Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker ivyceltress: "If you had the wherewithal to start a foundation what would it do?"
Because I am such a big believer in just giving people money and trusting them to do whatever is best for them with it, it would probably be centered around microgrants — distinct from the microlending model in that microgrants, unlike microloans, do not have to be paid back.
Trump Wants to Replace McMaster with Russian-Tied Swamp Monster
Donald Trump has been at odds with his National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster — one of the so-called "moderating generals" — for quite some time. I don't know if they ever really got along, since McMaster replaced Michael Flynn, of whom Trump has always remained fond and defensive, despite (or because of) Flynn's confession of national disloyalty.
Now it's being reported that McMaster may be out by the end of the month.
White House preparing for McMaster exit as early as next month https://t.co/edWlcyp5vs
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) March 1, 2018
The straw that broke the authoritarian's back was almost certainly McMaster publicly asserting that there is "incontrovertible" proof that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.
Which makes it all the more absurd, and simultaneously expected, that the leading contender to replace McMaster is reportedly Stephen E. Biegun, who, as Leah McElrath noted, "has longstanding ties with Russian leaders."
Biegun is currently the Vice President of International Governmental Affairs for Ford Motor Company, and his bio at Ford's website reads in part:
From 1992 to 1994, Mr. Biegun served in Moscow, Russia as the Resident Director in the Russian Federation for the International Republican Institute, a democracy-building organization established under the National Endowment for Democracy.Cool.
Mr. Biegun, born 1963, graduated from the University of Michigan where he studied Political Science and Russian Language. He is a third generation Ford Motor Company employee. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Strategy Group, and is a member of the boards of the US-Russia Foundation for Economic Development and the Rule of Law, the Moscow School of Politics, Freedom House, the US-Russia Business Council, the US-ASEAN Business Council and FordSollers, Ford Motor Company's joint venture operating in the Russia Federation.
His bio also notes: "Prior to joining Ford, Mr. Biegun served as national security advisor to Senate Majority Leader, Senator Bill Frist." In case the name Bill Frist doesn't ring any bells, he's the sadistic dipshit who "diagnosed" Terri Schiavo [Content Note: video may autoplay] from the Senate floor. That Biegun was willing to work with Frist, one of the worst human beings ever to serve in the U.S. Senate, does not speak well of him.
"Biegun...is also a former Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff member + was staff director...under Sen. Jess Helms (R-NC). During his tenure... the Committee stopped several treaties that would have undermined American sovereignty" https://t.co/yJcjTul5h6
— Garance Franke-Ruta (@thegarance) March 1, 2018
Bill Frist and Jesse Helms. Neat.
Anyway. The swamp continues to drain directly into the White House, to the echoing sounds of "Kalinka."
Quote of the Day
"I feel so blessed that I have all this love to give and friendships and people and children all over the world and movements to which I can give it. That really fills me up."—Ashley Judd, in a conversation for Town & Country with her longtime and very close friend, Salma Hayek.
[Content Note: Sexual harassment and assault.] That is such a beautiful sentiment, and it's even more poignant to me that it came amidst a conversation about their shared survival from serial abuser Harvey Weinstein and the larger movement against sexual harassment and assault in the entertainment industry.
It's a sentiment that resonates with me, and I'm sure it resonates with a lot of you, too. Not all survivors find that giving is integral to their lives, but many of us sure do; many of us find it a crucial component of our healing.
As I have said many times before regarding my work in anti-rape advocacy: Trying to contribute, in whatever infinitesimal way that I can, to dismantling the rape culture is the only way I can give a reason to the things that happened to me. Which I have to do, because I can't bear for them to have happened for no reason at all.
To give really fills me up, too. It restores me, because it reminds me that I am yet a human being with something of value worth giving.
Judd's profound, lovely words are moving all on their own, but even more so in juxtaposition to the aggressive destruction of serial abuse.
Fat Fashion
This is your semi-regular thread in which fat women can share pix, make recommendations for clothes they love, ask questions of other fat women about where to locate certain plus-size items, share info about sales, talk about what jeans cut at what retailer best fits their body shapes, discuss how to accessorize neutral colored suits, share stories of going bare-armed for the first time, brag about a cool fashion moment, whatever.
* * *
Who's got a flowery dress and is totally ready for spring?
This is the Joe Browns Peggy Sue Dress from Simply Be, which I got for under $20 during their end-of-year 70% off sale. Such a score!
