’s phone that indicate threats of blackmail against Manafort. The alleged sender of the texts denies they came from him.
  9. The White House makes a request to the FBI that the they publicly refute media reports about the Trump team’s communications with Russia. Director Comey rejects the request.
  10. Rep. Darrell Issa (R) calls for an independent investigation into the ties between Trump and Russia. Note that this is a huge surprise to me because Issa is a strict party-line guy.
  11. Worries arise about how data might be manipulated going forward (economic indicators, BLS, trade deficit, and so on) as Trump orders the Council of Economic Advisors to use a 3.5% expected GDP growth and then backfill the numbers to make it work.
  12. Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s original campaign manager, concedes that there was no voter fraud in New Hampshire.
  13. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) originally includes both Steve Bannon and Milo Yiannopoulos (both alleged white nationalists). Protests from conservatives get Yiannopoulos removed from the speaker list after he appears to defend pedophelia.
  14. CPAC attendees wave Russian flags while chanting “USA! USA! USA!” Apparently they were pranked.
  15. Continued threats on Jewish centers cause more evacuations. Finally this week, Trump puts out a statement condemning these attacks and anti-semitism in general after a Jewish cemetery is defiled. Following his condemnation, a second cemetery is defiled.
  16. Trump orders the DHS to work with the Justice Department to build a legal case for the upcoming travel ban. He also wants to expand the definition of terrorist activity.
  17. The administration downplays a DHS intelligence report that determined that the “country of citizenship is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of potential terrorist activity,” in direct contradiction to the administration’s argument for the travel ban.
  18. DHS memos expand the priority list for criminal undocumented immigrants to include even petty crimes, like minor traffic offenses. It also includes anyone charged or even suspected of a crime. The memos also outline more aggressive methods and ad restrictions to asylum claims.
  19. DACA immigrants are exempt from the deportation expansion, but PiP immigrants (family of military and vets) are not, which means a soldier’s spouse could be deported at any time if they have not completed the process for legal residency. It should be noted, though, that a few DACA immigrants have been detained despite the exemption.
  20. Trump calls the deportations a military operation. Spicer clarifies he meant that it’s carried out with military precision, which we have already seen is not the case as several high profile people have been detained on entering the US (like Muhammad Ali (son of the great one), Mem Fox, Henry Rousso, a Muslim teacher accompanying his class from the UK).
  21. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officials board a cross-country flight and make passengers show their government-issued documents before they can debark.
  22. Churches around the country unite to help protect undocumented immigrants by creating an underground railroad of sorts. School districts also step up efforts to allay fears of students.
  23. The hiring freeze ordered by Trump causes some military child care programs to close because civilian workers commonly provide this service.
  24. A riot breaks out in Sweden two days after Trump incorrectly called out a non-existent terrorist incident in that country. The riot was not blamed on immigrants. Studies have shown that refugees are responsible for about 1% of crime in Sweden and make up about 1.5% of the population.
  25. Bill O’Reilly has Nils Bildt on his show as an expert to support the narrative on Swedish crime and violence due to immigration. Nils is incorrectly billed as a Swedish national security advisor, though he has lived in the US since 1994 and holds no position in Swedish government.
  26. Congress members come home for the week and are met with a slew of angry or protesting constituents. Many refuse to meet with their constituents or hold town hall meetings. Some claim that angry constituents are not constituents at all, but rather paid protesters. Some take the meetings and call on their colleagues to do the same, recognizing all constituents have a voice.
  27. Emails obtained from EPA head Scott Pruitt show he’s been an ally of the fossil fuel industry and his office frequently coordinated with the industry to roll back EPA regulations.
  28. Trump rescinds Obama’s protections for transgender students. Betsy DeVos opposes this, pitting her against Jeff Sessions, who started the push for it. Sessions goes to Trump, who pushes DeVos to sign off on it. She later calls Obama’s protections “overreach.”
  29. Caitlyn Jenner comes out against the transgender decision, calling it a disaster.
  30. House bill 610, starting a school voucher program, is introduced on the heels of research results showing that vouchers do more harm than good to the students who receive them.
  31. While Trump claimed he reduced the cost of 2 military aircraft, the Air Force can’t find the supposed saving of $1 billion.
  32. Bannon pretty much admits that his job, along with those of the cabinet, is to deconstruct our government.
  33. John Boehner says congress won’t repeal Obamacare. And he laughed about it.
  34. Jeff Sessions proposes a crackdown on marijuana, along with private prison expansion. In other words, we need to keep pot illegal to keep private prisons in business. The US has around 22% of the worlds prisoners, roughly half of which are on drug charges.
  35. Trump says we need to beef up our nuclear arsenal, even though we have 6,800 warheads to Russia’s 7000. The next closest is France with 300. Like Carl Sagan said: “The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.” Trump’s draft budget appears to be requesting a 10% increase in military spending.
  36. Secretary of State Tillerson and and Homeland Security chief Kelly meet with Mexico’s president Nieto to help ease strained relations.
  37. Trump meets with several manufacturing CEOs to discuss a commitment to restoring jobs. However, some CEOs say that there are plenty of openings right now, but there are no skilled workers to fill them (reinforcing the need to support vocational training).
  38. The White House excludes CNN, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico and BuzzFeed from a White House press briefing. AP and Time magazine boycott the meeting in solidarity. President Bush defends a free press, saying it’s necessary to our democracy.
  39. Infrastructure spending seems to be pushed back to 2018.
  40. Bills to curb protests are introduced in 18 states, though several have been shelved already.
  41. Support for the ACA is at an all-time high, with 54% approving and 43% disapproving.
  42. The FCC begins rollbacks that affect the Lifeline program, which provides discount phone and internet service for low-income customers. The internet service is the affected part, and some customers have already been cut off from access.
  43. Since Trump’s election, 6 coal plants have announced closures.
  44. Trump bales on the Correspondents Dinner.
  45. Sean Spicer holds a meeting with his staff regarding the leaks coming from the White House… and the meeting gets leaked.
  46. The nominee for secretary of the Navy, Philip Bilden, withdraws his name from consideration due to complicated business interests.
  47. Sean Spicer accuses The New York Times of incorrectly saying he was born in New England. He was born in Rhode Island, which is a state in New England state. (Update: he might’ve been born in Long Island, but won’t confirm.)
  48. U.S. tourism industry reports a decline in international travelers looking to book travel to the U.S. Some websites report that searches for flights from international locations are down anywhere from 6 to 17%.
  49. Trump spends another weekend at Mar-a-Lago.