Shakesville

Today in Draining the Swamp

Donald Trump has already selected four Goldman Sachs executives to serve in his administration: Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Director of the White House National Economic Council Gary Cohn, and Senior Counselor for Economic Initiatives Dina Powell.

And now he will nominate a fifth: "Trump on Tuesday said he planned to nominate Goldman Sachs managing director James Donovan to serve as deputy treasury secretary, selecting his fifth Goldman veteran to take a senior role in his administration."

By way of reminder, this is an explicit bait-and-switch. As Eric Levitz observed at NY Mag in November: "In Donald Trump's final campaign ad, the GOP standard-bearer informed America that 'those who control the levers of power in Washington' do not 'have your good in mind,' as a sign reading Wall St. flickered across the screen. Moments later, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs appeared, serving as an embodiment of the global elite that has 'robbed our working class.'"

Relatedly, Trump's morning tweetshitz included this doozy:

CEO's most optimistic since 2009. It will only get better as we continue to slash unnecessary regulations and when we begin our big tax cut!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2017

Ah, yes. The widely-recognized perfect policy to address the economic anxiety of working class rust belters—deregulation and tax cuts for CEOs!

It's a good thing we didn't elect that establishment monster Hillary Clinton who gave paid speeches to Goldman Sachs, amirite? Phew! That was a close one.

Trump Taxes

Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow pitched an exclusive get of Donald Trump's taxes. It turned out to be only two pages of a single tax return from 2005, showing that Trump made about $150 million in income and paid about $36.5 million in federal taxes. (If you see the number $38 million, that's erroneously including $1.5 million he paid in employment taxes.)

David Cay Johnston, the reporter under whose door the tax pages were slipped, noted that it was possible Trump leaked the documents himself.

Which, frankly, seems pretty likely.

I noticed (as did many others) during the broadcast that the tax pages bore a stamp reading "Client Copy." Further to that, I assumed Trump sent the pages when the schedules and attachments detailing income sources were absent, which is the information that actually matters in terms of establishing any improprieties, e.g.

In 2005, Trump made a licensing deal for a hotel in Moscow. Felix Sater was in charge of that project. cc @joshtpm https://t.co/YZgjtWlPKC
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) March 15, 2017

Without that supporting documentation, these two pages are of little direct value to anyone but Trump, as they disprove the accusation that he doesn't pay taxes. (They only disprove it for a single year, but that's enough for his supporters.)

At the Washington Post, Derek Hawkins additionally notes: "Some even thought MSNBC host Rachel Maddow's apparent scoop on Trump's leaked 2005 tax return made him look good. After all, the New York Times had once suggested that he had avoided taxes, and others that he was faking the extent of his wealth."

The most important item to come from the docs, which unfortunately will probably get very little attention, is how his taxes were impacted by the alternative minimum tax. At the Guardian, Sabrina Siddiqui, Jon Swaine, and Julia Carrie Wong explain:

[T]he documents also showed that about 82% of the total paid to the Internal Revenue Service that year by Trump and his wife, Melania, was incurred due to a tax that Trump has said should be abolished.

The "alternative minimum tax" (AMT), which was introduced to ensure the mega wealthy pay a fairer share of tax, comprised $31m of Trump's tax bill compared with $5.3m in regular federal income tax. In the run-up to November's election, Trump pledged to eliminate the AMT altogether, meaning the president campaigned for a change in the tax law that would have benefited him.

That Trump is a greedy and unethical opportunist with conflicts of interest who is using the presidency to enrich himself isn't, however, breaking news. This is another data point in an established narrative.

That doesn't make it unimportant, but it wasn't exactly a blockbuster, either. And I'm frankly not remotely certain that it was important enough to dedicate a (very overhyped) segment to detached tax pages that ultimately serve to help Trump.

Open Thread

image of a red couch

Hosted by a red sofa. Have a seat and chat.

Question of the Day

What household project needs to get done, but you've just been putting it off because you can't be arsed to do it? Not, like, a major repair that's been delayed for valid reasons, but something you could do and just can't find the motivation.

Cleaning out the bedroom closets. Ugh.

Quote of the Day

[Content Note: White privilege.]

"The consequences are serious. When we don't talk honestly with white children about racism, they become more likely to disbelieve or discount their peers when they report experiencing racism. 'But we're all equal' becomes a rote response that actually blocks white children from recognizing or taking seriously racism when they see it or hear about it. ...White children are exposed to racism daily. If we parents don't point it out, show how it works, and teach why it is false, over time our children are more likely to accept racist messages at face value."—Jennifer Harvey, in a thoughtful piece for the New York Times, "Are We Raising Racists?"

Four Years Later, Senator Gillibrand Is Still Fighting for Accountability for Military Sexual Assaults

[Content Note: Sexual harassment and abuse.]

