Explaining HUD Pick Lynne Patton to Head Housing In New York

Fake But Feasible News

With all of the turmoil following the President it was easy to overlook the selection of Lynne Patton to head HUD housing operations in the New York area.  The choice has made some news however because the individual selected has no experience whatsoever with public housing and governmental housing policy.  So here is some not-true news to explain the selection.

First some true news about the person.

Before Mr. Carson recommended her for the role, Ms. Patton had been working as a senior adviser and director of public engagement at the department for several months. Before that, she had no experience in housing policy. Instead, she had worked closely with Mr. Trump’s family for years as an event planner and assistant.

Ms. Patton helped coordinate some of Eric Trump’s wedding, organized golf tournaments on the president’s courses, and was the vice president of the Eric Trump Foundation. In her role at the foundation, she oversaw its outreach and operations, planned fund-raisers and other functions, and worked on the group’s social media presence.

Wow, but what about some background?

In a speech at last year’s Republican National Convention, she noted that her father had been born in Birmingham, Ala., and became a respected doctor at Yale University.

Okay, we didn’t realize the fact that if a person’s father was born in Alabama and had become a respected doctor at Yale that qualified one to head up one of the most important offices in the government.  So we went to Ms. Patton to ask about it and here is what she did not say.

                                                        

New York (Fake News Net) The person selected to run HUD operations in New York and surrounding area said today that she brings assets to the job that no one else could.  “I have extensive experience planning big weddings” she said “and think of what this will mean for residents of public housing.  I can organize their weddings, most of which will cost only $100,000 or so and make memories that will last a lifetime.  I can also help them join country clubs, well not most Trump clubs because he doesn’t want people living in public housing at places like Mar-a-Lago, but there are some clubs that are not as restrictive.  My connections will get them discounted golf lessons.

Yep just the sort of person you would think would join Ben Carson in his role to destroy government support of the housing market.

Republican Congressmen Want Government Housing Aid To Afford Housing in Washington

Expect HUD Sec. Ben Carson to Try and Help – Part of the Welfare for the Rich Campaign

Since it is not April Fool’s Day one must assume that a Republican Congressman’s begging for the government housing aid is not a joke.

On his way out of Congress, Rep. Jason Chaffetz gave many District residents another reason to gripe Tuesday when he called for members of Congress to receive a housing stipend of up to $30,000 a year.

Chaffetz (R-Utah), who chaired the committee that has oversight of the nation’s capital, said federal lawmakers have trouble stretching their $174,000 salaries to cover housing in Washington, which he called “one of the most expensive places in the world,” and homes in their congressional districts.

Conservatives have often been portrayed as the whiniest of politicians.  And of course if low income families said they should get $30 k a year for housing well we know who would be flooding Fox News denigrating the freeloading worthless bastards that take tax dollars from the rich to support their shiftless life style.  Well conservatives meet a worthless bastard who is one of you.

White House Revels in Going “Beyond Stupid”

“No Previous President Has Ever Done That” Trump Did Not Say

After Nevada Sen. Dean Heller came out against the Senate’s health care/tax cuts for the wealthy bill he was attacked by Republican supporters in ads in that state.  The Senate leader seeing one of his most vulnerable members about to be crushed reacted thusly.

The majority leader — already rankled by Mr. Trump’s tweets goading him to change Senate rules to scuttle Democratic filibusters — called the White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, to complain that the attacks were “beyond stupid,” according to two Republicans with knowledge of the tense exchange.

Unreliable reports on fake news said that far from being insulted President Trump and his White House staff saw this as another accomplishment, something to crow about.  They did not say that no one had ever gone beyond stupid in the government since the second Bush administration and even then it took them years.  “We did it in a manner of months” the President did not say on Fox Faux News, and “and no one is giving us credit for it”.

Like Politicians Everywhere, British Conservative Party Sacrifices Principles to Stay in Power

Reaches Deal to Buy Off a Small Party of Bigots

For the most part the Conservative Party of Britain are nice conservatives.  They support the nation’s comprehensive national health system and the previous Prime Minister support gay marriage as a matter of principle.  But the recent election in Britain took away the Conservatives’ majority and now they have formed a union with a small Northern Ireland party of hate to stay in power.

Of course what they really did was just buy them off.

“In return, London pledged an extra £1 billion ($1.27 billion) of public spending in Northern Ireland over the next five years in areas including infrastructure, education, health and economic development. Mrs. Foster said the Conservatives also agreed to ditch proposals on overhauling benefit payments for retirees that the DUP opposed.”

Who is the DUP?  Well strict anti-abortion and climate denial is their core identity.  Sort of like Trump, without the charm.

Sarah Palin Sues New York Times, Claiming Editorial Defamed Her

No truth the rumor that Ms. Palin would be called to the stand as an expert witness on defamation.

While Bernie Sanders Was Leading Rallies Against Health Care Cruelty Nancy Pelosi was Where?

