Fox News Asks: What Has HAPPENED?! July 17, 2018July 17, 2018 Watch. Even Fox News gets it. And you probably saw John McCain: “The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate.” The president has broken his oath to protect and defend. All but he and Putin acknowledge that we have been attacked and will continue to be attacked. He embraces our attacker. How is that not worse — indeed, orders of magnitude worse — than that for which the Republican House of Representatives impeached President Clinton? David Frum writes in the Atlantic: . . . The reasons for Trump’s striking behavior—whether he was bribed or blackmailed or something else—remain to be ascertained. That he has publicly refused to defend his country’s independent electoral process—and did so jointly with the foreign dictator who perverted that process—is video-recorded fact. And it’s a fact that has to be seen in the larger context of his actions in office: denouncing the European Union as a “foe,” threatening to break up nato, wrecking the U.S.-led world trading system, intervening in both U.K. and German politics in support of extremist and pro-Russian forces, and continually refusing to act to protect the integrity of U.S. voting systems—it all adds up to a political indictment, whether or not it quite qualifies as a criminal one. . . . Yep. We all watched. It’s time for Republican patriots to fulfill their oath of office.
Treason July 16, 2018July 16, 2018 Have you read the indictment? We’re under attack by our leading adversary of the last 70 years. (“The ORGANIZATION sought, in part, to conduct what it called, ‘information warfare against the United States of America.'” . . . “By in or around May 2014, the ORGANIZATION’s strategy included interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, with the stated goal of ‘spread[ing] distrust toward the candidates and the political system in general.”) Apprised of the indictment three days before it was released, Trump chose to go forward with his Putin meeting. About the joint press conference he and Putin held a few hours ago, former CIA director John Brennan tweeted — as you’ve doubtless seen by now — Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you??? Where indeed? Is Putin really the good guy here and the FBI and Mueller (and Canada) the threats to our nation’s safety? Really?
$100 Of High-End Stuff Free — With Free Shipping July 16, 2018July 15, 2018 If you have an AmEx card, ShopRunner offers FREE SHIPPING. Check it out. If it’s a platinum Amex, get $100 a year of free stuff from SAKS — check it out and enroll here. With Shoprunner enabled, it ships free as well. (Thanks, Brian!) Jim B.: “The donation page you frequently link to puts me off when the suggested amount starts at $1,000. It doesn’t seem democratic. Makes my $20 donation feel cheap!” ☞ The main DNC donation page starts at $10. Until we outlaw big money in politics — as we desperately should — my focus has of necessity been on “major donors” and so have a page that notifies me who’s given so I can send my thanks. Out of laziness — or perhaps wishful thinking — I just use that same page here. It welcomes contributions of any size in the “other” box, whether $20 or $200,000. If you visit the biennial Farnborough Air Show outside London this week, you’ll see WheelTug’s booth, one of the few with an “upstairs” for private meetings. Tim Couch: “What ever happened to Borealis’ other assets? Like iron ore?” ☞ Good question. Their iron ore hopes proved to be pipe dreams . . . though they still own deposits that could in some century prove valuable. Their other efforts — all high tech — is largely dormant while they try to make a fortune from WheelTug (that could fund the rest many times over). WheelTug, while speculative, is very much real. A great deal of talent and effort are working to make it happen. Fingers tightly crossed.