Four years ago, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced legislation to enforce meaningful accountability for the epidemic of sexual assault in the U.S. military, by "transferring sex crimes from the watch and authority of military brass and instead funneling such cases to independent military prosecutors."

Here we are, four years later, and there is yet another major incident of widespread sexual harassment/assault against female servicemembers. As I reported last Monday, the U.S. Marine Corps is investigating after a link to a drive containing photos of female Marines "in various states of undress" was posted to a 30k+ member Facebook group. The WaPo reported: "The hard drive contained images, as well as the names and units of the women pictured. Many of the photos were accompanied by derogatory and harassing comments."

Today, Gillibrand grilled Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the latest incident, and she did not hold back, her voice rising with precisely the emotion I want my elected officials to have about this subject.

Military leadership must take responsibility for a toxic culture that fosters harassment and sexual assault. pic.twitter.com/nTPrLPwY7d
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) March 14, 2017

I have to say, when you say to us, "It's got to be different," that rings hollow. I don't know what you mean when you say that. Why does it have to be different—because you all of a sudden feel that it has to be different? Who has been held accountable?

I very much align myself with Senator Fischer's comments: Who has been held responsible?! Have you actually investigated and found guilty anybody?! If we can't crack Facebook, how are we supposed to be able to confront Russian aggression and cyber-hacking throughout our military?

It is a serious problem, when we have members of our military denigrating female Marines who will give their life to this country, in the way they have, with no response from leadership. I can tell you: Your answers today are unsatisfactory.

Sen. Gillibrand continued, before Gen. Neller had the opportunity to provide more unsatisfactory answers.

GILLIBRAND: I can tell you: Your answers today are unsatisfactory. They do not go far enough. And I would like to know what you intend to do to the commanders who are responsible for good order and discipline. [edit] Where's the accountability for failure?! Who is being held accountable for doing nothing since 2013?! Who? Which commander? I am very concerned that this is part of a culture that is resulting in the high levels of sexual assault.

We know from the FY14 SAPRO report that 60 percent of men and 58 percent of women who experience sexual harassment or gender discrimination in the previous year throughout all the services indicated that a supervisor or unit leader was one of the people engaged in the violations. That is a problem with our command.

So if you're dedicated to fixing the culture of the Marines, and all the services, what do you plan to do to hold commanders responsible who fail to get this done?

NELLER: [long pause] Senator, I understand and share your concern. Um. If I were aware, or any— I would expect that any commander who was aware of someone who has reported any allegation of anything, particularly something as serious as sexual assault, and the chain of command didn't do anything, that that commander would be held accountable.

[long pause] I don't have any statistics for you on that. Um. I can tell you that, of all those individuals who have come forward with allegations of sexual assault, what's happened to individuals that, um, were the charges, uh, ended up with some sort of process and ended up with an adjudication, um, but those are just numbers.

As you clearly and rightfully state, this is a problem with our culture, and... [pause] I'm still in the process— I mean, I— [gives up trying to be circumspect] I don't have a good answer for you. I'm not gonna sit here and duck around this thing. I'm not. I'm responsible. I'm the commandant. I own this. And we are gonna have to— [pause]

You know, I know you've heard it before, but we're gonna have to change how we see ourselves and how we do—how we treat each other. Um. That's a lame answer, but, ma'am, that's all I've—that's the best I can tell ya right now.

Credit to Gen. Neller for at least managing to look like he actually sort of gives a shit about this issue, which is the bare fucking minimum and yet a bar so low most of his predecessors and colleagues haven't been able to meet it.

Perhaps the most (unintentionally) wise thing that Neller said is that the military has to change how they see themselves. They also need to change how they see their critics.

One is virtually deemed traitorous at the mere suggestion that a member of the U.S. military (especially a straight white male member of the U.S. military) is anything less than a paragon of moral virtue. They are warriors, they are heroes, they are patriots, they are the good guys who take on the evil-doers.

That collective reputation is fiercely protected. But its fierce protection abets abuse.

Communities in which members are presumed to be above reproach attract abusers who cynically and deliberately exploit the reflexive presumption of moral virtue their membership affords them. Abusers count on the merest suggestion that they are anything but unassailably upstanding being mischaracterized as a hostile attack on the entire community. They count on the community closing ranks around all but the occasional bad apple they cannot justifiably defend.

The setting apart of the military as inherently honorable is antithetical to effective rape prevention. It discourages self-reflection—what need is there to examine one's own ethics if one has already been declared honorable by one's entire country?—and it attracts predators who know they can operate with immunity under the presumption of honor, and it exhorts gatekeepers to ignore evidence which subverts the idea of inherent honor. Which is why, in sexual assault cases, the chain of command routinely chooses silencing victims in defense of the narrative instead of holding their attackers accountable.

