#right wing oligarchs picked these justices

[rejectingrepublicans]

[emblem-333]

William Jennings Bryan and American Socialism

No matter how many times we are confronted with the similarities of history we as human beings do the same exact things our predecessors did. We like to believe we are in uncharted territory, that there is something inherently special about the times we currently live in. Or, that we’re in the “end of history.” In reality, history never ends. Humanity never ceases evolving — or devolving. As the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the disgruntled electorate grow angrier at how they’ve become ignored largely by their representatives. The only time we’ve encountered such a scenario in our nation’s history is The Gilded Age when the oligarchs in the country amassed a substantial sum of wealth dwarfing the income of the average American by embarrassing margins. Unlike today where it’s mostly tech giants destroying the country, in the later half of the 1800’s post-Civil War it was the rail roads and Wall St. exercising their respective monopolies to crush the growing force of organized labor.

Laborers were harassed, threatened, beaten by their employer for the mere request of better wages, manageable hours and basic human rights. In the days predating socialism arriving on the shores of the U.S the laborers were labeled as unruly strikers self-centered and uncaring towards the betterment of the country. The elite had their allies in the press smear the name of the poor constantly and populists campaigns seeking to reform a clearly broken system ended up dead on arrival. Even the book ‘The Wizard of Oz’ took pot shots at the farmer, laborers and populism in general. Victor Fleming portrayed the fraudulent utopia of the Emerald City as commentary of the issuing of greenback currency in lieu of Americans using the gold standard. In the middle of the Gilded Age, farmers had taken out loans when greenbacks were accepted currency. When times got rough President Grover Cleveland made greenbacks virtually useless and forced farmers to pay their debts back via the gold standard. This devalued their currency whilst rising up the inflation of the loans they’ve taken out. Greenbacks only have value due to the country agreeing at the time that it is such. The third party known as the “Greenbacks” sought to undo what they deemed to be an injustice towards the agricultural class.

While the Democrats favored the south they hardly were open to drastic change being proposed by the populists. Collective bargaining and making illegal for the government to seize land under “intimate domain” to build more railroads was frowned upon, even something as human as child labor laws were seen as harmful to the stability of the American economy. Never mind the economy seemed to crash nearly every couple of years.

Like it or not, but class warfare usually brings about economic justice for the downtrodden. The idea it doesn’t is a farce perpetrated by those either woefully and genuinely ignorant or wishing to protect their own capital. When the poor and the middle class unite to battle the oppressive elites it’s far more productive than if we fight amongst ourselves. But the below classes need representatives to champion their respective causes and unite the wings. In the days predating effective activism in the United States the best you could hope for is a representative forging his path, climbing the ladder of D.C and acting as your voice. That voice turned out to be former Nebraskan representative William Jennings Bryan. Bolstered by populist James B. Weaver his party fused with the populist democrats and managed to overtake the Bourbon establishment at the convention. Curiously, Bryan’s running mate was a wealthy shipbuilder named Arthur Sewall of Maine. Sewall never served nor had any experience in government. He was picked to possibly finance the underfunded campaign. The propaganda machine of the Republicans working in consort with gold Democrats did more than damage the populist Bryan. Losing, albeit competitively. Thus began Bryan’s reign over the party even though himself wouldn’t be elected to the Oval Office in either of his three attempts.

Perhaps if Bryan had chosen a more experienced candidate as a running mate his chances would’ve been maximized. It’s not like Sewall’s money did anything to assist Bryan. If anything it damaged his standing amongst the populists who were so dissatisfied at his nomination they nominated their own Vice President for the Bryan ticket. Initially, Bryan wanted second-placer Richard Bland Missourian representative as his running mate. However, Bland wished to run for his old congressional seat. Publisher John R. McLean of Cincinnati also was in the running finishing runner-up to Sewall. McLean was a railroad merchant and like Sewall his nomination likely spurs the further left wing of the party as well. Other names tossed around are governor Claude Matthews of Indiana. A moderate populist who broke up some strikes during his brief term. Matthews was lockstep on Bryan on social issues like prohibition of alcohol. Maybe his nomination would work as a mea culpa to the Cleveland delegation? The best option for Bryan was Iowan Governor Horace Boies. A supporter of low tariffs (a forgotten hallmark of Bryan’s candidacy), pro-silver and generally a decent liberal.

Bryan was far and away the most progressive nominee the Democrats — or the Republicans have ever put up. A fiery preacher demanding the direct election of senators, an end to child labor and proponent of Women’s Suffrage. Bryan was no doubt ahead of his time and paid the dear price electorally for it. The public wasn’t willing to jettison the norms to such a degree Bryan was proposing and left him at the altar. Much of his populist ideas were adopted by Theodore Roosevelt forcing Bryan even further to the left. Calling for a Universal Basic Income and local ownership of utilities in future campaigns.

Hindsight is 20/20, but Bryan would’ve been likelier to win if he picked a representative from a crucial swing state to balance the ticket and compromised on some issues, except the free coinage of silver. Though outside of the agricultural states it posed little to no incentive to the industrial workers of Illinois, Ohio, and other states making up the Rust Belt. Bryan likely needed to be more of a hawk on issues such as American Imperialism. In real life he’d support and volunteer himself for service during the Spanish-American War. In his religious eyes Bryan saw his country as liberators to the Cubans from the dreaded imperial Spanish. Bryan could drawback troops after the war was won and leave Cuba to govern itself and our relations with them would have been drastically altered for the better.

After winning Iowa by 942 votes Bryan bested McKinley in the electoral college 225-222. Bryan sweeps the south, excluding West Virginia, and does surprisingly well in the Midwest and west. Losing just Illinois, Wyoming, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota. I campaigned as a crusader against tariffs in the heartland and in the industrial areas I promised not to overturn any apple carts by reforming labor laws. I managed to sell myself in moderate states like Iowa by appealing to their needs beyond the issue of silver. For the industrial worker the coinage of silver meant very little to them. What they wanted was basic human rights in the workplace. Bryan was their ally only he couldn’t manage to sell himself to them in real life.

To be fair to Bryan it is unlikely for someone of his caliber to have won given the circumstances. The poor economy and its subsequent blame was placed at the feet of the outgoing Cleveland. Fortunate enough to dodge the recession of 1890 which cost his successor Benjamin Harrison a second term. The Panic of 1893 ensured Cleveland wouldn’t be popular to challenge for a third term. Perhaps if Cleveland won re-election in ‘88 and McKinley succeeded him, imposed the unpopular “McKinley Tariff” designed to protect American goods and encourage the purchase of said goods. In the 1890 midterms Republicans were routed and by ‘92 the House, Senate and Presidency were under Democratic control.

Say this happens in 1894. The McKinley Tariff is vetoed by Cleveland when it was initially proposed in ‘90. President McKinley institutes his plan once he enters the Oval Office. Our allies Great Britain institute retaliatory tariffs against the United States and the recession of ‘93 is McKinley and his party’s baby. This’ll make it easier for the challenger Bryan to win in ‘96.

Chances are, Bryan pushes hard to get the United States out of the darkness of capitalism and into the light of socialism-lite. Bryan believed in a workers' right to unionize. He wouldn’t have used military force to put down strikes. He’d work to end child labor laws, regulate the standard workday to eight hours, and regulate financial sectors and bust up monopolies. Basically, Bryan is a better, though less bombastic Teddy. While Bryan in his old age, no doubt increasingly bitter at his string of his defeats, clutched to his bible during the Monkey Scopes Trial and embraced the KKK, the younger Bryan was more idealistic, pacifist and less set in his ways. In no way could he be mistaken as crusader for the downtrodden non-white people. But neither were the Republicans. Anti-Lynching laws weren’t passed until Calvin Coolidge did so in the late 1920’s. The Republicans dominated the White House in those days losing just four presidential elections between 1860 and 1928.

Not only does the United States image in the long term benefit from Bryan’s pacifist foreign policy — I doubt Hawaii is annexed during his presidency — you also have the Progressive Era arrive sooner with the Democrats leading the charge, the typically conservative party migrates to the more liberal Republicans for solace. The republicans at this time were friendly to big business and were beginning a downward spiral into laissez-faire capitalism. It took the miraculous arrival of Roosevelt to prevent both parties becoming stooges of the railroads and standard oil. Though Wall Street enjoyed preferential treatment because of course.

The electorate would be subjected to a gigantic realignment. The Republicans benefiting from the states ran by financiers, the Democrats still holding the south due to their confederate ties and further west where silver was very popular.

