We Resist: Day 684

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Earlier today by me: Mueller Reportedly Close to Wrapping It Up and U.S. Citizen Detained and Targeted for Deportation by ICE and Ugh, Biden, No.

Here are some more things in the news today...

Alex Isenstadt and John Bresnahan at Politico: Emails of Top NRCC Officials Stolen in Major 2018 Hack.

The House GOP campaign arm suffered a major hack during the 2018 election, exposing thousands of sensitive emails to an outside intruder, according to three senior party officials.

The email accounts of four senior aides at the National Republican Congressional Committee were surveilled for several months, the party officials said. The intrusion was detected in April by an NRCC vendor, who alerted the committee and its cybersecurity contractor. An internal investigation was initiated and the FBI was alerted to the attack, said the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the incident.

However, senior House Republicans — including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) — were not informed of the hack until Politico contacted the NRCC on Monday with questions about the episode. Rank-and-file House Republicans were not told, either.

Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), who served as NRCC chairman this past election cycle, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Committee officials said they decided to withhold the information because they were intent on conducting their own investigation, and feared that revealing the hack would compromise efforts to find the culprit.

Likely story. In any case, if they weren't all compromised before (they were all compromised before), they are now.

Allan Smith at NBC News: 'Banana Republic Dictators': Democrats Fume over Last-Minute GOP Power-Grabs in Wisconsin and Michigan. "Democrats fought back Monday as Republican legislators in Wisconsin and Michigan moved to strip power from them after the GOP lost a series of crucial races last month. In Wisconsin, Republicans pressed ahead with a lame-duck session — the first held in eight years — to give GOP Gov. Scott Walker the opportunity to limit the power of his successor, Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers. In Michigan, meanwhile, Republicans introduced bills late last week to diminish the powers of the incoming Democratic governor, secretary of state and attorney general as well." Shades of Mike Pence's attack on Glenda Ritz in Indiana. I keep telling you: Indiana is conservatives' laboratory for terrible policy and authoritarian maneuvers.

Lauren Gambino at the Guardian: Trump's Truce with China: 'Let the Negotiations Begin'.

Trump, who refuses to use Twitter's thread function, has appeared to finish his thoughts on the ongoing trade negotiations with China. The series [of tweets] in full:

"[1] The negotiations with China have already started. Unless extended, they will end 90 days from the date of our wonderful and very warm dinner with President Xi in Argentina. Bob Lighthizer will be working closely with Steve Mnuchin, Larry Kudlow, Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro..... [2] ......on seeing whether or not a REAL deal with China is actually possible. If it is, we will get it done. China is supposed to start buying Agricultural product and more immediately. President Xi and I want this deal to happen, and it probably will. But if not remember,...... [3] ....I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN [4] .....But if a fair deal is able to be made with China, one that does all of the many things we know must be finally done, I will happily sign. Let the negotiations begin. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Yikes. He is the Tariff Man; he is the walrus; he doesn't understand how ellipses work.

By way of reminder that Donald is not the only Trump who is totes the worst:

It's telling that Eric Trump believes that disagreement within a family is "disrespect." Authoritarianism begins at home. https://t.co/pEiEw1sA9c

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 4, 2018

* * *

John Dingell at the Atlantic: I Served in Congress Longer Than Anyone: Here's How to Fix It. "There are many reasons for this dramatic decline [in Americans' trust of government institutions]: the Vietnam War, Watergate, Ronald Reagan's folksy but popular message that government was not here to help, the Iraq War, and worst of all by far, the Trumpist mind-set. These jackasses who see 'deep state' conspiracies in every part of government are a minority of a minority, yet they are now the weakest link in the chain of more than three centuries of our American republic. Ben Franklin was right. The Founders gave us a precious but fragile gift. If we do not protect it with constant vigilance, we will most certainly lose it."

Definitely take the time to read Dingell's entire piece. This is a good reminder that: 1. John Dingell is a national treasure; and 2. Ageism is garbage. This guy's got better ideas at age 92 than most politicians have in their prime.

* * *

[Content Note: Nativism] Rebekah Entralgo at ThinkProgress: ICE Threatens New Jersey After State Implements Pro-Immigrant Policy. "One day after New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal unveiled the state's new 'Immigrant Trust Directive,' a spokesperson for the ICE office in Newark told NBC New York in a statement that ICE raids will 'likely increase' as a result of the directive. 'The probability is that at-large arrests and worksite enforcement operations, which already exist, will likely increase due to the fact that ICE [Enforcement and Removal Offices] will no longer have the cooperation of the jails related to immigration enforcement,' ICE spokesman Emilio Dabul told the outlet in an email." Fuck ICE. Goddammit.

[CN: Nativism; eliminationist violence] Justin Glawe at the Daily Beast: Facebook Lets Users Post About Killing Immigrants and Minorities. "Facebook users freely post about killing immigrants, minorities, and public figures in spite of the company's terms of service that clearly prohibit threats of violence and hate speech. The company just two weeks ago touted new technology it says detects 52 percent of hate speech before anyone reports it. (Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed the technology caught 90 percent of pro-ISIS and al Qaeda content.) Yet that technology didn't catch more than 100 instances in the last six months of Facebook users advocating to shoot or kill others, according to a Daily Beast review." Fuck Facebook, too.

That sure is a headline. https://t.co/3vH5GKbbTy

— Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) December 4, 2018

[CN: Sexual assault; rape culture] Pilar Melendez at the Daily Beast: Jeffrey Epstein Apologizes in Settlement to Avoid Civil Trial and Testimony by Sex Accusers. "A civil trial involving politically connected financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ended before it even began Tuesday with the two sides announcing a last-minute settlement and the billionaire issuing an apology. ...Three of Epstein's accusers were expected to testify before the surprise announcement of a settlement just before jury selection was about to begin, though none were present Tuesday. ...Epstein lawyer Scott Link then read out an apology statement that was part of the settlement, financial terms of which were not disclosed."

So first this guy's criminal trial is circumvented by a Trump lackey, shutting down further investigation, and now his civil case is abruptly settled, shutting down his victims from offering public testimony. JFC.

[CN: Homophobia] Andy Towle at Towleroad: Worried About 'Fashionable' Homosexuality, Pope Francis Says Gays Should Not Be Accepted into Catholic Ministry. "Pope Francis said gay people should not join the Catholic priesthood in lengthy remarks from a new book, The Strength of a Vocation, which was released yesterday in Italy. Asked about the high percentages of gay people in the priesthood, Francis responded: 'It's something that worries me. We have to discern with seriousness and listen to the voice of the experience that the Church has. When discernment is not used, problems increase. As I said before, it may be that at the moment they are accepted maybe they do not show their faces [as gay people], but later they appear.'" There's more trash where that came from. Your progressive pope, for ya!

[CN: Misogyny]

Imagine winning the first EVER women's Ballon d'Or.

Then giving an unbelievable speech about how big this is for women's football.

Then asking little girls to believe in themselves.