We Don't Know But a Dinner Party in Georgetown is Most Likely

The issue of whether or not the Dems should dump Nancy Pelosi as Minority Leader was illustrated over the weekend when she apparently did no public events campaigning against the GOP Tax Cut Bill for the Wealthy disguised as Health Care reform.  Sen. Sanders, who not even a Democrat did haul his 70+ year old body out to fight the bill both in person and on TV political shows.

Ms. Pelosi is toxic, and it is not her fault she has been the target of right wing smears for lo these many years.  But reality is reality.  She should go, she is not part of the solution, she is part of the problem.

Ed Sec “Born with a silver ingot in her mouth” Betsy DeVos to Cut Back Civil Rights in Schools

Unless the violations are against spoiled rich people

An ugly episode in an ugly administration

That civil rights violations take place in the nation’s schools is not disputed, even by conservatives who hate civil rights enforcements.  But they are just not a big deal to a billionaire appointed to head the Education Department.  So she will cut enforcement.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Education is scaling back investigations into civil rights violations at the nation’s public schools and universities, easing off mandates imposed by the Obama administration that the new leadership says have bogged down the agency.

According to an internal memo issued by Candice E. Jackson, the acting head of the department’s office for civil rights, requirements that investigators broaden their inquiries to identify systemic issues and whole classes of victims will be scaled back. Also, regional offices will no longer be required to alert department officials in Washington of all highly sensitive complaints on issues such as the disproportionate disciplining of minority students and the mishandling of sexual assaults on college campuses.

See, the problem is that is just not a priority for Bets.  She wants to gut public schools and use tax dollars to fund religious schools, religious schools that support her religion of course, others need not apply.

The Impact of Republican Health Care in One Chart

From the NYT

Do You Get It?  Do You?

Republicans Will Spin Falsely About the CBO Report on Their Health Care Bill

So Here is the Quotes Right From the Horse’s Mouth

Republicans Speak From a Different Part of the Horse

The CBO has issued a report on the impact of the Senate Republican Tax Cut/Disguised as Health Care Bill.  Republicans will say it lowers premiums and produces better care.  Here is what it really says.

GOP:  We are not cutting Medicaid

Truth from CBO:  Medicaid is Cut by More than $700 Billion

The largest savings would come from reductions in outlays for Medicaid—spending on the program would decline in 2026 by 26 percent in comparison with what CBO projects under current law—and from changes to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) subsidies for nongroup health insurance

GOP:  Premiums Will Go Down

Truth from CBO:  Next Year Premiums Will Have Huge Increase

Under the Senate bill, average premiums for benchmark plans for single individuals would be about 20 percent higher in 2018 than under current law, mainly because the penalty for not having insurance would be eliminated, inducing fewer comparatively healthy people to sign up. Those premiums would be about 10 percent higher than under current law in 2019—less than in 2018 in part because funding provided by the bill to reduce premiums would affect pricing and because changes in the limits on how premiums can vary by age would result in a larger number of younger people paying lower premiums to purchase policies.

GOP:  Premiums Are Skyrocketing Under Obamacare

Truth from CBO:  Obamacare markets with a few exceptions are stable and affordable.

Although premiums have been rising under current law, most subsidized enrollees purchasing health insurance coverage in the nongroup market are largely insulated from increases in premiums because their out-of-pocket payments for premiums are based on a percentage of their income; the government pays the difference between that percentage and the premiums for a reference plan (which is the second-lowest-cost plan in their area providing specified benefits). The subsidies to purchase coverage, combined with the effects of the individual mandate, which requires most individuals to obtain insurance or pay a penalty, are anticipated to cause sufficient demand for insurance by enough people, including people with low health care expenditures, for the market to be stable in most areas.

GOP:  Premiums Decline With Their Bill

Truth from CBO:  Insurers will pay less, individuals will pay more.

That share of services covered by insurance would be smaller because the benchmark plan under this legislation would have an actuarial value of 58 percent beginning in 2020. That value is slightly below the actuarial value of 60 percent for “bronze” plans currently offered in the marketplaces. Because of the ACA’s limits on out-of-pocket spending and prohibitions on annual and lifetime limits on payments for services within the EHBs, all plans must pay for most of the cost of high-cost services. To design a plan with an actuarial value of 60 percent or less and pay for those high-cost services, insurers must set high deductibles—that is, the amounts that people pay out of pocket for most types of health care services before insurance makes any contribution. Under current law for a single policyholder in 2017, the average deductible (for medical and drug expenses combined) is about $6,000 for a bronze plan and $3,600 for a silver plan. CBO and JCT expect that the benchmark plans under this legislation would have high deductibles similar to those for the bronze plans offered under current law. Premiums for a plan with an actuarial value of 58 percent are lower than they are for a plan with an actuarial value of 70 percent (the value for the reference plan under current law) largely because the insurance pays for a smaller average share of health care costs.

So if upon reading this a person concludes that every talking point of the Republicans on this bill is a lie, well, then you understand the situation.

Why Is This Even Necessary?

What Rational and Sane American Would Go to North Korea? 

