Update no.846

Update from the Sunland

No.846

12.3.18 – 18.3.18

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

            To all,

            The follow-up news items:

-- While House HPSCI Republicans are apparently satisfied with their partisan (and protective) investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election [782], the rest of us remain unconvinced and distinctly unsatisfied.  Representative Kenneth Michael ‘Mike’ Conaway of Texas, who headed the investigation for the HPSCI, publicly stated they found “bad judgment” and some “inappropriate meetings” between members of the Trump campaign and Russians, but they found no sign that those mistakes amounted to collusion.  I believe Conaway’s assessment is probably and factually correct.  I would agree with the fellow in the Oval Office; to date, no evidence of collusion by the Trump campaign staff has yet been publicly presented.  Collusion was at best a secondary tasking and certainly not the primary purpose.  Unfortunately, all of the incessant yammering by the fellow in the Oval Office has distracted the HPSCI from the primary purpose to be all about him rather than about the meddling of Putin’s Russia in the 2016 election.

-- OK!  The level of nauseating disgust continues to grow faster than I can calculate or articulate.  Now, the fellow in the Oval Office has picked up a new title—Bully-in-Chief (BIC).  Just as with the Russia investigation, the conduct of the BIC to mask, silence and refute a citizen of the United States has done nothing but amplify his despicable conduct, disrespect for women, and his belief in his own invulnerability, entitlement and omnipotence.  Yep, the BIC is a really tough guy, so strong and virile; he is such a magnificent example of male superiority for our children and grandchildren.  We had better get with the program or the BIC may well send us resisters to the nearest konzentrationslager, if we are lucky (just like his hero, mentor and shining example did 85 years ago).  If we are not so lucky, it will be a bullet to the back of the head or perhaps a whiff of an advanced nerve agent like his good-buddy Vladimir Putin used recently (4.3.2018; see below).  If the BIC was ashamed of his past conduct, he should not have done it in the first place.

            I could not care less where he sticks his male appendage or with whom.  That is his business (and a matter of marital relations, i.e., private).  Stormy Daniels [837] is an attractive woman, probably made herself readily available, and undoubtedly has skills that are beyond the norm; so, who could blame him for enjoying a little pleasure.  No, his sex partners are irrelevant.  However, when his embarrassment transforms into the abuse of another citizen to hide his dalliances and transgressions, he has crossed the line.  I shall risk the bullet to the head and stand on the side of Stephanie Clifford against the BIC.

-- Special Counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to preserve and protect business documents as part of the on-going investigation into Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election [782].  This does not bode well for the BIC.

            The firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was disgraceful, heartless and well beneath dignified behavior for anyone and especially the Office of the President.  Regardless of Tillerson’s performance or alleged disrespect for the fellow in the Oval Office, he did not deserve to be treated like this.  The BIC could not even look Tillerson in the eyes.  The BIC tweeted millions of people to inform the Secretary of State (indirectly, I might add) his services were no longer needed.

“Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State.  He will do a fantastic job!  Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!  Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen.  Congratulations to all!”

5:44 AM - Mar 13, 2018

Oh yeah, the BIC is such a big, powerful, strongman, tough guy.   Oooo!

            Turbulence, turmoil and chaos are not hallmarks of good, competent leadership or management in any organization at any time, and in fact, such consequences are far more a direct indictment of the incompetence of the boss than anything else.  He has created this situation, and he alone himself to blame.  While I did not always agree with Tillerson, I give him credit to trying to conduct his public affairs with dignity and respect.  He can hold his head high that his conduct vastly exceeded the behavior of the man he worked for in the last year.

            On Sunday, 4.March.2018, one or more perpetrators attempted to assassinate Sergei Viktorovich Skripal and his daughter Yulia Sergeevna Skripal on the streets of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom.  Unfortunately, several constabulary officers received collateral exposure and were hospitalized as well.  Fortunately, depending upon one’s perspective, a doctor and a nurse happened to be passing by shortly after the attack; they recognized the symptoms and took immediate action to prevent death.  Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) promptly deployed chemical warfare units to deal with the chemical attack.  They quickly identified the poisoning of both Sergei and Yulia by a very specific and unique Novichok agent—an advance, sophisticated, organophosphate, nerve agent, and a multi-generational derivative of Tabun, developed by the Germans in 1936 to kill people on a massive scale (Tabun was the agent of choice the SchutzSaffel used at the death camps).  There are very few (less than a handful) nation-states who are capable of generating such material.  It is believed that the Novichok agent is unique to the Russian chemical warfare program, nearly as if the molecules were etched with their brand.  Putin had a wide variety of weapon choices available to assassinate Skripal.  He chose a weapon guaranteed to announce to the world: Yep, I did it; what are you going to do about it?

