Happy Holidaze

Updates

  1. Originally published, December 25, 12:30 pm.
  2. December 26, 7:45 am:
  3. December 26, 12:58 pm:
    • I’ve now gotten through the reboot. The system is up. Enough of it seems to be working well enough that I can resume work. This will happen later.
  4. December 26, 3:16 pm:
    • The articles I’ve been holding off on archiving are now shown below. Scroll down. Yes, I know. Way, way, down. Note that I haven’t even begun with today’s email.
  5. December 27, 12:36 am:
    • For the moment, at least, I am caught up.
  6. December 27, 7:24 pm:

Via Politico (added on December 25, at 4:00 pm):
Wuerker


These screenshots are both from the same Washington Post newsletter. Remember when the second wouldn’t have been noteworthy?


DvJovlzVAAUrm3V


(Added on December 25, at 9:42 pm)

DvSHb5eUwAAxALS


(Added on December 25, at 5:10 pm)


via Existential Comics:
marxistChristmas1.png
marxistChristmas2.png


(added on December 25, at 6:37 pm)

DvS9qEMXgAEqiy7


Probably no one in the world noticed, but my main site has probably been performing erratically for the last few days. I am nearing completion of a major software upgrade on my server, an upgrade I had deferred until I felt I could defer it no longer. It’s actually gone relatively smoothly but the real fun comes when I do the next reboot and see if I can fix all the services that are broken.

Because I’m not in a situation where I can trust the web site to perform correctly, I’ve held off on archive updates, which also means I haven’t had updates here. There wasn’t much when I began putting this issue together; there’s more now. It follows.


Donald Trump

So, um, here’s your Christmas present: Donald Trump is unhinged (you already knew that) and now unchecked.[2] The White House is now fully a continuation of The Apprentice. Enjoy the show. And remember that it isn’t just the folks you see on the screen who might not survive. With that “bigger” “red button” that “really works,” all of us are at risk.

Thomas Wright, “Trump, Unchecked,” Atlantic, December 21, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/trump-administration-after-mattis/578890/

Daniel Politi, “Trump Is Reportedly Considering Firing Mnuchin Over Stock Market Woes,” Slate, December 25, 2018, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/12/trump-is-reportedly-considering-firing-mnuchin-over-stock-market-declines.html


Gig work

Amber Petrovich, “The gig worker’s lament,” Washington Post, December 26, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gig-workers-lament/2018/12/26/085fce64-cd76-11e8-920f-dd52e1ae4570_story.html


  1. [1]Amber Petrovich, “The gig worker’s lament,” Washington Post, December 26, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gig-workers-lament/2018/12/26/085fce64-cd76-11e8-920f-dd52e1ae4570_story.html
  2. [2]Thomas Wright, “Trump, Unchecked,” Atlantic, December 21, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/trump-administration-after-mattis/578890/

We can almost certainly say it now: Donald Trump is done for.

Updates

  1. Originally published December 19, 12:40 am.
  2. December 19, 12:00 noon:
    • What if cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, aren’t just one pump-and-dump scheme,[1] but thousands of them?[2]
    • Just a few days ago, it seemed like hush money paid to young ladies who alleged affairs with Donald Trump was central to the story of this particularly egregious gang of criminals presently occupying the White House.[3] Today, we see the return of Trump’s ambition to build a tower in Moscow as it emerges that Trump signed a letter of intent, which Rudy Giuliani had denied he had done.[4]

James Comey

Here’s Jonathan Chait:

[Michael] Flynn’s judge reeled in shock at the severity of his crimes, hinting that he might hand down prison time despite Robert Mueller’s recommendation that Flynn go free due to his cooperation. For this reason, [Judge Emmet G.] Sullivan offered, and Flynn accepted, a 90-day delay, so that Flynn might have more cooperation to show in order to bargain down his sentence. In the meantime, Sullivan dealt a death blow to the theory that Flynn’s crimes were minor, let alone that he had been mistreated by prosecutors.