THEN being asked to twerk. Fuck off dude. pic.twitter.com/MkbL5KZalD

— Frances Silva (@fasilva11) December 3, 2018

[CN: Wildfires; environmental damage] Yessenia Funes at Earther: California Wildfires Emitted as Much Carbon as the State's Entire Power Sector in 2018. "We know California wildfires can be deadly: Look no further than the Camp Fire in northern California that killed at least 88 people last month. A new analysis from the U.S. Geological Survey reminds us that these disasters can also be a slow killer through the pollution and greenhouse gases they emit. On Friday, the Department of Interior announced new findings that show that this year's wildfire season in California released the equivalent of 68 million tons of carbon dioxide. That's roughly how much carbon the state's electricity sector releases in an entire year."

[CN: Animal harm; environmental damage] Alan Grabinsky at the Guardian: Axolotls in Crisis: The Fight to Save the 'Water Monster' of Mexico City. "Carlos Sumano, who is steering my canoe through the floating gardens, or chinampas, says that sort of unfettered use has taken its toll on the ecosystem. During his six years working in Xochimilco, Sumano has come across everything from pushchairs to television sets in canals. Water pollution has also affected the region's most unique creature: the axolotl. ...The wild axolotl is racing towards extinction. A 2003 study in Xochimilco by the Mexican Academy of Sciences found an average of 6,000 axolotls for each sq km; the latest survey, in 2015, has that number down to 36. The loss of the axolotl is traumatic for Mexico City: The creature is vital not only to its ecosystem but also to its imagination. Murals and graffiti depicting the animal are ubiquitous: In fact, an axolotl recently won a contest for an emoji to represent the city."

[CN: Climate change] Matt McGrath at the BBC: Sir David Attenborough: Climate Change 'Our Greatest Threat'. "The naturalist Sir David Attenborough has said climate change is humanity's greatest threat in thousands of years. ...Sir David said: 'Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate change. If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.'"

[CN: Climate change] Steven Mufson at the Washington Post: 'A Kind of Dark Realism': Why the Climate Change Problem Is Starting to Look Too Big to Solve. "As the 24th U.N. conference on climate change kicks off this week, a steady drumbeat of scientific reports have sounded warnings about current climate trajectories. One warned of the need to curb global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius — 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit — over pre-industrial levels instead of the widely accepted target of 2 degrees Celsius. Another warned of the growing gap between the commitments made at earlier U.N. conferences and what is needed to steer the planet off its current path to calamitous global warming. If it sounds downbeat, that's because it is. The world has waited so long that preventing disruptive climate change requires action 'unprecedented in scale,' the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said."

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

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We Resist: Day 621

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Earlier today by me: Trump Regime Will Deny Visas to Same-Sex Partners of Diplomats and Making America Great Again with Dairy Concessions. ICYMI late yesterday: U.S. Destroyer and Chinese Warship Have "Unsafe" Encounter in the South China Sea.

Here are some more things in the news today...

[Content Note: Natural disasters; injury, death, and displacement] Yesterday, I wrote about the devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake which hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, followed by an unexpected tsunami, which had left countless people displaced, injured, or dead. Below is some follow-up news. Please note that there may be upsetting images of the aftermath at the links.

Timothy McLaughlin, Stanley Widianto, and Shibani Mahtani at the Washington Post: Toll from Indonesia Quake-Tsunami Tops 1,234 as Desperation Mounts Among Survivors.

Hannah Ellis-Petersen at the Guardian: Palu Tsunami: Food and Water Run Out as Death Toll Tops 1,200.

Tamara Wilson at CNN: Aid Indonesia Earthquake and Tsunami Victims.

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share other suggestions for how to help in comments.

* * *

[CN: Fascism; xenophobia; Islamophobia; nativism; racism. Covers entire section.]

One of the things I (and others) have repeatedly observed about the rise of Donald Trump, and associated anti-democratic and nativist sentiments, is that it's all situated within a larger global context, where fascism, in various incarnations, is on the rise around the world. Which is part of what's going to make restoring our democracy so incredibly difficult — much more so than just getting rid of Trump himself.

On that subject, here a few things I've seen today that I've found very concerning...

René Bruemmer at the Montreal Gazette: Quebec Election, the Day After: Here's What the CAQ Promises to Do. "Fuelled by a desire for change, the Coalition Avenir Québec heaved the governing Liberals out of office Monday with enough seats to form a majority government. CAQ Leader François Legault will be Quebec's 32nd premier, promising Monday evening to make Quebec 'strong and proud' again. ...Reduce number of immigrants by 20 per cent a year, starting in 2019. Negotiate with Ottawa for full control of immigration. Establish values and language test to qualify for immigration. Those who can't pass French test after three years flagged to Ottawa for expulsion. ...Religious symbols would be prohibited for all persons in a position of authority. Limit immigration, in part to protect French language."

Guardian News: Theresa May Promises 'an End to Free Movement Once and for All'.

Well, the policy on immigration that we're announcing today delivers on the vote of the [Brexit] referendum and takes back control of our borders. It ensures that we bring an end to free movement once and for all — and, for the first time in decades, it will be the UK government determining how many people and who can come to the United Kingdom.

And, yes, this system will be based on skills. It will be based not on where somebody comes from, but on how they can contribute to our economy. And I think that's a — that's important.

We do still want to bring that migration down to those sustainable levels, as we've promised in the past. What this does, it enables us — leaving the European Union enables us to be able to make decisions about who can come, and the numbers who can come, from the European Union, which of course we previously haven't been able to do.

She can dress this bullshit up in whatever language of self-determination she wants to try to make it sound reasonable, but what she really means is that Britain doesn't want Muslim war refugees. If the EU was dictating Britain's immigration policy and they were getting nothing but white Christian immigrants, this wouldn't even be an issue. The conservatives are framing it as a problem with their own manifest destiny or whatever, but what they really hate is that the EU expects them to not be racists.

Mark Frauenfelder at BoingBoing: Travelers to New Zealand Who Refuse a Digital Strip Search Will Be Fined $5000. "New Zealand's Customs and Excise Act 2018 went into effect today. That means travelers who refuse to give their phone or laptop password to customs officials will be fined NZ$5000. In addition, their devices will be confiscated and forensically searched. Customs Minister Kris Faafoi said these digital strip searches are necessary because: 'A lot of the organised crime groups are becoming a lot more sophisticated in the ways they're trying to get things across the border. And if we do think they're up to that kind of business, then getting intelligence from smartphones and computers can be useful for a prosecution.' But Thomas Beagle of Council for Civil Liberties pointed out that organized criminals are smart enough not to keep incriminating files on their devices."

Over and over, this is a demonstrable strategy of increasingly fascist governments, including the U.S. government: Oppression justified by some absurd poppycock about protecting people, who are the ultimate victims of fascist crackdowns.

Meanwhile...

"Russia has a new type of missile that threatens Europe — in violation of a signature arms treaty — and NATO wants an immediate explanation, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday." https://t.co/myGeUMrvUe

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 2, 2018

Everything is fine. (Everything is not fine.)

* * *

Oliver Holmes at the Guardian: Global Image of U.S. Is Historically Bad Under Trump, Says Poll. "The global image of the U.S. has sunk to historic lows since Donald Trump took office, a survey of 25 countries has found, with only Israelis, Russians, and Kenyans showing an increase in positive attitudes. In the Pew Research Center poll, respondents generally had less confidence in Trump's ability to lead than they did in Vladimir Putin's and Xi Jinping's."