            The Russian government has denied involvement and Putin himself has publicly said show me the evidence.

            As a footnote, some FSB or GRU agent has probably been eliminated (killed) or shipped off to a Siberian Gulag (the Russian equivalent of the German konzentrationslager) for his failure to complete his mission.  While the death of Skripal was undoubtedly the objective, Putin’s international political statement was delivered with or without success.

            Once Prime Minister May was convinced of the agent used in the attack, HMG expelled 23 Russian diplomats.  Putin being Putin, the Russians in turn expelled 23 British diplomats.  The Tit-for-Tat expulsion of diplomats is probably only the beginning as this is literally a direct attack on the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom.  The attack finally pushed the fellow in the Oval Office to begin implementing sanctions against Russia seven months after Congress overwhelmingly passed and POTUS signed into law the sanctions act (see below).  Yes, I believe Putin chose his target and means of assassination in a very careful and deliberate manner . . . and, ultimately, it comes down to the question: what are we going to do about it?  Putin invaded another sovereign country and we did comparatively very little.  He has no reason to believe we will stand up to him.  Ol’ Vlad may well be correct.

            I suppose it was inevitable.  The Senate passed S.2155 - Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act [Senate: 67-31-0-2(0)] to roll back the banking industry restraints imposed in the aftermath of the 2008 banking system collapse and precipitation of the Great Recession—Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act [PL 111-203; H.R.4173; S.3217; Senate: 60-39-0-0(1); House: 237-192-0-4(2); 124 Stat. 1376; 21.7.2010] [544].  The Republican majority apparently wants to return to those heady days of greed, excess and irrational exuberance seriously amplified by the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (AKA Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) [PL 106-102; S. 900; Senate: 90-8-1-1(0); House: 362-57-0-15(1); 113 Stat. 1338; 12.11.1999] [353].  The bill has gone to the House of Representatives and has a way to go to be enacted.  We can only hope this is a symbolic action that will not make it to law.  Although, given the Republican majority in the House as well, I am not going to hold my breath for restraint.

            Well now, wonder of wonders . . . the BIC finally issued sanctions against five Russian entities and 19 Russian individuals.  The U.S. Treasury Department cited a cyberattack known as NotPetya and a nerve agent attack in the U.K. (4.3.2018).  Not bad more than seven months after Congress overwhelmingly passed and POTUS signed into law the            Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) [PL 115-044; H.R.3364; Senate: 98-2-0-0(0); House: 419-3-0-11(2); 131 Stat. 886; 2.8.2017] [813].  This is precisely what happens when personality gets in the way of policy.

            Undoubtedly under orders, explicit or implicit, from the BIC, Attorney General Sessions fired former (he was relieved of his deputy position in January 2017) Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, just 26 hours before McCabe was eligible to retire with full pension.  The AG alleged McCabe made unauthorized disclosures to the media and “lacked candor” in speaking to the Justice Department Inspector General.  McCabe strongly denied the allegations, saying he had the authority to share the information with a reporter, and that he “answered questions truthfully and as accurately” as he could “amidst the chaos that surrounded” him.  This personnel action hardly seems appropriate on scale alone.

            I have long wondered if there was a bottom to how low the BIC would go?  I suppose I hoped there was some sliver of humanity in the man that might establish a floor for his despicable conduct.  This week has established beyond a reasonable doubt there is no limit to how low he will go.  That night after the firing, the BIC tweeted:

 “Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy.  Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy.  He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!”
9:08 PM - Mar 16, 2018

Gloating after such a personal, intimate, personnel action punctuates the move as clearly and absolutely political, vindictive and spiteful.  Oh yeah, another reminder, the BIC is a big, bad, tough guy.  We should all be quaking in our boots when he walks into a room just like his heroes—all the other dictators of history.

            On a personal level, I believe the BIC intentionally and purposefully waited until precisely this point to terminate McCabe to make a very precise point—defy me and I will hurt you.  The BIC is acting like a cornered rat.

            I hope and trust Andrew McCabe can find the will and means to take the BIC & USG to court for wrongful termination and force the BIC’s hand to expose the BIC’s toddler petulance to brilliant public scrutiny.  Facts First!  The BIC must not get a pass.

            A friend and frequent contributor sent along the following observation:

“I have a feeling Trump is gonna fire Mueller as his tweets are up-ticking this morning against the team and FBI.  Trump likely believes this will fire-up his base though I believe it could backfire.  We shall see.  Trump is disruptive.  He has never released his tax returns, right?”

