Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Giving Government Workers the Shaft (NY Times Blog)
What is Trump's justification for denying these workers a cost of living adjustment? He says that it's about putting us on a "fiscally sustainable course," which is extremely rich for someone who just rammed through a huge tax cut for corporations and the wealthy. What makes it even richer is that on the same day that he announced that he was cancelling the pay rise, Trump floated the idea of using executive action to index capital gains to inflation, a de facto tax cut that would increase the deficit, and deliver 63 percent of its benefits to the wealthiest 0.1 percent of the population, 86 percent to the top 1 percent.
Josh Marshall: Forget About Impeachment (TPM)
[Impeachment] will take time away and oxygen away from what can meaningfully protect the country and has the best chance of moving the ball against the President politically: that is, aggressive oversight of the executive branch and investigations using the power of Congress.
Marc Dion: "Now Hiring: The Trump White House" (Creators Syndicate)
The warehouse will stay in my city until the tax breaks run out, and they'll hire as many people as they lose, which is about 30 percent of their employees a year. Working people know never to take a job at a place that's always hiring because there's a reason they're always hiring, and it's not that the employees keep dropping dead of sheer happiness. The Trump administration is always hiring, and the regular working people know why.
Froma Harrop: "'Colleges Defend Free Speech' Should Not Be a Headline" (Creators Syndicate)
There are two sophisticated ways to register discontent. The best is mockery. "The devil ... cannot endure to be mocked," wrote Thomas More five centuries ago. A great recent example of mockery was that tuba player's following a white supremacist march in South Carolina while pumping out Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries." The second is to totally ignore the speaking event. The showman fears nothing more than a half-empty hall. Imagine if Berkeley students had given Yiannopoulos no mind, playing guitars on the lawn as he did his act inside.
Froma Harrop: Here's to People Who Work With Their Hands (Creators Syndicate)
Nowadays, so many other good Americans eager to work hard but lacking a college degree face great hardship. There was a time when it was socially unacceptable for executives to make millions while treating their employees like faceless beasts of burden. No working American should go without health care or be expected to bow down in thanks for some crummy-paying job. Other rich countries have preserved their blue-collar elites through labor regulations, training and social safety nets that smooth the edges of global competition. On that score, this country has a lot of work to do.
Susan Estrich: The Not-So-Super Delegates (Creators Syndicate)
It usually takes a good two or three bad defeats for people to even begin to thing about voting strategically in primaries and caucuses. That's only the last hope of the desperate, like liberals who decided to go with Bill Clinton early because he was a southern moderate as well as a friend of every political junkie of his generation. Otherwise, bet left or right; bet off the charts. Don't bet the machine. What fun is that?
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Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• Following World War II, when Gary Paulsen, author of Hatchet, was a child, he lived with his parents in the Philippines. There, he and his dog, Snowball, wandered everywhere and saw many things. Together, they discovered a very poor Philippine family living under an overturned Jeep. Despite the family's poverty, they offered young Gary and even Snowball a bit of food. Thereafter, Gary took food from home and brought it to them, and they shared meals of sardines and rice. Snowball once saved Gary's life. Walking barefoot along a trail, Gary came across a pretty-but deadly-snake that was about to bite him. Snowball grabbed the snake, shook it, and broke its neck.
• Once, a bear nearly killed Ruth Paulsen, the wife of popular children's author Gary Paulsen. She had been weeding the garden when the bear approached her and prepared to attack, although she did the right things-she backed away from the bear, and she avoided eye contact with it. Fortunately, a tiny dog named Quincy saw what was happening, came running, jumped on the bear's chest, bit down, and hung on. Mrs. Paulsen then did what she shouldn't have-she ran toward the bear, grabbed Quincy, and ran away. Mr. Paulsen says that in doing this his wife used "all the good luck from the rest of her life," for the bear turned around and went away.
