Wednesday, June 03, 2020

A FEW TIPS

Don't buy wine from someone who doesn't drink wine















Don't buy steaks from someone who thinks this is a great banquet















Don't buy ties from someone who thinks this is a good look






















Don't buy bottled water from someone who drinks bottled water like a little child
















Don't buy an education from someone whose prof called him “the dumbest goddamn student I ever had!”













Don't take health advice from someone who marketed a phony urine-based vitamin test













Don't believe ANYTHING a man caught lying 20,000 times says















Trump promised "We are ending the riots and lawlessness that has spread throughout our country. We will end it now." How's that working?

Trump’s push for “law and order” only led to more chaos in DC overnight

Sending Troops into American Cities Will Only Cause More Chaos and Turmoil

Donald Trump's chaos and cruelty set the tone for the nation — and here we are

Trump is facing three national crises that he can't tweet away: the riots, the virus, and the shaky economy. People are genuinely worried, and angry, and they see a president preoccupied with his own image. In each case, the levers of presidential power are limited; in each case he needs to build an appeal for people to work together in recognizing and coping with shared threats. But that is not within his skill set.

At times like these people do not want to see a president blaming everyone else and whining that it's not his fault. All of Trump's worst flaws are on display, not only in his distasteful comments and behavior -- which are not new -- but in showing how ill-equipped he is to deal with these kinds of crises

“Confronting a failed presidency after 100,000-plus COVID deaths and the protests that are still convulsing the nation this week, Donald Trump is venting to West Wing officials that Democratic governors are allowing civil unrest to rage in American cities to damage his reelection campaign.” Said a Trump adviser: “He feels the blue-state governors are letting it burn because it hurts him. It’s a lot like how he sees coronavirus.” “Trump’s sense of victimhood, and his view that the crisis ignited by George Floyd’s gruesome death is largely a political problem, have resulted in a shambolic White House response, veering from Trump’s retreat to the bunker as the protests neared the White House to the culmination of police using teargas on peaceful protestors so that he could walk through a park to stage a photo op in front of St. John’s Church.” Said one former West Wing official: “He’s paralyzed.”

Inside Trump's White House

A senior White House official told Axios that when they saw the tear gas clearing the crowd for President Trump to walk to the church with his entourage: “I’ve never been more ashamed. I’m really honestly disgusted. I’m sick to my stomach. And they’re all celebrating it. They’re very very proud of themselves.”

[NB: Wouldn't you like to know who that was?]


The Inconceivable Strangeness of Trump’s Bible Photo-Op

Trump immediately used the photo op for his campaign


The Reality-TV President Has His Defining TV Moment

Now he's doing it again

On Monday, Donald Trump directed federal police and National Guard forces to assault peaceful protesters, attack journalists, and drive away both worshipers and priests so he could stand in front of St. John’s church and hold a Bible overhead. That action has earned Trump reprimands from both the bishop of the Episcopal church and fiery replies from priests still trying to wash away the taste of tear gas. On Tuesday, Trump decided to repeat this act of desecration by driving followers away from the Catholic shrine of St. John Paul II, earning him an amazing statement from Archbishop Wilton Gregory. “I find it baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a fashion that violence our religious principles...“Saint Pope John Paul II was an ardent defender in the rights and dignity of human beings … he would certainly not condone the use of tear gas or other deterrents to silence, scatter, or intimidate for a photo opportunity in front of a place of worship and peace.”

He’s at it again on Tuesday, still trying to overcome the sting of the “bunker bitch” tag. This time he rolled out of his bunker to lay a wreath at a Washington, D.C., shrine to Pope John Paul II. It’s another transparent attempt to court religious voters because at the end of the day, he’s still campaigning. Never mind that the world is burning—his focus is as it always has been: laser-focused on himself. But once outside the cozy confines of his White House bunker, he got a look at what people really think of him—and it wasn’t pretty.  . . .

CNN shows a split screen of Trump saying he supports peaceful protesters, with an image of cops gassing and shooting rubber bullets at peaceful protesters. He was not pleased about it


[NB: You absolutely could hear sounds from the conflict while he was speaking.]



Trump is trying to get us used to the idea of using the U.S. military as a domestic police force. Why? So that HE can claim credit for calming the riots

Top Military Leader’s DC Stroll In Fatigues Sets Off Wave Of Criticism

A senior defense official indicates [Secretary of Defense Mark Esper] and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Milley didn’t plan to accompany Donald Trump on his walk across Lafayette Park for a photo op outside St. John’s Church yesterday. They had left the Pentagon and were en route to the FBI field office to work with the director and AG “to observe and provide leadership.” After they left, the White House requested they redirect there to update Trump. While they were there, as that meeting concluded, the president indicated an interest in viewing the troops that were outside. And the secretary and chairman went with him to do so. That’s the extent of what was taking place and at that point they were part of the group that was with the president as he continued through LaFayette Park.

