Trump preps for the NATO meeting with hints that he might pull the US out of NATO
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1776326
Will Donald Trump give Russian leader Vladimir Putin the best of all possible gifts: pulling the United States out of NATO? As insane as that sounds, Trump has been making noises to other world leaders threatening to do exactly that. . .
More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ahead-nato-meeting-trump-takes-aim-key-international-alliances
Ahead of NATO meeting, Trump takes aim at key international alliances
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/u-s-mulls-pulling-troops-from-germany/
U.S. Mulls Pulling Troops from Germany
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/add-the-world-trade-organization-the-list-trump-targets
Add the World Trade Organization to the list of Trump targets
https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-on-trump-suggestion-to-leave-eu-you-can-imagine-my-response/
Macron on Trump suggestion to leave EU: ‘You can imagine my response’
[NB: Here's the thing. They don't like him, and he knows they don't like him. I have never seen a president so dependent on flattery and bonhomie.]
The Supreme Court debate is going to be about Roe v. Wade
https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/564035/justice-kennedy/
Justice Stevens: Roe Will Be Overturned if Kennedy Retires
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/06/28/republicans-are-lying-about-roe-v-wade-trumps-nominee-will-do-the-same/
Republicans are lying about Roe v. Wade. Trump’s nominee will do the same.
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/big-majority-dont-want-to-overturn-roe-v-wade/
Big Majority Don’t Want to Overturn Roe v. Wade
Trump is moving fast: he has a short list of five and will announce his nominee in about ten days
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-announce-supreme-court-pick-july-9
Here is a terrific short overview of the main candidates
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/who-s-on-trump-s-supreme-court-short-list-1267493955554
Can Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski swing the Supreme Court vote?
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/collins-and-murkowski-in-pressure-cooker-over-supreme-court-vote
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/collins-and-murkowski-in-pressure-cooker-over-supreme-court-vote
Will there be Supreme Court payback from the Dems?
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/republicans-will-regret-their-supreme-court-power-play/
[NB: One of my mantras is that short term political "victories" can actually be losses in the long term. Trump is going to get his Supreme Court pick, and Collins and Murkowski notwithstanding I expect it will be an anti-choice pick. But that is just the sort of thing that could enflame and motivate women voters in the Fall, after Hillary, after #MeToo -- including a large number of Republican women who might be ready to put a check on Trump. If it plays out that way, Trump could be in for a world of hurt after the elections.]
Here is another reason why Trump won . . . and Clinton lost
https://www.vox.com/2018/6/29/17511088/scotus-2016-election-poll-trump-republicans-kennedy-retire
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/republicans-will-regret-their-supreme-court-power-play/
[NB: One of my mantras is that short term political "victories" can actually be losses in the long term. Trump is going to get his Supreme Court pick, and Collins and Murkowski notwithstanding I expect it will be an anti-choice pick. But that is just the sort of thing that could enflame and motivate women voters in the Fall, after Hillary, after #MeToo -- including a large number of Republican women who might be ready to put a check on Trump. If it plays out that way, Trump could be in for a world of hurt after the elections.]
Here is another reason why Trump won . . . and Clinton lost
https://www.vox.com/2018/6/29/17511088/scotus-2016-election-poll-trump-republicans-kennedy-retire
Polling data shows Republicans turned out for Trump in 2016 because of the Supreme Court. . . They’re about to get exactly what they want. . . .
What Putin wants from Trump on Syria
https://www.vox.com/2018/6/29/17518088/trump-putin-syria-russia-daara-deal
More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-on-trade-russia-and-nato
Trump failed in North Korea. He got NOTHING
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/north-korea-has-increased-nuclear-production/
North Korea Has Increased Nuclear Production
More: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/intel-community-says-north-korea-is-deliberately-deceiving-us/
Intel Community Says North Korea Is Deliberately Deceiving Us
Is it possible to make Trump's immigration policy even more evil and mean-spirited? Let's see. . .
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-new-rule-deny-asylum-border
Trump Admin Preps New Rule To Deny Asylum To Border-Crossers
More: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/06/trump-border-asylum-world/563771/
Trump's own State Dept
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/state-department-trafficking-in-persons-report-2018
Children removed from their families and placed in institutional care are at greater risk of being trafficked, the U.S. warned Thursday in an annual report. The State Department report, which ranks governments in their efforts to combat slavery and the flesh trade, left the Trump administration open to accusations of hypocrisy as the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy has separated more than 2,000 migrant children from their parents on the country’s southern border. . . .
More: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/even-the-trump-administration-agrees-separating-children-from-their-parents-is-appalling-and-cruel/
"Removal of a child from the family should only be considered as a temporary, last resort…. Even at their best, residential institutions are unable to meet a child’s need for emotional support that is typically received from family members or consistent caretakers with whom the child can develop an attachment."
White House departures -- and no replacements -- are adding up
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/the-white-house-is-becoming-a-ghost-town/
“The Trump White House could resemble a ghost town by the end of the summer — with an increasing number of open jobs, a still broken process to fill them, and a lack of interest from experienced Republicans willing to join a turbulent administration,” BuzzFeed News reports. . . .
Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein feels that Trump used him. Join the club, bub
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/rosenstein-felt-white-house-used-him-justify-comey-firing
The AP reviews the major claims of the Steele dossier in light of what we have learned since, and finds . . .