I've found the quality of Joe Browns stuff to be frustratingly unreliable: Some of it has been terrific and other has been so cheap and flimsy. I'm happy to report that the Peggy Sue is in the former category, if you're in the market for an easy, slip-on-and-go dress.
Anyway! As always, all subjects related to fat fashion are on topic, but if you want a topic for discussion: What's your go-to outfit when you just want to put on something quick and easy and walk out the door, but still look put together?
Have at it in comments! Please remember to make fat women of all sizes, especially women who find themselves regularly sizing out of standard plus-size lines, welcome in this conversation, and pass no judgment on fat women who want to and/or feel obliged, for any reason, to conform to beauty standards. And please make sure if you're soliciting advice, you make it clear you're seeking suggestions—and please be considerate not to offer unsolicited advice. Sometimes people just need to complain and want solidarity, not solutions.
Daily Dose of Cute
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 406
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: Hope Hicks to Resign; Trump's List of Allies Grows Thin and "The attempt at curbing Russia has failed."
[Content Note: Guns] Michael Daly at the Daily Beast: Armed 'Teacher of the Year' Opens Fire in School. "[A] star social studies teacher at Dalton High School, 90 miles from Atlanta...was arrested for barricading himself in his classroom and firing a shot with a handgun for reasons yet to be determined. ...A considerable number of the Dalton students who were thrown into an understandable panic by the gunshot on Wednesday were quick to offer their opinion of the notion that Trump shares with the NRA. One who goes by the Twitter handle Chondi tweeted: '@NRA my favorite teacher at Dalton high school just blockaded his door and proceeded to shoot. We had to run out the back of the school in the rain. Students were being trampled and screaming. I dare you to tell me arming teachers will make us safe.' Again, high school teens were making considerably more sense than our president in the wake of a shooting."
Katy Tur and Carol E. Lee at NBC News: Mueller Asking If Trump Knew About Hacked Democratic Emails Before Release.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is asking witnesses pointed questions about whether Donald Trump was aware that Democratic emails had been stolen before that was publicly known, and whether he was involved in their strategic release, according to multiple people familiar with the probe.Exhibit A in: The collusion was right out in the open!
Mueller's investigators have asked witnesses whether Trump was aware of plans for WikiLeaks to publish the emails. They have also asked about the relationship between GOP operative Roger Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and why Trump took policy positions favorable to Russia.
The line of questioning suggests the special counsel, who is tasked with examining whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, is looking into possible coordination between WikiLeaks and Trump associates in disseminating the emails, which U.S. intelligence officials say were stolen by Russia.
...In one line of questioning, investigators have focused on Trump's public comments in July 2016 asking Russia to find emails that were deleted by his then-opponent Hillary Clinton from a private server she maintained while secretary of state. The comments came at a news conference on July 27, 2016, just days after WikiLeaks began publishing the Democratic National Committee emails. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said.
In presumably unrelated news...
APPARENTLY THE RUSSIANS WERENT THE ONLY ONES SCREWING AROUND WITH OUR ELECTIONS Sanders fined for accepting foreign donations in 2016 election https://t.co/gA70CmRjy5 via@vtdigger
— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) March 1, 2018
[CN: Disablist language] Jonathan Swan and Mike Allen at Axios: The Wild Wars Within the Trump White House. "After a [wild] 24 hours, sources close to [Donald] Trump say he is in a bad place — mad as hell about the internal chaos and the sense that things are unraveling. The big picture: Hope Hicks leaving is obviously a huge blow to him. Every time he reads about Attorney General Jeff Sessions, his head explodes. The staff is just trying to ride out the storm. Everywhere you look inside this White House, top officials are fighting, fomenting, feuding, or fleeing, insiders say in conversations with us. ...We have never seen top officials this concerned, defeated." This is very concerning, because an isolated Trump is a(n even more) dangerous Trump.
Margaret Hartmann at NY Mag: Amid White House Unrest, Trump Mulls Launching a Trade War. (Not the first we've heard of this.)
It doesn't seem things are ever calm in Donald Trump's White House, but the last few days have been particularly turbulent; adviser-in-law Jared Kushner had his security clearance downgraded, communications director Hope Hicks announced her impending resignation, and various leaks revealed that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is getting deeper into Trump family business. Now, amid all this chaos, Trump may announce he's starting a trade war.So Trump's plan to launch a trade war to distract from internal chaos is causing even more internal chaos. JFC this administration.