Agent Strzok July 13, 2018July 13, 2018 Peter Strzok was fired from the Mueller probe for damning texts he exchanged with his girlfriend. (Like Colin Powell, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Barbara Bush, Karl Rove and so many others, they thought it would be a disaster if Trump won.) Turns out, he sent damning texts about Hillary and Bernie, too. And especially damning texts about the Russians. Turns out, further, that the FX series, The Americans, is based on a counter-espionage case he successfully oversaw. Rachel Maddow had that whole amazing story Wednesday. (And then another about Paul Manafort.) But if you listen to nothing else, listen to Stzrok’s brief opening statement yesterday. It’s hard for me to imagine anyone, after doing so, doubting his integrity — let alone siding with Devon Nunez or Trey Gowdy or any of the other Republicans working so hard to quash and discredit the Mueller probe that has already led to multiple indictments and guilty pleas. (They who ran eight investigations of Benghazi, which amounted to exactly nothing.) Okay. There’s that. Here’s this: In addition to the help he got from Putin,* Trump used “health care” to get elected. He promised “everybody great health care at a tiny fraction of the cost” (just as he would “absolutely” release his tax returns if he ran for president). But, as Krystal Ball notes in this quick take, he is doing the opposite. Krystal started the People’s House Project to recruit and support candidates like Richard Ojeda who are going to win in unlikely places. (Paratrooper Richard Ojeda is redefining what it means to be a Democrat in a deeply red state.) Because we really have to fix this nightmare. There are so many reasons! The insanity of rejecting the Paris Climate Accords . . . the insanity of rejecting the Iran nuclear deal (a million times better than the North Korea “deal” that’s thus far no deal at all) . . . the insanity of rejecting the Transpacific Partnership and handing our leadership to China . . . the insanity of starting a trade war. With Canada! The insanity of allowing a vulgar, incompetent, constantly-lying, sociopath to decimate the State Department, attack the intelligence community, brand the press “the enemy of the people,” and wreck America’s standing in the world. Under Trump’s leadership, even breast feeding is under attack: Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution by U.S. Stuns World Health Officials. A resolution to encourage breast-feeding was expected to be approved quickly and easily by the hundreds of government delegates who gathered this spring in Geneva for the United Nations-affiliated World Health Assembly. Based on decades of research, the resolution says that mother’s milk is healthiest for children and countries should strive to limit the inaccurate or misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes. Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations. . . . I inherited the happy gene, so think the mid-terms will produce a massive reaction to this insanity. America will begin, at least, to pull out of its tailspin. But it’s no sure thing. Have a great weekend. *Remember, whatever Trump and his team may have had to do with it, it is the unanimous conclusion of our intelligence community that the Russians worked to help him win. It is ridiculous to imagine that had no effect on anyone’s vote.
It’s Up To Us To Fix This, Argues Frum July 12, 2018July 12, 2018 Yesterday’s post included David Frum’s prophetic and enlightening piece in the March 2017 Atlantic, How to Build an Autocracy. Recognizing most of you likely didn’t have time to read it, I’m simply going to repeat: Democracy is losing ground . . . abroad and at home. “What is spreading today,” George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum writes, “is repressive kleptocracy, led by rulers motivated by greed rather than by the deranged idealism of Hitler or Stalin or Mao. Such rulers rely less on terror and more on rule-twisting, the manipulation of information, and the co-optation of elites. . . . ” It’s worth finding the time to read or listen, because, as Frum writes: “The story told here, like that told by Charles Dickens’s Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, is a story not of things that will be, but of things that may be. Other paths remain open. It is up to Americans to decide which one the country will follow.” Here’s how to help fund organizers who are recruiting Neighborhood Team Leaders who are recruiting volunteers to help turn out the vote.
Heeding Dickens’ Third Ghost July 11, 2018July 10, 2018 First thing we do: take back the House. Paul Sagan: “I thought you’d enjoy something my 89-year-old dad just started in his frustration, with help from his grandchildren: CleanTheHouse.org. Feel free to share.” If you have time for more . . . In response to yesterday’s note on Giuliani, John Kasley added: “Giuliani was also in the employ of the Sacklers,” philanthropists who made their fortune off addiction to opioids (and Valium before that). Read it here, in the New Yorker — a fascinating, detailed piece. And, briefly, in the Guardian: “Rudy Giuliani won deal for OxyContin maker to continue sales of drug behind [300,000] opioid deaths.” What a guy! Perfect to represent Trump. Democracy is losing ground around the world . . . and here at home . . . as George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum outlined in The Atlantic at the start of the Trump regime more than a year ago (“How to Build an Autocracy“). . . . What is spreading today is repressive kleptocracy, led by rulers motivated by greed rather than by the deranged idealism of Hitler or Stalin or Mao. Such rulers rely less on terror and more on rule-twisting, the manipulation of information, and the co-optation of elites. . . . It is a compelling, enlightening piece,worth finding the time to read. Especially because, as Frum writes: . . . The story told here, like that told by Charles Dickens’s Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, is a story not of things that will be, but of things that may be. Other paths remain open. It is up to Americans to decide which one the country will follow. . . . Here’s how to help fund organizers who are recruiting Neighborhood Team Leaders who are recruiting volunteers to help turn out the vote.