There's too much at stake for men invested in a narrative that confers upon them them an unearned reputation of honor for them to be gatekeepers in cases that are the most immediate evidence that narrative is bullshit. They have a vested interest in maintaining it, at victims' expense.

Pulling sexual assault cases out of the chain of command is an important and critical reform. But it is only a start. Truly getting to the root of the military's rape crisis will require giving up some things I'm not sure the military is willing to let go.

But they must. If this is ever going to change.

"Being a male feminist can even get you laid."

[Content Note: Misogyny; abuse; hostility to consent; description of sexual aggression/coercion at link.]

This piece by Nona Willis Aronowitz, "Meet the Woke Misogynist," is very good, and will probably be validating for a number of people who spend time in this community.

Now that feminism has become more fashionable, it's harder to tell who our true allies are. Self-proclaimed male feminists are everywhere, from dating apps to Silicon Valley to Hollywood. Many men now want to be equal partners and parents. They believe a woman should be president and they follow Kamala Harris on Twitter. They would never dream of saying indisputably sexist things in public. Many male feminists are genuine, even if they're not perfect. They will try and sometimes fail on their way to enlightenment. We care about the men in our lives, so we are happy to explain what they've done wrong. We will gently chide our guy friends for objectifying their female lovers or about how their favorite films don't pass the Bechdel test.

And they'll usually listen, because being a male feminist is admirable. Being a male feminist can even get you laid.

The larger point is, of course, that there are plenty of men who have realized that purporting to be feminist gets them lots of cookies and access to women, whose trust they can then exploit.

It's an old racket under a new mantle: Insinuate yourself as someone who cares, someone who is special, and use the good faith you've been afforded to make your victims doubt themselves when you inevitably abuse them, and then exploit that carefully cultivated doubt to protect yourself from accountability.

It is a timeworn pattern of predators. They have insinuated themselves under the banner of The Good Stepfather, The Caring Priest, The Cool Teacher, The Family Values Politician, and on and on. The Male Feminist is just the latest iteration.

And the problem, of course, is that there are good stepfathers and caring priests and cool teachers and family values politicians who aren't secretly having affairs. There are also male feminists who don't treat feminism as a rap for progressive pick-up artists.

Which is why it's not always evident, right away or ever until the abuse starts, that these guys are wearing a mask.

The takeaways from that are:

1. It isn't your fault if you get taken in by a predator who's wearing the mask of male feminist.

2. Trust your instincts. If you see red flags, heed them. You don't owe anyone your trust, especially if they haven't earned it. And a male feminist who doesn't feel like he has to earn your trust is sending up a big red flag. Other common red flags with predators wearing the mask of male feminist are: Using the fixed state ally model and showing a lack of deference to women's actual lived experiences, in order to position themselves as an expert on womanhood.

3. Beware the self-proclaimed male feminist who seems more inclined to say he's a feminist than show he's one. As I've said before: I don't know if any of my closest male friends, including my husband, have ever said: "I'm a feminist." If they have, it's been rare enough that I don't remember it. They don't have to say it. They show me, by making themselves trustworthy and practicing feminism, every day.

Daily Dose of Cute

image of Zelda the Black and Tan Mutt trotting in the back door, covered in snow

Zelly is a Snow Dog!

image of Dudley the Greyhound and Zelda the Black and Tan Mutt standing at the back door, covered in snow; Dudley looks miserable; Zelda looks significantly more hardy

Dudley is...less robust, lol.
Although Dudley looooooves running in snow, he doesn't like being out in falling snow even a little bit. Look at that pathetic face!

He has a coat (and snow boots), but he doesn't want to wear them. He prefers to get covered in snow, give me a pitiable look at the back door, then wriggle around in magnificent delight while I dry him off with a towel, rubbing him down while making silly noises he finds hilarious until well past the point after which he's already dry.

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.

We Resist: Day 54

a black bar with the word RESIST in white text

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 I've read today:

[Content Note: Militarization and war, covering next three paragraphs.] With more on the loosening of counterterrorism rules, which was yesterday's lead story, Greg Jaffe and Karen DeYoung at the Washington Post: Trump Administration Reviewing Ways to Make it Easier to Launch Drone Strikes. "The Trump administration is close to finishing a review that would make it easier for the Pentagon to launch counterterrorism strikes anywhere in the world by lowering the threshold on acceptable civilian casualties and scaling back other constraints imposed by the Obama administration, senior U.S. officials said. The ongoing review, which is being considered at senior levels of the National Security Council, would undo a series of rules that Obama imposed, beginning in 2013, to rein in drone operations outside active war zones."

Julian Borger at the Guardian: U.S. to Deploy Missile-Capable Drones Across Border from North Korea. "The US has declared it will permanently station missile-capable drones in South Korea in the latest round of military escalation in north-eastern Asia. ...The US military in South Korea took the unusual step of publicly announcing the deployment of a company of Grey Eagle drones, which it said would add 'significant intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability' for American and South Korean forces."