From the Washington Post

"Death of U-Va. student could lead to North Korea travel ban

Otto Warmbier, 22, was in a coma when he was returned to his family in Ohio last week after being held in North Korea for nearly a year and a half. His death intensified political reaction to his detention, with outraged critics calling it “murder.”

Now let's be perfectly clear.  Mr. Warmbier's death is solely at the hands of the North Koreans.  He is in no way responsible.  But going forward any American who travels to North Korea, or Iran or Syria or a myriad of other places is doing so at their peril.  Don't go, these people want to kill you.  

Sen. McConnell Explains Secrecy Behind Senate Health Care Bill

“Americans Are Just Too Stupid to Understand This” He Did Not Say

Editors note:  Because the Senate leader did not explain why he kept the American people from knowing what was in a health care bill that literally affected their life and death, the DPE thought he would put words in the Senator’s mouth and explain things.

Warsaw, Ky (FNNNN)  Kentucky Senator and Majority leader Mitch McConnell today said that the reason he kept the public from knowing the details of the Senate’s health care legislation was that “The average citizen doesn’t understand this stuff.  We in the Senate, that is we Republicans not the other guys, have full knowledge about what is good for the wealthy and we were elected to make sure those people did not suffer from paying taxes to help middle and lower income families have decent care.”

McConnell went on to say that “Just because a person is sick or injured doesn’t mean they should get treatment.  The Constitution doesn’t say that promoting the general welfare means regular people shouldn’t suffer from curable diseases.  It doesn’t say children must get to see doctors and nurses when they need to and it certainly doesn’t say that billionaires should pay taxes, and if they have to the Constitution expressly prohibits those taxes helping non-billionaires”  When asked about the billionaire reference and where that was in the Constitution McConnell replied that “Just because something is not stated explicitly in the Constitution doesn’t mean we can’t infer it if that furthers our agenda of helping wealthy people get even more money”.

The Senator concluded his remarks by arguing that “Our coal miners have lived for decades with sub par health due to lack of safety concerns by coal mine owners and there is no reason the rest of the nation shouldn’t follow the example set by the great state of Kentucky.”

Republican Tennessee Leads in Making 2 Year College Free

Civic Minded Conservatives Can Benefit the Nation

This Forum and a lot of other sources look upon modern so-called conservatism as a danger to the health and prosperity of the nation.  But this is not a foregone conclusion and in Tennessee Republicans who control the state have done a great thing.  They have extended the right of young adults for education to providing for a free 2 year diploma.

Candace Ogilvie, a counselor at Antioch High School in south Nashville, assists students and parents with the Tennessee Promise application process. CreditJoe Buglewicz for The New York Times

SMYRNA, Tenn. — A high school assembly changed Nicole-Lynn Riel’s life.

In the fall of 2014, as Ms. Riel, a senior, was applying for jobs at Red Lobster, J. C. Penney and Target, a speaker came to her school to talk about a new state program, Tennessee Promise, that would pay the tuition for all students at the state’s community colleges.

When the speaker said school would be free for everyone, Ms. Riel said, she “perked up and said, ‘What?’”

This month, Ms. Riel graduated from Motlow State Community College here, and she will soon start working toward her bachelor’s degree at a four-year school.

Yep, that is correct. And the program has benefited the entire community.

Enrollment at community and technology colleges for first-time freshmen has climbed by 30 percent. And a majority of Tennessee Promise students who began at a community college in the fall of 2015 were still in school this year, compared with fewer than half of those who were not Promise recipients, according to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

Of course national conservatives will recoil in horror at such a program, it costs money and does not benefit the most wealthy of citizens.  But now there is hope that decency and compassion will overcome greed and hate.

On Thursday Night: Republicans and Democrats Come Together to Play Baseball

On Friday Morning:  Republican Senators Continued Their Secret Hidden Assault on Health Care and Exclude Democrats and the Public From Any Involvement or Knowledge

It Was Back to Politics as Usual - Destroying Democracy One Day at a Time

Notice To Republican Voters: Yes, Electing Trumpie is Hazardous to Your Health and Well Being

Just Don’t Get Sick GOP’ers

The Center for Disease Control seems to be one of the few government institutions that works.  Or at least it did.  From the WaPo.

To Your Health

Nearly 700 vacancies at CDC because of Trump administration’s hiring freeze

What does this mean.  Oh this.

Nearly 700 positions are vacant at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of a continuing freeze on hiring that officials and researchers say affects programs supporting local and state public health emergency readiness, infectious disease control and chronic disease prevention.

The same restriction remains in place throughout the Health and Human Services Department despite the lifting of a government-wide hiring freeze last month. At the National Institutes of Health, staff say clinical work, patient care and recruitment are suffering.

Yep,  can’t wait for all those ‘more righteous than thou’ Trump voters to get sick and find out that no, they cannot get help from the Feds.  But they won’t worry, after all the wealthy get a huge tax cut.

California Sen. Diane Feinstein Considering Running for Re-election

Why?

To see why the current status of the Democratic party in the U. S. is one of almost unconsciousness one need only consider the fact that 84 year old Senator Diane Feinstein of California may run for a new term. If she does then there is another six years where young dynamic leadership is blocked from moving into important electoral positions.