No doubt Bryan was a novice, but he was an effective novice. Despite having no experience in foreign affairs Bryan negotiated 30 peace deals during his stint as Secretary of State and preached neutrality during the run-up to U.S involvement into World War 1.

Bryan changes the makeup of the entire country. His Jacksonian ideals reverse the trajectory of where we were heading, eventually becoming the global powerhouse we are right now. Bryan likely keeps his throne until his death in 1925. So how the United States interacts with the European powers, the rise of the Soviets, among other entanglements is drastically altered. Perhaps Eugene V. Debs stays a Democrat and is a powerful force in Bryan’s administration. Maybe he’s a Supreme Court Judge? The United States potentially could become a proto-Soviet state only without the gulags and constant string of mysteriously disappearing government officials speaking out against those in power.

At the end of Bryan’s life the country he leaves behind is less imperialist, more reliant on agriculture and the wealthiest don’t exercise such power. Perhaps the worst of the Great Depression are avoided even if the Republican Party instantly takes power back after Bryan’s death.

The socialist movement stalled right around 1920. The Progressive Era assuaged many Americans away from the more radical ideology. Instead of the Industrial Revolution you’d have the Proletariat Revolution and it simply never end during Bryan’s reign.

Going further down the pike term limits are introduced after Bryan winning seven of them. So this completely does away with Franklin Roosevelt and puts the New Deal in question. Though the country is still smelling the fumes of Bryan’s presidency somewhat so much of his more ambitious legislation such as government work programs. The National Recovery Administration designed to establish a code of fair competition, to eliminate the cut-throat methods of industry likely isn’t shot down in the case of Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States. The NRA is basically the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with shark teeth for choppers.

Americans missed out on Bryan, but I don’t blame them. Bryan simply couldn’t sell himself to people who weren’t farmers.

Bryan: 225, 7,035,243

McKinley: 222, 6,736,978

Palmer: 0, 132,629

[modernsocialist]

Multiculturalism as the Social Hegemony of Liberal Capitalism and How Capitalism Co-opted the Left

The Liberal Left is made up of a diverse range of people united by a simple desire to improve society and make the world a better place for us all to live. Though an easy target for the right-wing press, this is far better than being apathetic, resistant to change, or worse, hating those that are different. A fairly large portion of these people define themselves as being anti-capitalist or socialist. Yet while these people have good intentions, many are unfortunately blind to the trap that capitalism has ensnared them in. Marx understood, and was truly impressed by, the strength of capitalism including its ability to adapt to changes in society.

An example of this adaptability can be found in the period when ex-Soviet Bloc countries, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, started acceding to the European Union. British business interests saw an opportunity to introduce masses of cheap labour and lobbied the Blair government to allow early entry to the British labour market for their citizens. This was simply because business wanted a larger labour force to help depress wages and also because what for us were poorly-paid jobs, to East Europeans were seen as tickets to riches for their families back home. (One pertinent point - the stereotypical ‘Polish plumber’ was a good worker because he appreciated the relatively high wages. This shows that decent wages do pay for themselves through improved productivity.)

So, while individuals, or small groups of the like-minded, may be racist, liberal capitalism as a system is colour-blind. In the free market any route to profit is the right route. Upton Sinclair’s classic novel ‘The Jungle’ depicts a good example of this. The reader follows the story of a Lithuanian immigrant headed for the meat-packing hell of early 20th Century Chicago. Racism rears its ugly head many times throughout but capitalists need labour and there is a steady flow of immigrants to provide it – much of it to replace those who are killed or have had their health ruined by their work. The bosses don’t turn down the potential to extract profit from a person’s labour just because they are from the ‘wrong’ background; particularly not in the raw, unadulterated free-market liberal capitalism that held sway there. The similarities to today’s zero-hour, ‘self-employed’, gig labour market are also evident in the casual, unreliable nature of the work available.

This can now lead us to an understanding of the main reason why liberal capitalism hasn’t just adapted to the demands of I.D. politics and the multiculturalists but has woven them as a major panel into the tapestry of its cultural hegemony, alongside consumerism and its cousin, ‘aspiration’, the Tory codeword for individualist greed. Since the richest nations are those with least internal problems and a society at war with itself is not a stable platform for extracting profit, an ideology has had to be promoted to temper resentment aimed at immigrants. This is much like the American society that had been primed with the myth of the ‘melting pot’ - though the multicultural ideology has been replacing it due to its supposed even broader inclusiveness within consumer capitalism, but also because it sinks even deeper social roots. (The recent right-wing populist reaction to globalisation in the US that lead to Trump’s victory points to a need for new tactics and strategy on the left.)

Another point to keep in mind is that those who identify themselves as socialist or anti-capitalist and sign up to the doctrine of multiculturalism normally state that they do so because they believe in ‘tolerance’, even though it doesn’t actually mean to happily enjoy other experiences. Rather, to be tolerant is to accept the rights of others to live and think differently, even when you find some aspect or other of this to be distasteful - much like the famous dictum of Voltaire’s biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall, that is often misattributed to Voltaire himself, about defending to the death another’s right to say something, even if one utterly disapproves of it.

Of course, oneself has the freedom to disagree openly about aspects of an immigrants’ culture in a free society but such criticism always carries the danger of seeming to carry the whiff, real or perceived, of racism or bigotry. This is where we have to tread extremely lightly and make sure any criticisms we do make are coolly and rationally argued, for progressive reasons, and do not provide any ammunition for racists and the far-right. While this is not the place for discussing forced marriages, parallel legal systems or genital mutilation, one outcome of multiculturalism in Britain is worth noting as a logical outcome of this ideology since it is not something that either Socialists or secularists in the past would have wanted to see happening. (Maybe it was easy to attack Roman Catholic or C of E schools but they now feel uncomfortable in criticising Muslim schools because they fear any accusation of racism or Islamophobia.) As I’ve always argued, multiculturalism is ultimately divisive and the growing number of faith schools is a glaring example of this. This multiculturalism-friendly policy, which is opposed in general by those on the left, is actually being promoted by the Tories, defenders of free-market liberal capitalism. The free-market wing of the Tories support this policy for reasons of social division, as I’ve explained in previous essays, while the conservative wing of the party like the idea of more religious schools teaching traditional moral values. (The two Tory tendencies may fit together well with this policy, yet it also hints at the internal contradictions of capitalism to be more fully revealed in the future, as the social hegemony that helped keep stability for profits creates even deeper divisions in the future that may be a lot harder to overcome.)

If what I posit is true and multiculturalism is a divisive ideology in the long run, those on the left should not support it and instead find another way to unite working people. For Socialists the answer is obvious. They should go out and promote the raising of class-consciousness. Identification along religious or ethnic lines offers little chance of help and much chance of hindrance in organising unified action towards socio-economic ends. Finally, I should note two different strands of considering multiculturalism among progressives that roughly follows the split of liberal left and socialist.

The first group proclaim their love of immigration and the alluring cultural supplements that come with it, but this is served with a dose of self-righteousness and an attitude to immigrants that can sometimes comes across as patronising. This is a group of people who, subconsciously or not, are diminishing the status of immigrants to mere actors who arrive to provide ‘colour’ and a ‘touch of the exotic’ to the lives of the proudly (smugly?) cosmopolitan natives. I do not tell a lie when I say that these have been given to me in all seriousness as among the primary reasons why multiculturalism is a good thing! (Surely I don’t want to deprive these people of access to the latest delicious ethnic cuisines, do I?) Much of this can be put down to a lack of understanding because the ideology of multiculturalism is not just simply another name for diversity or anti-racism. But this vain group has no interest in challenging the economic system and obviously includes people who would vote Tory, at least by the time they get into their thirties.

On the other hand, the instinct to help those who are too weak or otherwise unable to help themselves has always been part of what makes one a progressive. But a large number of anti-capitalists hold the belief that since some injustice has been checked by the spread of multicultural ideas, multiculturalist ideology itself can be used to attack the major problems of inequality in society. The road to the radical reorganisation of society, though, requires a revolutionary shake-up of the economic system, the root of nearly all systemic inequality, which multiculturalism cannot provide as it offers barely any economic analysis of difference of outcome beyond noting a developing lumpenproletarian ‘white working class’ or the difficulties of black youth in the inner cities. The one big problem that could be helped but not put to rest is the misogyny of many men; a fact that we are highly attentive to nowadays. While still an issue of power, it is not, in the main, economic power. This would require more progress in cultural and personal areas that others have far more expertise about so I leave it there, a basic explanation of the corrosive nature of misogyny surely unnecessary for the reader.