So (a) Trump tricked them into coming to the White House, (b) Trump lied to them about viewing “the troops,” and (c) they fell for it . . .


A "senior" Defense Department official has been eagerly telling multiple reporters that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley were "unaware" that peacefully demonstrating Americans were being attacked by police and military forces to clear a path for a Trump photo-op that both of them took part in only minutes later. . . [read on]

Chaos in the Pentagon

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that he had not been aware of plans to disperse a crowd of protesters the previous evening before President Trump walked through the area to pose for photos in front of St. John's Episcopal Church. Esper told NBC News in an interview that he was given no advance notice when Trump led him and other administration officials to St. John’s . . .

‘Uncomfortable Mission’: Pentagon Tries to Retreat From Trump’s Call to ‘Dominate’ Protests

Pentagon Officials on Edge Over Dealings with Trump

Ex-Defense official resigns from Defense Science Board, accuses Esper of violating his oath

Lots of pushback from Republicans

Sen. Tim Scott said Tuesday that protesters in Lafayette Square should not have been cleared with tear gas and rubber bullets to accommodate President Donald Trump's visit to a historic church, a rebuke of the president by the only black Republican in the Senate. . . .

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) appeared to break with the decision to use tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful protestors at the White House on Monday night . . . “I did not think that what we saw last night was the America I know."

Susan Collins criticizes Trump's treatment of protesters as 'painful to watch'

GOP Sen. Sasse Blasts Trump For Using ‘The Word Of God’ As A ‘Political Prop’

“I think I get what he was trying to say, that as Americans we should be able to go any place at any time,” Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) . . . “But the whole event at St. John’s seemed to distract from the good speech he had just given” . . .Meanwhile, other usually stalwart allies didn’t do much to defend him, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) saying he didn’t know what the president was trying to accomplish.

Senators with the toughest reelection fights offered varying levels of criticism Tuesday for President Donald Trump’s hard-line approach to demonstrators . . .

Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen . . . “It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president’s visit outside St. John’s Church. I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump’s leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent.” “Whatever Trump’s goal in conducting his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces.” [read on]

In a surprising move, President Trump’s daughter Tiffany joined the flurry of #BlackoutTuesday Instagram posts featuring images of black squares amid mounting protests over George Floyd’s death. . . .

These are extraordinary public rebukes. I think some people have had enough

President Trump's warning that he could deploy the U.S. military if state and local officials aren't able to quell days of riots is facing skepticism, and in some cases pushback, from GOP senators. . . .

A day after threatening to federalize forces to snuff out riots across the country, the president appears to be backing off the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act . . .

Trump has a new idea to make the White House secure from protesters. Another Wall™

Trump Gets His Wall

In investigation news . . .

AG Bill Barr is about to get his "time in the barrel"

The House Judiciary Committee has lined up whistleblowers to testify about alleged political interference inside the Justice Department, committee aides told POLITICO on Tuesday, as Attorney General William Barr continues to rebuff efforts by the panel to reschedule testimony he committed to in March. . .. [read on]

Nadler seeks to punish Barr for not testifying

There's a reason why Russia was dropped from the G8, and none of that has changed. Trump can't add them back just on his own say-so

In other news . . .


The speech Trump can never give

"The country is crying out for leadership. Leadership that can unite us. Leadership that can bring us together. Leadership that can recognize the pain and deep grief of communities that have had a knee on their neck for too long. But there is no place for violence. No place for looting or destroying property or burning churches, or destroying businesses — many of them built by people of color who for the first time were beginning to realize their dreams and build wealth for their families. Nor is it acceptable for our police — sworn to protect and serve all people — to escalate tensions or resort to excessive violence. We need to distinguish between legitimate peaceful protest — and opportunistic violent destruction. And we must be vigilant about the violence that’s being done by the incumbent president to our democracy and to the pursuit of justice. When peaceful protestors are dispersed by the order of the President from the doorstep of the people’s house, the White House — using tear gas and flash grenades — in order to stage a photo op at a noble church, we can be forgiven for believing that the president is more interested in power than in principle. More interested in serving the passions of his base than the needs of the people in his care. . . .