Sen. Feinstein would not be running to advance an agenda.  She would noy be leading the charge for progressive legislation.  She would be running purely to continue the ego trip of being a United States Senator.  Ms. Feinstein is wealthy, and wealth buys a lot of nice things, but wealth cannot buy political status.  Only an election can accomplish that.  So Sen. Feinstein may hold onto her Senate seat solely for the perks of being a Senator.  The progressive agenda, that’s secondary.

A Single Quote Sums Up the Sorry State of the Democratic Party

Bonus Quote of the Day

June 21, 2017 at 3:52 pm EDTBy Taegan Goddard325 Comments

“We no longer have a party caucus capable of riding this wave. We have 80-year-old leaders and 90-year-old ranking members. This isn’t a party. It’s a giant assisted living center. Complete with field trips, gym, dining room and attendants.”

— A Democratic operative, quoted by Politico.

Thanks Taegan Goddard

Conservative Health Care Policy is Killing Would-Be Mothers

In Texas in Particular

The United States has the most private sector providers of health care than any other major nation.  The result is that health care is expensive and spotty.  Furthermore, state policies which deny access to quality care by low income groups abound where Republicans control state government

Here is an ugly statistic.

In 2005, 23 US mothers per 100 000 live births died from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. In 2015, that number rose to 25. In the United Kingdom, the number was less than 9. In Canada, it was less than 7.

Very few wealthy countries saw increases over those years. Many poorer countries, including Iran and Romania, saw declines. But here in the United States, things got worse.

And the poster child for poor material care, Texas.

Last year, a study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology found that the maternal mortality rate in the United States had increased by more than 25% from 2000 to 2014. This trend differed by state, however. Although California had shown some declines, Texas had seen significant increases.’

Texas in particular has been the focus of much of the news on maternal mortality in the last few years. From 2011 to 2014, the rate doubled. Although we lack good data to tell us why, many have postulated that changes to family planning in the state coincided with this increase. In 2013, for example about half of the state’s clinics that provided abortion in addition to other reproductive health services were closed because of regulations passed against them.

 In 2011, the family-planning budget was slashed in an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. Many clinics closed and more were forced to reduce their services.

Family planning matters. About 50% of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and might lack preventive care that properly planned-for pregnancies might.

Thanks Rick Perry and the conservatives who rule Texas, thanks.

A Second Tragedy in the High Rise Fire in Britain

Flammable Panels Were Used to Save 2 Pounds per Panel

The fire of a high rise in England killed as many as 58 people.  And maybe it could have been prevented.

In the wake of the fire, it has emerged that the panels fitted to the outside of Grenfell Tower during a substantial refurbishment in 2011 were the cheaper flammable version, that cost £22 each, compared to the “fire-resistant” version which cost £24 each. The total saving from using the non fire-resistant panels has been estimated at around £6,000. There are also concerns that the addition of the panels to the outside of the building created a “chimney effect” sending flames up the outside of the building, spreading the fire faster.

No one knows why or how this happened.  But if it turns out this was a failure of the regulatory process of the state then those who want to destroy governmental oversight need to take a good long look at themselves.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Has Two Sons Who Are Opioid Addicts – And She Wants to Severely Cut Medicaid Treatment for Addiction

A Republican, How Did You Know?

The Dayton News has a moving story about the horror of drug addiction.  The family of Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor has been fighting this horrific condition for years.

Both sons – Joe, 26, and Michael, 23, — are now doing well, according to Taylor, though one remains in drug treatment. But every step on the road into addiction, treatment and recovery was marked with worry, anxiety and terror, she said.

There were so many traumatic moments, Taylor can’t even isolate one single event that stands out.

But what is newsworthy is the aspiring candidate for Governor’s take on Medicaid.  First of all addiction is a huge problem in Ohio.

Ohio ranks number one in the nation for unintentional drug overdoses. Despite investing almost $1 billion a year to fight drug abuse and addiction, accidental overdoses claimed 3,050 lives in Ohio in 2015, up 20.5 percent over 2014. Preliminary data from the Ohio Department of Health shows 3,835 fatalities in 2016 — a 25.7 percent hike over 2015.

And Ms. Taylor has no plan to help things other than meaningless platitudes and generalities.

Despite her personal story and six-year service in the Kasich administration, Taylor does not yet have a detailed plan on how she would fight the opioid epidemic if she is elected governor.

“We need a comprehensive solution and it’s going to involve the feds. It’s going to involve everybody,” she said. “We need law enforcement, we need community activists, we need churches and faith-based groups. A comprehensive solution is going to be just that.”

But she does have a firm opinion on Medicaid, and Medicaid plays a key role in treatment.

A centerpiece to Kasich’s approach, however, is opposed by Taylor. Kasich initiated an expansion of Medicaid, made possible by Obamacare, and has been accepting federal funds to serve an additional 715,000 low-income Ohioans, including roughly 215,000 with drug abuse and addiction issues.