• General George B. McClellan felt that President Abraham Lincoln was interfering when he requested to be kept better informed of activities in the field. Therefore, the general sent the president this sarcastic telegram: "Have just captured six cows. What shall we do with them?" President Lincoln was able to meet the challenge. He sent back this telegram: "Milk them."
• English actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell loved Pinkie Panky Poo, her pet Pekingese, and she wanted to take him with her whenever she traveled. She once bundled him under her cloak and tried to smuggle him past customs. Later, she told her friends, "Everything was going splendidly-until my bosom barked."
• When country comedian Jerry Clower was a boy, his family owned a bulldog named Mike. This bulldog looked out for the children of the family, and whenever Jerry's mother wanted to spank him, first she had to lock up the bulldog, because if she didn't, as soon as she started to spank Jerry, it would bite her.
• The family of Quaker humorist Tom Mullen adopted a stray dog, which they named Terry. Terry was so well fed that she was overweight, and because she was overweight, her legs bowed. In addition, her tail wagged so much that one of the Mullen children called her "a story with a happy ending."
• During the 1970s, Mary Bacon worked as a woman jockey, and while doing her job her face used to be caked by the mud flying out from under the hooves of the racing horses. She once told the New York Daily News, "Some women shell out $25 for a mud pack and I get 'em for free."
• A bullfighter appearing on You Bet Your Life told Groucho Marx that in the ring he had met more than 300 bulls. Groucho replied, "You must be the envy of every cow in Mexico."
• Dogs can be trained to do good tricks. A man in New York trained his dog well. Whenever he said, "Adolf Hitler," the dog would raise its leg and pee.
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REMEMBERING MARC PERKEL
Marc Perkel
Marc died August 1st after a brave battle with lung cancer.
Marc was one of the good guys. The REALLY GOOD GUYS.
WHO THE HELL IS MARC PERKEL
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Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
Farewell ceremony from Uri Avnery - YouTube
JOSEPH STALIN RISES FROM THE DEAD.
THE CROOKS AND THE COMMIES.
SURF'S UP!
"A FRIDAY NIGHT DOCUMENT MASSACRE."
THROWING OUT THE TRASH!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
If you've ever thought about sending Marty a donation this would be an excellent time.
Pro-Net Neutrality Bill
California
California is closer than ever to restoring net neutrality. A bill to bring ease back into the hearts of California web surfers, SB-822, sailed through the state's legislative bodies and is now heading to the governor's desk for a signature.
Jerry Brown, who is a Democrat, has not said whether he intends to sign the bill - but Brown rarely comments on legislation before it arrives at his desk. By state law, the governor has 30 days to act on the legislation.
A bill enacting net neutrality protection would have important ramifications for the United States, since the U.S. Senate voted to reverse a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to kill national net neutrality rules set in place under the Obama administration. The Congressional Review Act seeks to overturn the December 2017 decision, but it still must go through the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the FCC's quest to "restore internet freedom" is still slated to go live in June.
California's bill aims to set net neutrality rules on a state level. The bill prohibits internet service providers from offering different quality of service levels outside specific conditions. It allows the state's Attorney General to investigate and take action against those service providers in violation of the prohibitions.
According to Section 1776 of the bill, internet service providers cannot block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. Providers also cannot alter internet connections between devices and "lawful" sources, which would prevent throttling and paid fast lanes for specific media. The list goes on to include the ban of third-party paid prioritization, application-specific differential pricing, and more.
California
'Would Be Done'
Twitter
Amid claims from Donald Trump (R-Odious) that social media giants are unfairly suppressing conservative views, his 2020 campaign manager has threatened the president may quit Twitter for a conservative platform
"If @realDonaldTrump leaves @Twitter for another platform Twitter is done. Put a fork in it," wrote Brad Parscale, who was Mr Trump's digital media director for the 2016 presidential campaign and now serves as manager for his reelection campaign.
The comment came after Mr Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, joined his father in claiming there was anti-conservative bias on social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook. Senior officials from Twitter, Facebook and Google are expected to provide testimony next week on Capitol Hill.
