PBD - Progressive Blog Digest: 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016

CONVERGING INTERESTS

The conspicuously Trumpian response of Russia to the US sanctions

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/30/speaking-not-acting-russia-memes-but-doesnt-yet-retaliate-against-u-s-after-its-diplomats-were-expelled/

And this from the UK Russian embassy: In victory, magnanimity (and you know what "victory" they are crowing about)

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/30/donald-trump-praises-vladimir-putin-as-smart-for-delayed-response-as-russian-embassy-in-uk-gloats-about-victory/

Kremlin`s response to @BarackObama `s expulsions: Winston Churchill: in victory magnanimity. pic.twitter.com/0xlJwSpUdv
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) December 30, 2016

Donald offers his BFF Vladi a big wet kiss

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-praises-putin-very-smar
"Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!"

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/trump-tweets-his-love-putin-24-hours-after
Twitter erupted:

"Trump is supporting Putin—whose country was just sanctioned by the U.S. for election hacking—over President Obama."

"Incoming U.S. president calls mastermind of unprecedented interference in U.S. elections 'very smart.'"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/12/30/the-trump-camps-spin-on-russian-interference-is-falling-apart/
But how much longer can Trump really sustain his dismissive, nonchalant posture towards Russia’s alleged assault on our democracy? [read on]

Kellyanne: the US sanctions against Russia for hacking the election are oh-so unfair . . . to Trump!

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/30/kellyanne-conway-president-obama-is-trying-to-box-in-donald-trump-with-russia-sanctions/

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/30/1615712/-Trump-team-says-sanctions-against-Russia-are-really-sanctions-against-Trump

Other Trump allies say the actions against Russia are . . . too weak?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/trump-allies-say-that-obamas-russia-sanctions-are-too-weak.html
[John Bolton] “if even a piece of what is alleged about this Russian activity is true, it is utterly unacceptable,” since Putin’s actions would represent “an attack on our constitutional system.”

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/30/rudy-giuliani-insists-president-obamas-sanctions-against-russia-are-petty-little-actions/
[Rudy Giuliani] “It’s almost a mockery to say this is too little too late. It should have been done 10 months ago, 11 months ago, 12 months ago. If it is really true, the response should be much stronger.”

Should Obama have done something earlier?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2016/12/will_obama_s_russia_retaliation_work.html
Maybe. Obama has said that signs of Russian hacking were first clear in the summer and that he warned Putin not to go further when the two leaders met at the G-20 in September. But at the time, the Obama administration’s fear was that Russia would sabotage voting machines and remove names from voter registration rolls. (These rolls, in several states, had been hacked.) Maybe Putin was planning to do those things, and maybe Obama’s warning deterred him from doing them; we may never know. But Obama and his aides failed to realize that the real damage had already been done, with the hacking of campaign emails.

Trump's last press conference of the year

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/31/1610748/-What-Trump-s-last-press-conference-of-the-year-tells-us
Don’t worry, you didn't miss it. Donald Trump didn't suddenly do a press conference—which means that his last press conference of the year will most likely also be the one in which he invited Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's emails and make them public. Here's some clips . . . [watch!]

A scammer's gonna scam

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/mar-a-lago-donald-trump-new-years-eve-party-233070
Mar-a-Lago, the pricey private resort in Palm Beach, Florida, sold hundreds of tickets at more than $500 a piece to an annual New Year’s Eve extravaganza planned for Saturday night that will feature a very special guest: the president-elect of the United States of America and his family. . . .

Trump is going to face a world of adversaries ready to test him: Russia, the Middle East, and now China. He's going to find that they aren't nearly as afraid of his tweets as his domestic opponents are

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/31/china-taunts-a-u-s-distracted-by-putin.html

So, here's a riddle: what do the Rockettes and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir have in common?