This nation is a nation of values. Our freedom to speak is the cherished knowledge that lives inside every American. We will not allow any President to quiet our voice. We won’t let those who see this as an opportunity to sow chaos throw up a smokescreen to distract us from the very real and legitimate grievances at the heart of these protests. And we can’t leave this moment thinking we can once again turn away and do nothing. We can’t. The moment has come for our nation to deal with systemic racism. To deal with the growing economic inequality in our nation. And to deal with the denial of the promise of this nation — to so many. . . .

I call on Congress to act this month on measures that would be a first step in this direction. Starting with real police reform. Congressman Jeffries has a bill to outlaw choke holds. Congress should put it on President Trump’s desk in the next few days. There are other measures: to stop transferring weapons of war to police forces, to improve oversight and accountability, to create a model use of force standard — that also should be made law this month. No more excuses. No more delays. . . .

Looking ahead, in the first 100 days of my presidency, I have committed to creating a national police oversight commission. I’ve long believed we need real community policing. And we need each and every police department in the country to undertake a comprehensive review of their hiring, their training, and their de-escalation practices. And the federal government should give them the tools and resources they need to implement reforms. Most cops meet the highest standards of their profession. All the more reason that bad cops should be dealt with severely and swiftly. We all need to take a hard look at the culture that allows for these senseless tragedies to keep happening. . . .

A president of the United States must be part of the solution, not the problem. But our president today is part of the problem. When he tweeted the words “When the looting starts, the shooting starts” — those weren’t the words of a president. They were the words of a racist Miami police chief from the 1960s. When he tweeted that protesters “would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs … that’s when people would have been really badly hurt.” Those weren’t the words of a president — those were the kind of words a Bull Connor would have used unleashing his dogs. . . .

Look, the presidency is a big job. Nobody will get everything right. And I won’t either. But I promise you this. I won’t traffic in fear and division. I won’t fan the flames of hate. I will seek to heal the racial wounds that have long plagued this country – not use them for political gain. I’ll do my job and take responsibility. I won’t blame others. I’ll never forget that the job isn’t about me. It’s about you. And I’ll work to not only rebuild this nation. But to build it better than it was. To build a better future. That’s what America does. We build the future. It may in fact be the most American thing to do. . . ."

And by "always" she means, "never"

Liar Kayleigh McEnany Tells The 'Trump Has Always Condemned White Supremacy' Lie

Trump's approval continues to slide


Looks like the RNC is prepping to pull their convention from North Carolina. I hope it costs Trump that state


North Carolina Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, on Tuesday rejected the GOP’s plans for a full-fledged convention in Charlotte, telling Republican officials the only way the convention would move forward is with proper health protocols in place.

Be my guest

Quarter of All Republicans Won’t Get Vaccine

Trump forced West Point grads back to campus so he could give a live commencement address. And . . .

More than a dozen cadets who were ordered to return to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point for their graduation ceremony ― after President Donald Trump announced he would deliver the commencement speech ― have tested positive for the coronavirus. . . .

Bonus item: John Oliver on vote-by-mail


***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

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Tuesday, June 02, 2020

PRESIDENT DUNSEL

"A part which serves no useful purpose"

“In an episode of the original Star Trek series, called ‘The Ultimate Computer,’ a rival captain calls James T. Kirk ‘Captain Dunsel’ after a fancy new computer takes control of the Enterprise, making Kirk superfluous; Spock explains that ‘dunsel’ was cadet slang for ‘a part which serves no useful purpose.'” “This was Donald Trump’s President Dunsel weekend. Not, as in the original, because he had been replaced; Trump simply seems to have given up on the job. He’s had no policy on the pandemic for about a month now. He basically has no policy on recovering from the economic calamity. And he has no policy to deal with the police violence, demonstrations and the rest of the upheaval that has gripped the nation for the past week.”

[NB: Yes, grammar nerds, it should be "that serves."]

Trump is done with dealing with the pandemic. Done

Dr. Anthony Fauci:

STAT: Does the president talk to you about the vaccine work often?

FAUCI: No. We used to have task force meetings every single day, including Saturday and Sunday, and about 75% of the time after the task force meeting we’d meet with the president. So I was meeting with him four times a week back, a month or so ago. But as you probably noticed, that the task force meetings have not occurred as often lately. And certainly my meetings with the president have been dramatically decreased.

Fauci Hasn’t Spoken to Trump In Two Weeks

Trump returns to his reflexive modality, looking for someone else to blame for protest violence

President Trump berated the nation’s governors in a video teleconference call Monday . . . “You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time — they’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks.” Trump said . . . “You’ve got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you’ll never see this stuff again."