Ms. Taylor undoubtedly has the resources to pay for treatment for his sons, maybe they are even covered by the government provided group health care plan she probably gets.  But as far as anyone else is concerned, those who cannot pay, her attitude is pretty Republican mainstream.  Screw You.

The Jury is Still Out on That "Stupid" Thing

From Taegan Goddard's Wonderful Site

Democracy in Action, Kremlin Style in the U. S.Senate

Senate GOP Won’t Release Draft of Health Care Bill

June 12, 2017By Taegan Goddard

“Senate Republicans are on track to finish writing their draft health care bill this evening, but have no plans to publicly release the bill,” Axios reports.

Said one of the aides: “We aren’t stupid.”

Trump Apparently Thinks He Can Pressure Mueller – Trump is Wrong

A Decorated Veteran Will Not Be Intimidated by an Orange Haired Person Who Sat Out Military Service

The WaPo and NYT have stories about how Donnie thinks he can threaten Mueller with firing and thus get the former FBI Director to give Trump a favorable outcome on the various investigations currently being undertaken.

A person who spoke with Trump on Tuesday told the New York Times that the president was pleased by the intentional ambiguity of his position on firing Robert S. Mueller as special counsel, “and thinks the possibility of being fired will focus the veteran prosecutor on delivering what the president desires most: a blanket public exoneration.”

Really, the President of the United States can be this clueless?  Look at Mueller’s background.

Mueller, 72, earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Valor for his gallantry in Vietnam before devoting most of the rest of his life to public service. Trump, 71, avoided military service by claiming a medical deferment for “heel spurs,” and he’s said that his “personal Vietnam” was avoiding sexually-transmitted diseases while sleeping around in New York. “I feel like a great and very brave solider," the president once told Howard Stern.

Decorated Vietnam War Vet vs sufferer of ‘heel spurs’.  Not exactly a fair fight.

Trump Administration Seeks Delay in Supreme Court Hearing on Travel Ban – We Guess that Immediate Dire Threat Never Existed

Trumpie Shoots Himself in the Foot and Other Body Parts

Remember how the Muslim travel ban was necessary to respond to an immediate threat, that terrorists were streaming into the nation.  Well first of all the administration did not appeal the first court ruling against the ban and instead drafted a new ban.  And now instead of hurrying before the Supreme Court the Trumpster is saying wait a minute, no big deal, no big hurry.

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to give the Trump administration more time to explain why the high court should take up the case of the president’s embattled travel ban.

In a letter sent earlier in the day, Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall proposed a change to the expected briefing schedule to allow it to formulate a response to an opinion issued Monday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Justice Department's maneuver risks delaying Supreme Court consideration of the case until October, inviting administration critics to question whether the sense of urgency that inspired Trump's travel ban is shared by the lawyers who are defending it.

So once again the Trump people are exposed for what they are.  And everybody knows what they are.

Donnie Celebrates Father’s Day Trying to Remember the Names of His Children

And Other Fake, Funny and Almost Real News

1. On Twitter Sunday Donald said he appreciated his children Eric, Don Jr., Ivanka and ‘that other one’.  When asked about getting only three names Press Secretary said that ‘this was 75% and that was much more than any other President had ever done on Father’s Day. 

2. A secret decoder ring was found which allows the holder to get into the meetings the Republican Senators are having to craft a health care/tax cut for the wealthy bill.  The ring apparently does not work as the finder attended several meetings and reported they were pure gibberish.

3. In order to promote harmony in the House the Speaker Paul Ryan invited Nancy Pelosi over for dinner.  “Just bring anything you like and you can heat it up in the microwave” he apparently did not say, adding “I’ll have my girl set it up with your girl”.

4. The Republican controlled Senate passed a bill that gives the Congress control over the lifting of sanctions against Russia in defiance of Trump. The Senate based its vote on the certainty that Secretary of State Tillerson would convince the House not to go along, and instead let Russia name the next head of the Republican National Committee.

5. Trump announced he was being investigated for firing James Comey, then his attorney said he was not being investigated but took it back after the Washington Post said he was being investigated.  “If the Post says it, it must be true” Trump’s attorney said, “I mean, they got everything else right”.

6. In a poll just released 2% of American voters said that Trump was violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution and 98% said they thought the word ‘emoluments’ was a misspelling of the word monuments.

7. O. J. Simpson will be let out of jail early to search the Trump golf courses to find the person who decided to fire James Comey.  “I won’t rest even if I have to play every course” Simpson did not say.

Trump’s Ignorance on Air Travel Leads Him to the Wrong Solution

Infrastructure Week  Kicked Off with Privatizing Air Traffic Control

Huh?

Trump wants to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure but he doesn’t want to spend any money because his highest priority is tax cuts for people like Trump, that is wealthy people.  So his first step will be to try and put Air Traffic Control into a private company, something that does nothing to address the problems of air travel.

President Trump will seek to put a spotlight on his vows to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system and spur $1 trillion in new investment in roads, waterways and other infrastructure with a weeklong series of events starting Monday at the White House. . . .