Related Reading: What Could Have Been, and What Is.

* * *

Nicole Lafond at TPM: Trump Directed Son Eric to Oversee Restraining Order Against Stormy. "Donald Trump was personally involved in efforts to enforce a hush agreement with porn actress Stormy Daniels and directed that his son, Eric Trump, be involved in the legal response, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the WSJ, Trump asked his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to get a restraining order against Daniels to keep her from discussing the details of her alleged affair with Trump, after he had learned that she planned to outline the alleged sexual encounter in a media interview. Trump asked Cohen to work with Eric Trump and another lawyer, who had previously worked with the president, to handle the legal work. Eric Trump then directed a Trump Organization lawyer to authorize the paperwork." Wow.

Staff at the Daily Beast: White House Edits Trump Insult to Reporter Out of Official Transcript. "After [Donald] Trump was caught on camera telling a reporter she 'never' thinks, the White House moved to retroactively alter the president's attack at a Monday afternoon press conference by changing a word in the official transcript. While the president told ABC News reporter Cecilia Vega, 'I know you're not thinking. You never do,' the White House transcript reads, 'I know you're not thanking. You never do.'" Wow.

Demetri Sevastopulo and Tom Mitchell at the Financial Times: U.S. Considered Ban on Student Visas for Chinese Nationals. "As the administration debated ways to tackle Chinese espionage, Stephen Miller, a White House aide who has been pivotal in developing the administration's hardline immigration policies, pushed the president and other officials to make it impossible for Chinese citizens to study in the U.S., according to three people familiar with internal discussions. ...While the debate was largely focused on spying, Mr Miller argued his plan would also hurt elite universities whose staff and students have been highly critical of Mr Trump, according to the three people with knowledge of the debate." Wow.

* * *

[CN: War on agency] Robin Marty at Dame: Real Male Allies May Not Exist.

There is almost no scenario in which abortion rights will not be decimated within the next three to five years, if not sooner. A number of progressive states have acknowledged that likelihood by removing antiquated pre-Roe abortion bans from their penal codes, codifying abortion rights into their state constitutions or finding other ways to ensure that access to abortion not only remain secure, but that it is expanded to assist the flood of potential patients who may be forced to travel to the state when it is made illegal in their own.

California, as one of the most progressive states in the nation, is leading the way in ensuring abortion was accessible for everyone. A groundbreaking bill overwhelmingly passed in the state legislature that would allow University of California and California State University to offer medication abortions in their student health centers. The expansion makes complete sense — medication abortion requires no special instruments or additional physician effort, since pills are simply provided to the patient, students who may be unable to leave campus due to class time, work schedules, and lack of transportation would have immediate nearby care, and because medication abortion is extremely safe, there is a very limited likelihood of complications that would require emergency follow up that would need more extensive medical care.

Then Democratic Governor Jerry Brown vetoed it because he believes there are already enough abortion providers in the state as it is, and adding more to the mix will do little to improve access. "Because the services required by this bill are widely available off-campus, this bill is not necessary," Brown said in his veto statement, arguing that "the average distance to abortion providers in campus communities varies from five to seven miles, not an unreasonable distance."

Of course, we've seen this sort of posturing before, every time we are told we are frantic shrills demanding from Democratic candidates a "litmus test" simply because we want the right to our own bodily autonomy if not prioritized, at least upheld. Or when we were told by the Bernie bros that there was no difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, despite the fact that our last two Supreme Court nominees make it very, very clear there is. But to be told by yet another alleged ally in an allegedly progressive state that we don't need to worry, that the abortion access issue is all in our heads? That one really hurts.

As someone who works daily in covering lack of abortion access, it is difficult to understand exactly how "too much availability" can be a problem.

[CN: Rape culture]

It really tells you everything you need to know about what a piece of shit Louis CK is that he decided to do a "surprise" appearance at the end of a week in which women were reeling from Kavanaugh dominating the news. https://t.co/w9IgWw24Iy

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 2, 2018

Honestly, anyone who reads that and doesn't connect it to what Louis CK admitted doing to women is making an effort to not connect it at this point.

[CN: Toxic masculinity] Philip Rucker and Robert Costa at the Washington Post: 'The Trauma for a Man': Male Fury and Fear Rises in GOP in Defense of Kavanaugh. "The sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh have sparked a wave of unbridled anger and anxiety from many Republican men, who say they are in danger of being swept up by false accusers who are biased against them." FUCK YOU. Any man who is shaking is his boots because he thinks #MeToo has "gone too far" is a man who has done something which he knows is abuse. I see you.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

Open Wide...

Shut Up!

We Resist: Day 363

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Here are some things in the news today:

Earlier today by me: Maybe Let's Not Empower Trump to Use Nukes and Trump Administration Revives the "Conscience Clause".

Remember how Steve Bannon was scheduled to testify yesterday before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election? Yeah, well, it went great! (It did not go great.)

MORE NEWS: Top Dem on the committee, @RepAdamSchiff, says after committee subpoenaed, Bannon’s lawyer contacted the White House, which “doubled down” on demand he not answer questions.

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 17, 2018

BREAKING: AP Sources: Steve Bannon attorney relayed questions to White House during House interview, was told when not to respond.

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 17, 2018

I love how 13 days ago, Trump issued a statement that said, in part, "Steve was a staffer who worked for me after I had already won the nomination." Now that lowly "staffer" is so important that the White House has to control his response to Congressional questioning!

Betsy Woodruff at the Daily Beast: Steve Bannon Will Tell All to Robert Mueller, Source Says. "Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon broke some bad news to House investigators Tuesday, announcing that the White House had invoked executive privilege to keep him from answering many of their questions. But executive privilege — the president's right to keep certain information from the public so he can have frank conversations with aides — will not keep Steve Bannon from sharing information with special counsel Robert Mueller's team, according to a person familiar with the situation. 'Mueller will hear everything Bannon has to say,' said the source, who is familiar with Bannon's thinking."

I'll believe that when I read about it in actual unredacted transcripts issued by Bob Mueller's office.

* * *

Eric Trump is famously not very bright. But this was pretty disastrous even by the rock bottom standards he's set for himself:

Eric Trump on his father: "He is the least racist person I have ever met in my entire life."

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) January 17, 2018

Eric Trump says his wife Lara, his infant son, his brother Don Jr., his sister Ivanka, his brother-in-law Jared Kushner, his sister Tiffany, his brother Barron, his nieces and nephews, his mother Ivana, and First Lady Melania Trump are all more racist than Donald Trump. https://t.co/c2tNOACFdC

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) January 17, 2018

Presumably not a complete list of everyone Eric Trump has ever met in his entire life.

* * *

In yet another example of how decent and competent people don't want to work for or with the Trump administration, so we're increasingly governed by unethical shitheads... Juliet Eilperin at the Washington Post: Nearly All Members of National Park Service Advisory Panel Resign in Frustration. "More than three-quarters of the members of a federally chartered board advising the National Park Service have quit out of frustration that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had refused to meet with them or convene a single meeting last year. The resignation of 10 out of 12 National Park System Advisory Board members leaves the federal government without a functioning body to designate national historic or natural landmarks." Welp.

Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier at BuzzFeed: Investigators Are Scrutinizing Newly Uncovered Payments by the Russian Embassy.

Officials investigating the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 US presidential election are scrutinizing newly uncovered financial transactions between the Russian government and people or businesses inside the United States.

Records exclusively reviewed by BuzzFeed News also show years of Russian financial activity within the US that bankers and federal law enforcement officials deemed suspicious, raising concerns about how the Kremlin's diplomats operated here long before the 2016 election.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team, charged with investigating Russian election interference and possible collusion by the Trump campaign, is examining these transactions and others by Russian diplomatic personnel, according to a US official with knowledge of the inquiry. The special counsel has broad authority to investigate "any matters" that "may arise" from his investigation, and the official said Mueller's probe is following leads on suspicious Russian financial activity that may range far beyond the election.

One of the transactions being investigated is a $120,000 payment made to former Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak ten days after the election of Donald Trump. JFC.

In Touch has published a report that Stormy Daniels, the woman whom Donald Trump is alleged to have paid off to keep silent, had an affair with Trump soon after First Lady Melania Trump gave birth to their son, Barron. At ThinkProgress, Judd Legum explains why this story matters, and, to my mind, this is the most important point: "The story suggests Trump is vulnerable to blackmail and extortion. According to reports, Daniels was able to extract a $130,000 payment to keep quiet about her affair with Trump. How many other women have stories about Trump that he does not want told? This is potentially a very dangerous predicament for a sitting president. ...Trump, reportedly, has things to hide and is willing to go to substantial lengths to hide them."

[Content Note: Misogyny; class warfare] Heidi Shierholz, David Cooper, Julia Wolfe, and Ben Zipperer at the Economic Policy Institute: Women Would Lose $4.6 Billion in Earned Tips If the Administration's 'Tip Stealing' Rule Is Finalized. "The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a rule that would make it legal for employers to pocket their workers' tips, as long as they pay those workers at least the minimum wage. The proposed rule rescinds portions of longstanding DOL regulations that prohibit employers from taking tips. We estimate that if the rule is finalized, every year workers will lose $5.8 billion in tips, as tips are shifted from workers to employers. Of the $5.8 billion, nearly 80 percent — $4.6 billion — would be taken from women who are working in tipped jobs."

[CN: Nativism; white supremacy] Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani at ThinkProgress: Media Coverage of Trump's Claim That He Wants Immigrants from 'Everywhere' Is Laughable. "On Tuesday, Trump was asked by CNN's Jim Acosta whether he wants more immigrants from Norway. He replied that he actually wants immigrants from 'everywhere.' ...But without any actual evidence to support his claim, much of the media decided to take Trump's new comments on face value. 'Trump says he wants immigrants from 'everywhere,'' Reuters reported Tuesday, with no context of the president's previous rhetoric or policies before last week's report. CNN published another piece with the exact same headline, and again mentioned none of the president's previous rhetoric or policies. Even publications that offered some context published nearly identical headlines, which made it seem like a president who ran a virulently anti-immigration campaign and has implemented anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies as president, does indeed want to accept them now."

[CN: Nativism; abuse] Rory Carroll at the Guardian: U.S. Border Patrol Routinely Sabotages Water Left for Migrants, Report Says. "United States border patrol agents routinely vandalise containers of water and other supplies left in the Arizona desert for migrants, condemning people to die of thirst in baking temperatures, according to two humanitarian groups. In a report published Wednesday, the Tucson-based groups said the agents committed the alleged sabotage with impunity in an attempt to deter and punish people who illegally cross from Mexico. Volunteers found water gallons vandalised 415 times, on average twice a week, in an 800 sq mile patch of Sonoran desert south-west of Tucson, from March 2012 to December 2015, the report said. The damage affected 3,586 gallons. The report also accused border patrol agents of vandalising food and blankets and harassing volunteers in the field."

[CN: Nativism; sexual assault; self-harm] Tina Vasquez at Rewire: Migrant Attempts Suicide After Forced to Interact with Alleged Abuser. "An asylum-seeking Salvadoran woman, whose allegations of repeated sexual assault by a guard at the T. Don Hutto Detention Center in Texas went largely ignored, has attempted suicide. Laura Monterrosa, who has been detained at Hutto since May 2017 and alleges her abuse began in June, first went public with her allegations in November, leading to a supposed investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. In the days that followed, other women detained inside Hutto came forward with allegations of abuse. But after two interviews with officials from ICE and Williamson County in which there was a language barrier and Monterrosa initially wasn't allowed access to counsel, ICE unceremoniously announced that it found Monterrosa's allegations to be 'unsubstantiated.' The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has since confirmed it intervened in the investigation of sexual assault allegations emerging from the long-troubled detention center."

* * *

[CN: Fat hatred; body shaming] Finally, this is a very good piece by Addy Baird at ThinkProgress: Stop Talking About Trump's Weight. "Focusing on his size is a distraction from all of the other pressing issues with his presidency, and doesn't hurt Trump nearly as much as it hurts anyone else who is fat, uncomfortable in their own skin, or struggling with their body image in any way."

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

Open Wide...

Shut Up!

We Resist: Day 243

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Here are some things in the news today:

Earlier today by me: The Latest on Mueller's Russia Investigation and Trump Is Cringingly Humiliating at the U.N.

As I mentioned yesterday, Republican healthcare access erosion is back, and the GOP Senate caucus is again trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Of course Zombie Republican Deathcare is back, because Republicans don't know how to govern; they only know how to destroy.

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) September 19, 2017

And Mitch McConnell is wasting no time in trying to ram it through, sans details or Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score, to try to prevent us from having time to organize effective resistance for the third time.

Reuters reports: "U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday urged quick action on a recently introduced bill to repeal Obamacare and said it had a lot of support. The legislation by Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy is 'an intriguing idea and one that has a great deal of support,' McConnell, a Republican, told the Senate. Lawmakers should act, because we know that 'our opportunity to do so may well pass us by if we don't act soon,' he said."

And the bipartisan bill to improve Obamacare is now dead.

Alexander has been told to stop working on a bipartisan ACA deal. The push for Graham-Cassidy is sabotaging a bipartisan deal.

— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) September 19, 2017

This is a complete disaster in the making, especially with the "moderate" Republicans now looking more likely to support the new bill, despite the fact that it addresses none of their concerns. "Principles schminciples."—Every Republican ever.

Especially John McCain: "Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who was one of three Republican 'no' votes in July that derailed the last GOP health care effort, said he might 'reluctantly' vote for the bill if his governor supported it. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, backed the legislation later that day."

You know what I'm going to say: MAKE YOUR CALLS.

But don't just listen to me. Listen to former vice-presidential candidate Senator Tim Kaine.

We need your voices now more than ever. Let your Senators know you want bipartisan health care fixes, not a #GrahamCassidy repeal of the ACA https://t.co/qMxIHT6GoH

— Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) September 19, 2017

If you need help resisting, head on over to the Trumpcare Toolkit.

RESIST!