Two more mysteries remain. The first is just what crimes by Flynn Mueller’s prosecutors found. The second, even larger, is what Flynn gave them on [Donald] Trump. If his offenses were as serious as Sullivan indicated, and Mueller still suggested he skip prison, it stands to reason that the evidence he turned over concerning other figures is devastating.[5]

Admittedly, we don’t know to what degree, if any, Michael Flynn has implicated Donald Trump. Even if Flynn has not implicated Trump, Chait is correct: It does “stand[] to reason that the evidence he turned over concerning other figures is devastating.”[6] Trump surrounded himself with these assholes; their crimes will, one way or another, reflect on him.

Aaron Blake, “Trump backers just had their anti-Mueller hopes and dreams dashed,” Washington Post, December 18, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/18/trump-backers-just-had-their-anti-mueller-hopes-dreams-dashed/

Jonathan Chait, “Michael Flynn’s Judge Destroys Trump’s Conspiracy Theory,” New York, December 18, 2018, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/michael-flynns-judge-destroys-trumps-conspiracy-theory.html

Kate Sullivan, “Trump signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow project despite Giuliani insisting he didn’t,” CNN, December 18, 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/18/politics/trump-signed-letter-of-intent-rudy-giuliani-moscow/index.html


Andy Lopez

I still think we need to be thinking about what we call “toys.”

Nashelly Chavez, “Sonoma County to pay $3 million to settle lawsuit over Andy Lopez shooting,” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, December 18, 2018, https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9083745-181/sonoma-county-to-pay-3


Cryptocurrencies

It’s worth remembering what Paul Krugman wrote about Bitcoin back in 2011:

What we want from a monetary system isn’t to make people holding money rich; we want it to facilitate transactions and make the economy as a whole rich. And that’s not at all what is happening in Bitcoin.[7]

Capitalist libertarians are unclear on this very basic concept, so for them, what everyone else regards as a fraud is entirely legitimate.

Adrian Zmudzinski, “Researchers Find Thousands of Crypto Pump-and-Dump Groups on Messaging Apps,” Cointelegraph, December 19, 2018, https://cointelegraph.com/news/researchers-find-thousands-of-crypto-pump-and-dump-groups-on-messaging-apps


  1. [1]Nathaniel Popper, “In Bitcoin’s Orbit: Rival Virtual Currencies Vie for Acceptance,” New York Times, November 24, 2013, http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/in-bitcoins-orbit-rival-virtual-currencies-vie-for-acceptance/
  2. [2]Adrian Zmudzinski, “Researchers Find Thousands of Crypto Pump-and-Dump Groups on Messaging Apps,” Cointelegraph, December 19, 2018, https://cointelegraph.com/news/researchers-find-thousands-of-crypto-pump-and-dump-groups-on-messaging-apps
  3. [3]Jordan Fabian and Morgan Chalfant, “Trump’s legal woes worsen,” Hill, December 15, 2018, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/421491-trumps-legal-woes-worsen
  4. [4]Kate Sullivan, “Trump signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow project despite Giuliani insisting he didn’t,” CNN, December 18, 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/18/politics/trump-signed-letter-of-intent-rudy-giuliani-moscow/index.html
  5. [5]Jonathan Chait, “Michael Flynn’s Judge Destroys Trump’s Conspiracy Theory,” New York, December 18, 2018, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/michael-flynns-judge-destroys-trumps-conspiracy-theory.html
  6. [6]Jonathan Chait, “Michael Flynn’s Judge Destroys Trump’s Conspiracy Theory,” New York, December 18, 2018, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/michael-flynns-judge-destroys-trumps-conspiracy-theory.html
  7. [7]Paul Krugman, “Golden Cyberfetters,” New York Times, September 7, 2011, http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/golden-cyberfetters/

Brexit is fun! Of course it is!

Brexit

Much fuss and bother, but little of substance. For all the smoke and heat, it’s still a choice between Theresa May’s customs union (leaving the United Kingdom subject to European Union policy with no say in its making) and backstop (a politically unacceptable customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom) deal, a “hard” Brexit with no deal, or no Brexit at all. The customs union and backstop deal cannot pass the House of Commons even if May continues to animate the corpse, so it will be one of the other two, unless May accedes to a second referendum, in which case her deal could be an option presented to voters. And the more she says she isn’t holding a second referendum,[1] the more I think she will.