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/some-rockettes-dancing-puy-grabber-moral
On Thursday's "Hardball," Steve Kornacki interviewed Autumn Withers, a former Radio City Rockette, about the resistance coming from some Rockettes about performing at the Trump inaugural. . . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/mormon-tabernacle-choir-member-quits-trump
Mormon Tabernacle Choir Singer Quits After Group Slated To Perform At Trump Inauguration

In other news. . .

Over-the-counter birth control

http://www.vox.com/2016/12/30/14120874/birth-control-over-the-counter-fda-ibis-hra-pharma

US executions fall to a 25 year low

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/30/1613536/-Executions-in-America-fall-to-25-year-low
As we covered in September, less than half of America currently supports the death penalty, a 40-year low.

The Dems are stuck in a reprise of the Sanders/Clinton fight in their choice for the head of the DNC. Stupid!

http://www.vox.com/2016/12/30/14062696/dnc-ellison-sanders

The Republicans have several tricks to win elections when a majority of the electorate is against them -- and gerrymandering is the biggest. Can the Dems win a war to make the rules more fair? (Because that's what it will take)

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/can-democrats-win-war-gop-gerrymandering

Bonus item: TPM's Golden Duke winners

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/golden-dukes-2016-winners

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Friday, December 30, 2016

WHADDYA GONNA DO?

Not surprisingly, Trump thinks we should just forget about that whole Russian hacking business and "get on with our lives"

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-russia-sanctions-computers

Well, that ain't happening

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obama-admin-sanctions-russian-intelligence-officials
Obama Admin Sanctions Russian Intel Officials For Election Hacking

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/29/1615452/-Obama-administration-announces-sanctions-against-Russia-for-2016-election-hacks
In a statement, Obama says these actions “are not the sum total of our response” and that further actions will be taken, “some of which will not be publicized.”

Trump's response to the new sanctions shows how seriously he takes the issue

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-response-russian-sanctions
"It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things," the statement read. "Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation."

The details of the Russian hack

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/29/obama-targets-putin-s-spies-over-dnc-hack.html

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fbi-homeland-security-russian-hacking-report

Where the far left and far right converge

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/glenn-greenwald-tucker-carlson-unite-to-dismiss-russian-hacking-allegations.html

Said without irony

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-advisor-the-wealthy-cant-be-corrupt-because-theyre-wealthy
[Larry] Kudlow, an advisor to Trump’s team for months, is reportedly the top candidate to lead the next White House Council of Economic Advisers, despite the fact that Kudlow is not an economist and his track record on economic issues is hard to defend. Nevertheless, the CNBC host appears interested in joining the administration, and he knows that with Trump, flattery can be very effective. But what was especially striking in Kudlow’s National Review piece was the assertion that the wealthy are incapable of corruption because they’re wealthy. “Why shouldn’t the president surround himself with successful people?” he wrote, referring to the rich conservatives Trump has added to his incoming team. “Wealthy folks have no need to steal or engage in corruption.” [read on]

Trump's phony job claims

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-sprint-jobs-previously-announced
The thousands of telecommunications jobs President-elect Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that he was bringing back to the United States were part of a previously announced investment deal between Sprint and its main funder, SoftBank. . . .

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-keeps-pulling-the-same-trick-because-it-keeps-working
Trump keeps pulling the same trick because it keeps working

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/29/the-bigger-story-behind-those-sprint-jobs-trump-claims-to-have-saved/
The Bigger Story Behind Those Sprint Jobs Trump Claims to Have Saved

The media's shoddy coverage: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/29/1615441/-News-outlets-continue-to-promote-Trump-s-false-job-claims-with-misleading-headlines-of-their-own
"Trump declares victory: Sprint will create 5,000 U.S. jobs" [read on]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/12/29/memo-to-the-media-stop-giving-trump-the-headlines-he-wants/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.b4c9130b9d10
Memo to the media: Stop giving Trump the headlines he wants

Trump announces a major shift in veterans' health care

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/29/donald-trump-is-thinking-of-partially-privatizing-veterans-health-care/

I hate these people

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/trump-adviser-americans-replaced-obama
Trump Adviser: Americans Replaced Obama With 'A Real Man, A True Man Who Loves This Country'