I have usually argued about why I see multiculturalism as divisive in its own way and also the problems that arise for radical grassroots organisation due to this. What I have tried to show here, though, is that multiculturalism is a cultural ideology picked up and evolved by Liberal Capitalism to keep economies stable and thus more profitable. The belief among those on the left that multiculturalism or ID politics in general can fully and truly reduce inequality is not just wrong-headed – it is actually obscuring the importance of revolutionary economic change and its role in providing true social justice. Of course, for capitalists, the multicultural hegemony behind this social system is working just as it should - for the benefit of the high economy and the tiny oligarchical elite it supports.

[takebackthedream]

Stop the “Kavanaugh Coup” By Any Means Necessary by Miles Mogulescu

The biggest reason Republicans are frantically trying to rush Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation through, despite credible charges of sexual harassment and perjury, is that his confirmation would complete a slow-moving coup by their oligarchic donor class to turn American law back a hundred years.

That was a time when, among other things:

The Supreme Court blocked the enforcement of laws regulating the economy and the environment, including child labor laws and minimum wages.

States were allowed the suppress the vote of African Americans and other minorities.

Women and gays were not entitled the equal protection of the laws.

Women were denied the right to control their own bodies.

So there is nothing more important, right now, to the future of American democracy than blocking Kavanaugh’s confirmation, by any means necessary.

It would be preferable to deny his confirmation on grounds of principle, because of his long record of pro-corporate, anti-worker, anti-environmental, and anti-civil rights jurisprudence, which could demonstrably set the nation back a century.

But if it takes credible allegations of sexual assault, along with Kavanaugh’s likely perjury to the Senate in his confirmation hearings, to block his confirmation to a lifetime Court appointment that will thrust America backwards, so be it.

American Courts Have Historically Been Conservative

Keep in mind that through most of American history, well into the 20th Century, the Supreme Court has been a deeply conservative institution that has repeatedly blocked social and economic progress.

Indeed, until 1937, the Supreme Court overturned most economic regulation as unconstitutional, including child labor laws in the progressive era and much of FDR’s New Deal measures to combat the Great Depression. And let’s not forget the 1857 Dred Scott decision, which upheld the legality of slavery, and Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which upheld legal segregation, and wasn’t overturned until 1956.

Only the Great Depression, which necessitated government intervention to rescue the economy – combined with FDR’s threat to pack the Court – led the Supreme Court to finally allow government regulation of the national economy.

And it was the Soviet Union’s use of racial segregation to denigrate the United States in propaganda around the world – that contributed to Brown v. Board of Education outlawing de jure school segregation.

But while during the immediate aftermath of the Great Depression and World War II, the U.S. corporate elite was willing to make peace with the modern regulatory state, by the late 1970s they were ready to fight back to regain unfettered economic and political power.

The Long Game to Change the Law by Changing Judges

Starting with the Reagan administration, Republicans and their monied backers began a strategic long game to remake courts in the United States, especially the Supreme Court, as a political tool of oligarchic supremacy.

This concerted and disciplined political strategy – a slow-moving coup – will have achieved victory if Kavanaugh is confirmed, enshrining a long-term, 5-4 pro-corporate Republican majority on the Supreme Court.

The command center for this coup is the Federalist Society. Founded in the early days of the Reagan presidency, and funded by right-wing corporate interests like the Koch brothers, the Scaife family, the Mercer Family (Trump’s biggest financial backers) and the Chamber of Commerce, it adheres to a simple but powerful premise: The easiest way to change the law to pro-corporate dominance is to the change the judges to proven pro-corporate loyalists.

As White House Counsel and Federalist Society member Don McGahn put it, “There is a coherent plan here where actually the judicial selection and the deregulatory effort are the really flip side of the same coin.”

The Federalist Society has successfully led a highly organized, well-funded, extremely disciplined campaign which, for the past 35 years, has picked virtually all the judges in the Reagan administration, both Bush administrations, and the Trump administration.

Four of the eight sitting judges on the Supreme Court – Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch – are Federalist Society members who rule virtually in lockstep with Federalist Society positions, and regularly speak at Federalist Society events and hobnob with Federalist Society corporate donors at its dinners and events.

The confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh would lock in a long-term, five-member Federalist Society majority on the Supreme Court, guaranteeing that virtually every decision in which the Federalist Society has a stake in will be decided in favor of the Federalist Society and its corporate donors.

Can you imagine the screams from Republicans if Democrats had managed to place a five-vote majority of, say, ACLU members on the Court?

Moreover, two of the five Federalist Society Justices – who among other things will be determining women’s right to control their bodies -will be men who were credibly accused of sexual harassment and even assault.

In other words, Kavanaugh’s confirmation would complete the slow-moving coup by Republicans that began under the Reagan administration and culminates with the Trump administration’s effort to tilt American law towards pro-corporate, oligarchic dominance by changing the judges—both on the Supreme Court and lower courts –to proven pro-corporate loyalists.

The Oligarchic Kavanaugh Court

If Kavanaugh wins, you can expect Supreme Court decisions that will:

Help Republicans’ election chances by eliminating remaining restrictions on money in politics, permitting partisan gerrymandering, and turning a blind eye to voter suppression

Outlaw programs which help oppressed minorities recover from centuries of discrimination

Either overturn Roe v. Wade completely, or authorize so many restrictions that will make it all but impossible to obtain an abortion in many states

Close the courthouse doors to workers and consumers while opening them further to corporations.

Overturn environmental, climate change, and financial laws and regulations.

In short, tf the oligarchy’s slow-moving coup scores its ultimate victory with Kavanaugh’s confirmation, get ready for an America that is less democratic and more authoritarian, where laws protecting the environment are overturned in favor of corporate polluters, where the enforcement of economic laws and regulations are blocked, old white men control women’s bodies, and where minorities have fewer rights.

To save America’s increasingly fragile democracy, Kavanaugh’s confirmation must be stopped by any means necessary.

Then then voters need to be mobilized to beat the odds and elect a Democratic Senate majority in November who can indefinitely block another Federalist Society nominee to the Supreme Court, maintaining a 4-4 split which would prevent final victory of the Republican/oligarchy long-term coup.

[everettwilkinson]

RUSSIAN-OWNED MEGAYACHT makes its way to Palm Beach as Trump readies for Florida — WHAT AMERICA IS READING — WH aides give up on trying to control Trump’s Twitter — TOM RICKS: Why I left Washington

WHAT AMERICA IS READING — ANNISTON STAR (Alabama): “Moore’s poll numbers down in allegations’ wake” http://bit.ly/2iuF2cA … DENVER POST: “Tax bill’s winners, losers: Ultra-wealthy do well under plan passed by House this week” http://bit.ly/2jD90i1 … DETROIT FREE PRESS: “Rep. Dingell: I was also harassed … She says ‘prominent’ person touched her as allegations mount in D.C.” http://bit.ly/2hJiPdZ …

… CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER: “‘Trickle-down’ idea floats back up: GOP says corporate tax cuts would speed growth despite spotty record” http://bit.ly/2mFjjTS … AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: “White House relief plan gets panned: Abbot, other Texas leaders blast $44 billion disaster aid proposal” http://bit.ly/2itI40E … PALM BEACH POST: “Russian oligarch’s huge yacht docks at Port of Palm Beach: No word on whether Roman Abramovich will meet with Trump” http://bit.ly/2lXAawG

Story Continued Below

— FASCINATING, via today’s Palm Beach Post’s front page: “Days before President Trump flies into town for Thanksgiving, one of the world’s most expensive yachts, owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, sailed into the Port of Palm Beach Friday afternoon.

“The 533-foot Eclipse, valued at $400 million to $500 million, comes equipped with a pool, helipad, submarine and room for a crew of 92, according to marine websites. It made its way past The Bahamas and docked at 1:15 p.m, taking the slip normally reserved for the Grand Celebration, a cruise ship currently on hurricane-relief duty in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Originally booked to stay through Dec. 5, the Eclipse may have to leave Dec. 1, as it is being followed by the 644-foot World, billed as ‘the largest private residential ship on the planet,’ which is scheduled to arrive that day.