Labour deliberately chose a form of words that was different from that formally required to begin the process of trying to force a general election under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, arguing that if May were to be defeated, it would have “political force”.

The 2011 act says that a no-confidence motion must use the following text to be binding: “This house has no confidence in Her Majesty’s government.”

If submitted by the leader of the opposition, such a motion has to be debated the next day and, if the government were defeated, May would almost certainly have to resign. A new government would have to be formed in 14 days or else an election would take place.

Labour had the option of tabling a revised, binding confidence motion after Corbyn’s intervention until the Commons rose at 9pm but chose not do so. A spokesman said the party would judge “day by day” when it was best to act.[2]

Oh, and by the way, when you spell “Euroskeptic” with a ‘c’ rather than a ‘k,’ I’m liable to read it as “Euroseptic” (with neither the ‘c’ nor the ‘k’) and I’m still thinking about what that might even mean.

Heather Stewart, “No 10 denies making plans for second Brexit referendum,” Guardian, December 16, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/16/no-10-denies-making-plans-for-second-brexit-referendum

Kevin Rawlinson, “Jeremy Corbyn demands vote of no confidence in Theresa May,” Guardian, December 17, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/17/corbyn-demands-vote-of-no-confidence-in-theresa-may

Dan Sabbagh, “Brexit: Labour and Tories clash over call for confidence vote,” Guardian, December 18, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/17/theresa-may-intensifies-warnings-over-risks-of-no-deal-brexit


  1. [1]Heather Stewart, “No 10 denies making plans for second Brexit referendum,” Guardian, December 16, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/16/no-10-denies-making-plans-for-second-brexit-referendum
  2. [2]Dan Sabbagh, “Brexit: Labour and Tories clash over call for confidence vote,” Guardian, December 18, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/17/theresa-may-intensifies-warnings-over-risks-of-no-deal-brexit

Yes, actually, I do care about the demise of the Weekly Standard

Updates

  1. Originally published, December 14, 1:12 pm.
  2. December 15, 7:21 am:
    • I guess what’s curious about Donald Trump’s legal situation is that, very much for the moment, it isn’t collusion with Russia that appears to be doing him in, but hush money payments to young women whom he apparently had affairs with.[1] I honestly thought this story wouldn’t amount to much; I didn’t even give it a separate thread in my archive. Right now, it appears central.

I don’t normally announce new pages on my main web site here unless they’re research journal entries. But there have been a couple developments this year that have me thinking more than I usually do about ethics and I am realizing how central my ethics are to my world view and even what work I can tolerate. If you want to see what makes me tick, here is a large part of the story.


Weekly Standard

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Oliver Darcy, “The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine critical of Trump, to shutter after 23 years,” CNN, December 14, 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/14/media/weekly-standard-end/index.html


Donald Trump

Jordan Fabian and Morgan Chalfant, “Trump’s legal woes worsen,” Hill, December 15, 2018, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/421491-trumps-legal-woes-worsen


 

  1. [1]Jordan Fabian and Morgan Chalfant, “Trump’s legal woes worsen,” Hill, December 15, 2018, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/421491-trumps-legal-woes-worsen

It looks like a hard Brexit or no Brexit

Updates

  1. Originally published, December 11, 10:26 pm.
  2. December 12, 3:06 pm:
    • Theresa May has survived a “no confidence” vote within her party and now cannot be similarly challenged for a year,[1] but she remains vulnerable to a parliamentary “no confidence” vote and none of this offers any assurance whatsoever about the outcome of her Brexit deal.

Brexit

It looks like a hard Brexit or no Brexit.[2] Either way, some folks have some climbing down to do.