The political landscape: an unjaded view

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/12/donald_trump_is_unpopular_and_so_is_the_gop_agenda.html
When you win, you look strong, and right now, Donald Trump looks strong. He has the White House, and his allies in the Republican Party hold both chambers of Congress. The House is set to pass a sweeping agenda that would gut the safety net, and the Senate is set to confirm hard-right jurists to the federal bench, including to the Supreme Court. If Democrats held a majority of governorships or state legislatures, the picture would look a little different. But they don’t. Over the eight years of Barack Obama’s presidency, the party has suffered historic losses at the state and local levels. Some of this was the result of poor party leadership from Obama and other figures in Washington; some was demographic, as the Democratic Party relies more on a young, diverse, and less consistent electorate; and some was the final leg of the South’s transition to an almost solid wall of red. Either way, Democrats are in dire straits, fighting a defensive battle against a newly invigorated Republican Party. But we shouldn’t exaggerate the state of play. Neither Trump nor congressional Republicans are as strong as they appear. Both enter the field with severe disadvantages, and both risk overplaying the hands that they have. Democrats are on the defensive, but the conditions are there for pushback and resurgence. . . [read on]

A great year for Obamacare

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/2017-shaping-be-best-year-yet-obamacare
2017 Is Shaping Up To Be the Best Year Yet For Obamacare

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/before-trump-tries-to-kill-it-obamacare-just-got-stronger.html
Before Trump Tries to Kill It, Obamacare Actually Just Got a Lot Stronger

And the Republicans still can't figure out what to do with it

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/29/1615466/-GOP-preps-swift-Obamacare-repeal-but-might-delay-effects-till-after-2020-to-avoid-voter-backlash
GOP preps swift Obamacare 'repeal' but might delay effects till after 2020 to avoid voter backlash

Actions have consequences -- don't they?

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/30/carl-paladino-donald-trumps-new-york-co-chairman-asked-to-resign-after-his-comments-about-the-obamas/
Carl Paladino, the former Republican gubernatorial candidate in New York and a co-chairman of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in that state, is being pressured into resigning from the Buffalo Board of Education due to his racist remarks. . . .

Bonus item: Start planning your New Year's resolutions!

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/01/03/New-Year-Resolution/

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

Thursday, December 29, 2016

CREATING FACTS

John Kerry delivers a eulogy for the two state solution

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/28/pushing-back-on-israel-kerry-defends-obamas-un-vote/
Kerry . . . questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s true commitment to Palestinian statehood, which has formed the basis for all serious peace talks for years. Though Netanyahu says he believes in the two-state solution, Kerry said, he’s at the helm of the most right-wing (government) in Israel’s history. “If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic, it cannot be both, and it won’t ever really be at peace,” Kerry said. . . .

Full text: http://www.vox.com/2016/12/28/14103542/john-kerry-israel-speech

Israel responds with defiance

http://thehill.com/policy/international/312012-netanyahu-blasts-skewed-kerry-speech-on-israel
Netanyahu said his country “looks forward to working with President-elect Trump" and lawmakers from both parties "to mitigate the damage this resolution has done, and ultimately, to repeal it.” . . .

Full text: http://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-netanyahus-response-to-kerry-speech-on-mideast-peace/

Trump's global naiveté

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/29/why-donald-trump-keeps-dissing-america-s-allies-in-europe-and-asia.html

It's an old theme, but it's scary to see how thin-skinned and quick to offense Trump is

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/28/1615207/-The-latest-Trump-tantrum-It-s-no-longer-a-smooth-transition-because-Obama-was-mean-to-him

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/28/donald-trump-cant-let-go-of-things-his-latest-salvo-against-president-obama-is-the-latest-in-a-long-list-of-one-sided-battles/

Trump has a brief press exchange, and reveals his deep ignorance on a host of issues (including computers)

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/donald-trump-holds-micro-press-conference-comes-idiot

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/trump-nobody-knows-whats-going-on-because-of-computers.html

