James Comey With Anderson Cooper May 15, 2019May 14, 2019 Here. A forty-five minute town hall answering pretty much all the questions you, too, would have asked. Rachel Monday night: “The Mueller report details all those [Russian] contacts in incredible factual specific detail, but then the Mueller report says nothing about whether that’s important . . . about whether there’s a national security consequence or intelligence consequence or anything to worry about when it comes to the fact that one of the two major party presidential candidates had a pending secret side business deal being negotiated with the Kremlin for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars while he was lying about it to the American people. No discussion in the Mueller report as to whether or not that might be a bad thing.” Imagine if it had been Obama instead of Trump. Would Republicans have read this 448-page report and been unconcerned? Insistent that it exonerated Obama? Ed: “Though It’s NOT exactly summer reading, Art and I downloaded the Mueller Report. It will take your breath away…it is worse than a severe gut punch. It is terrifying because it shows in black and white just how beholden the GOP is to Russia. The Russians have understood that the best way to bring down our democracy is by buying it. The connections are so clearly drawn by Mueller, yet nobody talks about them.” Ed and Art started Googling some of the names in the report, looking for more context. They write: “Do you remember Oleg Deripaska? He is one of the richest men in Russia and a close friend to Putin. Deripaska plays a prominent role in the Mueller Report as being a leading architect of the cyber attacks and hackings that targeted our elections. Recently, Mnuchin’s Treasury Department lifted sanctions against Deripaska. Mitch McConnell has vigorously defended the lifting of these sanctions and, as you know, has done everything he can to kill any funding or legislative initiative to combat ongoing and future attacks on our elections. Now we learn that Rusal, Deripaska’s vast aluminum and steel company, is investing over $200 million in a Kentucky steel plant. McConnell, of course, is from Kentucky. “But wait, there is another player hidden behind the curtain: Blavatnik. He is the second largest shareholder of Rusal after Deripaska. Blavatnik has a long history with Mnuchin: they co-owned a Hollywood finance company called RatPac Dune. They go way back. Deripaska and Blavatnik are close friends and tightly connected business partners. Blavatnik recently gave over $3.5 million to McConnell’s PAC and another $1.5 million to the GOP Senate Leadership Fund, $800,000 to Lindsey Graham, and $1.5 million to Marco Rubio. And this is just what we know…much more may have been contributed under the table. And we wonder why Republicans are so quiet about Russian meddling in the elections? “And then there is Yuri Milner, a Russian billionaire who lives in Silicon Valley. Milner befriended Mark Zuckerberg way back in 2009 and subsequently became one of the largest investors in Facebook by channeling $1 billion of Gazprom money into purchasing shares. Milner also has long ties in the upper echelon of the Bank of Cyprus, which is known as the biggest money laundering operation on the planet for Russia. Milner helped fund Jared Kushner’s start-up real estate company, Cadre. Wilbur Ross, Trump’s Commerce Secretary, co-chaired the Bank of Cyprus until 2017. “This summary doesn’t even scratch the surface. There is Alexander Shustorovich, who contributed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee, which was gleefully accepted. Shustorovich attempted to donate $250,000 to George W. Bush but had his contribution returned because of his ties to the Russian government. Rybolotev, known as Russia’s ‘fertilizer king’ and who is a stake owner of the Bank of Cyprus, is the man who bought Trump’s mega-mansion in Palm Beach back when trump couldn’t unload it. “One could go on and on. It is painfully obvious that the Russians have bought the entire GOP.” ☞ Well, or Trump, anyway. Putin is winning. Click here.