William Booth, Michael Birnbaum, and Karla Adam, “Theresa May delays parliamentary vote on Brexit deal,” Washington Post, December 10, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/as-perilous-brexit-vote-looms-in-british-parliament-speculation-abounds-over-a-delay/2018/12/10/d2143f14-f8ab-11e8-8642-c9718a256cbd_story.html

William Booth, Karla Adam, and Michael Birnbaum, “British Prime Minister Theresa May survives a challenge to her leadership, but her vision for Brexit remains in doubt,” Washington Post, December 12, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/conservative-party-calls-for-vote-of-no-confidence-to-oust-british-prime-minister-may/2018/12/12/92cd35b6-fdb7-11e8-a17e-162b712e8fc2_story.html


Anger

Charles Duhigg, “The Real Roots of American Rage,” Atlantic, January, 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/charles-duhigg-american-anger/576424/


Harbin Hot Springs

Martin Espinoza, “Lake County’s Harbin Hot Springs will reopen its pools next year,” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, December 11, 2018, https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9033096-181/lake-countys-harbin-hot-springs


 

  1. [1]William Booth, Karla Adam, and Michael Birnbaum, “British Prime Minister Theresa May survives a challenge to her leadership, but her vision for Brexit remains in doubt,” Washington Post, December 12, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/conservative-party-calls-for-vote-of-no-confidence-to-oust-british-prime-minister-may/2018/12/12/92cd35b6-fdb7-11e8-a17e-162b712e8fc2_story.html
  2. [2]William Booth, Michael Birnbaum, and Karla Adam, “Theresa May delays parliamentary vote on Brexit deal,” Washington Post, December 10, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/as-perilous-brexit-vote-looms-in-british-parliament-speculation-abounds-over-a-delay/2018/12/10/d2143f14-f8ab-11e8-8642-c9718a256cbd_story.html

Collusion

Updates

  1. Originally published, December 8, 11:21 am.
  2. December 9, 12:59 am:
    • I probably should have noted earlier that Robert Mueller also seems to have nailed Donald Trump on the question of payoffs to young women he (allegedly) had affairs with.[1] It’s just not really news to me as I had already accepted this as almost certainly true. But the Washington Post has yet another—but probably the best yet—summary of Trump’s very bad Friday.[2] (James Comey)
  3. December 9, 11:19 am:
    • John Dean, of Watergate infamy, thinks Congress will have no choice but to begin impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump.[3] Which, of course, is what even some conservatives would like. But, um, the Senate is controlled by the Republican Party, which is not at all like the Republican Party of the 1970s. Today’s “Grand Old Party” is all in with authoritarian populism, the larger part of Trump’s base. Which kinda makes all this pointless. But the article offers additional background so it’s probably worth reading anyway.

James Comey

The filing [sentencing memorandum] comes close to suggesting collusion without actually making that case. [Robert] Mueller notes that [Michael] Cohen’s effort to engage Russia with [Donald] Trump’s knowledge and consent “occurred at a time of sustained efforts by the Russian government to interfere with the U.S. presidential election.” Mueller provided another hint by praising Cohen for providing the special counsel’s office “with useful information concerning certain Russia-related matters core to its investigation.” There is arguably only one matter core to the Mueller investigation, as defined by Mueller’s appointment as special counsel: “to ensure a full and thorough investigation of the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election . . . [and] any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.” If Cohen’s information is core to the Mueller investigation, it is reasonable to conclude that Mueller does, indeed, believe he can prove that there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.[4]

Or, I would say, that there was not. The case that Adam Davidson lays out supports that Robert Mueller likely knows, or thinks he knows, whether or not there was in fact collusion. But it does not actually point to a conclusion in either direction.

Aaron Blake, “5 big takeaways from the new Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort filings,” Washington Post, December 7, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/07/takeaways-michael-cohen-sentencing-filings/

Adam Davidson, “The Michael Cohen Sentencing Memos Are Damning for Trump,” New Yorker, December 7, 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/news/swamp-chronicles/the-michael-cohen-sentencing-memos-are-damning-for-trump

Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky, “Mueller flashes some cards in Russia probe, but hides his hand,” Washington Post, December 8, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mueller-flashes-some-cards-in-russia-probe-but-hides-his-hand/2018/12/08/03938a34-fb01-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html

Philip Ewing, “What You Need To Know About The New Manafort And Cohen Court Documents,” NPR, December 8, 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/12/08/674842607/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-manafort-and-cohen-court-documents


Donald Trump

Michael Brice-Saddler, “Congress will have to ‘start impeachment’ process after Cohen filings, former Nixon counsel says,” Washington Post, December 8, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/08/congress-will-have-start-impeachment-process-after-cohen-filings-former-nixon-counsel-says/