The president has invited executives from major airlines to join him as he kicks off the week with one of his more controversial plans: spinning off the air traffic control functions of the Federal Aviation Administration to a nonprofit corporation.

Note the disconnect here.  The goal is to invest in roads, waterways etc; the action is to change management of air traffic. 

Now there is plenty wrong with air travel, and the air traffic system could certainly use investment in new systems.  But the main problem is greedy monopolistic airlines that make air travel excruciatingly painful and insufficient airport resources.  But fixing that would mean more anti-trust regulation and more spending, two things Republicans don’t want to do.  And Trump of course flies private, none of the horrors of air travel have ever affected him.

So the solution is to spend nothing, make a big PR splash and for Trump, hopefully take the spotlight away from what everyone expects will be devastating new info about his abuses.  

White Supremacy – the Ugly Side of America – Still Lives

Does a Trump Administration Promote This or Discourage This?

A great success story is the state of Virginia.  The home of the Confederacy and bastion of school segregation up until the 1970’s the state is now a moderately progressive tolerant home to a diverse population and strong economy.  But that doesn’t mean that leftover racism does not rear its ugly head.

The gathering of several dozen protesters in Charlottesville, Va., was led by Richard B. Spencer, a prominent white supremacist, who posted pictures and video from the gathering to social media that showed a phalanx of demonstrators holding Confederate battle flags and a banner proclaiming, “We will not be replaced.” Their chants, some of which were captured on video, included “Russia is our friend” and the Nazi-era slogan “blood and soil.”

The good news is that this event was news in the sense that it was unusual.  The bad news, these people are flourishing in a world where racism is becoming more acceptable.  The worst news, under Trump and his minions this sort of thing is likely to grow and prosper.  They almost won the Republican primary for Governor.

Betsy DeVos Won’t Say That Private Schools That Discriminate Will be Denied Federal Funds

And other snarky comments on the news.

A lot of news that didn’t happen.

1. Ed Sec Betsy (I am a billionaire, I don’t do public education) said in a hearing that it would be up to states to decide if federal law which prohibits discrimination would be enforced.  She went on not to say “I grew up in a prejudiced and bigoted household and had the benefit of private education.  If I had gone to public schools I might have not been able to develop my sense of privilege and my biases.  Many parents today are decent, compassionate and fair minded people so if we expect kids to become bigoted and prejudiced adults they are going to have to learn it in private schools like I did.”

2. Melania Trump apparently doesn’t want Donnie to touch her.  We feel your pain Mrs. Trump, boy do we feel it.

3. Speaking of Donnie, apparently he told the Pope that he would not forget what the Pope told  him.  In a surprising development what the Pope actually said was not leaked to the press because, as the White House staff pointed out, Trump forgot what it was the Pope said.

4. Ben Carson, the first Secretary of Housing dedicated to eliminating decent housing for low income families has said that poverty is a state of mind.  So it does no good to help these people, they just want to be poor.

6. The NYT has reported that Trump will disregard his pledge to donate his foreign profits to charity.  Trump is reported to be furious this story is out there because as he is saying in private  he doesn’t donate any profits from his domestic businesses either so what’s the big deal.  As for going back on an earlier promise, Trump did not say, “C’mon, that’s what I do.  Haven’t  you people figured that out yet?”

Administration Moves to Forbid Senate to Regulate Sanctions on Russia

Sec. State Wants to Reward Russia

In a rare bi-partisan agreement the Senate wants to make sure the Trumpie doesn’t give away the store to Russia.  The Senate is ready to pass a law making it much more difficult for Donnie to kiss up to Russia and relax penalties that the Obama folks place on the Kremlin for all sorts of bad things.  But the Secretary of State, obviously seeking to suck up to Donnie doesn’t want that, and the House, formerly a bastion of a hard line on Russia may go along.

As the Senate gears up to pass a bipartisan deal to punish Russia and restrict President Donald Trump from any attempt to ease sanctions, his administration and House Republicans are signaling that the agreement has a shaky future.

Senators in both parties have urged Trump to avoid leveling any veto threat on the Russia sanctions deal that's on track for passage Wednesday, which sets up a congressional review process if the president decides to ease or remove penalties against Moscow.

But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that the agreement to get tough on Russia would shut off communications with Moscow that he'd like to keep open for now.

Gosh, how did Tillerson run Exxon/Mobil with his spine removed?

Update:  The Senate passed the measure, hugely, but the House will probably kill it, don't want to hurt Putie's feelings, do we?

Gingrich and Trump Are Attacking Robert Mueller

What did you boys do during the Vietnam War?

Here from Wikipedia is what the guy you are denigrating did.

"Mueller enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1968, attending officer candidate school, Army Ranger School and Army jump school.[11] He then served as an officer leading a rifle platoon of the 3rd Marine Division during the Vietnam War;[3] he eventually became aide-de-camp to 3rd Marine Division's commanding general.[11] He received the Bronze Star, two Commendation Medals, the Purple Heart and the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry"

Trump Administration Enters Negotiations to Kill More Coal Miners

Ok Not Their Intent but It Will be the Result

Coal mine safety regulations have been largely gutted by mine operators, and several years ago the result was an accident that killed a whole lot of miners and, get this, actually sent the company President to jail for almost one whole year.  The regulations were strengthened up President Obama, who unlike the current President actually was doing something to help miners.