Late on Wednesday night, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration summoned steel and aluminum executives on short notice to a midday meeting on Thursday. Sources say Trump may use the meeting to announce new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that could roil global markets — or he may not.
Trump has yet to impose most of the protectionist policies he called for during the campaign, but Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently laid the groundwork with a report recommending that Trump impose very large tariffs and possibly other trade-restriction sanctions in the name of protecting national security. While it seemed possible that Trump might announce the tariffs before March 13 to help the Republican congressional candidate in a Pennsylvania special election, the decision had reportedly been held up by infighting between Ross and officials concerned about the global consequences, including Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and former White House staff secretary Rob Porter.
Aaaaaaand as I was writing, he launched it:
NEWS from pool spray: TRUMP SAYS U.S. WILL SET TARIFFS OF 25 PCT FOR STEEL AND 10 PERCENT FOR ALUMINUM
— Kayla Tausche (@kaylatausche) March 1, 2018
American consumers are going to end up paying a hefty price for Trump's trade war. This isn't going to work out the way he thinks it is.
Trade experts are concerned not only by what Trump is doing with the steel tariff but how he's doing it: invoking a little-used "national security" provision that could also be used by other countries to get around the usual free trade rules. https://t.co/EFel665kip
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 1, 2018
Caitlin MacNeal at TPM: Family Company Got Loans After Kushner Met with Businesses at White House. "Two major loans to the Kushner Companies for real estate projects came after Jared Kushner, a senior adviser in the Trump administration, met with officials from those financial institutions at the White House... [Kushner] met with Joshua Harris, one of the founders of Apollo Global Management, several times at the White House early last year... In November, Apollo lent the Kushner Companies $184 million to refinance a mortgage on a building in Chicago, per the New York Times. ...Kushner met with Michael Corbat, chief executive at Citigroup, in the spring of 2017 at the White House... After that meeting, Citigroup lent Kushner Companies $325 million to finance buildings in Brooklyn, the Times reported."
Walter Schaub at the LA Times: In Any Other Presidency, Our 'Insufficiently Accurate' Secretary of Veterans Affairs Would Be Gone. "This fact pattern comes from a report issued Feb. 14 by an inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Let's consider the evidence and see if we think VA Secretary David Shulkin was being straight about the friendship between his wife and the woman who gave the gifts. (Spoiler Alert: He wasn't.) ...The inspector general's report delicately concludes that the information Shulkin provided to the VA's ethics office was 'insufficient to accurately describe his or his wife's relationship' with the supplier of the Wimbledon tickets as a 'personal friendship.' The evidence is more than enough to warrant Shulkin's termination. Or it would be, if the Trump administration cared about government ethics."
* * *
Brian Fung at the Washington Post: Equifax's Massive 2017 Data Breach Keeps Getting Worse. "Equifax said Thursday that 2.4 million more consumers than previously reported were affected by the massive data breach the company suffered last year, adding to an already stunning toll. This means that as many as 147.9 million consumers have been affected in some way by the breach, which amounts to about half the country. ...Last month, a probe by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said the company failed to keep its computer systems adequately up to date and was not forthcoming enough about its description of the damage. 'I spent five months investigating the Equifax breach and found the company failed to disclose the full extent of the hack,' Warren said in a statement Thursday. 'Enough is enough. We have to start holding the credit reporting industry accountable.'"
[CN: Guns; domestic violence] Auditi Guha at Rewire: A Dangerous Loophole in Maryland Law Leaves Domestic Abusers with Guns. "Maryland Democratic legislators and gun safety advocates are pushing Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to support legislation that would prevent domestic abusers from owning firearms, an effort that has fallen short in recent years. Domestic abusers with guns make a deadly combination that disproportionately endanger women and children. Two bills up for hearings in the Maryland State Legislature aim to close a loophole in state law that stops people convicted of domestic violence from owning guns, but has no mechanism to make sure they give up their firearms."
[CN: Nativism] Ayana Byrd at Colorlines: Judge Clears Legal Roadblock for Administration to Build Border Wall. "The Trump administration was handed a judicial victory when a federal judge ruled in its favor in a lawsuit, allowing plans to move forward to build a wall on the United States-Mexico border. In a 101-page opinion issued Tuesday (February 27), U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel wrote that the government had the authority to waive environmental laws and build the border wall, according to an article in The Washington Post. The decision was in response to a lawsuit brought by environmental advocacy groups and the state of California who argued that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was using an old immigration law to justify bypassing proper procedures to ensure that the wall met environmental standards."