Brad Reed at Raw Story: SEAL Team 6 Is Reportedly Helping Plan a 'Decapitation' Attack Against North Korea's Kim Jong-un. "According to news site JoongAng Daily, the SEAL Team—which carried out the raid that successfully killed Osama bin Laden in 2011—is joining with South Korean forces to conduct 'an exercise simulating the removal of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.' A Pentagon spokesperson tells Business Insider that the United States 'does not train for decapitation missions,' and denied that any U.S. forces were doing so in South Korea. However, the publication also notes that planning for such a strike would 'fit with a March 1 Wall Street Journal report that the White House is considering military action against the Kim regime.'"

All of the above is very, very concerning. I guess this answers my question about whether anyone at the White House is paying attention to what's happening in East Asia. But the answer is expectedly troubling.

[CN: War on agency] Sandhya Somashekhar at the Washington Post: CBO: Defunding Planned Parenthood Would Lead to Thousands More Births. "The analysts estimated that excluding the women's health organization from the Medicaid program for one year, as congressional Republicans have proposed, would particularly affect low-income areas and communities without many health care options, leaving 15 percent of those people 'without services that help women avert pregnancy.' ...The budget analysis 'reaffirms what we already know: the provision to 'defund' Planned Parenthood would have disastrous consequences and result in women losing access to care, especially services that help women prevent unintended pregnancies,' Dana Singiser, Planned Parenthood's vice president for public policy and governmental relations, said in a statement."

A follow-up on Trump's promise to donate his salary:

We learned today that the WH couldn't say where @realDonaldTrump was donating his salary because...he hasn't been donating his salary. https://t.co/ZggthNhnDE
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) March 13, 2017

Shocking. (Presumably you read that with the dripping sarcasm in which it was slathered.)

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Julie Hirschfeld Davis at the New York Times: Using Air Quotes, White House Walks Back 'Wiretap' Talk. "Two senior White House officials suggested on Monday that [Mr.] Trump's unsubstantiated claim that President Barack Obama had tapped his telephone was not meant to be taken literally, arguing that Mr. Trump had been referring more broadly to a variety of surveillance efforts during the 2016 campaign when he made the incendiary accusation. 'He doesn't really think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally,' said Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary." Such unmitigated codswallop.

Nick Wing at the Huffington Post: Everything We Know About Trumpland's Ties to Russia, from Start to Finish. "Our timeline documents 30 years of Trump and his circle's connections to Russia, which entered the spotlight in 2015 with the assembly of a campaign staff and platform that showed unprecedented levels of friendliness toward a historical adversary of the United States. The House Intelligence Committee will hold its first public hearing on the matter next week, which will hopefully provide further clarity about what all of this means, if anything."

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Erik Larson at Bloomberg: Tillerson Used 'Alias' Email for Climate Messages, Schneiderman Says. "New York says Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used an email alias to discuss climate change while he was Exxon Mobil Corp.'s chief executive: Wayne Tracker. Tillerson sent messages from the account to discuss the risks posed by climate change, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a court filing about his office's fraud investigation of the company. Tillerson, whose middle name is Wayne, used the Wayne Tracker account on the Exxon system from at least 2008 through 2015, Schneiderman said." This fucking guy.

[CN: White supremacy] Chris Massie at CNN: Steve King: Blacks and Hispanics 'Will Be Fighting Each Other' Before Overtaking Whites in Population. "[King] was on the radio responding to a question about Univision anchor Jorge Ramos' comment to Tucker Carlson on Fox News that whites would become a majority-minority demographic in America by 2044, a point Ramos used to make the argument that it is a multiracial country. 'Jorge Ramos' stock in trade is identifying and trying to drive wedges between race,' King told Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson on 1040 WHO. 'Race and ethnicity, I should say to be more correct. When you start accentuating the differences, then you start ending up with people that are at each other's throats. And he's adding up Hispanics and blacks into what he predicts will be in greater number than whites in America. I will predict that Hispanics and the blacks will be fighting each other before that happens." Fuckkkkkkkkk this guy.

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

Paul Ryan Responds to CBO Report

After the Congressional Budget Office issued its dire assessment of the Republicans' healthcare proposal, Speaker Paul Ryan released this statement in response:

This report confirms that the American Health Care Act will lower premiums and improve access to quality, affordable care. CBO also finds that this legislation will provide massive tax relief, dramatically reduce the deficit, and make the most fundamental entitlement reform in more than a generation. These are things we are achieving in just the first of a three-pronged approach. It's important to note that this report does not take into consideration additional steps Congress and the Trump administration are taking that will further lower costs and increase choices.