Joe on Giuliani July 10, 2018July 10, 2018 Giuliani insisted on locating New York’s emergency command center in the World Trade Center — a likely terrorist target — despite detailed objections from the police and Secret Service. (It would later be destroyed on 9/11.) Great judgment. Giuliani recommended his pal and former bodyguard Bernard Kerik, a high school drop-out, to helm the nation’s Homeland Security. (Kerik would later be sentenced to four years in prison.) Great judgment. And now Giuliani — who holds himself in the highest possible regard (as he does our constantly-lying, incompetent, vulgar, bullying president) — is leading the charge against Robert Mueller. It’s rich. Treat yourself to Joe Scarborough’s rant on Giuliani — and corruption. After a slow start, it just builds and builds and builds.
Fourth of July Parade Barometer — The GOOD News July 9, 2018July 9, 2018 Our infrastructure’s crumbling — so we slash taxes that could have been used to revitalize it. Thank you for your leadership, Republicans. Instead of providing millions of good jobs, you add another trillion to our Debt and — because your cuts overwhelmingly favor the wealthy — widen yet further our grotesque inequality. (Beware, Fellow Plutocrats — The Pitchforks Are Coming.) As we eat into our physical capital — bridges, sewers, and such — we’ve now set a course to eat into our environmental capital, despoiling our air and water for short-term profit. Thank you for your leadership, Republicans. We’ve abdicated our role as world leader, alienating our traditional allies aligning with autocrats . . . and stand alone among the nations of the earth in eschewing the Paris Climate Accord. Thank you for your leadership, Republicans. In the wake of the surprise attack on our democracy (it’s ridiculous to think Putin didn’t change the outcome of the election) — the existence of which the House Republicans won’t even acknowledge — Republican legislators do nothing to protect the security of our elections going forward. And have I mentioned health care? Student loan interest rates? The shameful way we’ve dealt with desperate people seeking asylum? (“There is no excuse for a rich country like the United States to make demons out of people fleeing for their lives,” writes David Millibrand. “They deserve to have their cases assessed, and where it is not safe for them to go home (the test for refugee status), they should be allowed to stay and be given a chance to build a life. What we do know is that refugees who do stay pay more in taxes than they consume in benefits and contribute to this country in myriad ways.”) The trade war???? It’s equal parts tragic and maddening to see our needless — and rapid — decline. Putin and Trump stoke division, when what we clearly need are problem-solving compromise and cooperation. But the good news is: if massive numbers of people turn out to change course in November, we can. And the further good news is that small signs keep popping up that we might. My next door neighbor, a lifelong Republican, gave $5,000 to the DNC last week! Better still, from the rural America, comes this report (thank you, John Grund): I live in the very blue city of Portland, Oregon, but for some 50 years now, have honored our farm roots in red Polk County, about 60 miles south, by going to see the annual Monmouth-Independence Fourth of July Parade. For some time, I have watched for the relative size of the delegations of the Polk County Democrats and the Polk County Republicans to gauge the political winds. For years, probably ever since Reagan, the Republicans have had the best of it. They were loud, proud, and numerous in their blue blazers or skirts and hats for the ladies, with professionally printed signs and nice classic convertibles. The Democrats were usually a loose gaggle of folks in overalls, making their way on foot – long hair for the men, short hair for the women, handwritten signs. And every year the Democrats would work their hearts out, and lose and lose and lose. This year was different. The Democrats came first – more than I’d ever seen in the parade before, probably 50 in all. They were still on foot, and still armed with homemade signs, but this time the signs spelled out Democratic accomplishments – Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid – and needled the Republicans for racism, intolerance, and fear. The Democrats received polite but sincere applause. There were “Black Lives Matter” and “Health Care for All” signs. That was surprisingly bold for the Polk County