Mr Trump Jr told Axios there was "exactly zero doubt in my mind" that tech bias is real. "I don't think [this issue] is going away, because I don't think it's changing," he said
He said the companies needed to better self regulate as "many of these platforms get many benefits from the government". He said if a Trump supporter in the tech world created a conservative, Facebook-like social network, he would urge his father's supporters to switch to it.
Twitter
So Much Winning
Summits
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Crooked) will skip summits with Asian leaders in Singapore and Papua New Guinea in November, sending Vice President Mike Pence (R-Mother) in his place, the White House said on Friday, an announcement that will raise questions about his commitment to a regional strategy to counter China.
Trump was invited to attend the U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and the East Asia summit in Singapore and also the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Papua New Guinea. He had attended these events last November.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders (R-Complicit) said Trump asked Pence to represent him at the summits, where he will "highlight the United States' vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, based on respect for sovereignty, the rule of law, and the principles of free, fair and reciprocal trade."
Trump will travel to Paris to attend a Nov. 11 commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War One. Trump had wanted a U.S. military parade in Washington but balked at price estimates.
Later in November, Trump will attend the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires and will also travel to Colombia for talks about security, narcotics and regional affairs, Sanders said.
Summits
Confirmed
'Insulting' Comments
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-OfPutin) on Friday confirmed "insulting" comments that he'd first made off the record regarding his unwillingness to work with Canada on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
During an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday, Trump said he was not willing to compromise with Canada on revising NAFTA. He put those remarks "off the record," but they were quickly leaked to the Toronto Star.
"Here's the problem. If I say no - the answer's no," Trump said about a possible compromise. "If I say no, then you're going to put that, and it's going to be so insulting they're not going to be able to make a deal. ... I can't kill these people."
Any potential trade deal with Canada would be "totally on our terms," he said, and expressed his pleasure with his current strategy of repeatedly threatening to impose tariffs, according to the Star.
"Off the record, Canada's working their ass off," Trump said.
'Insulting' Comments
Still In Government Shelters
497 Children
Five weeks after the U.S. government failed to meet a federal judge's deadline to reunite all children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border under President Donald Trump's zero tolerance policy, nearly 500 children are still awaiting their parents in government shelters - including 22 under the age of 5 - according to updated numbers released Thursday night.
Trump administration officials provided the data in response to a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union. They indicate only a slight decrease from the 528 children reported last week.
Some 322 of the 497 children still in custody have parents who were deported, making it more difficult to reunite them. Government officials reported Thursday that they have been able to contact the parents of 318 of them. But a steering committee, formed by the ACLU and other advocacy organizations, say the number of parents contacted is lower than that.
The advocacy groups say that difficulties in facilitating the reunions include discrepancies between the children who have been identified in shelters and recorded on the government's official list of separated children, finding phone numbers for parents, and "other issues related to information exchange," according to Thursday's court filing.
As of this week, a total of 1,937 children have been reunited with their parents, according to the numbers released Thursday night.
497 Children
Welfare Check
Vanessa Marquez
On Thursday, actress Vanessa Marquez was shot and killed by South Pasadena police during a welfare check, the Washington Post reported. Marquez was best known for her roles as nurse Wendy Goldman in the show "ER" and as Ana Delgado in "Stand and Deliver." She was 49 years old.
According to the Washington Post, Marquez's landlord, who was concerned about her well-being, requested the welfare check. When police and a Los Angeles County Mental Health clinician arrived, she was having medical issues including seizures. Lt. Joe Mendoza of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told reporters, "It appeared that the female was gravely disabled." Authorities say she became uncooperative and appeared to be possibly suffering from mental health issues.
TMZ reported that authorities believe Vanessa had mental issues stemming from an eating disorder, which might have triggered the seizures.