Among other changes, the MSHA rule approved in 2013 would stop mine operators from using appeals of safety citations to avoid tougher enforcement and do away with MSHA warning letters that gave companies additional time to improve before facing enforcement.” Prior to the April 2010 explosion at Upper Big Branch, mine owner Massey Energy had avoided being classified as a pattern violator by appealing hundreds of violations, clogging up the government’s appeals system, and because of MSHA inaction the agency later blamed on a computer programming error.

So the mine owners sued.    And now the owners and the Trump administration are going to try and settle the lawsuit.

“Rather than concurrently litigating and negotiating a possible settlement of the dispute, the parties are open to negotiating a mutually agreeable resolution that could avoid further litigation,” said the joint motion, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Columbus.

The joint filing indicated that lawyers for the industry and the government had met on May 1 and agreed that settlement negotiations “were sufficiently promising to warrant a stay of this litigation.”

“The parties have since discussed their commitment to a structured series of conferences to consider a negotiated resolution,’ the joint filing said.

Murray Energy, whose CEO, Bob Murray, has been an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump and the elimination of Obama-era regulations he says are harming the coal industry, is pleased that the litigation has been stayed so that a settlement can be negotiated, a spokesman said."

Anybody want to guess how this is going to turn out?  Anybody?  And it is important because the coal mining states now under Republican control are abdicating their safety regulating job and leaving it up to the Feds.  So as soon as the suit is settled in favor of coal mine owner, the killing of coal miners can continue.

Attorney General is Shocked, Shocked! That People Would Question His Integrity

Just Because He Lied Before Doesn’t Mean He is Lying Now, Does It?

In his testimony before the Senate the saintly and demure and bigoted Attorney General of the United States was outraged that anyone should suggest his meetings with a Russian Ambassador in private while Sessions was a key part of the Trump campaign was in any way improper.

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions offered an indignant defense on Tuesday against what he called “an appalling and detestable lie” that he may have colluded with the Russian effort to interfere in the 2016 election, but he declined during an often contentious Senate hearing to answer central questions about his or President Trump’s conduct.

Of course the fact that Sessions had not disclosed that meeting and in fact lied about having it until the WaPo found out about should in no way give anyone cause to think he was lying now.  

Rand Paul Maybe Feels Differently Now

From Taegan Goddard

Flashback Quote of the Day

June 14, 2017By Taegan Goddard

“Why do we have a Second Amendment? It’s not to shoot deer. It’s to shoot at the government 

when it becomes tyrannical!”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), on Twitter, June 23, 2016.

We Want to Take WSJ Editorial On Kansas Tax Increase Seriously

But It is Just So Stupid

After realizing that cutting taxes and spending was an insane policy with respect to economic growth and prosperity the conservative Republicans that control the Kansas legislature voted to override a veto and raise taxes.  This infuriated the tax-cuts-no-matter -what-the-cost radical conservatives who write editorials for the WSJ.  Of course none of them live in Kansas where the devastating spending cuts did not balance the budget and harmed education, infrastructure and made the state inhospitable to business.

Writing an editorial about the issue Journal blamed, and get this, the teacher’s union.

The press accounts gleefully talk of how “moderate Republicans” joined with Democrats to raise taxes to address exploding state deficits. But substitute “Republicans backed by teachers unions” for moderate Republicans, and the real picture comes into focus. At bottom the Kansas tax vote was as much about unions getting even with the Governor over his education reforms, which included making it easier to fire bad teachers.

That’s right, teacher unions, who have zero influence in the Republican party are to blame.  Incredible.  The truth of course is that all but the most radical of conservatives saw the policy was failing, failing badly.  So having to answer to voters rather than the elitist of the eastern Republican establishment the GOP faced reality and fixed some of the broken policy.  As for the WSJ, well they can’t handle the truth, can they?

Trump’s Core Supporters Still With Him – Despite the Fact That It May Be Literally Killing Them

Emotion Triumphs Over Reality in Kentucky  District

A while back the Washington Post took a ride with Rep. James Comer (R, Ky) as he visited his congressional district.  They found out this.

“That was the friendliest town hall in the world,” Comer said as he walked out, and now he was in the car with his district director, saying of Trump, “He’s still so popular.”

It was raining, and he was heading west through some of the most rural parts of his district.

“I saw some poll, nine out of 10 people who voted for Trump still would,” he said. “I think that’s true here. That’s my assessment of the attitudes.”

The sad part, this part of Kentucky is an economic disaster.

Comer’s congressional district is a horseshoe across the southern part of the state, 6 ½ hours by car end-to-end, that is 90 percent white and where nearly 1 in 5 people live in poverty, more than 1 in 6 are disabled, and 72 percent voted for Trump.