(Yes, this is the same Judge Curiel who oversaw the class-action civil fraud lawsuit brought against Trump University and whom Donald Trump accused of not being able to do his job properly because of his Mexican heritage, even though Curiel was born in Indiana. At the time, Trump also said: "Because of the wall and because of everything that's going on with Mexico...this is a judge who I believe has treated me very, very unfairly." Now Curiel has issued a ruling that allows Trump to build that wall, and it's not a good ruling, in my estimation. If Curiel succumbed to pressure levied by Trump previously, that really does make him unfit to do his job, unfortunately.)
Mary Jordan at the Washington Post: Questions Linger About How Melania Trump, a Slovenian Model, Scored 'the Einstein Visa'. "In 2000, Melania Knauss, a Slovenian model dating Donald Trump, began petitioning the government for the right to permanently reside in the United States under a program reserved for people with 'extraordinary ability.' Knauss's credentials included runway shows in Europe, a Camel cigarette billboard ad in Times Square, and — in her biggest job at the time — a spot in the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, which featured her on the beach in a string bikini, hugging a six-foot inflatable whale. In March 2001, she was granted a green card in the elite EB-1 program, which was designed for renowned academic researchers, multinational business executives, or those in other fields, such as Olympic athletes and Oscar-winning actors, who demonstrated 'sustained national and international acclaim.'"
[CN: Child death; police harassment; misogynoir] Lea Skene at the Baton Rouge Advocate: Mother of Baby Killed in Baton Rouge Crash Involving Off-Duty Cop Arrested for Failing to Secure Child Seat. "Just weeks after a Baton Rouge police officer was arrested on negligent homicide and accused of causing a crash that injured several people and killed a baby, the child's mother was also arrested on the same charge because police said she failed to properly secure the baby's car seat." Off-duty police officer Christopher Manuel was driving 94mph when he crashed his Corvette into the car in which 20-year-old Brittany Stephens and her baby were riding. Her baby was killed in the crash. And now, because "the straps [on the carseat] were not adjusted correctly for the child's height," Stephens is being held equally as responsible as the cop who plowed into them. Stephens, as I bet I don't even have to tell you, is Black.
[CN: Sexual harassment] Jessica M. Goldstein at ThinkProgress: Pulling the Red Carpet out from under Ryan Seacrest. "While Ryan Seacrest was under investigation for sexual misconduct — years of harassment and abuse, according to his accuser, though the public didn't know the details yet — he hosted E!'s Golden Globes red carpet pre-show. Three weeks later, while the investigation was still underway, he hosted the network's red carpet pre-show at the Grammy Awards. And three days from now, Seacrest will slip back into his suit and tie for E! as he hosts the pre-show at the biggest red carpet of the year: the Academy Awards. Months before the Grammys and the Golden Globes, a former stylist had filed an HR complaint. ...Seacrest was not suspended at any point: Not by E! or its parent company, NBCUniversal; not by ABC, where he co-hosts Live with Kelly and Ryan with Kelly Ripa and will be on hand for the American Idol reboot, premiering March 11; not by KIIS-FM or its owner iHeartRadio, which airs his syndicated morning show On Air with Ryan Seacrest and which selected Seacrest's charity, the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, as the beneficiary for the 2017 Jingle Ball."
[CN: Sexual assault; harassment; threats] Olivia Messer at the Daily Beast: Professor Repeatedly Raped Medical Resident, Threatened to 'Destroy' Her, Lawsuit Claims. "A prominent University of Rochester professor drugged and raped one of his medical residents, threatened to 'destroy her life,' and asked her boyfriend to murder his ex-wife, claims a harrowing complaint filed in New York state Supreme Court. Johan Blickman, a professor in pediatrics and the vice chair of the school's Department of Imaging Sciences, stands accused of forcing the woman into repeated sexual encounters and of taking photos of her while she was naked. ...The woman is asking for $30 million in damages from the university, its hospital, and Blickman — all named as defendants in the suit."
[CN: Sexual harassment and assault] Angela Couloumbis, Brad Bumsted, and Paula Knudsen at the Philly Inquirer: Rep. Nick Miccarelli Accused of Abusive Behavior and Sexual Misconduct. "Two women have accused State Rep. Nick Miccarelli of sexually or physically assaulting them in separate incidents over the last six years, the Inquirer and Daily News and the Caucus have learned. ...The women allege that the Delaware County Republican threatened, stalked, intimidated, or sexually assaulted them. One is a state official and the other is a political consultant. The accusers, who dated Miccarelli at different times between 2012 and 2014, are requesting that he resign, according to sources familiar with the investigation."