I recognize and appreciate concerns about making sure people have access to coverage. Under Obamacare, we have seen how government-mandated coverage does not equal access to care, and now the law is collapsing. Our plan is not about forcing people to buy expensive, one-size-fits-all coverage. It is about giving people more choices and better access to a plan they want and can afford. When people have more choices, costs go down. That's what this report shows. And, as we have long said, there will be a stable transition so that no one has the rug pulled out from under them.

This week, a third House committee will debate the American Health Care Act as part of an open, transparent process. We have set out a clear goal—to give every American access to quality, affordable care—and a clear plan to achieve it. Now we must keep our promise and deliver.

This is just undiluted horseshit.

Its every syllable is contemptible, but I am particularly disdainful of the aggressive insufficiency of this rubbish: "I recognize and appreciate concerns about making sure people have access to coverage."

Like it's an aside, rather than the central issue.

He's so intolerably glib about this. It's a life and death issue, and he sounds like he's talking about making sure there's enough ambrosia salad for the potluck.

image of Paul Ryan smiling, to which I've added text reading: 'So fucking proud of himself.'

Snowpocalypse 2017

The East Coast of the U.S. is getting hammered with another awful winter storm. Some places have gotten less snow than was predicted (and some have gotten even more); in some places, freezing rain is now raining down on top of the snow from overnight, creating hazardous road conditions and making electrical outages more likely as lines get weighed down with ice.

[Content Note: Video may autoplay at link] 18 million people are currently under a blizzard warning. "More than 7,800 US flights Monday through Wednesday were canceled and thousands of schools have closed. Winter storm warnings and watches have been hoisted over a region stretching from Ohio and West Virginia into Maine. Local and state authorities warned residents to be prepared and to avoid unnecessary travel as winds in some coastal areas could hit 50 mph to 60 mph, reducing visibility to zero."

Nearly 100,000 people are already without power. And more snow and ice is expected throughout the day.

Yuck cubed.

How's everyone doing?

Here's How the Obliteration of the Federal Government Begins

Yesterday afternoon, shortly after the CBO report on Trumpcare was released, Donald Trump had signed a new executive order with the members of his Cabinet flanking him: Presidential Executive Order on a Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch.

"Reorganizing" is a deceptively innocuous name, because the objective of this EO is to significantly reduce the size of the federal government, and the services it provides.

This is, by far, the biggest domestic policy that Trump has yet enacted. And it's largely flying under the radar.

The EO reads, in its entirety:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. This order is intended to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the executive branch by directing the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Director) to propose a plan to reorganize governmental functions and eliminate unnecessary agencies (as defined in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code), components of agencies, and agency programs.

Sec. 2. Proposed Plan to Improve the Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Accountability of Federal Agencies, Including, as Appropriate, to Eliminate or Reorganize Unnecessary or Redundant Federal Agencies. (a) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency shall submit to the Director a proposed plan to reorganize the agency, if appropriate, in order to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of that agency.

(b) The Director shall publish a notice in the Federal Register inviting the public to suggest improvements in the organization and functioning of the executive branch and shall consider the suggestions when formulating the proposed plan described in subsection (c) of this section.

(c) Within 180 days after the closing date for the submission of suggestions pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the Director shall submit to the President a proposed plan to reorganize the executive branch in order to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of agencies. The proposed plan shall include, as appropriate, recommendations to eliminate unnecessary agencies, components of agencies, and agency programs, and to merge functions. The proposed plan shall include recommendations for any legislation or administrative measures necessary to achieve the proposed reorganization.

(d) In developing the proposed plan described in subsection (c) of this section, the Director shall consider, in addition to any other relevant factors:

(i) whether some or all of the functions of an agency, a component, or a program are appropriate for the Federal Government or would be better left to State or local governments or to the private sector through free enterprise;

(ii) whether some or all of the functions of an agency, a component, or a program are redundant, including with those of another agency, component, or program;

(iii) whether certain administrative capabilities necessary for operating an agency, a component, or a program are redundant with those of another agency, component, or program;

(iv) whether the costs of continuing to operate an agency, a component, or a program are justified by the public benefits it provides; and

(v) the costs of shutting down or merging agencies, components, or programs, including the costs of addressing the equities of affected agency staff.

(e) In developing the proposed plan described in subsection (c) of this section, the Director shall consult with the head of each agency and, consistent with applicable law, with persons or entities outside the Federal Government with relevant expertise in organizational structure and management.

Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 13, 2017.

There are three sections in particular I want to highlight.

1. "This order is intended to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the executive branch by directing the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Director) to propose a plan to reorganize governmental functions and eliminate unnecessary agencies (as defined in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code), components of agencies, and agency programs."

The primary objective is elimination.

2. "In developing the proposed plan described in subsection (c) of this section, the Director shall consider, in addition to any other relevant factors: (i) whether some or all of the functions of an agency, a component, or a program are appropriate for the Federal Government or would be better left to State or local governments or to the private sector through free enterprise."