“Where will the Eclipse go? According to the MarineTraffic app, she plans to head south on the Intracoastal Waterway, toward downtown West Palm Beach. Note to Transportation Security Administration: That would put a Russian submarine within a mile or so of the winter White House.” http://bit.ly/2AbRhp1

**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/2ARWrD3

TALKER — TOM RICKS in FOREIGN POLICY: “Babylon Revisited: Melancholy Thoughts After a Short Trip to Washington, D.C.: As a young reporter in political Washington in the late 1980s, I noticed that there was a type of person who thrived in the driven, transactional environment of the capital.” http://atfp.co/2yXIIKh

HARDSHIP ASSIGNMENT — JONATHAN MARTIN and ALEX BURNS in Austin: “Republican Governors’ 2018 Dilemma: What to Do About Trump?” http://nyti.ms/2zNR8HS

Good Saturday morning. REALITY FINALLY SETS IN — “Aides give up on trying to control Trump’s tweets,” by Annie Karni: “When candidate Donald Trump waged a Twitter war against Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who rebuked him from the stage of the Democratic National Convention, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were sent in for a ‘tough love talk’ about the efficacy of the tweets, two former campaign officials recalled. Controlling potentially damaging tweets was a job left mostly to the legal team in the early days of the administration. Former attorneys Marc Kasowitz and Jay Sekulow gave Trump one simple rule to guide his tweeting habit: don’t comment online about the Russia investigation.

“‘The message was, tweet about policy, tweet about politics, but don’t attack the special counsel,’ recalled another former aide. None of the advice seemed to have any lasting effect on a president who views his own impulses as a virtue. And these days, the staff has basically stopped trying: there is no character inhabiting the West Wing who is dispatched to counsel the president when he aims the powerful weapon of his Twitter feed at himself.” http://politi.co/2AYJPdQ

NYT’S PETER BAKER — “In Mocking Franken Over Claims of Sexual Misconduct, Trump Joins a Debate He Started”: “[T]he notion that Mr. Trump himself would weigh in given his own history of crude talk about women and the multiple allegations against him surprised many in Washington who thought he could not surprise them anymore. A typical politician with Mr. Trump’s history would stay far away from discussing someone else’s behavior lest it dredge his own back into the spotlight. But as Mr. Trump has shown repeatedly during his 10-month presidency, he is rarely deterred by conventional political wisdom even as he leaves it to his staff to fend off the cries of hypocrisy.

“‘Like everything else Trump touches, he hijacks it with his chronic dishonesty and childishness,’ said Mark Salter, a longtime adviser to Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. ‘The intense, angry and largely ignorant tribalism afflicting our politics predates Trump’s arrival on the scene. But he has infused it with a psychopath’s inability to accept that social norms apply to him.’” http://nyti.ms/2hJ8PkX

CLINTON WEIGHS IN ON FRANKEN, MOORE — “Clinton blasts Trump and Moore over sexual misconduct allegations,” by Cristiano Lima: “Hillary Clinton slammed President Donald Trump and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore on Friday over their alleged sexual misconduct, criticizing them for not ‘accepting responsibility’ and ‘apologizing’ for their reported transgressions as Sen. Al Franken did. Clinton said that Franken, who was accused this week of groping a female broadcaster in 2006, acted responsibly by owning up to his actions and publicly apologizing for them — a far cry from the response given by Trump and Moore, she said.

“The former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee said that Franken’s request to have the Senate ethics panel investigate his sexual misconduct ‘is the kind of accountability I’m talking about.’ ‘I don’t hear that from Roy Moore or Donald Trump,’ she added during an interview with New York’s WABC radio. ‘Look at the contrast between Al Franken, accepting responsibility, apologizing, and Roy Moore and Donald Trump, who have done neither.’” http://politi.co/2hzuE2m

— CLINTON ON TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY: “Trump ‘has disgraced the office’ … Asked whether there was anything she admired about the Trump’s tenure in office thus far, Clinton replied: ‘No. The answer is absolutely no.’ ‘I didn’t think he’d be as bad as he turned out to be,’ she added.”

TRUMP RESPONDS — @realDonaldTrump at 8:31 a.m.: “Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can’t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!”

ABOUT THOSE GILLIBRAND-CLINTON COMMENTS — “Gillibrand remark on Clinton resignation shocks Democrats,” by Gabe Debenedetti in New York: “Kirsten Gillibrand is having a moment, whether she meant to or not. Going where no other prominent Democrat had before on Thursday evening by declaring that Bill Clinton should have resigned the presidency during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the New York senator and potential 2020 presidential contender yet again found herself the face of a national conversation with the potential to dominate headlines and divide her party. …

“The longtime Clinton ally’s answer to the New York Times question neatly encapsulated how Gillibrand has placed herself front-and-center on the dominant issue of the day, even if it forces a debate her own party is uncomfortable confronting. And it highlighted the political dexterity that her critics and rivals often deride as opportunism: A former conservative Blue Dog House member, Gillibrand has reinvented herself as a leading progressive and face of the Trump resistance ahead of a potential presidential run.” http://politi.co/2hzVmIj

****** A message from Chevron: We’re piloting a program that uses drones to keep an eye on Chevron wells, tanks, and pipelines—all to keep DOERS and what they’re doin’ safer. Watch the video: http://politi.co/2zOnTVE ******

SHOW ME THE MONEY — “Roy Moore scandal ignites fundraising explosion for Democratic challenger Doug Jones,” by NBC News’ Alex Seitz-Wald: “The Roy Moore scandal has unleashed a torrent of online donations to Democrat Doug Jones, who was collecting around $250,000 per day in its immediate aftermath … Democrats may end up in the unlikely situation of dramatically outspending the GOP in the Senate contest in deep red Alabama now that national Republicans have abandoned Moore.” http://nbcnews.to/2zSy4FM

PRESIDENT TRUMP WEIGHS IN ON BIG GAME CONTROVERSY — @realDonaldTrump at 7:47 p.m.: “Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts. Under study for years. Will update soon with Secretary Zinke. Thank you!” Trump also retweeted Greta Van Susteren and Piers Morgan this morning supporting his decision on trophy hunting.

— STATEMENT FROM INTERIOR SECRETARY RYAN ZINKE: “President Trump and I have talked and both believe that conservation and healthy herds are critical. As a result, in a manner compliant with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, the issuing of permits is being put on hold as the decision is being reversed.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT THAT BASE — “Trump adds five conservatives to list of possible Supreme Court picks,” by Reuters’ Jim Oliphant and Andrew Chung: “In a move certain to please conservatives, President Donald Trump on Friday added five names to his list of candidates for a prospective U.S. Supreme Court vacancy as he presses ahead with a campaign to move the federal judiciary to the right. Two of them are appellate judges who were nominated by Trump earlier this year and confirmed by the Senate: Amy Coney Barrett and Kevin Newsom. Another, Brett Kavanaugh, sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, long viewed as a stepping-stone to the high court. The others were Britt Grant, a Georgia Supreme Court justice, and Patrick Wyrick, a Oklahoma Supreme Court justice.” http://reut.rs/2yVce3h

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE — “Trump still loves polls,” by Josh Dawsey and Steven Shepard: “As a TV host, Donald Trump loved ratings. As president, he loves polls—as long as they show him on the upswing. He crowed on Twitter hours after landing back in Washington from his 12-day Asia tour about his Rasmussen number—46 percent—noting it was ‘one of the most accurate’ in 2016, and decried ‘fake news’ polls showing his approval in the 30s while also suggesting, with no evidence, that ‘some people’ think his numbers could be in the 50s. (The Rasmussen poll sank to 42 percent on Friday.)

“Aides in the White House often show Trump polls designed to make him feel good, according to aides and advisers. Usually they’re the ones that focus just on voters who cast ballots for him in 2016 or are potential Trump supporters —Trump’s base—but occasionally include public polls like Rasmussen, depending on what the numbers say. ‘You know, I thought that he’d be a little less in campaign mode than he’s been. I think he’s never really kind of gotten out of campaign mode and I thought he might,’ said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump adviser. ‘I guess it’s his judgment that that’s what he has to do but that’s surprised me a little bit.’” http://politi.co/2jAobZp

A PROBLEM FOR REPUBLICANS — “In towns and cities nationwide, fears of trickle-down effects of federal tax legislation,” by WaPo’s Renae Merle and Peter Jamison: “[I]n small towns and thriving cities, in Republican- and Democratic-leaning states, local leaders are warning that the $1.5 trillion tax legislation moving through Congress threatens to undermine their ability to raise money for government services, including police and schools. The Republican measures would eliminate or severely curtail taxpayers’ ability to lower their federal tax bill by deducting the cost of their state and local taxes. Without that offset, local leaders say, taxpayers will begin to seek relief closer to home, potentially making it more difficult to provide basic services.” http://wapo.st/2j6vAeX

FOR YOUR RADAR — AP at 9:01 a.m.: “PARIS (AP) – Lebanon’s Hariri says he is returning to his country, confirms he is resigning amid political tensions.”