Democrats, but even more surprising was the Republican contingent near the end of the parade. First, it was small, just about a dozen or fifteen youth, with matching jeans and polo shirts. There was one flatbed trailer. The usual political signs were there, but this year with less red and more generic green. None of the signs for local candidates included the word “Republican.” That’s not unusual in the county, but the local candidates weren’t on the trailer, either. No one in the audience remembered to clap. There were no MAGA hats, no mention of Trump at all. The weird MAGA, 911truth, Infowars guy who usually brings his own float was nowhere to be seen. Democratic Congressman Kurt Schrader was in the parade a short distance behind the Democrats. Oregon’s 5th congressional district includes a lot of rural territory, but also the south Portland suburbs that tend to keep it blue. Schrader’s Republican adversary didn’t turn out. My optimistic thought: Republicans are ashamed of Trump, and their party. I’m not sure it is an enthusiasm gap per se – I think they’ll still make it out to the polls and vote, but they are aware of the stench that is sticking to the G.O.P. My pessimistic thought: Just as they have turned against democracy in general (“[Republicanism] refuses to share power, to wait its turn, to see the importance of liberalism as its foil.” – Andrew Sullivan), the Republicans now think that old-fashioned political persuasion the in public square doesn’t matter anymore. They have figured out that they just need to reach their base voters through targeted Facebook appeals (with or without the Russians’ help), and that it is better to not let the rest of America or the world listen in on that process. Whether my optimistic or pessimistic thought turns out to be true, the answer is still the same – motivate good-hearted people to vote, every time. Amen.
A $30 Picasso and Your Health July 7, 2018July 8, 2018 One of you asks: “A $30 painting in 1905 sells for $115 million in 2018. What is the annual rate of return?” Answer: 14.357%. Before netting out the costs of insurance and auction fees. The math is cut and dry; the painting and its provenance, more colorful. But let’s talk about something important: your health. Rather, let’s ask Nobel laureate Paul Krugman to talk about it, in case you missed his column last month: G.O.P. to Americans With Health Problems: Drop Dead. All your friends need to understand this: . . . The campaign against the Affordable Care Act has been based on lies every step of the way. First there were lies about what was actually in the act. Remember “death panels”? Then there were lies about the law’s effects. For a while, the Koch brothers-financed group Americans for Prosperity was running ads featuring supposedly real stories of Americans facing terrible hardships because of the A.C.A. But none — none — of these stories stood up to fact-checking. So the ads became vaguer and vaguer, and eventually featured actors pretending to be A.C.A. victims rather than featuring real victims, who were apparently too hard to find. But the most enduring lie from A.C.A. opponents — not just Trump, but all of them — is their claim that they want to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions. They don’t, and they never did. You can see why they claim otherwise. A huge majority of voters, including 59 percent of Republicans, want to maintain rules that prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage based on someone’s medical history. So there is a powerful incentive to pretend that you’ll protect people with past health problems. But the falseness of the pretense has always been obvious. This falsity was obvious on sheer logical grounds even before Republicans began proposing supposed replacements for Obamacare. If you’re going to guarantee coverage regardless of medical history, you have to induce people to sign up for insurance while they’re still healthy, so that insurers have a manageable risk pool. That means some combination of subsidies to make insurance affordable and penalties for going uninsured — in other words, it requires a system that looks a lot like the Affordable Care Act. So demands that the A.C.A. be scrapped always meant taking away coverage from the people who need it most; Obamacare opponents just hoped people wouldn’t notice that fact. And the truth is that they mostly got away with it until last year, when Republicans had to offer specific health care legislation. At that point the game was up. It immediately