The secondary objective is privatization of that which cannot be eliminated.

3. Recommendations for assessing whether an agency and/or its services should be eliminated or privatized include consideration of "(iv) whether the costs of continuing to operate an agency, a component, or a program are justified by the public benefits it provides."

There is no metric detailed for how that value is assessed. This is both a broad and subjective metric. So broad and subjective, in fact, that it was clearly designed to be abused. Elimination justified by the calculation that the public benefits provided by an agency could not justify its costs.

Though the designated responsibility for these assessments lies with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the director is tasked with relying on assessments provided by the agency directors (and the public). Which brings us back to a point I have made over and over and over: Trump chose Cabinet secretaries based on their contempt for the agencies they are tasked to lead.

Betsy DeVos wants to destroy public education; Scott Pruitt believes the EPA is a problem for business; Rick Perry once proposed eliminating the Department of Energy altogether; etc.

Now these people are being tasked with evaluating the efficacy of their departments and making recommendations with the objectives of elimination and privatization.

And let us be clear: The vast reduction in services will not mean lower taxes. Those funds will be redirected to Trump's pet projects like building a border wall or pouring more money into our "very depleted" military so it can be "bigger and better and stronger than ever before."

It will be incredibly difficult to rebuild the federal government after it is obliterated, especially when taxpayers aren't paying any less for fewer services. Rebuilding will necessitate tax increases, which are never a popular election strategy, even when they are desperately needed. It will be tough to find candidates who want to rebuild and can get elected on a strategy of rebuilding.

This will be devastating, and its effects will reverberate for a very long time.

Open Thread

Hosted by a turquoise sofa. Have a seat and chat.

Question of the Day

Suggested by Shaker stayss: "What's the best find you've ever made at a garage sale? Not in terms of monetary value, though it could be that as well, but a thing that you didn't know you needed or maybe even know existed until you found it in someone's yard? [Mine was a board game—'Passing Through the Netherworld: The meaning and play of senet, an ancient Egyptian funerary game.'] I had no idea what the game was, but they had me at Egyptian and funerary. Played probably hundreds of times in the past 25 years."

The Monday Blogaround

This blogaround brought to you by turtles.

Recommended Reading:

[Content Note: Transphobia; gender policing] This Twitter thread by Laverne Cox is a must-read.

Shree: [CN: Nativism] Such a Great Country; Such Nasty Bigotry

Katherine: [CN: Classism] Donald Trump Is a Rich Man's Idea of a Rich Man

Ayesha: [CN: Religious intolerance] Some People Aren't Celebrating Mahershala Ali as the First Muslim to Win an Oscar: Let's Talk about Anti-Ahmadi Discrimination

Anne: [CN: White supremacy] Here's How White Supremacists Are Recruiting on College Campuses in Texas

Feminist Aspie: [CN: Disablism] Autistic People Need Diagnosis, Not Denial

Jenni: [CN: Rape culture] This Dude Humping the 'Fearless Girl' Statue Is the Actual Worst

Rae: [CN: Moving GIF at link] A Wild New Hypothesis for How the First Monster Black Holes Formed

Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!

CBO Report: Trumpcare Is Deadly Trash

I'm paraphrasing, but only slightly. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has assessed the Republicans' proposed plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, and the results are astonishingly bad, even worse than anticipated.

Everyone knew it would be bad, including Republicans, which is why they've spent the past few days trying to discredit the CBO in advance of their assessment. And why they released the plan without the assessment in the first place.

Because it's going to be lot harder to sell with these numbers: 24 million people will lose their health insurance over the next decade, and "an estimated 52 million people would be uninsured" by 2056.

They predict "substantial" premium hikes for older people, and, although the plan would result in a $337 billion decrease in federal deficits over 10 years, the only way the GOP arrives at that "savings" is by slashing Medicaid funding.

It's grim.

I don't know what else to say, except to reiterate that the Republican Party does not care whether not-rich people live or die; that they prioritize corporate profits over lives; and that we must resist this despicable horseshit masquerading as "healthcare reform" with everything we've got.

Nicola Sturgeon Wants Second Independence Referendum for Scotland

In 2014, Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom in an independence referendum. Two years later, Scotland voted overwhelmingly (62 percent to 38 percent) to remain part of the European Union during the Brexit referendum (the UK as a whole voted to leave by 52%). Now, a large number of Scots would like to revisit the decision to remain part of the UK.

To that end: Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she will seek the right for Scotland to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence.

Ms Sturgeon said she wanted a vote to be held between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of the following year. That would coincide with the expected conclusion of the UK's Brexit negotiations.

The Scottish first minister said the move was needed to protect Scottish interests in the wake of the UK voting to leave the EU.

