Trump just can’t go anywhere anymore. On top of getting booed at the World Series last week, this week he gets booed at the Ultimate Fighting Championship at Madison Square Garden. You’d think the UFC crowd would be a little more Trump-friendly. But then Trump, a life-long New Yorker, just changed his residence to Florida because New York officials are mean to him. Or so he says.

Here’s what happened in politics for the week ending November 3…

Shootings This Week:

1. There were ELEVEN mass shootings in the U.S. this week (defined as killing and/or injuring 4 or more people). Shooters kill 16 people and injure 39 more. Here are the most deadly:

• • A shooter (or shooters) kills 3 people and injures 9 at a Halloween party in a park in Long Beach, CA.
  • A shooter kills 4 family members in a home in West Philadelphia, PA. The shooter is the oldest son of the woman he killed.
  • A shooter kills 5 people and injures 3 more in Orinda, CA, on Halloween. The shooting could be related to another quadruple murder that happened in 2015.

Russia:

1. A judge rules in favor of a FOIA request for the release of Robert Mueller’s witness interview notes. The DOJ must continue to release the notes, and will do so monthly to CNN and Buzzfeed, the agencies that filed the FOIA request. Here are a few things we learn from the notes:

• • Caveat: I didn’t read the handwritten notes very closely because they’re pretty hard to decipher.
  • Trump and Trump campaign officials repeatedly discussed how they could get access to the hacked DNC emails that they knew were stolen.
  • According to Rick Gates, the campaign was “very happy” that a foreign government helped to release the hacked DNC emails. After the emails were hacked, Trump told Gates that more leaks were coming.
  • Michael Flynn offered to use his intelligence sources to get the emails.
  • Along with Trump, these guys also expressed interest in getting the emails: Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, Corey Lewandowski, Jeff Sessions, Sam Clovis, Donald Trump Jr., and someone whose name is redacted.
  • Sean Hannity was an integral part of the campaign.
  • The RNC worked to amplify the WikiLeaks releases of the stolen documents, and appeared to be aware of the timing of those releases.
  • The conspiracy theory that Ukraine hacked the DNC and not Russia (like all our intelligence agencies found) appears to have originated with Konstantin Kilimnik. Paul Manafort was pushing that conspiracy theory back in 2016. Michael Flynn was also adamant that Russia wasn’t behind the DNC hack. All this mucking around in conspiracy theories is how Trump ended up in this impeachment process—he repeated uncorroborated rumors from a pro-Russian agent instead of trusting our own intelligence.
  • Steve Bannon was pushing the Uranium One conspiracy theory and was convinced that’s what Hillary’s “missing” 33,000 emails were about.
  • Trump wants an Attorney General who will protect him. He finally got that in William Barr, that’s for sure.
  • Erik Prince advised the campaign on the East and Mideast. He also questioned Russia’s involvement in the 2016 elections.
  • The notes are highly redacted. In fact, they’re so redacted that it’s hard to get much that’s new from them. Since much of this document relates to Rick Gates’ testimony, I would assume much of the redacted information relates to Roger Stone’s upcoming court case.

2. The Trump administration appeals a ruling requiring that the DOJ give the House Judiciary Committee material related to Mueller’s report.

• • A federal appeals court places a temporary hold on that material until it can be determined whether to block the release during the entire appeals process.

Legal Fallout:

1. Bob Menendez calls for an investigation into whether Mike Pompeo’s trips to Kansas involve campaign activities and are thus a violation of the Hatch Act, which limits such activities for federal employees.
2. Trump uses his large network of donors to raise funds for GOP Senators facing tough races. Normally not a big deal, unless you’re facing a possible impeachment trial in the Senate. Richard Painter, a former ethics lawyer for the White House, says that this looks like “felony bribery.” All of the Senators in question signed on to a resolution condemning the impeachment inquiry.

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:

1. In Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan’s confirmation hearing to become Ambassador to Russia, he agrees that it’s not appropriate for the president to use his office to solicit investigations into his domestic political opponents. “I don’t think that would be in accord with our values.”

• • However, he also expresses a lack of curiosity or care about the current policies on Ukraine.
  • He also generally agrees with the threat from Russia in the realms of cybersecurity and their expansion in the Mideast.

2. The American Bar Association rated Trump’s judicial nominee Lawrence VanDyke not qualified. In a particularly harsh assessment, their report says he’s “arrogant, lazy, an ideologue, and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice.” He breaks down over it during the hearing.