"It's a movement, if you don't put it down it will get worse and worse," Trump said . . . "The only time its successful is when you're weak and most of you are weak." . . . "It is a war in a certain sense. And we are going to end it fast," Trump said . . . .

A source on the call, who shared it with The Daily Beast, called Trump’s talk “unhinged,” noting that it often veered off in various directions. At one point, the source said, the president brought up flag burning and encouraged states to pass laws banning it.


GOP Governor Gets Choked Up Over Trump’s Call To ‘Dominate’ Protesters . . . “I heard what the President said today about dominating and fighting,” Baker said. “I know I should be surprised when I hear incendiary words like this from him, but I’m not.'” Baker added that there have been “so many times” during the past several weeks when the country needed compassion and leadership but “it was simply nowhere to be found . . . Instead, we got bitterness, combativeness, and self-interest. . .”


As President Donald Trump fires off tweet after tweet attacking his political enemies and protesters amid the demonstrations against the death of George Floyd, his aides are reportedly fretting that his antagonistic rhetoric could come back to bite him in November. . . .

Trump gives a speech in which he praises the rights of peaceful protesters. Then this happened

"[W]e cannot allow the righteous cries and peaceful protestors to be drown out by an angry mob. . . I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters. . . "

Tear gas, rubber bullets unleashed on peaceful protesters outside White House for Trump photo op

Just before the president spoke, federal police violently broke up a peaceful protest just outside the White House, tear-gassing a group of about 1,000 demonstrators and then firing rubber bullets at them so Trump could have an uninterrupted photo op at a nearby church damaged in the weekend’s upheaval.

D.C. Church ‘Outraged’ That Trump Used It As Photo-Op

Trespassing: St. John's Bishop says Trump was on church property 'without permission'

President Trump cleared out peaceful protesters for his photo op because he was upset about media coverage of him being taken to an underground bunker at the White House on Friday night as protesters gathered, CNN reports. Trump told aides he wanted people to see him outside of the White House gates.

He. Didn't. Even. Go. In. The. Church. He didn't quote from the Bible he was waving around. He didn't have a pastor come out and say a prayer with him. He just ... held up a Bible?!

Q: “Is that your bible?”
A: “It’s A bible.”


Trump also said this

"I am mobilizing all available, federal resources, civilian and military, to stop the rioting and looting to end the destruction and arson and to protect the rights of law abiding Americans, including your second amendment rights. Therefore, the following measures are going into effect immediately. First, we are ending the riots and lawlessness that has spread throughout our country. We will end it now. Today I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the national guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets, mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled. If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them."

In order to deploy U.S. active-duty personnel to conduct law enforcement on American soil, the president must invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act. It has been used several times in U.S. history, including by President George H.W. Bush during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

The Insurrection Act, briefly explained . . .

Posse Comitatus?

Defense Secretary Calls Turmoil On America’s Streets A ‘Battle Space’ To ‘Dominate’

Barr Promises To Sic Terrorism Task Forces on Protesters

And by the way: NO, Trump is not an ally of peaceful protesters


Contrasts in leadership: Trump vs Biden, Trump vs Obama

While Trump hides and rages, Joe Biden steps up to offer the leadership Trump can't

Joe Biden meets with black leaders at Wilmington church amid unrest

Obama’s new statement on the protests exposes Trump’s failures

President Trump on Monday ripped members of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign for donating money to a fund that helps arrested protesters pay bail in Minnesota amid demonstrations over the police-involved death of George Floyd. The president in a tweet accused the former vice president's staff of “working to get the anarchists out of jail.” . . .

Facebook doesn't want to take a stance on Trump's inciting tweets -- but Facebook's employees do


Wow. Want to see a tough ad? Tough ad


In investigation news . . .

The DOJ blasts the judge in the Michael Flynn case


Flynn Judge Defends How He’s Handled Case

Trump makes Putin happy


In other news . . .

AG Bill Barr goes full Trump

Barr Floats Wild-Eyed Claim That Foreign Actors Could Counterfeit Vote By Mail Ballots . . . The theory ignores the numerous safeguards election officials have put in place to secure the integrity of ballots submitted absentee. Among them are the bar codes many states put on absentee ballots that allow voters to track the progress of their individual ballot through the mail system. Additionally, a hypothetical foreign government would have to counterfeit not just the ballot itself — which reflects the specific precinct to which a voter belongs and the specific contests in which she is eligible to participate — but the sophisticated envelope the voter uses to send her ballot back, as well as the envelope that keeps her completed ballot secret. Once the ballot is received by elections officials, they also compare the signature on file for a voter to the one she signed on her ballot, providing another layer of security. Election experts gawked at Barr’s theory . . .