* * *

This is just a real thing in the world:

Fake News, care of the Republican Governors Association. https://t.co/AszFCVJIBL

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) September 19, 2017

As you may recall, this is the same shit Mike Pence tried to pull when he was governor of Indiana, and then claimed he didn't know anything about it when he got busted. (See section five here.)

Anyone who imagines that the Republican Party wants to distance itself from Trump is fooling themselves or is a rank liar. The Republican Party couldn't be more thrilled that Trump is ushering in authoritarianism and legitimizing propaganda. They can't fall in line fast enough.

* * *

Rosalind S. Helderman and Karoun Demirjian at the Washington Post: Senate Intelligence Committee Interview with Trump Lawyer Abruptly Canceled.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has unexpectedly canceled a Tuesday session to interview Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for [Donald] Trump's business and a close associate of the president.

The meeting was scheduled as part of the committee's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Cohen arrived for the interview with his attorney Tuesday morning, but left the closed door session after about an hour, informing reporters waiting outside that committee staff had suddenly informed him they did not wish the interview to go forward.

...Cohen had planned to tell the committee that he has "never engaged with, been paid by, paid for, or conversed with any member of the Russian Federation or anyone else to hack or interfere with the election."

Sounds legit. Anyway, the reason that the committee declined to speak with Cohen today is because he violated an agreement not to speak to media ahead of his testimony by releasing a statement to the press this morning.

In a joint statement, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr (R) and Vice-Chair Mark Warner (D) explained: "We were disappointed that Mr. Cohen decided to pre-empt today's interview by releasing a public statement prior to his engagement with Committee staff, in spite of the Committee's requests that he refrain from public comment. As a result, we declined to move forward with today's interview and will reschedule Mr. Cohen's appearance before the Committee in open session at a date in the near future. The Committee expects witnesses in this investigation to work in good faith with the Senate."

Welp.

* * *

Dan Alexander at Forbes: Eric Trump's Old Foundation Apparently Held Secret Event at Trump-Owned Golf Club. "The charity formerly known as the Eric Trump Foundation apparently held a secret event at Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York on Monday, even though the Eric Trump Foundation remains under investigation by the office of the New York state attorney general. The charity, which was renamed Curetivity, is legally allowed to raise money as the investigation continues. But its choice of venue seemed to be an act of defiance. Eric Trump had previously falsely stated that his charity got to use his family's assets '100% free of charge,' but a June story in Forbes magazine debunked that claim and sparked a state investigation into the organization. It is not clear who will cover the costs for Monday's event." This whole fucking family. What a bunch of disgusting grifters.

Matt Shuham at TPM: Trump Officials Quashed Study Showing Refugees' Net Benefit to US. "Trump administration officials nixed a study that found refugees had brought in more government revenue overall than they had cost in benefits, the New York Times reported Monday. The White House was ultimately given a report that spelled out only the costs associated with refugees. It's unclear exactly who nixed the information from the study showing refugees' positive net fiscal impact on the country. The Times' report comes as the Trump administration determines how many refugees to accept in the coming year, ahead of an Oct. 1 deadline. Two people familiar with talks over the refugee cap told the Times that White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller had intervened to ensure that only costs associated with refugees, and not government revenues generated by them, were taken into consideration." That fucking guy.

And finally, a story of resistance that demands our solidarity: Sameer Rao at Colorlines: 6 California DREAMers Sue Trump to Block DACA Repeal.

A group of six California residents filed a federal lawsuit [Monday] (September 18) that challenges the Trump administration's plan to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Reuters reports that six adult plaintiffs, all of whom came to the United States as children of undocumented parents, filed a suit to stop DACA's repeal in U.S. District Court for the Northern Division of California just after midnight today. The complaint describes Trump's decision to end DACA as "a broken promise and an unprecedented violation of the constitutional rights of plaintiffs and other young people who relied on the federal government" to maintain the program.

That promise was made in 2012, when the Obama administration introduced the program. The complaint argues that it struck a bargain that allowed undocumented immigrant children to trust the government while building lives in the U.S.

...[Dulce Garcia, a San Diego-based lawyer who came to the U.S. at age four] and her fellow plaintiffs' lawsuit specifically accuses the government of being "motivated by unconstitutional bias against Mexicans and Latinos" to justify violating the Fifth Amendment, which protects people from self-incrimination (including, per the complaint, telling the federal government about your undocumented status in good faith) and the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies can propose and rescind policies.

These allegations feature in other lawsuits filed in the wake of the DACA repeal announcement. As The Hill reported, attorney generals from 15 states and the District of Colombia co-filed one such lawsuit on September 6. The Times reported four days later that California, Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota attorneys general submitted their own lawsuit, filed in the same federal court as a suit filed by the University of California.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

Open Wide...

Shut Up!

We Resist: Day 197

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Here are some things in the news today:

Earlier today by me: Trump Is Horrendous in West Virginia and Keep Your Eyes on Pence.

Greg Miller, Julie Vitkovskaya, and Reuben Fischer-Baum at the Washington Post: 'This Deal Will Make Me Look Terrible': Full Transcripts of Trump's Calls with Mexico and Australia. "The Washington Post has obtained transcripts of two conversations [Donald] Trump had with foreign leaders: one with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and another with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The transcripts were prepared by the White House but have not been released. The Post is publishing reproductions rather than original documents in order to protect sources."

Spoiler Alert: They are humiliating. (I'm sure you're shocked.) The world literally laughs at us.

Franco Ordoñez at McClatchy: Diplomats Laughing at Trump over Leaked Mexico Transcript. "Seven months into the Trump administration, the world's diplomatic community has gone from throwing its hands in the air to now leaning back in their chairs and laughing, albeit morosely, at Trump's cringe-worthy display of diplomacy during the infancy of his presidency. ...[Jorge Guajardo, one of Mexico’s most senior and seasoned foreign policy hands, said] the reality is that people expect more from the United States and any leader with a 'shred of dignity' is not going to allow themselves to be spoken to in that way. ...The exchange will only make it harder for Mexico's government to work with anyone in the United States who encouraged or tried to defend Trump's behavior."

Just to be clear: The U.S. President has made it "harder for Mexico's government" to work with the United States, even though "Mexico is the third largest U.S. trading partner and a crucial ally in a wide range of security, migration, and trade issues."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn't happy about the transcripts being leaked:

Sessions tells room of reporters he may make it easier to jail them if they don't reveal sources, leaves without taking any press questions.

— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) August 4, 2017

That's just the head of the Justice Department threatening the free press with an unconstitutional act. Everything is fine. (Everything is not fine.)

* * *

This seems concerning: Russian bots are promulgating hostile rhetoric toward National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster after he, empowered by newly-minted Chief of Staff John Kelly, started cleaning house of his predecessor Michael Flynn's people lingering on the National Security Council.

There's been a 5300% increase in the use of the hashtag "#FireMcMaster" by Russian bots and trolls. https://t.co/ZpyHwkoyCo Seen this before

— Darren Kaplan (@DarrenKaplan) August 3, 2017

Further, and relatedly, the suspicion and attendant targeting of McMaster is creating, and reflective of, deep divisions in the White House. At Business Insider, Natasha Bertrand explains:

The dismissals of Ezra Cohen-Watnick, Rich Higgins, and Derek Harvey have exacerbated friction between McMaster and the White House's more nationalist wing, which is led by Bannon and has [Donald] Trump's ear.