The Ag Dept’s Air Force May 14, 2019May 12, 2019 Rich: “I have a friend like Carl. A talented plastic surgeon who operated on me, my wife, and my late mom (not cosmetic stuff.) He’s in the I-hate-Hillary-and-Obama, Fox news, ‘you can’t handle the truth’ camp. It amazes me, as he’s a good guy, smart, and thoughtful. I understand that he’s politically conservative—no problem. I might have even voted for Kasich. So, if he told me he held his nose and voted for Trump, I sort of get it. But he doesn’t. That’s what amazes me about otherwise OK people who support him—they ignore all the obvious crazy stuff. I always read Michael Lewis’ books, and his latest is truly alarming. I fear for my kids and grandkids, with a huge debt we’ve given them, an impossible environmental situation, etc. All that falls on deaf ears.” I’ve been urging you to read that book, The Fifth Risk, for some time now. Here’s Michael Lewis last Friday with Bill Maher. They even discuss the Agriculture Department. (Did you know it has its own air force?) So — switching gears only slightly — here’s Paul Krugman in the indispensable New York Times: Trump Is Terrible for Rural America His biggest supporters are his biggest victims Economists, reports Politico, are fleeing the Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service. Six of them resigned on a single day last month. The reason? They are feeling persecuted for publishing reports that shed an unflattering light on Trump policies. But these reports are just reflecting reality (which has a well-known anti-Trump bias). Rural America is a key part of Donald Trump’s base. In fact, rural areas are the only parts of the country in which Trump has a net positive approval rating. But they’re also the biggest losers under his policies. What, after all, is Trumpism? In 2016 Trump pretended to be a different kind of Republican, but in practice almost all of his economic agenda has been G.O.P. standard: big tax cuts for corporations and the rich while hacking away at the social safety net. The one big break from orthodoxy has been his protectionism, his eagerness to start trade wars. And all of these policies disproportionately hurt farm country. The Trump tax cut largely passes farmers by, because they aren’t corporations and few of them are rich. One of the studies by Agriculture Department economists that raised Trumpian ire showed that to the extent that farmers saw tax reductions, most of the benefits went to the richest 10 percent, while poor farmers actually saw a slight tax increase. At the same time, the assault on the safety net is especially harmful to rural America, which relies heavily on safety-net programs. Of the 100 counties with the highest percentage of their population receiving food stamps, 85 are rural, and most of the rest are in small metropolitan areas. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which Trump keeps trying to kill, had its biggest positive impact on rural areas. And these programs are crucial to rural Americans even if they don’t personally receive government aid. Safety-net programs bring purchasing power, which helps create rural jobs. Medicaid is also a key factor keeping rural hospitals alive; without it, access to health care would be severely curtailed for rural Americans in general. What about protectionism? The U.S. farm sector is hugely dependent on access to world markets, much more so than the economy as a whole. American soybean growers export half of what they produce; wheat farmers export 46 percent of their crop. China, in particular, has become a key market for U.S. farm products. That’s why Trump’s recent rage-tweeting over trade, which raised the prospect of an expanded trade war, sent grain markets to a 42-year low. It’s important to realize, by the way, that the threat to farmers isn’t just about possible foreign retaliation to Trump’s tariffs. One fundamental principle in international economics is that in the long run, taxes on imports end up being taxes on exports as well, usually because they lead to a higher dollar. If the world descends into trade war, U.S. imports and exports will both shrink — and farmers, among our most important exporters, will be the biggest losers. Why, then, do rural areas support Trump? A lot of it has to do with cultural factors. In particular, rural voters are far more hostile to immigrants than urban voters — especially in communities where there are few immigrants to be found. Lack of familiarity apparently breeds contempt. Rural voters also feel disrespected by coastal elites, and Trump has managed to channel their anger. No doubt many rural voters, if they happened to read this column, would react with rage, not at Trump, but at me: “So you think we’re stupid!” But support for Trump might nonetheless start to crack if rural voters realized how much they are being hurt by his policies. What’s a Trumpist to do? One answer is to repeat zombie lies. A few weeks ago Trump told a cheering rally that his cuts in the estate tax have helped farmers. This claim is, however, totally false; PolitiFact rated it “pants on fire.” The reality is that in 2017 only about 80 farms and closely held businesses — that’s right, 80 — paid any estate tax at all. Tales of family farms broken up to pay estate tax are pure fiction. Another answer is to try to suppress the truth. Hence the persecution of Agriculture Department economists who were just trying to do their jobs. The thing is, the assault on truth will have consequences that go beyond politics. Agriculture’s Economic Research Service isn’t supposed to be a cheering section for whoever is in power. As its mission statement says, its role is to conduct “high-quality, objective economic research to inform and enhance public and private decision making.” And that’s not an idle boast: Along with the Federal Reserve, the research service is a prime example of how good economics can serve clear practical purposes. Now, however, the service’s ability to do its job is being rapidly degraded, because the Trump administration doesn’t believe in fact-based policy. Basically, it doesn’t believe in facts, period. Everything is political. And who will pay the price for this degradation? Rural Americans. Trump’s biggest supporters are his biggest victims. I’m sorry: Putin is winning. And Carl and Rich’s plastic surgeon — and so many others — are somehow okay with that. Click here.