ANOTHER TWIST IN THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION — “Congressional aides may have answers on pro-Russia GOP platform change,” by Kyle Cheney: “As U.S. investigators probe whether President Donald Trump’s campaign orchestrated a Russia-friendly change to the Republican Party platform last summer, three senior Capitol Hill aides — including Speaker Paul Ryan’s chief of staff — may have answers about how the episode unfolded. The three staffers, who have not been accused of any wrongdoing, advised the GOP convention’s platform committee on foreign policy matters and had front-row seats when a low-profile group of delegates, acting in conjunction with Trump campaign officials, spiked a proposal urging a tougher U.S. policy against Russian aggression in Ukraine.

“That change has drawn scrutiny from the House and Senate intelligence committees as they investigate whether any Trump campaign officials cooperated with Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Some witnesses say they expect it to become a topic of interest in special counsel Robert Mueller’s parallel criminal probe. Spokespeople for the offices of two of the staffers told POLITICO they have not been in contact with Mueller or his team. But Ryan’s top aide, Jonathan Burks, would neither confirm nor deny whether he had heard from the special counsel: ‘I’m not going to have any comment,’ he said.” http://politi.co/2A7atUM

— “Moscow meeting in June 2017 under scrutiny in Trump probe,” by AP’s Desmond Butler, Mary Clare Jalonick and Eric Tucker: “Earlier this year, a Russian-American lobbyist and another businessman discussed over coffee in Moscow an extraordinary meeting they had attended 12 months earlier: a gathering at Trump Tower with President Donald Trump’s son, his son-in-law and his then-campaign chairman. The Moscow meeting in June, which has not been previously disclosed, is now under scrutiny by investigators who want to know why the two men met in the first place and whether there was some effort to get their stories straight about the Trump Tower meeting just weeks before it would become public … Congressional investigators have questioned both men — lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin and Ike Kaveladze, a business associate of a Moscow-based developer and former Trump business partner — and obtained their text message communications.” http://bit.ly/2hKpTqC

KEEPING HIS SENSE OF HUMOR — @charlie_savage: “At Mayflower Hotel, Sessions jokes: ‘Is Ambassador Kislyak in the room before I get started? Any Russians? Anybody been to Russia? Got a cousin in Russia?’ #FedSoc2017”. 30-second video http://bit.ly/2A9Cvz7

HMM — “U.S. Flagged Russian Firm Kaspersky as Potential Threat as Early as 2004,” by WSJ’s Paul Sonne: “A Russian cybersecurity firm whose products current and former U.S. officials suspect Moscow has used as a tool for spying was flagged by U.S. military intelligence as a potential security threat as early as 2004, according to new information the Defense Department provided to Congress. … The DIA ‘began producing threat reporting referencing Kaspersky Lab as a threat actor as early as 2004,’ according to the email, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, raising questions about why other federal agencies continued to use the firm’s products.” http://on.wsj.com/2mCiHyl

JARED WATCH — “Kushner failed to disclose outreach from Putin ally to Trump campaign,” by NBC News’ Ken Dilanian and Carol E. Lee: “President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, failed to disclose what lawmakers called a ‘Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite’ involving a banker who has been accused of links to Russian organized crime, three sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. An email chain described Aleksander Torshin, a former senator and deputy head of Russia’s central bank who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as wanting Trump to attend an event on the sidelines of a National Rifle Association convention in Louisville, Kentucky, in May 2016 … The email also suggests Torshin was seeking to meet with a high-level Trump campaign official during the convention, and that he may have had a message for Trump from Putin …

“Kushner rebuffed the request after receiving a lengthy email exchange about it between a West Virginia man and Trump campaign aide Rick Dearborn … Kushner responded to the email by telling Dearborn and the handful of other Trump campaign officials on the email that they should not accept requests from people who pretend to have contacts with foreign officials to aggrandize themselves … ‘Pass on this,’ Kushner responded … ‘A lot of people come claiming to carry messages. Very few we are able to verify. For now I think we decline such meetings.’” http://nbcnews.to/2AamRDs

— “Kushner attorney fires back at Senate Judiciary Committee,” by CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Evan Perez: “In a letter Friday to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California, attorney Abbe Lowell wrote that there were no ‘missing documents’ as the committee has alleged, while criticizing the panel’s leaders for going to the media on Thursday with their accusations ‘I would have assumed that, if there were any questions about our productions or exchanges, that would have been communicated to me directly before you made this a media event,’ Lowell wrote.” http://cnn.it/2isWU7A

PUTTING THE SQUEEZE ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE — “U.S. puts Palestinians on notice: D.C. office may be shuttered,” by AP’s Josh Lederman and Matt Lee: “The Trump administration put the Palestinians on notice Friday that it will shutter their office in Washington unless they’ve entered serious peace talks with Israel, U.S. officials said, potentially giving President Donald Trump more leverage as he seeks an elusive Mideast peace deal. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has determined that the Palestinians ran afoul of an obscure provision in a U.S. law that says the Palestine Liberation Organization’s mission must close if the Palestinians try to get the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israelis for crimes against Palestinians. A State Department official said that in September, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas crossed that line by calling on the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israelis.

“But the law leaves the president a way out, so Tillerson’s declaration doesn’t necessarily mean the office will close. Trump now has 90 days to consider whether the Palestinians are in ‘direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.’ If Trump determines they are, the Palestinians can keep the office. The official said it was unclear whether the U.S. might close the office before the 90-day period expires, but said the mission remains open at least for now.” http://bit.ly/2yTYzcS

— “The Mooch is headed to Israel just weeks after ‘tone-deaf’ Holocaust poll,” by Page Six’s Kevin Dugan: “A month after Anthony Scaramucci’s ‘media venture’ posted a tasteless poll on the Holocaust, the short-lived White House communications director is taking a four-day trip to Israel, The Post has learned. ‘I’ll meet everybody,’ he told The Post on Friday, hours before he was to take off. ‘I’m having dinner with Dave Friedman, the ambassador, who’s a great friend of mine.’ The one-time hedgie is also heading to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial site in Jerusalem, he said.” http://pge.sx/2j6XJCy

CLICKER – “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker, whose birthday is today — 17 keepers http://politi.co/2AQIdlU

PHOTO DU JOUR: Maryland lacrosse player Dylan Maltz (right) of Ashburn, Va., shows off his pro-Trump tie to President Donald Trump as the president meets with NCAA championship teams at the White House on Nov. 17. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

THE GRINCH — “CIA nixes holiday party invites for media,” by Ali Watkins: “CIA Director Mike Pompeo has opted not to invite reporters to the CIA’s annual holiday party this year, ending a years-long streak of inviting the intelligence press corps to the upscale event. The event has historically provided a rare opportunity for reporters to mingle with agency officials who typically shun or avoid them — but that the idea has been nixed by Pompeo, who has been openly critical of the news media, was hardly surprising. … The party, held in the agency’s iconic headquarters lobby, is also a famously bizarre Washington exercise. Reporters, closely minded by the CIA’s press staff, are able to mingle in the hors d’oeuvres line with station chiefs, foreign partners and occupants of the CIA’s executive offices.” http://politi.co/2zPqD48

BRETT TALLEY PROFILE – “Law clerk by day, ghost hunter by night, now Trump’s judiciary nominee,” by WaPo’s Robert O’Harrow Jr.: “Few in memory have been nominated with credentials quite like those of [Brett] Talley, 36, an Alabama native, a political speechwriter, an author of horror books and a fledgling lawyer who has never tried a case. In 2009 and 2010, he was a member of the Tuscaloosa Paranormal Research Group, a volunteer operation that since the early 2000s has held all-night vigils and used infrared cameras, handheld sensors and other devices to search for spectral entities in plantation mansions, abandoned hospitals and other buildings. … In 2014, when he was a speechwriter on Capitol Hill, Talley took a Post reporter ghost hunting in a District cemetery.” http://wapo.st/2ze5jGK

NOT THE ONION – “Candidate for Ohio governor reveals sexual past on Facebook,” by AP’s Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus: “A state Supreme Court justice running for governor volunteered candid details of his sexual past on Facebook on Friday, saying he was taking a swipe at the ‘media frenzy’ over sexual misconduct. Democrat William O’Neill’s post was immediately attacked as inappropriate and led to calls for his ouster. In it, he wrote that he has been ‘sexually intimate with approximately 50 very attractive females,” including ‘a gorgeous blonde’ with whom he ‘made passionate love’ in a hay loft and a ‘drop dead gorgeous red head’ from Cleveland.” http://bit.ly/2zPfuAH

WES GOODMAN UPDATE — “How a conservative group dealt with a fondling charge against a rising GOP star,” by WaPo’s Kimberly Kindy and Elise Viebeck: “On a fall evening two years ago, donors gathered during a conference at a Ritz-Carlton hotel near Washington to raise funds for a 31-year-old candidate for the Ohio legislature who was a rising star in evangelical politics. Hours later, upstairs in a hotel guest room, an 18-year-old college student who had come to the event with his parents said the candidate unzipped his pants and fondled him in the middle of the night.