"There is a split in the White House between the Bannon camp of ideologues and the McMaster-Mattis-Tillerson camp of more centrist intellectuals," Pete Mansoor, a retired Army colonel who worked closely with McMaster, told Politico. "And this conflict is playing out in real time as the Trump administration tries to flesh out its foreign policy and national security policy."

...Since the firings, administration officials speaking anonymously to conservative-leaning news outlets have accused McMaster of being "anti-Israel" and opposing "everything the president wants to do."

..."H.R. McMaster is a Deep State Plant who Opposes the Trump Agenda," tweeted Mike Cernovich, a prominent far-right provocateur who describes himself as an "American nationalist."

Cernovich set up a website this week called McMaster Leaks, on which he alleged the general had "been leaking information to David Petraeus and has had direct contact with George Soros," a billionaire, left-leaning philanthropist and frequent bogeyman of the far-right.

...Twitter accounts that have been linked to Russian influence operations have jumped on the anti-McMaster bandwagon, too, using hashtags like #FireMcMaster and #deepstate, according to a newly launched website that aims to track Russian propaganda efforts in real time.

By way of reminder, this is the same strategy that Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner claim they used to win the election, which is coincidentally (ahem) one of the strategies Russia was using to interfere with and influence the election.

Russia is still meddling. The only question is whether the Bannon Camp of the White House is still using this strategy, too — and whether they are coordinating (now, or still) with the Russians.

* * *

Judd Legum at ThinkProgress: Senate Protects Mueller, Blocks Trump from Making Recess Appointment. "The Senate unanimously approved a procedure that will block Trump from making recess appointments during August. The move is the one of the first significant actions Republican Senators have taken to restrain Trump's power. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) moved to hold a series of 'pro-forma' sessions while senators are away for the month of August. Every few days a Republican senator will preside over an empty chamber for about a minute. The move will prevent Trump from filling posts that would ordinarily require Senate confirmation."

At 7:01 p.m., the Senate has adjourned for August recess.

No legislating until Sept. 5. Pro forma sessions will block recess appointments.

— Niels Lesniewski (@nielslesniewski) August 3, 2017

Looks like Trump starting the day trashing Congress wasn't a good idea. Huh! https://t.co/kJEjrtVhIw

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) August 4, 2017

Murkowski now locking in the pro forma schedule.

No recess appointments.

— Niels Lesniewski (@nielslesniewski) August 3, 2017

Looks like threatening Murkowski wasn't a good idea, either. Huh! https://t.co/JyoWnlKUIz

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) August 4, 2017

This is good. Too little and too late already, but good.

* * *

Newsweek's latest cover is something. I mean, I'm not thrilled about the implication that anyone who eats junkfood is lazy (yawn), but I do commend them on a cover that will surely elicit maximum rage from its subject.

And the cover story itself, by Alexander Nazaryan, is scathing: Trump, America's Boy King: Golf and Television Won't Make America Great Again. The entire thing is worth your time to read, but here are a few of my favorite passages:

Pence wrote that "Trump's accomplishments are nothing short of historic." Even by the dismayingly loose standards of political discourse, that is untrue. ... One act renamed a courthouse for Fred Thompson, the actor and Republican senator.

"Make America great again" was policy shock and awe, not small-bore executive memoranda celebrated as if each were the Louisiana Purchase.

For all his dealmaking skills, Trump hasn't shown much ability to negotiate with Congress, probably because it would require a knowledge of what members of Congress want, need and, above all, fear. And that would require doing homework. It's much easier to just threaten Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski on Twitter. It's also a lot less effective.

DAMN.

Wow. @realDonaldTrump is going to hate this article so much. That is, if he even has the stamina to get through it. https://t.co/a0Bl87SnYl

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) August 4, 2017

* * *

This is also concerning: The following two tweets showed up back-to-back in my Twitter feed this morning.

This is what's bubbling up from the extreme right and the extreme left: Threats of violence, being proffered as concerned warnings.

* * *

And finally...

David Herzig and Bridget Crawford at the Washington Post: This Trump Real Estate Deal Looks Awfully Like Criminal Tax Fraud. "According to a recent story by ProPublica and the Real Deal, in April 2016 a limited liability company managed by Trump sold two condominium apartments to a limited liability company managed by Eric Trump. They were on the 13th and 14th floors of a 14-story, full-service, doorman building at 100 Central Park South in Manhattan. This is a prime Midtown neighborhood, yet the sale price for each condo was just $350,000. ...Maybe the two units in question were in terrible shape, but two months before the sale to Eric Trump's LLC, they were advertised for $790,000 (on the 13th floor) and $800,000 (on the 14th floor), according to ProPublica." Fucking hell.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

Open Wide...

Shut Up!

We Resist: Day 194

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Here are some things in the news today:

Earlier today by me: Here Is Another Report That Trump Lied About Russia.

🚨🚨🚨 HOLY SHIT. Sorry to get all Drudge on you with the alarms, but this is a big one, friends. Josh Rogin at the Washington Post: State Department Considers Scrubbing Democracy Promotion from Its Mission. Just reading that headline took my breath away. Emphases mine:

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has ordered his department to redefine its mission and issue a new statement of purpose to the world. The draft statements under review right now are similar to the old mission statement, except for one thing — any mention of promoting democracy is being eliminated.

According to an internal email that went out Friday, which I obtained, the State Department's Executive Steering Committee convened a meeting of leaders to draft new statements on the department's purpose, mission and ambition, as part of the overall reorganization of the State Department and USAID. (The draft statements were being circulated for comment Friday and could change before being finalized.)

• The State Department's draft statement on its purpose is: "We promote the security, prosperity, and interests of the American people globally."

• The State Department's draft statement on its mission is: "Lead America's foreign policy through global advocacy, action, and assistance to shape a safer, more prosperous world."

• The State Department's draft statement on its ambition is: "The American people thrive in a peaceful and interconnected world that is free, resilient, and prosperous."

Compare that to the State Department Mission Statement that is currently on the books, as laid out in the department's fiscal year 2016 financial report:

"The Department's mission is to shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world and foster conditions for stability and progress for the benefit of the American people and people everywhere. This mission is shared with the USAID, ensuring we have a common path forward in partnership as we invest in the shared security and prosperity that will ultimately better prepare us for the challenges of tomorrow."

Former senior State Department officials from both parties told me that eliminating "just" and "democratic" from the State Department's list of desired outcomes is neither accidental nor inconsequential.

"The only significant difference is the deletion of justice and democracy," said Elliott Abrams, who served as deputy national security adviser for global democracy strategy during the George W. Bush administration. "We used to want a just and democratic word, and now apparently we don't."

The Trump administration and Republican Party are keen to kill democracy at home, and this is the opening salvo in delineating official indifference to, or active subversion of, democracy around the world.

I fear this is one of those things that will fly under the radar, but it's big. Very big. It's a redefinition of the US' place in the world. https://t.co/PHuNR6cD0S

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) August 1, 2017

This is America First as foreign policy. It is a total abdication of America's role as a global democratic leader. It is a giant shit on veterans and currently serving service members, who signed up to defend democracy here and abroad. It is a betrayal of this nation's citizens who believe in and defend our democratic institutions, and a fuck-you to our democratic allies.