According to officers, after about an hour, Marquez pulled out a gun. Police fired, hitting her in the torso. It was later discovered the firearm Marquez pulled out was a BB gun. Marquez was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Some took to Twitter to express condolences, and comment on the way Marquez died, including Eriq La Salle, who played Dr. Peter Benton on "ER" and actor James Woods. According to a database maintained by The Washington Post, 679 people have been fatally shot by police in 2018. So far, 18 percent of those cases involved someone with a known mental illness. In 2015 and 2016, one in four police shootings involved a person with a mental illness.
Vanessa Marquez
Vacancies
West Wing
Increasingly convinced that the West Wing is wholly unprepared to handle the expected assault from Democrats if they win the House in November, President-for-now Donald Trump's (R-Grifter) aides and allies are privately raising alarm as his circle of legal and communications advisers continues to shrink.
With vacancies abounding in the White House and more departures on the horizon, there is growing concern among Trump allies that the brain drain at the center of the administration could hardly come at a more perilous time. Special counsel Robert Mueller's swirling probe of Russian election interference and potential obstruction of justice by Trump has reached ever closer to the Oval Office, and the upcoming midterm elections could grant his political adversaries the power of subpoena or, more worryingly, the votes to attempt impeachment.
Nine current and former White House staffers and administration allies expressed concerns Thursday that the West Wing is simply unprepared for the potential troubles ahead. They spoke on the condition of anonymity over concerns about estranging colleagues.
Attrition, job changes and firings have taken their toll across the White House, but their impact has been felt particularly in the communications and legal shops - two departments crucial to Trump staving off the looming threats. The upcoming departure of White House counsel Don McGahn has highlighted the challenges in an office that has shrunk by a third since last year.
McGahn's deputy and chief of staff, Annie Donaldson, is also expected to leave soon after McGahn departs, two staffers said. Similarly, the White House press office is down to four press secretaries working on day-to-day White House matters, including Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and the regional and Cabinet affairs media teams in the communications office have been hollowed out.
West Wing
Sinking
Polls
By any metric, Donald Trump (R-Flaccid) is in trouble.
A poll out from The Post and ABC on Friday shows that 60 percent of voters disapprove of the job he's doing as president, a new low. But that's just one poll; the polling average at statistician Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight shows Trump with a mere 53.4 percent disapproval rating, which is better than its 56.8 percent peak last December.
But a presidency is not in good shape when the best spin on the new poll is "It's an outlier! Only 53 percent of the country thinks the president is terrible." The poll is especially ugly for Republicans with midterms looming in two months.
FiveThirtyEight's forecast for the midterms puts the likelihood of Democrats taking the House at more than 70 percent. Their chances of taking the Senate are lower, but Republicans are hardly a lock despite a very favorable map for them. And if Democrats manage to eke out a majority in both houses of Congress, here is the poll's really bad news for Trump: Half the country wants him impeached.
To put that in perspective: In January 1974, well into the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon's poll numbers on impeachment were better than President Trump's are now. Earlier, less disastrous polls for Trump still showed him veering dangerously close to what we might call "the Nixon ceiling."
Most worrying for Trump is that three-quarters of Democrats say they want Congress to impeach him. If Democrats gain control, they will be under immense pressure from their base to deliver.
Polls
Saudi Arabia Hints At Plan
Qatar
A Saudi official hinted Friday the kingdom was moving forward with a plan to dig a canal that would turn the neighbouring Qatari peninsula into an island, amid a diplomatic feud between the Gulf nations.
The plan, which would physically separate the Qatari peninsula from the Saudi mainland, is the latest stress point in a highly fractious 14-month long dispute between the two states.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and being too close to Riyadh's archrival, Iran -- charges Doha denies.
In April, the pro-government Sabq news website reported government plans to build a channel -- 60 kilometres (38 miles) long and 200 metres wide -- stretching across the kingdom's border with Qatar.
Mediation efforts led by Kuwait and the US, which has its largest Middle East air base in Qatar, have so far failed to resolve the dispute.
Qatar
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