Julian Assange

Gonzalo Solano and Joshua Goodman, “Ecuador: Enough UK guarantees for Assange to leave embassy,” Associated Press, December 6, 2018, https://www.apnews.com/0b95cddbe0614d47b71c07c827710210


  1. [1]Aaron Blake, “5 big takeaways from the new Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort filings,” Washington Post, December 7, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/07/takeaways-michael-cohen-sentencing-filings/; Philip Ewing, “What You Need To Know About The New Manafort And Cohen Court Documents,” NPR, December 8, 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/12/08/674842607/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-manafort-and-cohen-court-documents
  2. [2]Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky, “Mueller flashes some cards in Russia probe, but hides his hand,” Washington Post, December 8, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mueller-flashes-some-cards-in-russia-probe-but-hides-his-hand/2018/12/08/03938a34-fb01-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html
  3. [3]Michael Brice-Saddler, “Congress will have to ‘start impeachment’ process after Cohen filings, former Nixon counsel says,” Washington Post, December 8, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/08/congress-will-have-start-impeachment-process-after-cohen-filings-former-nixon-counsel-says/
  4. [4]Adam Davidson, “The Michael Cohen Sentencing Memos Are Damning for Trump,” New Yorker, December 7, 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/news/swamp-chronicles/the-michael-cohen-sentencing-memos-are-damning-for-trump

It’d be nice if we’d honor the peacemakers

There is a new blog entry, “A Marxist counterfactual.”


Are we ever going to finish honoring yet another war criminal? And yeah, it’d be nice if we accorded peacemakers anything like these honors.
FireShot Capture 4 - Roundup_ We don't mourn war criminals._ - https___mail.google.com_mail_ca_u_0

Screenshot from Jacobin newsletter, December 6, 2018, fair use.


James Comey

All that about Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen?[1] Repeat with Michael Flynn.[2] And, by the way, we’re still not seeing the actual fire below all this smoke.

Carol D. Leonnig, Rosalind S. Helderman, and Devlin Barrett, “Mueller seeks no prison time for former national security adviser Michael Flynn, citing his ‘substantial assistance,’” Washington Post, December 4, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mueller-seeks-no-prison-time-for-former-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn-citing-his-substantial-assistance/2018/12/04/a5c56a5a-f72a-11e8-863c-9e2f864d47e7_story.html


Ridesharing

Yves Smith isn’t the first[3] to predict Uber’s demise.[4] And she doesn’t understand the business nearly so well as she thinks she does; it would have been better had she actually talked to some drivers, especially some drivers who have experience both with the taxi business and the ridesharing business.

Jake Offenhartz, “NYC Establishes First Ever Minimum Wage For Uber & Lyft Drivers,” Gothamist, December 5, 2018, http://gothamist.com/2018/12/05/uber_lyft_driver_wages_nyc.php

Yves Smith, “Uber Is Headed for a Crash,” New York, December 4, 2018, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/will-uber-survive-the-next-decade.html


 

  1. [1]Dana Bash, Kara Scannell, and Evan Perez, “Two key answers from Trump to Mueller,” CNN, November 28, 2018, https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/11/28/politics/trump-mueller-answers-wikileaks-trump-tower/index.html; Carol D. Leonnig and Josh Dawsey, “‘Individual 1’: Trump emerges as a central subject of Mueller probe,” Washington Post, November 29, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/individual-1-trump-emerges-as-a-central-subject-of-mueller-probe/2018/11/29/e3968994-f3f7-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html; Harry Litman, “What Was Paul Manafort Thinking?” New York Times, November 27, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/opinion/what-was-paul-manafort-thinking.html; Jennifer Rubin, “Trump should be freaked out right about now,” Washington Post, November 29, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/11/29/trump-should-be-freaked-out-right-about-now/; Jeffrey Toobin, “The Legal Perils That Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Poses for Donald Trump,” New Yorker, November 29, 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-legal-perils-that-michael-cohens-guilty-plea-pose-for-donald-trump; Jonathan Vankin, “Robert Mueller Set Ingenious Trap For Trump In Collusion Case And Tricked Manafort Into Helping, Experts Say,” Inquisitr, November 26, 2018, https://www.inquisitr.com/5181923/robert-mueller-set-trap-for-trump-russia-collusion-paul-manafort/; Paul Waldman, “It looks like a big day for collusion. No wonder Trump is raging,” Washington Post, November 27, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/11/27/its-a-big-day-for-collusion-no-wonder-trump-is-raging/
  2. [2]Carol D. Leonnig, Rosalind S. Helderman, and Devlin Barrett, “Mueller seeks no prison time for former national security adviser Michael Flynn, citing his ‘substantial assistance,’” Washington Post, December 4, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mueller-seeks-no-prison-time-for-former-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn-citing-his-substantial-assistance/2018/12/04/a5c56a5a-f72a-11e8-863c-9e2f864d47e7_story.html
  3. [3]Ryan Felton, “Uber Is Doomed,” Jalopnik, February 24, 2017, http://jalopnik.com/uber-is-doomed-1792634203
  4. [4]Yves Smith, “Uber Is Headed for a Crash,” New York, December 4, 2018, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/will-uber-survive-the-next-decade.html