I am absolutely sick. I am angry. And I am afraid.

* * *

Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart at Reuters: North Korea Can Hit Most of United States Say U.S. Officials. "North Korea's latest test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) has shown that Pyongyang now may be able to reach most of the continental United States, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday. The assessment, which the officials discussed on condition of anonymity, underscored the growing threat posed by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, and could add pressure on [Donald] Trump's administration to respond."

That sounds scary. I wonder if it's true, or whether it's a dangerous exaggeration (or straight-up lie) being used to justify military action from the Trump administration. We have no way of knowing, since most of the senior members of this administration have shown themselves to be demonstrable liars, and the "U.S. officials" disclosing this information are anonymous. Let's all pay attention to see if Donald Trump is publicly angry about this leak. Something tells me he won't be, and that will itself be very informative.

Meanwhile, in shit we definitely know we should care about, but too bad our president is Putin's puppet...

Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt at the New York Times: Russia's Military Drills Near NATO Border Raise Fears of Aggression. "Russia is preparing to send as many as 100,000 troops to the eastern edge of NATO territory at the end of the summer, one of the biggest steps yet in the military buildup undertaken by President Vladimir V. Putin and an exercise in intimidation that recalls the most ominous days of the Cold War. The troops are conducting military maneuvers known as Zapad, Russian for 'west,' in Belarus, the Baltic Sea, western Russia and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The drills will feature a reconstituted armored force named for a storied Soviet military unit, the First Guards Tank Army. Its establishment represents the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union that so much offensive power has been concentrated in a single command."

Fuck.

It's probably a good time for a reminder, in case you've forgotten (or never heard), that Sweden has been making "preparations for a possible military attack" by Russia since the end of last year.

* * *

Ashley Feinberg at Wired: Kushner on Middle East Peace: "What Do We Offer That's Unique? I Don't Know."

WIRED has obtained a recording of Kushner's talk, which lasted for just under an hour in total.

The speech—which was peppered with self-deprecating jokes as reported by Foreign Policy—offered a rare insight into the man who [Donald] Trump has tasked with criminal justice reform, managing the opioid crisis, updating the government's technological systems, and creating peace in the Middle East, among other tasks. It's the latter, though, that's both the most deeply personal for Kushner (a staunch supporter of Israel) and that prompted him to embark on his longest, most rambling answer during yesterday's question-and-answer session.

While the recording doesn't catch the entirety of the question, it appears to center on how Kushner plans to negotiate peace between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as why he believes he'll be successful where every other administration has failed. He doesn't directly answer either question, but he does reveal that, from his extensive research, he's learned that "not a whole lot has been accomplished over the last 40 or 50 years." He also notes that he's spoken to "a lot of people," which has taught him that "this is a very emotionally charged situation."

Later in the clip, Kushner expresses frustration at others' attempts to teach him about the delicate situation he's been inserted into, saying, "Everyone finds an issue, that, 'You have to understand what they did then' and 'You have to understand that they did this.' But how does that help us get peace? Let's not focus on that. We don't want a history lesson. We've read enough books. Let's focus on how do you come up with a conclusion to the situation."

Fucking hell.

Nicole Lafond at TPM: Eric Trump: I Want Somebody to Start Fighting for My Father. Appearing on Fox's 'Hannity' show, the favorite media outlet of the Trump family, Eric Trump said his father is carrying the 'whole weight' of the Republican party on his shoulders. ...He said his father is 'the best fighter in the world' and no one can do a better job of fighting for Trump than Trump can. 'But how much weight does he have to carry by himself? How can a party that is doing so much better than the Democrats… Why wouldn't they embrace this? My father has the voice of this country. The people of this country love him. Why wouldn't they get in line?' he said, referencing defections by three Republican senators who voted against the Obamacare repeal vote early Friday morning." My god, this family.

[Content Note: Video may autoplay at link] Lydia Wheeler at the Hill: GOP House Member Calls on Mueller to Resign. "Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) is calling on Robert Mueller, special counsel for the Justice Department's Russia investigation, to resign. Franks, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, claims Mueller is violating a law governing the special counsel that prohibits him from serving if he has a 'conflict of interest'... 'Those who worked under them have attested he and Jim Comey possess a close friendship, and they have delivered on-the-record statements effusing praise of one another.'" Fuck. Off.

This is bad — very bad:

NEW: Attorney General Jeff Sessions announces General Mark S. Inch as new director of Federal Bureau of Prisons. pic.twitter.com/6HuToOlxas

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 1, 2017

It doesn't seem normal that military officials are now the White House Chief of Staff & the head of the Bureau of Corrections. https://t.co/dxZSUPS2rj

— deray mckesson (@deray) August 1, 2017

Sam Thielman at TPM: Stinger Missiles and Shady Deals: Ex-Biz Partner to Trump Has a Tall Tale to Tell. "In December 2015, an Associated Press reporter asked Donald Trump why he had appointed Felix Sater, a man who'd been convicted for stock fraud, his senior advisor. 'Felix Sater, boy, I have to even think about it,' Trump told the AP. 'I'm not that familiar with him.' The feeling is not mutual. 'My last Moscow deal [for the Trump Organization] was in October of 2015,' Sater recalled. 'It didn't go through because obviously he became President.'" There is so, so much more at the link.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

Open Wide...

Shut Up!

We Resist: Day 139

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Here are some things in the news today:

Earlier today by me: Trump Nominates Christopher Wray as FBI Director; Eric Trump Says Democrats Are "Not Even People"; and The Latest on Trump and the Russia Investigation.

Spencer Ackerman at the Daily Beast: Michael Flynn Had a Plan to Work With Russia's Military. It Wasn't Exactly Legal.

Donald Trump's first national security adviser pushed so hard for the Pentagon to cooperate with the Russian military that his initiative would likely have broken the law if it had ever been enacted.

Four current and former Pentagon officials told The Daily Beast that during Michael Flynn's brief White House tenure, the retired general advocated for the expansion of a relatively narrow military communications channel—one meant to keep U.S. and Russian pilots safe from one another—to see if the two nations could jointly fight the so-called Islamic State.

The initiative never went anywhere, in part because of opposition from the Pentagon and from U.S. Central Command; a legal prohibition set by Congress; and, ultimately, Flynn's firing.

Inside the Pentagon, "there was a lot of fear that we'd move to outright cooperation [with Russia] through this channel," according to a former senior defense official.

Emphasis mine. So, what's particularly interesting to me about this is Flynn's justification for suggesting a shared military communications channel with Russia: A joint fight against the Islamic State.

The reason that caught my attention is because, before the 2016 election, joining forces with Russia to defeat ISIS was not a mainstream position, on either side of the aisle. [Content Note: Video may autoplay at following link.] That's because, as Hillary Clinton noted during the second presidential debate, Vladimir Putin doesn't give a fuck about ISIS: "Clinton said that Russia 'isn't interested in ISIS' and its assault on Aleppo was aimed at destroying Syrian rebels opposed the regime led by Bashar al-Assad."