She said she would ask the Scottish Parliament next week to request a Section 30 order from Westminster. The order would be needed to allow a fresh legally-binding referendum on independence to be held.

...Ms Sturgeon said Scotland stood at a "hugely important crossroads", and insisted she would continue to attempt to reach a compromise with the UK government.

But she added: "I will take the steps necessary now to make sure that Scotland will have a choice at the end of this process. A choice of whether to follow the UK to a hard Brexit, or to become an independent country able to secure a real partnership of equals with the rest of the UK and our own relationship with Europe."

...Ms Sturgeon said it was "important that Scotland is able to exercise the right to choose our own future at a time when the options are clearer than they are now, but before it is too late to decide on our own path."

That sounds pretty reasonable.

Unsurprisingly, British Prime Minister Theresa May did not, accusing the SNP of setting Scotland on a course of "uncertainty and division" and sniffing: "The tunnel vision that SNP has shown today is deeply regrettable."

[May] insisted that the majority of people in Scotland did not want another vote on the issue.

..."Instead of playing politics with the future of our country, the Scottish government should focus on delivering good government and public services for the people of Scotland. Politics is not a game."

If you read that and thought: "Oh dear. That sounds rather presumptuous and condescending toward the Scottish people and their elected representatives," you are correct! Welcome to British politics! And also eleventy thousand years of history!

Note that Sturgeon isn't purporting to speak for the entirety of Scotland in calling for a second independence referendum. To the absolute contrary, she is merely acknowledging there have been some major geopolitical changes in the interim, and that it would be wise to give Scots another opportunity to weigh in.

Scotland is divided on the question of independence; they are less divided on the question of Brexit, however, which may have changed the balance on independence. Sturgeon is seeking the right to find out.

And May is lecturing her like she's a naughty schoolchild about how she ought to be spending her time and what her people feel, in a grim obfuscation of the critical importance of democratic processes. Which is to say nothing of the temerity of the British PM scolding Scottish leaders for a supposed failure to provide "good government and public services for the people of Scotland."

If there's someone treating politics like "a game" here, it isn't Nicola Sturgeon.

Spoiler Alert: The President Doesn't Care, Because He Endorses White Supremacy, Too

[Content Note: White supremacy.]

As I mentioned this morning, Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa tweeted some vile white supremacist swill over the weekend. He then doubled-down on it.

This afternoon, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked for a comment, and his response was, as always, contemptible as hell.

Spicer on Steve King's comments (made 24 hours ago): "I will definitely touch base with the president on that..." —via @MSNBC pic.twitter.com/IMtexVvx11
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 13, 2017

REPORTER: Congressman Steve King is catching some flak for a tweet he put out—

SPICER: Yeah.

REPORTER: —saying that "we can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies." Does the White House have any reaction to that?

SPICER: Ah, I will definitely touch base with the president on that and get back to you on that. [calls for next question]

At the time Spicer said this, King's tweet had been published and discussed for more than 24 hours. A sitting congressman in the president's own party had said something overly white supremacist, been praised by multiple white supremacists, been celebrated by a prominent neo-Nazi site, and said he stands by his comments, but the president and his spokesperson haven't discussed it.

Why would they? The president endorses white supremacy, too. If anything, he agrees with King. As but one example:

"The Political Cesspool" is a white nationalist radio program hosted by James Edwards that wishes "to revive the White birthrate above replacement level fertility." The show was given press credentials by Trump's campaign for a Tennessee campaign rally and was given "all-access" credentials to the Republican National Convention, where the show interviewed a Trump adviser and Republican congressmen. Edwards also interviewed Trump's son, Donald Trump, Jr., who agreed with Edwards' contention that the media is "the enforcer of political correctness."

Trump himself has also repeatedly talked about his belief in "superior genes," a gross eugenics theory passed on by his father.

If Spicer ever does "get back to us" with a response from the president, anything other than "What Steve King said sounds about right to me" is just another fucking lie.

Daily Dose of Cute

image of Zelda the Black and Tan Mutt's front paws peeking out underneath my desk

Zelly's front paws peeking into my view underneath my desk.

image of Olivia the White Farm Cat's back paws and tail peeking out from beneath the sofa

Livsy's back paws and tail peeking out from beneath the sofa.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.

We Resist: Day 53

a black bar with the word RESIST in white text

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 I've read today:

[Content Note: War; death] Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt at the New York Times: Trump Administration Is Said to Be Working to Loosen Counterterrorism Rules.

The Trump administration is exploring how to dismantle or bypass Obama-era constraints intended to prevent civilian deaths from drone attacks, commando raids and other counterterrorism missions outside conventional war zones like Afghanistan and Iraq, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations.