What have you been reading that we need to resist today?
"The attempt at curbing Russia has failed."
Everything is fine, and Donald Trump is definitely not a daft mark who doesn't understand how he's been played like a fiddle by Russia:
Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia has developed and is testing a new line of strategic, nuclear-capable weapons that would be able to outmanoeuvre US defences, suggesting a new arms race between Moscow and the west.Everything is not fine.
Speaking in a nationally televised address to the country's political elite weeks before a presidential election, the president showed video and animations of ICBMs, nuclear-powered cruise missiles, underwater drones and other weapons that he said Russia had developed as a result of the US pulling out of the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty signed with the Soviet Union.
"You didn't listen to our country then," Putin said during the speech on Thursday. "Listen to us now." Some of the weapons were already being tested, he added.
The existence of several of the weapons systems, like the RS-28 Sarmat or Satan 2, nuclear missile, were well-known and their tests had been previously reported. What was new was Putin's portrayal of Russia's modernising arsenal as an adversarial response to US policy since 2001.
The speech came in the same month that the Pentagon released a new nuclear arms policy, which followed on from a promise by the US president, Donald Trump, to develop an arsenal "so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression." The policy envisioned low-yield nuclear weapons on submarine-launched ballistic missiles that could match similar Russian weapons.
Putin issued a message of defiance. "I would like to tell those who have been trying to escalate the arms race for the past 15 years, to gain unilateral advantages over Russia, and to impose restrictions and sanctions ... The attempt at curbing Russia has failed," he said.
His remarks came during a state of the union speech heavy with economic promises for the Russian people and sabre-rattling against the US.
I don't know what I can say that I haven't already said countless times over the last couple of years, even well before Donald Trump was installed as president: Hillary Clinton was the best person to lead the United States in a time of resurgent Russian threats.
Not just the better of two people, the other of whom probably colluded with Russia to defeat her, but the best person in the nation to stand up to Putin.
And, frankly, I'm backdating that assertion to 2007.
Hillary Clinton has always had Putin's number, and she's never been afraid to handle him without the kid gloves. There are precious few people about whom the same can be said around the world. We kept not choosing her, and he kept getting stronger. And here we are.
Women's History Month
Today begins Women's History Month, and I wanted to open a space for people to share resources — books, films, interviews, music, collections of poetry, art, blogs, speeches, links to events, anything explicitly associated with Women's History Month or any content created by women that has been meaningful to you.
Head to comments with your recommendations!
This year's theme is "Nevertheless, She Persisted: Honoring Women Who Fight All Forms of Discrimination Against Women."
In honor of that theme, and to mark the beginning of this month, I want to reaffirm my commitment to intersectional feminism, as well as my commitment to supporting and amplifying the voices of women who are telling their stories, to regard them as authorities on their own lives and lived experiences, to listen to them and believe them, to respect women as the definitive sources of their own histories.
And I'm gonna continue to persist like the stubborn fucker I am.
Hope Hicks to Resign; Trump's List of Allies Grows Thin
Following reports that White House Communications Director Hope Hicks testified to the House Intelligence Committee that her job requires her to lie on behalf of Donald Trump, she will now reportedly resign from her position "in the coming weeks."
"There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to [Donald] Trump," she said in a statement Wednesday. "I wish the President and his administration the very best as he continues to lead our country."There is zero chance that he wrote that himself. Not only because it's far more articulate than he is, but also because he's reportedly furious with her over her committee testimony.
"Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years," [Donald] Trump said in a statement. "She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person. I will miss having her by my side but when she approached me about pursuing other opportunities, I totally understood. I am sure we will work together again in the future."
Donald Trump berated Hope Hicks, his White House communications director, for testimony she gave to US lawmakers this week during which she admitted to telling white lies on behalf of Trump, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing an ally of the president.Hicks is often described as one of Trump's closest confidantes, and in other terms indicating her loyalty to him: "one of [Donald] Trump's longest-serving and closest advisers... a trusted confidante for three years, shaping his image, managing his moods and counseling him on nearly all matters, from the substantive to the trivial... a political neophyte who was fiercely loyal to her boss..."
CNN's source described Hicks as Trump's "last emotional crutch," suggesting that her admission to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday aggravated an already tense situation.