Robert Mueller’s vise appears to be closing

Updates

  1. Originally published, November 28, 1:50 pm, under the title, “Is Robert Mueller’s vise closing?”
  2. November 29, 8:55 am:
    • A former U.S. attorney thinks there is no good explanation for Paul Manafort’s lying. He suggests Manafort is simply a terrible gambler.[1] (James Comey)
  3. November 30, 11:56 am:
    • Roger Stone might have served as a conduit between the Donald Trump campaign and Wikileaks.[2]
    • So all that about Paul Manafort? Rinse and repeat with Michael Cohen, except that “Cohen plainly is cooperating with Mueller — and not communicating with Trump.”[3] Um, whoops. (James Comey)
    • It’s possible that the reason Donald Trump behaves like Vladimir Putin’s lackey is that Trump was still trying to negotiate a Moscow hotel deal, well into 2016, and well after he’d claimed he had no business in Russia. The trouble is he lied about it in the campaign.[4] (James Comey)
    • Pacific Gas and Electric has failed to convince the California Public Utilities Commission that it really gives a damn about safety.[5] (California wildfires)
    • I’m not even remotely caught up.
  4. November 30, 2:10 pm:
    • For the moment, I’m caught up.
  5. December 1, 12:35 am:
    • I am changing the title of this posting from “Is Robert Mueller’s vise closing?” to “Robert Mueller’s vise appears to be closing:” Because right now, it appears the smoking gun has been found. According to the Washington Post, “documents [from two separate fronts of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation] show investigators have evidence that [Donald] Trump was in close contact with his lieutenants as they made outreach to both Russia and WikiLeaks — and that they tried to conceal the extent of their activities.”[6] (James Comey)
  6. December 1, 3:55 pm:
    • On Twitter, Patrick Watson came through with some important dates for the Mueller investigation. See the tweets immediately below.
  7. December 2, 10:20 am:
    • I summarized my view of the present state of U.S. political affairs in a series of three tweets, reproduced below.
    • I am not caught up, but at this moment, it doesn’t appear there is any news that will merit a further update. We’ll see if that lasts.
  8. December 3, 1:45 pm:




This is pretty much how I see the present political state of affairs in the wake of the midterm elections:


James Comey

The buzz is huge, but we really don’t know much until Robert Mueller’s team unveils the substance of its claim that Paul Manafort lied to them after agreeing to cooperate in Mueller’s investigation. It might not be that Donald Trump knew of a meeting between his son and a Russian seeking dirt on Hillary Clinton. It might be that Roger Stone had advance knowledge of a Wikileaks dump of Democratic National Committee emails or even served as a conduit between the Trump campaign and Wikileaks. But if Manafort lied, and if Trump’s answers to Mueller’s questions match Manafort’s lies, then, possibly, Trump, whom I doubt is even capable of distinguishing between the truth and what he wants to be the truth, lied. There are a lot of ifs here,[7] but yeah, folks are on the edges of their seats for this one. See Patrick Watson’s tweet above for court dates.