Already, [Mr.] Trump has granted a Pentagon request to declare parts of three provinces of Yemen to be an 'area of active hostilities' where looser battlefield rules apply. That opened the door to a Special Operations raid in late January in which several civilians were killed, as well as to the largest-ever series of American airstrikes targeting Yemen-based Qaeda militants, starting nearly two weeks ago, the officials said.

Mr. Trump is also expected to sign off soon on a similar Pentagon proposal to designate parts of Somalia to be another such battlefield-style zone for 180 days, removing constraints on airstrikes and raids targeting people suspected of being militants with the Qaeda-linked group the Shabab, they said.

Inside the White House, the temporary suspension of the limits for parts of Yemen and Somalia is seen as a test run while the government considers whether to more broadly rescind or relax the Obama-era rules, said the officials, who described the internal deliberations on the condition of anonymity.

Rage. Seethe. Boil.

Earlier today, Trump held "a health care listening session at the White House." He opened by: 1. Not listening; and 2. Spouting off a stream of dogshit lies. Then he inappropriately grabbed a woman's hand, and was unable to answer why people have to meet deductibles each year. So it was a pretty terrific event all around. *jumps into Christmas tree*

Darren Samuelsohn at Politico: Trump's Mar-a-Lago Is Heaven—for Spies. "While Trump's private club in South Florida has been transformed into a fortress of armed guards, military-grade radar, bomb sniffing dogs and metal-detection checkpoints, there are still notable vulnerabilities, namely the stream of guests who can enter the property without a background check. And security experts warn that the commander in chief's frequent visits—four since he took office in January—afford an unprecedented opportunity for eavesdropping and building dossiers on the president's routines and habits, as well as those of the inner circle around him. They add that with each repeat visit, the security risk escalates."

Damian Paletta at the Washington Post: Trump Budget Expected to Seek Historic Contraction of Federal Workforce. "Trump's budget proposal this week would shake the federal government to its core if enacted, culling back numerous programs and expediting a historic contraction of the federal workforce. This would be the first time the government has executed cuts of this magnitude—and all at once—since the drawdown following World War II, economists and budget analysts said. ...Aides say that the president sees a new Washington emerging from the budget process, one that prioritizes the military and homeland security while slashing many other areas, including housing, foreign assistance, environmental programs, public broadcasting, and research."

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Sam Levine and Sam Stein at the Huffington Post: After Refusing to Resign, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Was Fired by Trump Justice Department. "Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and one of the most high profile federal prosecutors in the country, says he’s been fired after refusing to resign his post. In a full statement Saturday, Bharara reiterated that he had been fired. 'One hallmark of justice is absolute independence, and that was my touchstone everyday I served,' he said."

[CN: Sexual harassment] Zachary Pleat at Media Matters: U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Was Investigating Fox News When Trump Fired Him. "Donald Trump's decision to fire U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara happened as Bharara's office was reportedly probing Fox News over its alleged failure to inform shareholders about repeated settlements for allegations of sexual harassment and assault by former Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes and other executives against female employees."

Ally Boguhn at Rewire: Trump's FDA Nominee has Fear Mongered About Obamacare's Birth Control Benefit. "Trump announced Friday that he would nominate Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who has deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry and has expressed anti-choice views, to head the Food and Drug Administration. ...Gottlieb has often attempted to stoke fears about the Obama administration's birth control benefit, falsely claiming that under the Affordable Care Act, women 'risk losing far more than they'll gain.'"

Greg Sargent at the Washington Post: Donald Trump's Deliberate Corruption of Reality-Based Governing. "We're seeing a broad White House effort to corrode the very ideal of reality-based governing, something that includes not just a discrediting of institutions such as the CBO but also the weakening of the influence of science and data over agency decision-making and the deliberate misuse of our democracy's institutional processes to prop up Trump's lies about his popular support and political opponents."

Ari Melber at NBC News: After Pledging to Donate Salary, Trump Declines to Release Proof. "Donald Trump pledged to forgo a presidential salary, but as his second payday approaches, the White House is declining to say if the president has donated any of his earnings yet. During the campaign, Trump promised he would take 'no salary' if elected—a pledge he reiterated after he won. 'I'm not going to the take the salary,' he said on CBS' '60 Minutes' in November. ...Trump aides have previously said Trump would donate his salary to the Treasury Department or a charity. MSNBC requested details and documentation about any salary donations from the White House, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management, which all declined to say whether Trump has donated any of his salary to date."

[CN: Homophobic slur; gay and trans hatred] Andy Towle at Towleroad: Gay Students at Oregon High School Received Death Threat in Gender-Neutral Bathroom. "Gay students at Grant High School in Portland, Oregon received a death threat in a gender-neutral restroom in late February and the school’s administration is under fire from students for their neglect in responding to the hateful message. ...A week has gone by, but Grant families haven't been told about the Feb. 27 graffiti, which has since been covered over with paint." Wow.

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