Trump claims more jobs he "created"

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-claims-five-thousand-sprint-jobs-oneweb

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/thanks-donald

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/28/trump-touts-thousands-of-new-jobs-in-deal-with-softbank-ceo/?utm_term=.1b7c4e02074e

The importance of calling Trump's lies, "lies"

http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/12/04/cnns-stelter-explains-danger-journalists-parroting-trumps-lies/214706
BRIAN STELTER (HOST): Let's tell some truths about lying, because the way Donald Trump lies has people rethinking some of the basic premises of journalism, like the assumption that everything a president says is automatically news. When President-elect Trump lies so casually, so cynically, the news isn't so much the false thing he said, it's that he felt like he could just go ahead and say it, go ahead and lie to you. That's the story. Why does he bend and flex and twist and warp and distort the truth? Personally I'm curious because I think Trump does it differently than past presidents. His lies are different and deserve scrutiny. . . . Court cases involving Trump have shown that he lies even when the truth is really easy to discern. And that's what we're seeing all again now. That's why I think fact-checking is important, but the framing of these stories is even more important. Take Trump's promotion of this voter fraud conspiracy idea. He said on Twitter "I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally." The journalistic impulse was to say something like "Trump claims he won the popular vote." I would suggest to you that better framing is "Trump lies again, embracing a far-right-wing conspiracy theory." See, focusing on the falsehood createsmore confusion and gives the lie even more life. And that's the wrong way to go. Focusing on Trump's tendency to buy into BS gets to what's really going on here. This calls for more reporting and for reporters to show our work, to show that we actually know the truth.

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/donald-trumps-war-against-facts.html

Uh, should we call it "pay to play"?

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/28/donald-trump-will-meet-with-you-but-only-if-youve-donated-a-lot-of-money-to-him-or-the-gop/
Donald Trump will meet with you, but only if you’ve donated a lot of money to him or the GOP

Trump's inauguration features only the best of the best

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/28/scam-pastor-to-pray-with-trump-at-inauguration.html
In 2007, TV preacher Paula White got investigated by the U.S. Senate for her shady fundraising practices. Ten years later, she will pray at Trump’s inauguration. Yes, really. . . .

This raises a real issue: who should pay for the additional security costs of Trump's refusal to live in the White House?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-de-blasio-aides-bill-for-emergency-response

Why is the Trump admin collecting hit lists of employees in key govt departments?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/tom-perez-transition-team-request-agency-staffers-names-illegal

Will we have to rename the Department of "Justice"?

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/28/republicans-plan-to-once-again-abuse-the-justice-department/

True dat

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/charlie-sykes-140-character-tweets-matches
Charlie Sykes: 140 Character Tweets Matches Trump's Intelligence Perfectly

A tribute to Harry Reid

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/28/democrats-are-going-to-miss-harry-reid-when-hes-gone/
For 10 years, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid — the outgoing Senate minority leader — has been a punching bag for the right, and sometimes even the left. But, as a slew of recent profiles reveals, Reid has built impressive political machines both in his home state and in Congress — and Democrats will really miss him once he’s gone. . . .

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/harry-reid-exposes-lefts-dirty-little-secret

The GOP controls the state government in nine states -- and how are they doing?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/heres-6-year-update-great-tea-party-wave-2010

The kind of people they are

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/29/1610154/-Caption-contest-Why-are-these-men-laughing
It’s hard to beat the original caption to this image:

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) (3rd L) shares a laugh with Republican members of Congress after signing legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and to cut off federal funding of Planned Parenthood during an enrollment ceremony in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol January 7, 2016 in Washington, DC.

What could create more glee among Paul Ryan and his maniacs than taking healthcare away from millions of people?