With Hicks abandoning ship, the White House is facing the daunting task of finding its fourth Communications Director, after Hicks assumed the role from the ill-fated Anthony Scaramucci who took over from Michael Dubke. And Trump himself is facing a future with an ever dwindling list of allies.
Lots of people quickly discovered that Trump's veneration of loyalty only goes one way, and, as a result, he's becoming increasingly isolated. Even his trusty lapdog Jeff Sessions can only [Content Note: video may autoplay] take so much, and as Special Counsel Bob Mueller investigates "a period of time last summer when [Donald] Trump seemed determined to drive Attorney General Jeff Sessions from his job," last night Sessions "strode into a high-end Washington restaurant to dine with his deputy Rod Rosenstein and the Solicitor General Noel Francisco."
The symbolism was unmistakable: the three top ranking officials in the Justice Department appearing together in a show of solidarity on the same day Trump is publicly and privately raging about Sessions.The undoing of Donald Trump's presidency might not be his corruption or his collusion or incompetence. It might be his utterly deplorable temperament.
When Trump sees this photo he'll have to absorb a concept that some of his aides have been trying to impress upon him for nearly a year, since he first began telling them he wanted to get rid of Sessions.
The concept: Fire Sessions, then what next? Are you going to fire Rosenstein too? And then what after that?
Sources close to the situation say today feels different than Trump's usual rages. Sessions' allies are deeply concerned and Trump is totally fed up with his AG.
That is, if he is undone at all.
But if he is, by his own wrathful self or anything else, Mike Pence stands coolly and calmly waiting in the wings. Shiver.
Question of the Day
[Note: I have a doctor's appointment, so I've got to wrap up a little early today.]
Suggested by Shaker Dreadful Invalid: "Which cultural phenomenon do you just not get the appeal of whatsoever?"
Tiny Houses. I mean, I get the appeal of wanting to own your home outright, and I get the appeal of wanting to live smaller, and I get the appeal of wanting to be mobile, but I don't get the appeal of Tiny Houses specifically, especially the very costly ones, when mobile homes are a thing that exist.
(I mean, I do get it. It's a class thing. But I don't get the appeal of that classism.)
Daily Dose of Cute
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 405
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: Hope Hicks Testifies Her Job Requires Her to Lie.
I'm short on time today, so please forgive this truncated version of the daily resistance thread...
Cynthia McFadden, William M. Arkin, Kevin Manahan, and Ken Dilanian at NBC News: U.S. Intel: Russia Compromised Seven States Prior to 2016 Election. "The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election — but never told the states involved, according to multiple U.S. officials. Top-secret intelligence requested by President Barack Obama in his last weeks in office identified seven states where analysts — synthesizing months of work — had reason to believe Russian operatives had compromised state websites or databases. Three senior intelligence officials told NBC News that the intelligence community believed the states as of January 2017 were Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas, and Wisconsin."
Natasha Bertrand at the Atlantic: Roger Stone's Secret Messages with WikiLeaks. "On March 17, 2017, WikiLeaks tweeted that it had never communicated with Roger Stone, a longtime confidante and informal adviser to [Donald] Trump. In his interview with the House Intelligence Committee last September, Stone, who testified under oath, told lawmakers that he had communicated with WikiLeaks via an "intermediary," whom he identified only as a "journalist." He declined to reveal that person's identity to the committee, he told reporters later. Private Twitter messages obtained by The Atlantic show that Stone and WikiLeaks, a radical-transparency group, communicated directly on October 13, 2016 — and that WikiLeaks sought to keep its channel to Stone open after Trump won the election. The existence of the secret correspondence marks yet another strange twist in the White House's rapidly swelling Russia scandal."
[Content Note: Video may autoplay at link] Kara Scannell, Pamela Brown, Gloria Borger, and Jim Sciutto at CNN: Mueller Team Asks About Trump's Russian Business Dealings as He Weighed a Run for President. "Investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller have recently been asking witnesses about Donald Trump's business activities in Russia prior to the 2016 presidential campaign as he considered a run for president, according to three people familiar with the matter. Questions to some witnesses during wide-ranging interviews included the timing of Trump's decision to seek the presidency, potentially compromising information the Russians may have had about him, and why efforts to brand a Trump Tower in Moscow fell through, two sources said. The lines of inquiry indicate Mueller's team is reaching beyond the campaign to explore how the Russians might have sought to influence Trump at a time when he was discussing deals in Moscow and contemplating a presidential run."