Malignant Narcissism May 13, 2019May 13, 2019 Did you see the “Central Park Five” story on CBS yesterday morning? The five black 14- and 15-year-old boys — now 44- and 45-year-old men — falsely accused and convicted of raping a jogger in 1989? Nowhere in the CBS report was real estate developer Donald Trump mentioned, but older readers will recall that, at the time, he he ran full-page BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY ads, saying . . . Mayor [Ed] Koch has stated that hate and rancor should be removed from our hearts. I do not think so. I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence. Yes, Mayor Koch, I want to hate these murderers and I always will. I am not looking to psychoanalyze them or understand them, I am looking to punish them. If the punishment is strong, the attacks on innocent people will stop. I recently watched a newscast trying to explain “the anger in these young men.” I no longer want to understand their anger. I want them to understand our anger. I want them to be afraid. As you’ll see when you watch, if anyone should have gone to jail . . . other than the actual rapist, of course (who would later confess and whose DNA was the only DNA that fit the crime) . . . it should have been the police, not those entirely innocent boys. Yet, faced with indisputable evidence that they had been false convicted and imprisoned, candidate Trump in 2016 showed no remorse for having suggested they be killed — indeed, he continued to maintain they were guilty. One more reminder that we have a sociopath at the head of our government . . . a man Republican senators who once publicly called him a pathological liar now support . . . a man whose “malignant narcissism,” in the words of psychiatrist John Gartner, is “a personality disorder shared by most murderous dictators.” Putin is winning. Click here.
Lindsey Graham On Impeachment May 10, 2019July 20, 2019 But first: Clarence Penn: “You asked for feedback on MisfitsMarket. I get it every week — $19 + $4.50 shipping. If you cook a lot, it’s great (as some of the veggies need to be used quickly). It ships in this material made of starch which you dissolve under water. It’s amazing. I’ve never seen such a way of packing to cut down on waste. We both know how expensive it is to buy organic. This is def a win.” Italy is so great. OK, now: Lindsey Graham on impeachment. I’ve got to admit he makes a strong case. Under a minute. Watch. Especially as more than 800 former federal prosecutors say Barr was wrong — Trump’s conduct has been indictable. It’s not even a close question. What apparently is a close question is why an ancient Department of Justice memo saying a president can’t be indicted while in office is “controlling” decades later. How about a new memo arguing the opposite view; or letting the question work its way up through the courts? Perhaps a memo arguing that you can’t indict him or her for minor or irrelevant things — lying about a sexual affair, perhaps. But that you can for things of national import like obstructing justice in matters of national security. We’re under attack. Putin is winning. Have a great weekend.
The Artichoke That Got Away May 8, 2019May 9, 2019 All I can tell you is that when I saw five upside-down artichokes sitting on a platter with their chokes clipped off, glistening in oil, my night was made. We were among the last to the restaurant, so I figured everyone else had ordered and received their artichokes . . . but by the time our waiter came by it looked to me as though there were only two left so I used all my Italian skill (which consists of speaking English very slowly and distinctly) to indicate that we wanted them both — please save them for us! — and got an enthusiastic “Si! Si! Artichokes! Multabene!” and we said still water would be fine, plus a liter of house wine. It came. We ordered. I was as excited as I get — and you know I get excited. Three minutes later, our waiter returned to announce “artichokes end.” Would I like something else? Yes. World peace, aggressive action on climate change, and a massive blue wave in 2020. Some further items for your consideration: > Bankrupt and corrupt? Last week’s New Yorker report, if you missed it: Secrecy, Self-Dealing and greed at the N.R.A. > Unfair? Profitable Giants Like Amazon Pay $0 in Corporate Taxes. Some Voters Are Sick of It. — The New York Times > And have you read the Mueller report? > And have you read The Fifth Risk?