Healthcare:

1. A judge temporarily blocks Alabama’s latest restrictions on abortion, which would’ve made it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion in almost all circumstances. The law was designed to push the limits of Roe v. Wade in order to get it pushed to the Supreme Court. It’s notable that Alabama has tried to pass several abortion restrictions this year, but courts have blocked them all.
2. Missouri’s Health Director was keeping tabs on the menstrual cycles of women who were patients at a Planned Parenthood. He claimed to be tracking failed abortions (he thought there were four of them).
3. Missouri requires pelvic exams before medication abortions, so Planned Parenthood doesn’t offer medication abortions.
4. The Senate rejects a resolution that would’ve overturned a Trump administration rule that allows states to ignore parts of the ACA. Trump’s rule makes it easier for states to prioritize “junk” insurance policies that don’t meet ACA requirements.

International:

1. Russia replaces the U.S. flag at a Syrian military base with the Russian flag.
2. Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney didn’t know about the raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi until after it was underway. The chief of staff is generally front and center to any major presidential actions.
3. Protests in Chile continue despite President Sebastián Piñera reversing the subway fare increase that started the whole thing. He also reversed an increase in electricity charges, raised minimum wages and pension benefits, raised taxes on the rich, and made changes to his cabinet. Chile is normally a stable country.

• • Because of the protests, Chile’s President Piñera cancels the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in November and the UN Climate Summit in December. Trump had hoped to sign his phase 1 trade agreement with China at APEC.

4. Protests also continue in Hong Kong, where protestors are asking for U.S. help. They think the U.S. can save Hong Kong from losing their democratic rights.
5. Governments in Iraq and Lebanon agree to resign as a result of the protests in those countries. In Lebanon, they’re protesting corruption and a stagnant economy.
6. Trump withholds $105 million in security aid for Lebanon two days after the country’s prime minister resigns. This could be completely legit, but because we can’t trust Trump with foreign relations anymore, it comes off as suspect. The State Department says that the White House budget office and National Security Council made the decision, but doesn’t give a reason for it. Congress, the Pentagon, and the State Department oppose the move. Gosh, this all sounds so familiar…
7. Catalonian protestors start up again in Spain, calling for Catalan independence.
8. Remember the Turkish cleric that Michael Flynn was trying to help Erdogan extradite to Turkey? Well, this week we learned that Trump looked into cutting funding for the schools he runs.
9. British Parliament gives Boris Johnson the December election he asked for.

Border Wall/Shutdown/National Emergency:

1. Using commercially available reciprocating saws, smugglers in Mexico have sawed through new sections of Trump’s border wall, leaving openings big enough for people to pass through (and obviously big enough for drugs to pass through). Reciprocating saws can be bought for as little as $100. According to engineers, it’s the new design of the fences that make it so easy to breach.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

1. A federal judge changes his previous ruling and reopens part of Nicholas Sandmann’s lawsuit against The Washington Post for misrepresenting the situation over his confrontation with a Native American protestor. Sandmann was wearing a “Make American Great Again” cap at the time of the confrontation. I have a feeling that this case might initiate some changes to video journalism.
2. The Trump administration announces they’ll no longer enforce an Obama-era rule that required child welfare providers who accept federal funds to not discriminate against people based on religion.

• • Obama’s rule prevented faith-based organizations in the foster system from discriminating against prospective adopters because of closely held religious beliefs.
  • Trump’s ruling reduces the pool of accepting parents who will be allowed to foster through certain organizations.

3. Trump appoints the current undersecretary of strategy and policy at DHS to be the new acting head of DHS… to replace his previous acting head of DHS.
4. Attorney General William Barr limits the options immigrants have to fight deportation by getting rid of existing paths to legal immigration for people with minor or old criminal convictions.
5. October will end with no refugees admitted to the U.S. for the month. Trump placed a moratorium on refugees and delayed it twice, canceling around 500 flights at taxpayer expense.

Climate:

1. The government of the U.K. halts fracking in England.
2. The Keystone Pipeline spills over 380,000 gallons of sludgy tar sands oil in a wetland area in North Dakota. The pipeline transports a mixture of clay, water, bitumen (a think oil), and a combination of chemicals that help it flow. The chemicals disperse fairly quickly, but unlike regular oil, the tar sands oil sinks. The wetlands will likely be unable to be completely restored.
3. Jane Fonda is arrested for the fourth consecutive week for protesting inaction on climate change.
4. Taking a page from their U.S. counterparts, 15 young Canadians file a lawsuit against their government for not taking acting against climate change.
5. The Ocean Cleanup project starts cleaning plastic out of rivers to stop it from draining into the ocean in the first place.
6. The International Energy Agency publishes the results of a study that they say shows that offshore wind turbines could power every home and every business on the planet.
7. Murray Energy files for bankruptcy, becoming the eighth coal mining company to file for it in the past year.
8. General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, and Toyota side with the Trump administration in the battle for California to retain its waiver over federal fuel emission standards. Other automakers, including Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, and BMW, have already reached a deal with California.
9. The EPA announces they’ll weaken limits on coal-power plant releases of heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and mercury.