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1776589
What Putin wants from Trump on Syria
https://www.vox.com/2018/6/29/17518088/trump-putin-syria-russia-daara-deal
More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-on-trade-russia-and-nato
Trump failed in North Korea. He got NOTHING
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/north-korea-has-increased-nuclear-production/
North Korea Has Increased Nuclear Production
More: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/intel-community-says-north-korea-is-deliberately-deceiving-us/
Intel Community Says North Korea Is Deliberately Deceiving Us
Is it possible to make Trump's immigration policy even more evil and mean-spirited? Let's see. . .
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-new-rule-deny-asylum-border
Trump Admin Preps New Rule To Deny Asylum To Border-Crossers
More: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/06/trump-border-asylum-world/563771/
Trump's own State Dept
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/state-department-trafficking-in-persons-report-2018
Children removed from their families and placed in institutional care are at greater risk of being trafficked, the U.S. warned Thursday in an annual report. The State Department report, which ranks governments in their efforts to combat slavery and the flesh trade, left the Trump administration open to accusations of hypocrisy as the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy has separated more than 2,000 migrant children from their parents on the country’s southern border. . . .
More: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/even-the-trump-administration-agrees-separating-children-from-their-parents-is-appalling-and-cruel/
"Removal of a child from the family should only be considered as a temporary, last resort…. Even at their best, residential institutions are unable to meet a child’s need for emotional support that is typically received from family members or consistent caretakers with whom the child can develop an attachment."
White House departures -- and no replacements -- are adding up
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/the-white-house-is-becoming-a-ghost-town/
“The Trump White House could resemble a ghost town by the end of the summer — with an increasing number of open jobs, a still broken process to fill them, and a lack of interest from experienced Republicans willing to join a turbulent administration,” BuzzFeed News reports. . . .
Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein feels that Trump used him. Join the club, bub
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/rosenstein-felt-white-house-used-him-justify-comey-firing
The AP reviews the major claims of the Steele dossier in light of what we have learned since, and finds . . .
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1776589
In other news . . .
Trump offers some token language expressing concern for the victims of the newspaper massacre, and their families -- with no sense of the irony of someone who has consistently attacked the press, riling up furious anger at them, and calling them "the enemy of the people." Does he know the origins of that phrase?
https://www.vox.com/2018/6/29/17518948/trump-capital-gazette-annapolis-comments-media
Trump's threats against the press: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1776666
https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2018/06/he-said-i-would-never-kill-reporters.html
By the way, these comments were offered at a photo-op celebrating the "six-month anniversary" of the tax cut bill. Who celebrates six-month anniversaries, unless there is some other reason?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2018/06/29/not-what-we-expected-trumps-tax-bill-is-losing-popularity/
‘Not what we expected’: Trump’s tax bill is losing popularity
Now Trump wants MORE tax cuts
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/trump-will-propose-second-round-of-tax-cuts/
Inflation is going up under Trump -- have you heard anyone mention that?
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/chart-of-the-day-inflation-continues-to-rise-in-may/
Governing through lies
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/bonus-quote-of-the-day-976/
“The deficit, it’s coming down and it’s coming down rapidly.”
— White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, on Fox News Business, claiming something that everyone knows is not true.
[NB: In fact, the deficit is growing, significantly: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/budget-deficit-grows-white-houses-kudlow-plays-make-believe
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-budget-promises-070605db55f5/
Trump has given up on his pledge to balance the budget]
More: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/up-is-down-and-red-is-black-federal-deficit-edition/
Kudlow has learned Donald Trump’s golden rule mighty fast: “Billy, look, you just tell them and they believe it. That’s it: you just tell them and they believe. They just do.”
[NB: I've been meaning to comment on this. Ever since the Pentagon Papers and Watergate, and perhaps even earlier in U.S. history, there has been a reflexive suspicion, across the political spectrum, about the government as a source of information. That skepticism has generally served democracy well -- and more often than not has proven to be justified. So how is it that we see a third, maybe 40% of the country willing to take everything Trump says as gospel SIMPLY BECAUSE HE SAYS IT? We've explored the cultish and authoritarian implications of this trend. But it is unfathomable how someone with such a longstanding, documented record of rampant lies seems to escape any kind of accountability for it.]
GM says that Trump's tariffs will force them to cut jobs
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/g-m-warns-tariffs-will-force-job-cuts/
The Cesspool
https://www.salon.com/2018/06/29/did-anthony-kennedys-son-loan-donald-trump-1-billion/
Did Anthony Kennedy’s son loan Donald Trump $1 billion?
The kind of people they are
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/29/arthur-jones-nazi-illinois-republicans-686875
Illinois Republicans botched four opportunities to stop an avowed Nazi from representing their party in a Chicago-area congressional district. Now they’re paying the price. . . .
Looks like Ivanka isn't any more successful with her areas of policy "expertise" than hubby Jared Kushner is with his
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/top-ivanka-aide-leaves-white-house-signals-abandonment-of-paid-family-leave
New apps that help identify "fake news"
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/06/robhat-labs-surfsafe-fake-news-images/564101/
https://politicalwire.com/2018/06/29/trump-is-more-than-a-footnote-in-the-arc-of-history/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/obama-loves-martin-luther-kings-great-quotebut-he-uses-it-incorrectly
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