For Your Consideration May 7, 2019May 5, 2019 A Genuine Big Idea That Could Fix The Border Problem — and make the desert bloom. I love this! Memory Loss Associated With Alzheimer’s Reversed For First Time — with diet and exercise, in nine out of ten patients in this very small trial (and the tenth was much further along than the others). I love this, too. And this! Adam Parkhomenko: “After the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby ended in some controversy Saturday, the president of the United States took to Twitter Sunday morning to blast the result, expanding the list of subjects he doesn’t know anything about to infinity and misspelling the word Kentucky at the same time. The unofficial winner, Maximum Security, clearly impeded the paths of two other horses, leading to its disqualification and making Country House, a 65-1 long-shot, the winner.”
Racing Through Italy May 5, 2019May 5, 2019 Some idiot once told me Milan is “the Pittsburgh of Italy — skip it” which, apart from being unfair to Pittsburgh, is just nuts: what a beautiful city! Don’t miss the Fondazione Prada. And Venice! (And Murano, where we watched a master glassblower swiftly craft a vase and then a delicate glass horse.) What an utterly impossible, yet impossibly charming, enterprise Venice is. And Rome! Tomorrow, off to Vico Equensa to the site of Mikey’s Last Breakfast and a boat ride to Capri and Positano. Italy’s trains put ours to shame. Everyone is so nice! (Americans are nice, too.) Did you watch Hillary with Rachel Maddow? Here and here. The thing is, we’re under attack from Russia; and far from doing anything about it — Nixon would have! Ford would have! Reagan would have! the Bushes would have! — this president does nothing but deny it’s even happening. He takes Putin’s word — most recently, on Venezuela — over the findings of America’s intelligence community. That takes only 11 words to say — he takes Putin’s word over the findings of America’s intelligence community — but think about it. And the Republicans in Congress back him. He is a constant liar and a sociopath. (No, really.) That takes only 8 words to say — he is a constant liar and a sociopath — but think about it. It is kind of a big deal to be losing our democracy, beacon to the world, after 243 years’ struggle to create, preserve, and improve it. But the market’s high* and unemployment low** and it’s fun, frankly, to make the well-educated squirm.*** So tens of millions of good people don’t see what’s happening and/or can’t much bring themselves to care. We need to change that. *Because he borrowed a fortune to slash corporation taxes, boosting after-tax profits; and stocks sell at a multiple of earnings. **Obama brought it down from 10% to 4.9%; Trump, a little further. *** “I love the poorly educated.”
I’m In Italy May 2, 2019April 28, 2019 But have you read this op-ed? I won’t tell you who wrote it, because if you lean left, you won’t read it. And if you lean right, you won’t read it. But it’s spot on. Our nation is under attack from a foreign adversary. (Not Italy.) Right or left, we should defend our democracy. No?
Misfits Market and McConnell May 1, 2019April 27, 2019 Dave Burgess: “Have you seen MisfitsMarket? One of my daughters just started using their service recently and was pleasantly surprised at the quality and variety of produce. Also reasonably priced. $19 for 10-12 lbs, includes shipping. There is a larger option. It is only available in the Northeast at the moment.” > I love this idea. Saves money and shopping time, cuts food waste. That said, I haven’t tried it — so share your thoughts with us if you do. Here’s their FAQ. As posted last month, I a not a fan of Mitch McConnell. Mike Martin: “You write as if McConnell is just another elected official with a different point of view. He IS NOT just an elected official, he is an installed Russian agent funded in a corrupt system that has no allegiance to an elected constituency. Your version of facts reads like a Disney fairy tale compared to the reality we are confronting in this situation. See: Sanctioned Russian Oligarch’s Company to Invest Millions in New Aluminum Plant in Mitch McConnell’s State. And: McConnell Received $3.5M In Campaign Donations From Russian Oligarch-Linked Firm.” > I don’t know that he’s “an installed Russian agent”; but I do know that he’s done tremendous harm to our country over the years.