The even sadder part, Trump policy will make these people’s lives worse,  not better.  Far worse.  Maybe even fatal if health care is taken away from many of them.  Comer went to Washington to take away people’s health insurance.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) leaves the McLean County Courthouse in Calhoun, Ky., on May 12, 2017, after a town hall. (Michael Noble Jr./For The Washington Post)

In the future those deserted streets will be the result of less health care and more dead people.

 He said the ACA had deepened the problems in Kentucky by opening up such wide access to Medicaid, the health-care program for low-income Americans. He said so many had signed up across the state that nearly 1 in 3 were now covered under that program — and receiving free coverage. Some of those people, he said, desperately needed that help. But many were feeding off the system.

“If you live here, you know somebody who looks like me, is on Medicaid, and is just not working,” he said.

Think about that quote and the reasoning (?) behind it.  Increasing access to Medicaid “deepened the problems in Kentucky”.  Wow.  The feds paid for the expansion, hundreds of thousands of people now have health care and in the mind of this cruel conservative that made things worse.  And the highlight of Comer's term in Washington, no not passing legislation to help people, it was riding in Air Force One.  Yes, it's all about him, nothing about the people.  What a turd.

One hopes the people of Kentucky and other areas that blindly support Trump will one day open their lives before it is too late in many ways, including too late because their eyes are closed permanently by lack of health care.

Peter Shane Destroys Trump Toady Lawyer Who Complains About Comey Leaking His Conversation with Trump

Does One Have to be a Fool to Work for Trumpie?

In a remarkable action, Trump’s lawyer has apparently filed a complaint against Comey for his releasing information about his conversations with the President.  On the blog Take Care, Peter Shane* just destroys that position.

First there is this.

"The executive branch has long conceded that withholding information probative of possible executive branch wrongdoing should not be withheld from Congress.  Moreover, the presidential interest in the confidentiality of his conversations was likely weakened by his own public discussion of their content.  The only way the competing interests could have been authoritatively adjudicated, however, would be if privilege had been claimed, Mr. Comey had decided to honor it, and the Senate or one of its committees had sued Mr. Comey to compel his testimony."

And here is the real killer.

"There is no law prohibiting someone in conversation with the President from revealing that conversation to third parties without the President's consent.  We are in the realm of norms, not statutes.

Of course, one could well imagine that the unauthorized disclosure of a confidential presidential conversation would be a fireable offense if committed by any federal officer serving at the pleasure of the President. Unfortunately for the President, he had fired Mr. Comey before the unauthorized disclosure.  There is no presidential privilege to fire the same person twice." (emphasis added)

Over at DOJ where the complaint against Comey is to be received the laughter can probably be heard all the way to the White House.  And hey Mr. Trump, here’s some advice.  Get yourself a real lawyer.

*  Peter M. Shane is the Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, where he regularly teaches administrative law, law and the presidency, and courses at the intersection of law, democracy, and new media. Named a Distinguished University Scholar in 2011, he is the author of over fifty law review articles and book chapters, as well as author, co-author or editor of eight books, including leading casebooks in both administrative law and separation of powers law. In 2008-09, Peter served as executive director to the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, and was the lead drafter of its report, Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age (2009). 

His most recent books include Cybersecurity: Shared Risks, Shared Responsibilities (with Jeffrey Hunker, Carolina Academic Press, 2013), and Connecting Democracy: Online Consultation and the Future of Democratic Discourse (with Stephen Coleman, MIT Press, 2012). An earlier volume on transparency and national security is A Little Knowledge: Privacy, Security and Public Information After September 11 (with John Podesta and Richard C. Leone, Century Foundation Press, 2004).

Conservative Senators Want to Slash Medicaid Even More Than the Cruel House Bill

Here's to All the Women and Children Who Get Health Care From the Program  But May Not in the Future

A large number of health care providers and other decent people were horrified by House health care legislation that slashed Medicaid spending, spending which helps those who simply cannot afford health care.  Now it turns out some Senators have upped the ante in the ‘Cruelty Sweepstakes’ and are trying to cut Medicaid bigger and faster.

Conservative Senate Republicans are weighing faster and steeper cuts to Medicaid that could drop millions of people from coverage and mark the biggest changes to the program in its 52-year history.

And those conservatives currently in control of the states want to make it more difficult and more humiliating for those eligible to get benefits.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker plans to ask the Trump administration for a waiver that would require some Medicaid applicants to undergo drug testing and other restrictions. Maine Gov. Paul LePage wants work requirements and time limits on coverage.

They aren’t alone. States including Arizona and Florida are weighing requests to impose similar changes such as work requirements for enrollees. Those moves are separate from the health-care legislation now moving through Congress.

Think about that one provision Maine has in mind.  Term limits on coverage.  In short, if you don't get well in a time period the government sets, that's it.  No more treatment.  Good grief.

The mind doth boggle at the cruelty, the hatred of low income people and the tremendous damage such policies would do.  And guess what, it won’t save money.  Those people kicked out of Medicaid will still get a lot of health care, just in an inefficient manner, with more suffering and the bill being paid for in higher premiums for the rest of the population. 

Stupidity and viciousness has entered a new and exciting phase.