“The frightened teenager fled the room and told his mother and stepfather, who demanded action from the head of the organization hosting the conference … Tony Perkins, president of the Council for National Policy [and head of the Family Research Council] … Goodman, 33, abruptly resigned this week after state legislative leaders learned of what the House speaker called ‘inappropriate behavior related to his state office.’ Local media outlets have reported the behavior involved a consensual sexual encounter with a male visitor in his legislative office.” http://wapo.st/2AYMkgf

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP — “Rep. Gianforte’s account to police on assault of reporter appears to contradict his later apology,” by WaPo’s Ellie Silverman: “Documents released by law enforcement officials in Montana on Friday show that Greg Gianforte, then the Republican candidate in the state’s special congressional election, told police in May that a reporter from the Guardian had grabbed his wrist during a physical altercation at his campaign headquarters, blaming the ‘liberal media’ for ‘trying to make a story.’ His statement appears to contradict the apology he later issued to Ben Jacobs, saying the reporter ‘did not initiate any physical contact with me,’ raising questions about whether the congressman was truthful with authorities. Travis Hall, a spokesperson for Gianforte, referred The Washington Post to a statement given to the Associated Press, in which he said the information in the documents was ‘nothing new.’” http://wapo.st/2jyIgPE

****** A message from Chevron: This is a story about energy, safety, and some truly high-flyin’ doin’. We’re piloting a program that uses drones, HD imaging, and thermal mapping to help keep a close eye on Chevron wells, tanks, and pipelines—all to keep DOERS and what they’re doin’ safer. Watch the video: http://politi.co/2zOnTVE ******

VALLEY TALK — “The TED talks empire has been grappling with sexual harassment, interviews and internal emails show,” by WaPo’s Elizabeth Dwoskin and Danielle Paquette: “[B]ehind the scenes, TED owner Chris Anderson and other senior officials [has] been grappling with accusations for much of the year that their own conferences, famed for turning short speeches by leading figures into viral videos, had not been a safe place for women — and that the atmosphere of predatory male behavior was getting worse. At least five people, including a past main stage speaker, told TED officials that they were harassed or groped during the organization’s flagship conference in Vancouver in April.” http://wapo.st/2iu1DWJ

— “Y Combinator Cuts Ties With Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program,” by BuzzFeed’s Ryan Mac: “Billionaire venture capitalist and Facebook board member Peter Thiel is no longer affiliated with startup accelerator Y Combinator, according to an edited company blog post. Thiel was formerly a part-time partner with the accelerator.” http://bzfd.it/2zNwd7C

CHRIS FRATES talks to former Obama WH ethics czar and Amb. Norm Eisen about “suing Trump, returning to his mother’s homeland as ambassador after she was driven out and sent to Auschwitz by the Nazis, and being the inspiration for a Jeff Goldblum character.” “Politics Inside Out with Chris Frates” airs today at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m., and Monday at 2 p.m. on SiriusXM channel 124 and on demand on the SiriusXM app. Clips for Playbookers: Eisen on resisting Trump https://goo.gl/vhTdtd … Finding Nazi artifacts in the U.S. ambassador’s house in Prague https://goo.gl/BnchFU … Goldblum https://goo.gl/HF8J8A

MEDIAWATCH — “The Kochs Are Inching Closer to Becoming Media Moguls,” by NYT’s Sydney Ember and Ken Vogel: http://nyti.ms/2mACNsE

— “Daily Beast among digital sites eyeing sale,” by CNN’s Dylan Byers: “Digital media is facing a reckoning. The start-ups that were once the darlings of the industry are facing budget shortfalls and revenue declines as they struggle to survive in an over-saturated market where Google and Facebook lay claim to the vast majority of ad dollars. Now, the bubble is bursting and many of these companies are looking to sell. In the latest evidence of volatility, CNN has learned that IAC is entertaining potential buyers for The Daily Beast, the news and opinion site launched nearly a decade ago by former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown.” http://cnnmon.ie/2ze19yu

— CHRIS WALLACE in WaPo, “The media is giving up its place in our democracy”: http://wapo.st/2jzPyTf

— TYLER BRULE’s final FT column http://on.ft.com/2zRvgZy

LATE-NIGHT BEST — BILL MAHER’s segment last night pushing back against efforts to conflate Al Franken’s action with the sexual abuse allegations facing Roy Moore, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Donald Trump and others. 7-min. video http://bit.ly/2AWQ7Lc

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman, filing from Middleburg, Virginia:

— “Your Reckoning. And Mine,” by Rebecca Traister in NYMag: “As stories about abuse, assault, and complicity come flooding out, how do we think about the culprits in our lives? Including, sometimes, ourselves.” http://bit.ly/2zMLsOp

— “The Tech Industry’s Gender-Discrimination Problem,” by the New Yorker’s Sheelah Kolhatkar: “The dramatic imbalance in pay and power has created the conditions for abuse. More and more, women are pushing for change.” http://bit.ly/2A7pcyZ

— “How One Woman’s Digital Life Was Weaponized Against Her,” by Brooke Jarvis in Wired – per Longform.org’s description: “After the relationship ended, the harassment began.” http://bit.ly/2hJ1uBT

— “The Meaning of Sharp Power,” by Christopher Walker and Jessica Ludwig in Foreign Affairs: “Over the past decade, China has spent tens of billions of dollars to shape public opinion and perceptions around the world, employing a diverse toolkit that includes thousands of people-to-people exchanges, wide-ranging cultural activities, the development of media enterprises with global reach, and educational programs. The most notable of these is the ever-expanding network of Confucius Institutes.” http://fam.ag/2zOSvWc

— “The Lost Genocide,” by Doug Bock Clark in Longreads: “Why the United Nations may never be able to prosecute the Rohingya genocide.” http://bit.ly/2yTOcWw

— “On Being Midwestern: The Burden of Normality,” by Phil Christman in the Hedgehog Review — per ALDaily.com’s description: “What’s it like to be from “an abstract nowhere”? Midwesterners have a regional identity built on the idea of unqualified normality. But that isn’t as simple as it sounds.” http://bit.ly/2AXOnRW

— “Avengers in Wrath: Moral Agency and Trauma Prevention for Remote Warriors,” by Dave Blair and Karen House on Lawfare – per TheBrowser.com’s description: “We think of remote drone pilots as somewhat akin to high-powered video-gamers, wreaking havoc on a screen. And perhaps they are. But they experience their role as something much closer to real-world combat and killing. The imperative is not ‘kill or be killed’, as it would be in localised combat, but rather, ‘kill or someone else will be killed’ — and the stress is almost as great. ‘A world without your fire support could easily become a world without your comrades.’” http://bit.ly/2zSat8e

— “Iraq’s Surprise: The Persistence of Democracy,” by Yaroslav Trofimov on the cover of WSJ’s Review section: “Long fractured, the country stands out in the Middle East for maintaining free elections and a robust press.” http://on.wsj.com/2hJP2Sk

— “The Brothers Who Bought South Africa,” by Matthew Campbell and Franz Wild in Bloomberg Businessweek: “The continent’s most important economy now appears to function for the benefit of one powerful family.” https://bloom.bg/2j37KAO

— “Two Murder Convictions for One Fatal Shot,” by Ken Armstrong in The New Yorker: “In dozens of criminal trials, prosecutors have put the same gun in the hands of more than one defendant.” http://bit.ly/2zcvmhe

— “The myth of the male bumbler,” by Lili Loofbourow in The Week: “Allow me to make a controversial proposition: Men are every bit as sneaky and calculating and venomous as women are widely suspected to be.” http://bit.ly/2zPE4Br

— “Rug Money,” by the Weekly Standard’s Alice B. Lloyd: “Paul Manafort ruined a solid scam, says former middleman for Iranian regime, as well as IRS and Treasury agents.” http://tws.io/2jyDbHd

— “How Did Two All-Americans Fall In With ISIS?” by Mike Mariani in Psychology Today – per Longform.org’s description: “In 2015, two bright Mississippi State college students started dating. Months later, they were planning their life together—alongside ISIS.” http://bit.ly/2j3W695