No surprise to readers of PBD

GOP Builds Strategy Around Making It Harder to Vote

Mike Pompeo doesn't file for the Senate seat in Kansas, which means that Kris Kobach may be the candidate, which means it might be winnable for the Dems


Bonus item: Are we great yet?

***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
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Monday, June 01, 2020

HE IS NOT CONCERNED

Oh, this makes me feel MUCH better

Despite sending out some inflammatory tweets Saturday morning, President Trump maintains he is “not at all” concerned his words might stoke racially-motivated violence in the wake of protests over George Floyd’s death . . .

[NB: Yes, his eyes are closed.]

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms responded on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday to President Trump's tweets and comments about the mass protests that have swept across the United States, urging him to "just stop talking." . . . "He speaks and he makes it worse. There are times when you should just be quiet. And I wish that he would just be quiet."

“People close to the president, including several senior White House officials, have privately expressed concerns that his incendiary response to the Minneapolis riots will hurt him with two groups that could remove him from office in November: independents and suburban women. These are groups who already tell pollsters they don’t like Trump’s tone, even if they like some of his policies.” “One adviser said they saw it as the president’s worst moment since Charlottesville.” “A senior White House official, who typically likes it when Trump takes tough law-and-order positions, described the tweet as ‘stupid.'”

Raise your hands if you believe this

National Security Adviser: Trump’s Threat to Shoot Protesters Was Attempt to ‘De-Escalate Violence’

Trump's advisors are split over what he should say about the Floyd death and protests . . . and so he says nothing


“Trump and some of his advisers calculated that he should not speak to the nation because he had nothing to say… He had no tangible policy or action to announce, nor did he feel an urgent motivation to try to bring people together. So he stayed silent.”

Black women leaders call out Trump across the country

Atlanta Mayor: Trump’s Reaction To Protests Is ‘Like Charlottesville All Over Again’

DC mayor: 'I think that the president has a responsibility to help calm the nation'

Val Demings Stomps On Trump's Lack Of Leadership Ability

Omar: Trump has failed to understand the 'pain and anguish many of his citizens are feeling'

Minneapolis unrest shakes up VP shortlist

Trump says he was "watching" the protests outside the White House. Yes, he was watching them from a secure underground bunker


Trump seems to think HE gets to decide who is part of the G7

Trump described the newly expanded gathering as the “G-10 or G-11,” and said he had “roughly” discussed the concept with the leaders of the additional countries. But the president seemed unsure of the timing of the proposed, musing aloud about when to hold it. “Maybe I’ll do it after the election," he said at one point, before reversing himself. "I think a good time would be before the election,” he then said . . .

Trump says he will designate "Antifa" as a terrorist organization -- except, it's not an organization. And there are a FEW other problems



“As recently as Saturday night, senior administration officials told me that the designation of a violent cohort of far-left activists, antifa, as a terrorist organization was not being seriously discussed at the White House. But that was Saturday.” “The situation changed dramatically a few hours later, after prominent conservative allies of the president, such as his friend media commentator Dan Bongino, publicly urged a tough response against people associated with antifa.”

Trump’s ‘ANTIFA’ Threat Is Total Bullshit—And Totally Dangerous

[NB: And. . .  what about the "fa"?]

In investigation news . . .

RED ALERT! RED ALERT! The Trump administration is very concerned about foreign powers interfering in our domestic political affairs!

National security adviser Robert O’Brien on Sunday said foreign adversaries are trying to exploit U.S. race relations amid protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. . . .[read on]

Stay tuned

House, Senate panels to question ousted State Dept. inspector general on Wednesday

In other news . . .

Biden's double digit lead




“It’s important to put individual polls into context, and that context continues to show Biden’s in one of the best positions for any challenger since scientific polling began in the 1930s.” “There were more than 40 national public polls taken at least partially in the month of May that asked about the Biden-Trump matchup. Biden led in every single one of them . . . Biden’s the only challenger to have the advantage in every May poll over an elected incumbent in the polling era.”

[NB: People are ready for a change. Let's hope it sticks.]

Trump owns the Republican party (what's left of it)


The Lincoln Project on Trump's New Confederacy


Bonus item:  John Oliver on Tucker Carlson


***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
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