My response:

I think you may well be correct.  I suspect he fears the discovery of his private business dealings & practices far more than he fears Republican or public backlash for the firing of Mueller.  The problem for him: Mueller is not stupid; he is a very crafty & accomplished investigator & prosecutor.  If true to form, Mueller probably had sufficient evidence from other sources against Trump before he decided to open the door with the subpoena for Trump to save & protect his business records (see above).  That alone was a warning shot and may well be tempting Trump to violate the subpoena, which would be the coup de grâce for his presidency.  No Republican could stand with him and survive, and at least all the lawyers among that group know it.

 . . . with follow-up comment:

“Great analysis on your part!!  I would not be surprised to see money laundering to reduce taxes by the Trump Organization (T.O.).  I have even considered T.O. may be connected to shadowy Mafia and/or other criminal cartels.  I have not seen any president who practices doublespeak as well as Trump, though many of us see through his attempt at magic.  And few of us have witnessed a Beltway politico or Fortune 500 biz leader conduct themselves so offensively towards others, or behave as though they are unstable. Trust factor:  how can we trust Trump?  I might believe he is a pathological liar.  I would not buy anything from the guy...buyer beware!  The election of Trump is also a reflection of a sorry/fragmented/polarized America.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

            If I was going to guess, money laundering would be my primary legal violation for the TO.  I truly believe Mueller will follow the money successfully.  The chips will fall where they may.

            Just a side note at this juncture: I believe the Constitution prohibits criminal prosecution of the POTUS.  To my understanding, criminal charges can be filed (like in absentia or awaiting extradition) against the man, but prosecution must wait until he is no longer in office.  If Mueller does develop sufficient evidence of felonious conduct, the evidence can be made available (at least in part) to the House of Representatives for possible impeachment proceedings.

            While I was suspicious of possible collusion, I always thought it was quite a long shot for one reason primarily—it is difficult to prove intent.  I believe the reason the fellow in the Oval Office incessantly chants “no collusion whatsoever” and multitudinous variations thereof is to deflect, distract, thwart or otherwise nullify what he is truly afraid of—looking into his business practices.

            Caveat emptor!  Indeed!  Yes.  The 2016 election is also a reflection of the degree of desperation far too many Americans citizens have reached with the obscene and hypocritical shenanigans in Washington, DC.  We might see him as a pathological liar.  He sees himself as using “truthful hyperbole,” which is a delicate way of saying he makes stuff up to paint a picture he wants someone else to see.  To an individual who believes what the snake oil salesman is selling, “truthful hyperbole” is just colorful embellishment.  To those of us who see the snake oil salesman for what he truly is—a con artist—he creates stuff and calls them facts.

            Yes, indeed, the fellow in the Oval Office capitalized on the dissatisfaction in this Grand Republic.

 . . . and a follow-up, follow-up comment:

“Good points on your part.  But what if this goes to treason on part of Trump?”

 . . . with my follow-up, follow-up response:

            To my understanding of the law, POTUS is invulnerable to prosecution while he occupies the Office of POTUS under the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s consistent interpretation.  He is the chief prosecutor and cannot try himself; the legal term is sovereign immunity, i.e., the king can do no wrong.  The degree of the crime is irrelevant.  The only path to prosecute and punish any person who holds the Office of POTUS is via impeachment by the House, conviction (and removal from Office) by the Senate, and then he is eligible for prosecution under the full weight of the law, i.e., he has no immunity once he is no longer in office.

            Just another personal opinion: the current fellow in the Oval Office is headed in a direction to test and demonstrate my understanding of the law and to be recorded by history as the one servant of the People who went farther down that path than any other person.  Even Richard Nixon, who also denied his culpability, was never so vociferous, persistent, incessant and single-minded in his attacks on law enforcement and the special prosecutor investigation of an incident.  The current fellow is acting out in a very guilty manner; Nixon’s conduct prior to his resignation pales in comparison to the current fellow.  Why didn’t he choose to act innocent?  By his choice to resist, he has and continues to paint himself more tightly into a corner.  I truly believe he (we) is about to experience a demonstration that this Grand Republic and specifically the Office of the President is bigger and stronger than him; he is NOT a dictator no matter how much he wants it to be so.  While the segment of our population who unwaveringly support him and his conduct will be deeply angry and might act out themselves, the law will ultimately prevail.  In the years leading to the entry of the United States in World War 2, a comparable significant portion of our citizens in those days supported fascism and specifically Hitler and Mussolini.  This too shall pass.