–“How an Atlanta power couple’s business has heightened Hollywood and Silicon Valley’s piracy anxieties,” by LATimes’ Ryan Faughnder: http://lat.ms/2jBOf6m

— “Spurned by ESPN, Barstool Sports Is Staying on Offense,” by Jay Caspian Kang in tomorrow’s NYT Magazine: “There exists a swarm of angry sports fans who maintain that they do not want to talk about Colin Kaepernick or the national anthem, and Barstool has cleared a space for them to gather and talk, mostly, about just how much they don’t want to talk about politics. They claim to be an overlooked majority — the vast market inefficiency that will richly reward anyone who will let them watch their games, memes and funny videos without having to feel bad about themselves. Barstool is their safe space.” http://nyti.ms/2hHvY7k

SPOTTED: Stephen Miller dining at DBGB last night in City Center … Larry Rasky, Dick Keil and Mark Paustenbach at the Dead & Co. show last night at the TD Garden in Boston … Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on an early Friday morning United flight to Cleveland from DCA

REMEMBERING BOBBY BAKER – WaPo’s Jon Thurber: “Bobby Baker, a protege of future president Lyndon B. Johnson whose career of wealth and privilege came crashing down in an influence-peddling scandal, died Nov. 12 — his 89th birthday — in St. Augustine, Fla. Mr. Baker [was] once the most influential staffer in the U.S. Senate … ‘Mr. Baker, I understand you know where the bodies are buried in the Senate. I’d appreciate it if you’d come to my office and talk with me,’ the newly elected Sen. Johnson (D-Tex.) said in his first telephone conversation with Mr. Baker in late 1948. Mr. Baker was just 20 at the time and a staffer for the Senate leadership … His vast knowledge of the operations of the Senate and his facility in the art of accommodation — moving pet legislative projects ahead for some senators or helping fulfill the proclivities of others for drink, sex or cash — would make him an invaluable asset to Johnson.” http://wapo.st/2zNz94k

HAPPENING TODAY — The Clinton School and Clinton Foundation are hosting a conversation in Little Rock with Bill and Hillary Clinton, moderated by James Carville at 3:30 p.m. Livestream http://bit.ly/2Aasphn

— SPOTTED at the Capital Hotel Bar and Grill in Little Rock last night for the 25th Clinton campaign: DeeDee Myers, Gene Sperling, Mary Streett, Stephanie Streett, John Podesta, Tamera Luzzatto, Jim Kennedy, JoDee Winterhof, Jill Alper, David Beaubaire, Kris Balderston, Adrienne Elrod, James Carville, Amanda Crumley, Patrick Mellody, James Greelish, Catherine Cornelius

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Jeff Watters, director of government Relations at the Ocean Conservancy (hat tip: Samantha Bisogno)

BIRTHDAYS: NYT’s Sheryl Stolberg … Megyn Kelly is 47 … Politico cartoonist Matt Wuerker … USA Today’s Heidi Przybyla … Margaret Capehart … ABC News’ Gregory Simmons … Brian Forest, who is joining NAM on Monday as director of strategic messaging and most recently served as McConnell’s chief speechwriter … Carrie Matthews of Hamilton Place Strategies … Dan Sadlosky, policy adviser to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise … Politico’s Theo Meyer and Patricia Kolby … Tom Namako, deputy news director at BuzzFeed and a WSJ and N.Y. Post alum … Andrea Stone, director of career services at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism … Cassi Gritzmacher, head of executive comms at Away … Robert Dougherty, Rep. Julia Brownley’s senior LA and the pride of Syracuse, NY (h/t Samantha Greene) …

… Cornyn comms. director Drew Brandewie is 33 … Teddie Norton, director of government affairs operations at the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (h/t Mike Reilly) … Abby Tinsley … Trisha Farr … Brian Knapp … Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) is 46 … Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) is 5-0 … former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) is 6-0 … Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) is 53 … Nick Ragone … Nima Faz … Arshad Hasan … Waldo Tibbetts … Nicole Ianucci … Gregory Kallenberg … David Frank … Noelia Rodriguez … Hanna Skandera … Richard Maopolski … Gregg Holman … Erica DeVos … Jon Kaplan … Meg Gage … Ace Smith (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

THE SHOWS by @MattMackowiak, filing from Austin:

—“Fox News Sunday”: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Panel: Jason Chaffetz, Jessica Tarlov, Jason Riley and Juan Williams … “Power Player of the Week” with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)

–CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) … Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) … OMB Director Mick Mulvaney. Panel: David French, Jennifer Jacobs, Ruth Marcus and Ed O’Keefe

–NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich) … OMB Director Mick Mulvaney. Panel: Bob Costa, Rich Lowry, Joy Reid and Amy Walter

–CNN’s “State of the Union”: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) … OMB Director Mick Mulvaney … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Panel: Amanda Carpenter, Neera Tanden, Michael Caputo and Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.)

–ABC’s “This Week”: Marc Short … Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) … Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) … Rep. Mary Bono (R-Calif.) … Carly Fiorina … Ronan Farrow. Panel: Matthew Dowd, Cecilia Vega, Lanhee Chen, Stephanie Cutter and Megan Murphy

–CNN’s “Inside Politics” with John King: Karoun Demirjian, Michael Shear, Eliana Johnson and Rachael Bade (substitute anchor: CNN’s Nia-Malika Henderson)

–CNN’s “Reliable Sources”: Panel: Birmingham News’ Anna Claire Vollers, Washingtonian Magazine’s Elaina Plott, Michelle Ciulla Lipkin and Marc Fisher … Bill Carter … Angelo Carusone … Jacquelyn Martin … Anthony Atamanuik

–Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures”: Eric Trump … Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) … Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) … Bud Cummins. Panel: Ed Rollins and Mary Kissel

–Fox News’ “MediaBuzz”: Emily Jashinsky … Francesca Chambers … Michael Tomasky … Susan Ferrechio … Lynn Sherr … Leslie Marshall … Amy Holmes … Mara Liasson

–CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS”: Niall Ferguson, The Economist’s Anne McElvoy and author and former Polish Defense Minister Radoslaw Sikorski … Ray Dalio … Salman Rushdie

–Univision’s “Al Punto”: Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) … undocumented immigrants and former sanctuary church refugees Jeanette Vizguerra, Jaime Flores and Amanda Morales … Isabel Allende … Univision Investiga director Gerardo Reyes and Univision News investigative journalist Peniley Ramírez … musician Alejandro Sanz

–C-SPAN: “The Communicators”: Adam Alter … “Newsmakers”: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, questioned by the Houston Chronicle’s Kevin Diaz and Politico’s Josh Gerstein … “Q&A”: Musician and author Daryl Davis

–PBS’ “To the Contrary”: Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio)

–Washington Times’ “Mack on Politics” weekly politics podcast with Matt Mackowiak (download on iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher or listen at http://bit.ly/2mCW4tB). Syndicated columnist and American Commitment president Phil Kerpen.

****** A message from Chevron: This is a story about energy, safety, and some truly high-flyin’ doin’. We’re piloting a program that uses drones, HD imaging, and thermal mapping to help keep a close eye on Chevron wells, tanks, and pipelines—all to keep DOERS and what they’re doin’ safer. Watch the video: http://politi.co/2zOnTVE ******

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[global-justice-blog]

Ridding the U.S. of Injustice: Platonic and Socratic Premises

By Andrew Oravecz

Photo by Michael Vadon, Wikimedia Commons

Editor’s note: Andrew Oravecz worked closely with me in the Office of the President when we were both at Freedom House.  We are both committed to equity at home in order for the U.S. to play a much-needed role catalyzing global justice.  He has interned on Capitol Hill for Representative Elizabeth Esty (CT-5), taught introductory human rights classes to homeless and unstably housed individuals through Charter Oak Cultural Center's Beat of the Street Center for Creative Learning, and worked with underserved urban youth in realizing their academic and professional aspirations.  He graduated the University of Connecticut with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Human Rights—Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

In his guest blog below, he explores the implications of pressure on a free press and an independent judiciary in America – offering guideposts for concerned citizens drawing on Plato’s conception of justice.

The views expressed here are solely those of the author.

How to Unify Resistance

With the United States mired by “alternative facts” and “fake news” produced by an executive branch actively willing to gaslight its own electorate, concerned parties have turned towards literature to answer some of their most vexing concerns about the condition of our country. Dystopian novels from Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984 to Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 have skyrocketed among best-seller lists nationwide. Diving deeper into philosophy also provides productive, forward-looking, and—frankly—refreshing discourse about what type of society we would like to collectively inhabit.