Budget/Economy:

1. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, is considering moving his company’s Manhattan headquarters to U.S. cities with cheaper costs and better tax benefits. Just another victim of the 2017 tax reform.

• • Dimon does say the reason is partly to protect the company from a looming economic downturn, and JPMorgan is just one of several companies rolling back spending over fears of a global recession (though economists don’t see this in our near future).
  • More companies are also stocking up on their cash reserves instead of making risky bets.

2. While expressing optimism in general about the economy, high net worth individuals and business owners also have more of their assets in cash than is typically recommended. Globally, investors have 27% of their holdings in cash.

• • This could help cushion the effects of a recession for them, should it happen.

3. The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by a quarter point for the third straight quarter, so they’re still protecting the economy from risks created by the trade wars, a slowing housing market, and sluggish manufacturing numbers. Feds suggest that this is likely the last reduction for a while.
4. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had planned to sign their Phase 1 agreement at the APEC Summit in Chile this month. With Chile canceling APEC, they have to look at a different venue.
5. The stock market pops on the 3-month extension for Brexit, a possible first-phase agreement in the U.S.-China trade war, and the Fed’s interest rate cut.
6. The U.S. economy added 128,000 jobs in October and unemployment ticked up just a bit to 3.6%. The jobs numbers beat expectations, but they were set pretty low.
7. Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s worried Trump will shut down the government again, this time over the impeachment process.
8. Trump threatens to end federal aid to California in no less than twelve tweets in one day. Maybe California should stop sending funds to the federal government?
9. The UAW comes to an agreement with GM and Ford, ending the six-week-long workers’ strike. Both sides agree to a 4-year labor plan.
10. The Senate passes four spending bills to keep up operations at the departments of Agriculture, Transportation, and Interior. The majority of funding, which runs out on November 21, is being held up in a fight over the border wall.
11. The White House considers another set of tax cuts to be announced during the 2020 presidential campaign. It’s designed to help Republicans run on a message of a strong economy.

Elections:

1. Freshman Congresswoman Katie Hill (D-CA) resigns over rumors of an affair with a congressional staffer (which is against the rules of Congress and which she denies), an affair with a campaign staffer (which she confirms but which isn’t against the rules), and the publication of intimate and nude photos.

• • Her reason for not fighting this is that she was warned there are 700 pictures that would be released bit by bit to keep it in the news.
  • Also, her political competitors made posters out of some of the pictures and posted them around Hill’s parent’s town.
  • One of the leakers worked for the campaign of the Republican incumbent that Hill beat in 2018. That incumbent, Steve Knight, is running for her seat now.
  • George Papadopoulos, the guy who started the whole Russia investigation, also files to run. Somehow I don’t think he’ll get the RNC’s backing.

2. A court hands North Carolina Republicans another gerrymandering defeat, ruling that the current congressional districts cannot be used for the 2020 elections. Likely, they’ll need to redraw the districts to be less discriminatory. I have literally lost count of the number of times these districts have been ruled unconstitutional. A previous ruling on gerrymandering in the state said the lines targeted African Americans with surgical precision.
3. Twitter announces they’ll stop accepting any political ads across their platform.
4. The top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee says he won’t run for reelection next year. Greg Walden is the 22nd House Republican to retire, resign, or run for another office.
5. Upon the impeachment vote, the National Republican Congressional Committee sends boxes to the offices of vulnerable Democrats in purple/red districts. Apparently, they didn’t think through government security procedures and got called in for questioning.

• • Democrats tell them that when they get done with being questioned, let us put those boxes to good use by using them for our canned food drive for Thanksgiving.

6. Georgia plans to purge around 315,000 voters from the voter rolls before the 2020 elections if they don’t return their cancellation notices. This is about 4% of registered voters.

Miscellaneous:

1. Trump changes his legal residence from New York to Florida. People say it’s because of his tax reform and reduction of SALT deductions, but property taxes will still be the same no matter where he lives.
2. After Joe Biden criticizes Trump for appointing Ivanka and Jared Kushner to White House positions, Kushner says that most of his job has been cleaning up Biden’s messes.
3. Trump adds his personal pastor to the administration in an official capacity. Paula White is a televangelist who will oversee outreach and advise the Faith and Opportunity Initiative. The initiative is designed to give religious groups a bigger voice in government. I wonder if it includes Muslim voices? Buddhist? Bahai?
4. Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook won’t police political speech, even if it’s blatantly false.
5. Thousands of protestors gather at Trump Tower in Chicago during a fundraiser for Trump and Pence.

Polls:

1. 55% of Americans think what Trump did regarding Ukraine is out of line, but only 49% say he should be impeached and removed from office.
2. 78% of Fox News watchers agree that the impeachment inquiry is like a lynching. 66% of voters overall think the White House should comply with House subpoenas.
3. 54% of Americans think Trump has made us less respected globally; 28% say he’s made us more respected.