            The outcome of the Russian “election” was never in doubt.  Ya gotta hand it to ol’ Vlad; at least he is trying to put on the appearance of legitimacy and popular democratic support, which is much more than President Xi Jinping of the PRC, who offers no pretence to his dictatorial ambition and power.  I imagine Uncle Joe would be disappointed in Vlad; he only arranged for winning 73.9% of the vote; after all, Uncle Joe won 99.3% of the vote from his adoring people.

            Comments and contributions from Update no.845:

Comment to the Blog:

“Trump's tariffs are yet another childish impulse with legal standing.  Look for them to be modified into nonexistence or stopped by Congress before long.

“Congress holds few idealists.  Most of those people talk as if they believed in certain sets of ideas because the people who fund them and their parties support saying that stuff.  The few exceptions include Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders.

“The Resident has agreed, apparently without thinking about it, to hold talks with the semi-sane leader of North Korea.  That temporarily locks him out of starting a war with North Korea, but dangers abound.  I believe the two men in charge are using the term ‘de-nuclearization’ very differently, for one thing.  Trump means that North Korea gives up nuclear weapons; Kim is thinking of something more like the SALT and START treaties.  I could go on at length about other misunderstandings and problems, but you get the idea.

“Revelations of adultery, in themselves, will not even be an issue for Trump.  He's on record bragging about that and worse.  What could bring him down is (as an old song says it) ‘the payoffs and the ripoffs and the things nobody saw.’  Whether it's the porn star(s), the Russians, the ongoing shady business deals, or some other specific thing, what will bring him down is his underhanded response to damn near anything.

“Thanks for posting the provisions of the new Florida firearm law.  I didn't expect that strong a response from Florida or Governor Scott.  Florida's experience could shape this into a good model statute.  At first glance, the provisions that address the flow of firearms in general and the ‘Risk Protection Orders’ help the most in preventing mass and individual shootings.  Those effects will extend outside of schools.  The sections about mental health in schools don't address actual shooters we've seen but will be helpful for students.  I see only the arming of teachers and increasing ‘resource officers’ (police in schools) as real drawbacks.  (Even the best-trained soldiers don't do especially well at defending others in combat situations; police in schools cause more trouble for students than they prevent in a long-term perspective.)”

My response to the Blog:

            Re: “childish impulse.”  Spot on . . . from my perspective as well.  While we have yet to see any constructive reaction from Congress, my impression is the fellow in the Oval Office may have finally crossed the threshold of tolerance among Republican Members of Congress.  Among the myriad of his transgressions of Republican orthodoxy, it is tariffs that may well have pushed them too far.  His abduction of the Republican Party is their own damn fault.

            I do not see ideologues and idealists as the same or even similar for that matter.  Nonetheless, I do agree . . . although I believe there are rays of hope among a few (very small number) Members of Congress.

            Oh my yes . . . as I wrote in last week’s Update . . . what could possibly go wrong . . . the fellow in the Oval Office proclaiming to the world he is never wrong, never makes a mistake, and he is thus infallible, omnipotent and beyond reproach.  Oh yes, what could possibly go wrong!

            Clearly, adultery, sexual assault, outrageous & inciteful pronouncements, volatile & erratic behavior, et al ad infinitum ad nauseum, does not matter a hoot to his true & loyal believers, regardless of their moral beliefs.  In that, the Donald was spot on correct: “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters” [755, 23.January.2016].  As I have felt from long before he announced his candidacy, his undoing would be his own ego . . . as it was for O.J. and so many other similarly flawed men.

            While the Florida law was a valiant step forward and has flaws, I am troubled by the focus on “bump stocks” rather than any device, modification or adjustment that could enable any firearm to operate in automatic mode at any time.  There are risks in several provisions of the law, but they are a worthy start.  I just hope Florida and the rest of us can see our way toward improvements rather than regression as happened with the PPACA.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“I agree that the law needs to address automatic fire weapons as a broader category than just ‘bump stocks.’  That is an extension of my prior position of limiting firearms more than other weapons (knives, blunt objects, etc.) due to their ease of operation.  Automatic fire, however it is achieved, makes killing people another level easier over other firearms.  "On net," though, the Florida statute makes real progress if Florida can stand up to the NRA.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

            Yes, agreed, the Florida law is a worthy step forward.  It is better than nothing, but still not as far as I think we should be.  I am encouraged about the creation of “Risk Protection Orders” for due process intervention in cases of violent or violence-prone citizens.  Florida has an advantage in their previously passed “Baker Act” [Florida Mental Health Act of 1971].  The state law actually offers treatment for such individuals, although the removal or reconciliation process once RPOs have been issued & enforced was not clearly and precisely defined by my reading of the law.  Intervention is good for public safety, but there must be a reasonable process returning rights to affected citizens if treatment is successful.

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)