Shane Harris, Carol D. Leonnig, Greg Jaffe, and Josh Dawsey at the Washington Post: Kushner's Overseas Contacts Raise Concerns as Foreign Officials Seek Leverage. "Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties, and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter. Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel, and Mexico, the current and former officials said."
Buckle up. Paul Manafort’s trial date has been set: Monday, September 17. https://t.co/QVsHkilTuU
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 28, 2018
Nicole Lafond at TPM: Four Commerce Department Political Appointees Ousted over Background Checks. "Four political appointees in the Department of Commerce lost their jobs Tuesday over issues with their background checks, as Chief of Staff John Kelly cracks down on staffers operating under an interim security clearance. According to The Washington Post, the Commerce Department determined that the four appointees — Fred Volcansek, who was a senior adviser to Secretary Wilbur Ross, and aides Chris Garcia, Edgar Mkrtchian, and Justin Arlett — should not have access to classified information."
"The breadth of Hammer’s power in Florida can be seen in the ways that state employees, legislators, and the governor defer to her—she gives orders, and they follow them."https://t.co/WkGYXbPZOL
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) February 28, 2018
What have you been reading that we need to resist today?
Shaker Gourmet
Whatcha been cooking up in your kitchen lately, Shakers?
Share your favorite recipes, solicit good recipes, share recipes you've recently tried, want to try, are trying to perfect, whatever! Whether they're your own creation, or something you found elsewhere, share away.
Also welcome: Recipes you've seen recently that you'd love to try, but haven't yet!
* * *
I made this amazing cream of mushroom soup the other day and omggggggg it was so tasty! I was eating it for days. I am, as y'all know, terrible at recipes, because I just cook with my palate, but here's my best attempt at a recipe, haha.
1.5 cups of chopped white button mushrooms
1 diced white onion
2 slices of crumbled cooked bacon
1 tablespoon of thyme
2 tablespoons of parsley
2 cups of unsalted chicken stock
1 cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper
In a big pot or Dutch oven, cook the onions and mushrooms in olive oil and some salt and pepper, just until the onions go translucent and the mushrooms begin to cast off that amazing nutty aroma. Let cool. Add all the remaining ingredients, stir well, bring to a boil. Boil for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let rest for 4 minutes, then serve with crusty buttered bread!
(Honestly I probably put like 4 tablespoons of parsley in there, lol, but I love the stuff!)
Today in Black History
[Content Note: White supremacy.]
Here are two things I read in quick succession this morning:
1. David Smith at the Guardian: Half-Century of U.S. Civil Rights Gains Have Stalled or Reversed, Report Finds. "Civil rights gains of the past half-century have stalled or in some areas gone into reverse, according to a report marking the 50th anniversary of the landmark Kerner Commission. Child poverty has increased, schools have become resegregated, and white supremacists are becoming emboldened and more violent, the study says."
2. Michael Tesler at the Washington Post: Democrats and Republicans Are Increasingly Divided on the Value of Teaching Black History. "Americans remain fundamentally divided on the teaching of black history. That's not new. What is new is the growing polarization of Democrats and Republicans on this issue. In a February YouGov/Economist Poll... Democrats and Republicans were miles apart: 67 percent of Democrats thought our schools should be teaching more black history, compared with just 10 percent of Republicans."
Happy last day of Black History Month, cough.
I honestly don't think I can put it any more plainly than this: #BlackLivesMatter and so Black History matters. Period.
A failure to agree with that incredibly simple concept is to participate in the maintenance of white supremacy. It doesn't matter the intent. That is the impact. And it is intolerable.
Hope Hicks Testifies Her Job Requires Her to Lie
I just said to a friend yesterday: "I have been thinking a lot lately about how thorough the normalization of Trump has become. So much so that no one even talks about the normalization of Trump anymore. It's just NORMAL."
THIS IS NOT NORMAL. Nicholas Fandos at the New York Times: Hope Hicks Acknowledges She Sometimes Tells White Lies for Trump.
Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, told House investigators on Tuesday that her work for [Donald] Trump, who has a reputation for exaggerations and outright falsehoods, had occasionally required her to tell white lies.It is not normal that the White House Communications Director would have to testify before Congress because the president is suspected of colluding with a foreign adversary.
But after extended consultation with her lawyers, she insisted that she had not lied about matters material to the investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible links to Trump associates, according to three people familiar with her testimony.