Conservatives try to defend fake news by dragging all news sources down to the same level

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/28/1614957/-Outraged-over-the-focus-on-fake-news-conservatives-pretend-they-don-t-know-the-difference

Digby is depressed

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/12/cnn-got-worse-ratings-than-home-and.html

Judicial Watch isn't done tormenting the Clintons

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/judicial-watch-wants-salt-earth-over-hillary-clintons-corpse
Judicial Watch was founded for the purpose of destroying Bill Clinton, and then switched effortlessly to a new mission of destroying Hillary Clinton. It took more than 20 years, but they finally won. Victory is theirs. Bill Clinton has been out of office for years and Hillary Clinton will never be president of the United States. But they just can't stop. . . .

Bonus item: Ooh hoo -- Trumpy's not going to like this

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/12/trumpies-going-to-be-very-mad.html

Not only is President Obama the most admired man, by a long shot. Hillary Clinton is the most admired woman for the 21st time.

Look for a tweet calling Gallup a failing company that nobody listens to anymore in 5...4...3...2...

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

WITHOUT FOUNDATION

Trump is trying hard to shut down his Foundation BEFORE an investigation reveals the full extent of its corruption -- but he wants to make it sound as if he's making a great sacrifice to avoid conflicts of interest

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obstacles-dissolution-trump-foundation-attorney-general-irs-approval

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-gets-caught-lying-about-his-charitable-foundation

Trump sure likes to claim credit for things he had nothing to do with. He isn't even president yet and he's already fixed the economy!

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/26-words-trump-tweet-fully-dissected

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-consumer-confidence-index

More: http://www.salon.com/2016/12/28/donald-trump-will-take-credit-for-the-economy-no-matter-what-actually-happens/

So easy

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/11/how_to_manipulate_donald_trump.html
How to Manipulate Donald Trump

A guide to the members of Team Trump

http://www.vox.com/2016/12/27/14028424/powerful-jobs-people-trump-administration

Trump and GOP attack UN over Israeli settlements resolution

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/27/donald-trump-republicans-threaten-to-get-back-at-un-for-israel-resolution/

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/much-ado-about-nothing--2

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/27/what-you-havent-heard-about-the-security-council-resolution/
You might not have heard about two of the other items that were included:

Calls for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation and destruction, calls for accountability in this regard, and calls for compliance with obligations under international law for the strengthening of ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, including through existing security coordination, and to clearly condemn all acts of terrorism;

Calls upon both parties to act on the basis of international law, including international humanitarian law, and their previous agreements and obligations, to observe calm and restraint, and to refrain from provocative actions, incitement and inflammatory rhetoric, with the aim, inter alia, of de-escalating the situation on the ground, rebuilding trust and confidence, demonstrating through policies and actions a genuine commitment to the two-State solution, and creating the conditions necessary for promoting peace

In a press call with reporters, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes explained that the inclusion of those items is a major reason why the Obama administration chose to abstain rather than veto the resolution.

Julian Assange praises Trump, Putin

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/27/julian-assange-has-kind-words-for-donald-trump-says-russia-has-vibrant-criticism-of-vladimir-putins-government/

A world in which every Trump-branded entity around the globe becomes a potential terror target

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/27/trump-tower-evacuation-opens-new-phase-of-our-post-9-11-weird-normal.html

The kind of people they are

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/paladino-says-not-racist-made-comments-michelle-barack-obama-by-mistake
Republican activist Carl Paladino said Tuesday he never meant to spark controversy by telling Buffalo alt-weekly Artvoice that his wish for 2017 was for President Barack Obama to die and for his wife Michelle to move to Zimbabwe with a gorilla. . . .

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/27/carl-paladino-donald-trumps-new-york-co-chairman-says-hes-not-racist-in-apology-for-michelle-obama-remarks/
Carl Paladino, Donald Trump’s New York co-chairman, says he’s “not racist”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/nyregion/carl-paladino-michelle-obama.html
Mr. Paladino, a former candidate for governor of New York and a political ally of President-elect Donald J. Trump, said in a statement that he had meant to email his remarks to friends. Instead, he said, he inadvertently sent them to Artvoice, a Buffalo weekly, which published them last week. . . .

[NB: That's some excuse!]