became clear that every Republican alternative to Obamacare would, in fact, hang Americans with pre-existing conditions out to dry. And the public backlash against that revelation is basically the reason the G.O.P.’s repeal effort failed. But it only failed narrowly. And if Republicans still hold Congress next year, anyone who has a history of medical problems and doesn’t get health insurance from his or her employer will lose coverage. In fact, even getting a job with insurance coverage might not be enough: If the Trump-supported lawsuit succeeds, employers could refuse to cover new employees’ pre-existing conditions. What may seem puzzling about all this is the cruelty. O.K., Donald Trump is obviously a man utterly lacking in empathy. But don’t other Republicans feel a bit bad about the prospect of taking health care away from millions of Americans who have done nothing wrong besides having past medical problems? Actually, no. Consider Rick Scott, the governor of Florida (and current Senate candidate), whose attorney general has joined the lawsuit to eliminate protection for pre-existing conditions. While refusing to say whether he supports the suit, Scott declared, “We’ve got to reward people for caring for themselves.” Right, because if you get cancer, or arthritis, or multiple sclerosis — all among the pre-existing conditions for which people used to be denied coverage — it must be your own fault. By the way, a note to older Florida voters: You may think that none of this matters to you, because you’re covered by Medicare. If so, think again: If Republicans win in November, they’ll be coming after Medicare next, to offset the cost of their tax cut. Who says so? They do. So, as I said, voters need to understand the stakes in these midterms. They will determine whether people with medical problems get the health care they need.
Big News . . . July 5, 2018July 4, 2018 . . . is often dumped on a Friday night — or in this case, July 4th Eve — on the expectation relatively few people will see it. So first, in case you missed it, listen to the July 3 audio of Rachel Maddow (44 minutes – no commercials!). The Republican senators in Russia stuff (no Democrats allowed). (You can watch that piece of it here.) The bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee findings that, yes, the intelligence community’s findings were sound: Putin really did interfere with our elections. No effort is being made by the Republicans to get that to stop. (Oh — and the Malaysia stuff? Corruption on a massive and truly colorful scale, which the deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee apparently believed he could get the U.S. Justice Department to drop if he were paid $75 million.) And then there is this WheelTug news that may encourage those of you who, like me, have been holding shares of Borealis even longer than I was holding the pint of egg whites in my freezer (“exp April 10, 2007” — but delicious when I finally defrosted last week). Two pieces of news, actually. The main one: WheelTug has earned the public endorsement of Ratan Tata, one of the world’s most highly respected industrialists (remarkable bio here) — who I now see graduated from my rival high school and then Cornell and Harvard Business School. Only a decade and a billion dollars separate us. That he is a pilot whose Tata group has interests in two airlines suggests he knows a bit about the field. It’s good to see yet another smart person cheering us on. Also, the Czech arm of Deloitte has issued this analysis of the savings WheelTug will offer airlines: ranging from a low of $441 per flight to a “medium case” of $1,157 per flight to a best case of $3,356 per flight. Times maybe 1700 flights per plane per year = anywhere from $750,000 to $5.7 million. Times 14,000 737s and A320s in service, virtually all of which could benefit form the ability to maneuver around the gate without a tug, and you have (at least theoretically) anywhere from $10 billion to $80 billion in annual savings . . . of which the WheelTug business model is to lease the systems for half the savings. So with WheelTug grandparent Borealis trading at $5 a share — a market cap of $25 million — there would seem to be considerable upside. (Speculative! To be bought only with money you can afford to lose! And with “limit” orders because it is VERY thinly traded!) Have a great a continuation of this crazy 9-day weekend. Putin is winning — big time. But that’s no reason to be miserable all the time. Have beer on me. Or a nice egg white omelet.