Jonathan Vankin, “Robert Mueller Set Ingenious Trap For Trump In Collusion Case And Tricked Manafort Into Helping, Experts Say,” Inquistr, November 26, 2018, https://www.inquisitr.com/5181923/robert-mueller-set-trap-for-trump-russia-collusion-paul-manafort/

Dana Bash, Kara Scannell, and Evan Perez, “Two key answers from Trump to Mueller,” CNN, November 28, 2018, https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/11/28/politics/trump-mueller-answers-wikileaks-trump-tower/index.html

Paul Waldman, “It looks like a big day for collusion. No wonder Trump is raging,” Washington Post, November 27, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/11/27/its-a-big-day-for-collusion-no-wonder-trump-is-raging/

Manuel Roig-Franzia et al., “Trump’s night-owl calls to Roger Stone in 2016 draw scrutiny in Mueller probe,” Washington Post, November 28, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-night-owl-calls-to-roger-stone-in-2016-draw-scrutiny-in-mueller-probe/2018/11/28/77d6174e-f332-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html

Carol D. Leonnig and Josh Dawsey, “‘Individual 1’: Trump emerges as a central subject of Mueller probe,” Washington Post, November 29, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/individual-1-trump-emerges-as-a-central-subject-of-mueller-probe/2018/11/29/e3968994-f3f7-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html

Jeffrey Toobin, “The Legal Perils That Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Poses for Donald Trump,” New Yorker, November 29, 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-legal-perils-that-michael-cohens-guilty-plea-pose-for-donald-trump


California wildfires

Dale Kasler, “Judge in San Bruno criminal case demands answers from PG&E on cause of Camp Fire,” Sacramento Bee, November 27, 2018, https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article222260460.html

Dale Kasler, “California orders safety upgrades at PG&E amid Camp Fire scrutiny,” Sacramento Bee, November 29, 2018, https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article222375680.html


  1. [1]Harry Litman, “What Was Paul Manafort Thinking?” New York Times, November 27, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/opinion/what-was-paul-manafort-thinking.html
  2. [2]Manuel Roig-Franzia et al., “Trump’s night-owl calls to Roger Stone in 2016 draw scrutiny in Mueller probe,” Washington Post, November 28, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-night-owl-calls-to-roger-stone-in-2016-draw-scrutiny-in-mueller-probe/2018/11/28/77d6174e-f332-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html
  3. [3]Jennifer Rubin, “Trump should be freaked out right about now,” Washington Post, November 29, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/11/29/trump-should-be-freaked-out-right-about-now/
  4. [4]Jeffrey Toobin, “The Legal Perils That Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Poses for Donald Trump,” New Yorker, November 29, 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-legal-perils-that-michael-cohens-guilty-plea-pose-for-donald-trump
  5. [5]Dale Kasler, “California orders safety upgrades at PG&E amid Camp Fire scrutiny,” Sacramento Bee, November 29, 2018, https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article222375680.html
  6. [6]Carol D. Leonnig and Josh Dawsey, “‘Individual 1’: Trump emerges as a central subject of Mueller probe,” Washington Post, November 29, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/individual-1-trump-emerges-as-a-central-subject-of-mueller-probe/2018/11/29/e3968994-f3f7-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html
  7. [7]Dana Bash, Kara Scannell, and Evan Perez, “Two key answers from Trump to Mueller,” CNN, November 28, 2018, https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/11/28/politics/trump-mueller-answers-wikileaks-trump-tower/index.html; Manuel Roig-Franzia et al., “Trump’s night-owl calls to Roger Stone in 2016 draw scrutiny in Mueller probe,” Washington Post, November 28, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-night-owl-calls-to-roger-stone-in-2016-draw-scrutiny-in-mueller-probe/2018/11/28/77d6174e-f332-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html; Jonathan Vankin, “Robert Mueller Set Ingenious Trap For Trump In Collusion Case And Tricked Manafort Into Helping, Experts Say,” Inquistr, November 26, 2018, https://www.inquisitr.com/5181923/robert-mueller-set-trap-for-trump-russia-collusion-paul-manafort/; Paul Waldman, “It looks like a big day for collusion. No wonder Trump is raging,” Washington Post, November 27, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/11/27/its-a-big-day-for-collusion-no-wonder-trump-is-raging/