The exchange came during more than eight hours of private testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. Ms. Hicks declined to answer similar questions about other figures from the Trump campaign or the White House.
She also pointedly and repeatedly declined to answer questions about the presidential transition or her time in the White House, lawmakers who sat in on the testimony said, telling investigators that she had been asked by the White House to discuss only her time on the campaign. They added that she did not formally invoke executive privilege.
A lawyer for Ms. Hicks declined to comment.
It is not normal that a Comms Director would testify that lying on behalf of the president is part of her job duties.
It is not normal that the Congressmembers questioning her would accept her improbable account that she lies, but never about the subject they're investigating.
It is not normal that a member of a White House administration would refuse to answer questions and also be allowed to not answer questions despite not formally invoking executive privilege.
NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL. And neither is this:
When Stephen K. Bannon, who served as Mr. Trump's chief strategist until he was forced out in August, similarly refused to testify about his work for the presidential transition team and the White House, Republicans on the committee quickly subpoenaed him. Mr. Bannon continued to refuse to talk about those subjects, and lawmakers are weighing whether to initiate contempt proceedings.Abnormal and unacceptable.
There was no indication that Republicans would subpoena Ms. Hicks.
Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said Republicans were applying a double standard to Mr. Bannon — who has been exiled from Mr. Trump's circles after disparaging the Trump children in a book by the author Michael Wolff — and all other witnesses. He urged Republicans who control the committee to subpoena Ms. Hicks.
"That's an overly broad claim of privilege that I don't think any court of law would sustain. And I think the White House knows that," Mr. Schiff said. "This is not executive privilege, it is executive stonewalling."
...Mr. Schiff said that important questions had been left unaddressed.
A fixture of Mr. Trump's inner circle throughout the campaign and in the White House, Ms. Hicks is viewed as a valuable witness by investigators. She was involved in the firing of James B. Comey as F.B.I. director in May and the drafting of a statement in July in response to questions about a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Russians and top Trump campaign officials. The statement and its drafting have attracted the interest of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.
Ms. Hicks refused to answer questions about both, lawmakers said.
But in 405 days, much of the American public, including and especially most of the people with the power to hold the Trump administration accountable, have become inured to this intolerable demolishment of norms.
To the lasting despair of anyone who doesn't welcome authoritarian rule.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker GoldFishy: "What about your life today is just like how you hoped things would turn out when you were younger?"
I had hoped at one point to be a writer who covered current events, and, at another point, to be a cultural anthropologist who wrote about culture for a broad non-academic audience. At neither of those points did blogs (or even the internet, as we know now it) exist, so I had no conception of how those often competing objectives would converge in such a then-inconceivable way.
But it's pretty cool that they did!
Save Net Neutrality
Senator Chuck Schumer at Wired: Senate Democrats Have a Plan to Save Net Neutrality.
Last Thursday, the Republican-led Federal Communications Commission formally published a rule reversing long-standing and vital protections of the internet known as net neutrality. The FCC's new rule would let big corporations restrict how consumers access their favorite websites by forcing them to buy internet access in packages, paying more for "premium" service, as with cable television.MAKE YOUR CALLS. #RESIST.
This would be a radical departure from the intended nature of the internet, whose inventors last year cited its openness and neutrality as one of the foremost reasons to reject the FCC's "fundamentally flawed" plan.
Not all is lost, however. Whenever an agency publishes a new rule in the Federal Register, it sets in motion a countdown clock of 60 legislative days for Congress to overturn it.
That means that now is the moment to #SavetheInternet.
Senate Democrats are proposing to undo the FCC's wrongheaded rule through a process set up by the Congressional Review Act. Unlike most legislation, which must be put on the floor by the majority party and often requires 60 votes in order to move forward, a CRA can be passed with the support of just 51 senators...
All 49 senators in the Democratic caucus are united in support of our CRA to stop the FCC from destroying the free and open internet. We also have the backing of senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, who has pledged to vote with us.
That leaves just one more vote to ensure the internet remains free and accessible to all.
That vote must come from the ranks of the Republicans, who so far have sided with internet service providers, the only group that is clamoring to remove the important consumer protections enshrined in net neutrality.
...I urge every person who's reading this to contact the Senate Republicans who have not yet pledged to vote for it. (This should be easy since that's practically all of them, minus senator Susan Collins.)
There are 58 legislative days left to #SavetheInternet. The clock is ticking. Make your voice heard.
If you need to find your senator(s)'s contact information, here you go!