But during the 2016 election, the one in which Russian interfered, every single one of Hillary Clinton's leading opponents suggested working with Russia in some manner, using the justification of joining forces to defeat ISIS.

Donald Trump repeatedly insisted throughout the campaign (and still asserts) that we should work with Russia to defeat ISIS, and criticized President Obama for not having done the same, despite the fact that such a plan is "futile and dangerous."

November 2015: Sanders Calls for New NATO That Includes Russia. "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called for a new accord between America, its closest allies, and Russia as well as Arab nations as a major plank on how to destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)."

September 2016: Gary Johnson: 'What Is Aleppo?' "With regard to Syria I do think it's a mess. I think that the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that at an end."

October 2015: Jill Stein Calls for Ceasefire in Syria, Joint Peace Agenda with Russia. "Stein People's Agenda for Global Peace and Agenda lays out a multi-prong approach to pursue peace based on focusing on promote [sic] justice and prosperity for all countries. Stein last week in NYC briefly outlined the proposal to Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who asked her to follow-up with more details."

So, no serious foreign policy suggestions to join with Russia to fight ISIS before 2016. Then, during the election in which Russia intervened with the express purpose of defeating (or critically weakening) Clinton, every one of her opponents from across the political spectrum—her Democratic primary opponent, and her general election Republican, Libertarian, and Green Party opponents—each offered a policy of aligning with Russia, with the rationale of defeating ISIS.

Clinton was also the only candidate who did not have someone with ties to Putin working on her campaign, or a previous campaign. Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort and Sanders' chief strategist Tad Devine had previously worked in collaboration for pro-Putin former Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych. Roger Stone was an advisor on Johnson's 2012 campaign, and continued to speak enthuiastically about Johnson in 2016. And Stein rather famously had dinner with Putin herself.

Also at that dinner? Michael Flynn—who then used that curiously shared rationale of defeating ISIS to argue for allying with Russia when his candidate won the White House.

A rationale that has never made, and continues to make, no sense based on the most basic understanding of Russia's objectives and alliances in Syria.

Russia is not our ally in our fight against ISIS in Syria. Russia's allies there are Assad, Iran, Hezbollah.

— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) May 16, 2017

Maybe this is all just one monumental coincidence. Or maybe it's a case for a broadened investigation into Russian interference in the election.

* * *

Dan Alexander at Forbes: How Donald Trump Shifted Kids-Cancer Charity Money into His Business.

Eric Trump, the president's second son and now the co-head of the Trump Organization, [has hosted the Eric Trump Foundation golf invitational] for ten years on behalf of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He's done a ton of good: To date, he's directed more than $11 million there, the vast majority of it via this annual golf event. He has also helped raise another $5 million through events with other organizations.

The best part about all this, according to Eric Trump, is the charity's efficiency: Because he can get his family's golf course for free and have most of the other costs donated, virtually all the money contributed will go toward helping kids with cancer. "We get to use our assets 100% free of charge," Trump tells Forbes.

That's not the case. In reviewing filings from the Eric Trump Foundation and other charities, it's clear that the course wasn't free—that the Trump Organization received payments for its use, part of more than $1.2 million that has no documented recipients past the Trump Organization. Golf charity experts say the listed expenses defy any reasonable cost justification for a one-day golf tournament.

Additionally, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which has come under previous scrutiny for self-dealing and advancing the interests of its namesake rather than those of charity, apparently used the Eric Trump Foundation to funnel $100,000 in donations into revenue for the Trump Organization.

And while donors to the Eric Trump Foundation were told their money was going to help sick kids, more than $500,000 was re-donated to other charities, many of which were connected to Trump family members or interests, including at least four groups that subsequently paid to hold golf tournaments at Trump courses.

Note that this story came out yesterday, hours before Eric Trump appeared on Sean Hannity's show to angrily sputter that Trump opponents are "not even people."

Meanwhile, reporter David Fahrenthold, who has done a ton of excellent investigative work on the Trump Foundation, notes that the details revealed in the Forbes piece mean that Eric Trump "repeatedly" lied to him.

* * *

Dana Milbank at the Washington Post: 'President Pence' is Sounding Better and Better. "Many liberals correctly call Pence a doctrinaire conservative, particularly on gay rights and other social issues. ...But Pence is, at core, a small-d democrat, not a demagogue. The world would be safer with him in charge. We would still have fierce divisions about the nation's direction. But Pence, in the nearly two decades I've known him, has been an honorable man. Opponents can disagree with him yet sleep well knowing he's unlikely to be irrational." This is straight-up garbage.

Oh look another reporter who's apparently never spoken to anyone from Indiana & has never heard the name Glenda Ritz https://t.co/OSJv5G185w

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) June 7, 2017

Seethe.

Caitlin MacNeal at TPM: Karen Handel: 'I Do Not Support a Livable Wage'. "During Tuesday night's debate for an open U.S. House seat in Georgia, Republican candidate Karen Handel said that she does not support a 'livable wage.' 'This is an example of the fundamental difference between a liberal and a conservative: I do not support a livable wage,' she said on Atlanta's WSB-TV in response to a viewer question about raising the minimum wage. 'What I support is making sure that we have an economy that is robust with low taxes and less regulation.'" Let me note once again: Republicans think people aren't entitled to food.

Or anything else that is necessary to live. To wit: If you thought that Republicans had given up on destroying healthcare access, I'm sorry to inform you that they have not.

It begins: McConnell initiates the "Rule 14" process of putting the House-passed AHCA on the Senate calendar for fast-track consideration.

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 7, 2017

Ahem, everyone who was all, this is dead in the Senate, this won't come up for a vote this year etc. https://t.co/EU2EjOoDX7

— Garance Franke-Ruta (@thegarance) June 7, 2017

Yeah.

[CN: Racism] Breanna Edwards at the Root: In Every Service Branch, Black Troops Are More Likely to Be Punished by Commanders, Courts: Report. "Black service members are up to two times more likely to face court martial or other forms of military punishment than their white counterparts in an average year, an analysis by advocacy organization Protect Our Defenders has revealed. According to USA Today, which received an advance copy of the study, the advocacy group for victims of sexual assault in the military and military justice went through Pentagon data from 2006 to 2015 to compile its report, and came up with the perhaps not-so-surprising results. 'Over the past decade, racial disparities have persisted in the military justice system without indications of improvement,' the report states."

[CN: Racism] Kenrya Rankin at Colorlines: Study: Cops Routinely Use Disrespectful Language with Black People. "A new report from researchers at Stanford University found what many Black people already know: Police are more likely to speak disrespectfully to Black people than they are to their White counterparts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences posted 'Language From Police Body Camera Footage Shows Racial Disparities in Officer Respect' online yesterday (June 5). ...Overall, the study found that White people are shown more respect, with Whites being 57 percent more likely to be addressed with the most respectful statements, and Blacks 61 percent more likely to be disrespected."

Jessica Mason Pieklo at Rewire: Supreme Court Ruling Could Let Catholic Hospitals 'Pocket' Millions in Retirement Funds. "The impact of the decision [in Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton] means Catholic hospitals, which employ tens of thousands of low- to middle-income workers, can now generally avoid the pension and health insurance protections required by federal law."

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

Open Wide...

Shut Up!