Damning descriptors of President Trump have included terms such as sexist, fascist, racist, demagogue, oligarch, Islamophobe, nativist, plutocrat, xenophobe—the list goes on. If broadening resistance is desirable, though, linguistic utility ought to be prioritized. I personally believe Trump has earned these labels, but perhaps apt accusations are the least effective mode to speedily counter him. Have we learned nothing from this past election? The resistance’s vocabulary is problematic in appealing to wide audiences needed to upend Trump.

Presently, much of the resistance aims for the President’s eventual impeachment. If one believes in the need for Trump’s removal from public office, expediting it must entail a distancing of D.C. speak, think tank jargon, and social justice catchphrases that aren’t immediately accessible to middle America or moderate Republicans— especially with a Republican-controlled Congress. An alternative approach could incorporate members of both party caucuses and enact concrete action. Plato’s Republic illustrates a path forward. This piece is particularly helpful because of Plato’s dedication to understanding the essence of a term in its most fundamental form. Boiling narratives down to their foundational elements offers room for common ground and clarity.

What is Justice?

In Book II of Republic, Socrates sought to convince Glaucon that justice ought to be categorized as a good to be pursued, not only for its consequences, but also for its own merits—what he deemed the “highest class.”

Through argumentation, Socrates debunked the “common view” of justice, articulated by Thrasymachus, which conceived justice as “troubled.” Justice was a compromise between doing injustice without consequence (most desirable) and suffering injustice without recourse (least desirable), a circumstance which encouraged societies to agree upon laws. Therefore, justice itself--present in covenants--was neutrally oriented on this continuum.

In contrast, Socrates views perfectly just states and individuals as being harmonious with nature, which is inherently good, not a neutral compromise. He goes on to describe the virtues needed to achieve this: to be wise, valiant, and temperate. In cooperation with one another and through repetitive action, a person embodies justice, becoming, “his own master… and at peace with himself,” and nature. Additionally, “that which at any time impairs this condition, he will call unjust action; and the opinion which presides over it, ignorance.” Objectively speaking, Donald Trump cannot be categorized as wise, valiant, or temperate. Further, he is incapable of countering unjust action or recognizing, in many instances, his own ignorance.

Wisdom, Valiance, and Temperance

Per Socrates, wise guardians “advise(s), not about any particular thing in the state, but about the whole, and consider[s] how a state can best deal with itself and with other states.” The Trump administration has been domestically and internationally dysfunctional since it began. Even after attempting to revise parameters, his immigration executive orders have been blocked by numerous judicial bodies. In his first attempt at Obamacare repeal-and-replacement, Trump’s inability to broker a deal between moderate Republicans and the House Freedom Caucus revealed that Capitol Hill negotiations are not executive office ultimatums. The American Health Care Act’s (AHCA) current legislative limbo, low approval numbers among constituents, and fiery town hall meetings still pose political and human challenges.

Internationally, Trump himself has picked fights with historically friendly nations including Mexico, Australia, and Germany, in addition to NATO allies he portrays as security free riders, rudely offering invoices to strategic allies.

As it pertains to valiance, Socrates alludes to military courage when he introduced this criterion. An argument can be made that Trump’s escalation of war in Syria, willingness to talk tough on North Korea and Iran, and sustained intervention in Yemen indicate courage. But, to be truly valiant, shouldn’t individuals analyze potential negative outcomes, before taking action? Attacks on Senator John McCain related to his status as a prisoner of war and Representative John Lewis regarding his “all talk, no action” tweet demonstrate Trump’s inability to separate tantrum from real courage, which is more than bluster, bragging, and violence.

Socrates’ third quality of justice, temperance, is “the ordering or controlling of certain pleasures and desires.” Socrates says that, “owing to evil education or association, the better principle… is overwhelmed by the greater mass of the worse—in this case he is blamed and is called the slave of self and unprincipled.” Steve Bannon, former executive chair of Breitbart News and White House Chief Strategist, is the epitome of “evil education.” Breitbart promotes white nationalism, Islamophobia, and a host of other hateful narratives that govern the “Alt-Right” wing of the Republican Party. From 2 a.m. tweet storms targeting media outlets to Trump’s complicity in “Lock her up!” chants at his rallies, he clearly cannot help but indulge these urges, however destructive they might be to his legitimacy.

Moving Forward

The strongest rebuttals of Trump ought to be framed in simple, tangible terms that moderate Republicans and Democrats can simultaneously identify. Questioning the president’s wisdom, valiance, and temperance is a way to do so. The opposition’s epithets do not build bridges to Republicans seeking election in 2018. While inside the Beltway or social justice language is accurate politically, historically, and socially, it alienates vast swaths of the country. With Republicans controlling all branches of government and a majority of state houses, the country’s ability to put this disastrous presidency behind us will hinge on broadening the resistance. We must continue education efforts within a social justice framework long term. Right now, however, word choice must be based on efficiently confronting the greatest threat to post-World War II order and American democracy; time is of the essence.

[anexplanationofunfortunateevents]

a road map to what we know and what we are trying to learn about Trump-Russia

Trump and Russia is just a rat king of a story.

It’s hard to grasp how fucked up it is, because it is fucked up in so many ways. If it all blurs together, it’s harder to understand the facts of the case, to hear when it really is getting more serious, or to see how it connects with the other awful things that are happening. And because it’s so complicated, it’s easy to believe everything you read because so much of what we know is so bonkers that you don’t trust the smell test, or to reject everything out of hand because it’s all so implausible.

That doesn’t do any good. You can, and you have to, think critically about this story. This post is intended to be a tool to help you put things into context, so you can absorb new stories as they happen.

Main types of Trump-Russia stories:

Financial

Personal

Compromised Trump associates

Election 2016

Obstruction

Changes to US foreign policy toward Russia

1. Finance:

They really did get Capone on tax evasion.

It’s almost a joke, right? Al Capone, Scarface, actual OG of the Chicago mafia, locked up for paperwork. But it’s not some random technicality. Capone didn’t lie on his taxes just to pay less in taxes, he lied on his taxes because his income was illegal. If he admitted how much money he was making, it could’ve been used to help prove the bad things he was doing to get it.

That is why Trump’s finances are important to the various Russian interference investigations. The theory, and it’s pretty strong, is that there’s a paper trail connecting Donald Trump and his family to various players in Moscow. The connections themselves may or many not be illegal on their own. But the real issue is that if Russian power players invested in Donald Trump, they did so for a reason.

Various strands of this thread include:

loans Trump has gotten from Deutsche Bank, a European bank with links to Russia;

loans Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner has gotten from VEB, a financial firm which handles transactions for the Russian government;

shady financial transactions at the Bank of Cyprus.

2. Personal:

Ways Trump specifically is vulnerable to influence by Putin and his people, such as:

his ideological admiration for Putin’s strongman style government;

blackmail (AKA kompromat). This can be legal trouble or personal embarrassment. If a financial story suggests he can be implicated in money laundering, say. Or, and you’ve probably heard about this one, the supposed pee-pee tape;

-Trump’s general weakness, which makes him putty in the large, manly hands of trained spies.

3. Compromised Trump associates:

Since entering political life less than two years ago, Trump has managed to hire an awful lot of people with unusual relationships to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, such as:

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn

Former campaign chair Paul Manafort

Campaign foreign affairs adviser Carter Page

Also, a lot of powerful Republicans, whether or not they have their own connections with Russia, are in a politically compromising position because they’ve known that Trump’s ties to Russia are a national security threat but have stuck with him anyway.

Pence knew that Flynn was compromised, covered it up, and is still lying about it.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, AFAIK, wasn’t in the web until he met with spymaster/former ambassador Kislyak several times during the campaign, then lied about it at his confirmation hearings.

House Republican leadership are on tape laughing about Russia’s influence on Trump.

4. Election 2016:

Okay. Pause. This is intense and abstract and kind of existentially terrifying. Look away from the screen and relax your eyes for a few seconds.

You back? You with me? Alright.

There’s an honestly startling solid consensus on some aspects of the Russian election meddling. There’s no argument that Russian operatives enacted a massive disinformation and harassment campaign online, stole communications from various political groups and released the emails they stole from the DNC and Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, and that they specifically intended to hurt Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump. They also stole documents and released documents from various Democratic congressional candidates. It’s still worth trying to understand those parts of the story, but they’re less likely to be news.

Most news revolves around one of two major open questions.

What else did Russian operatives do? We know from a lot of expert testimony, strong reporting, and courageous whistleblowing that Russian hackers had some success breaking into the voter rolls in at least 21 states. We do not have any evidence that they successfully altered the voting rolls or that they actually changed the tallies of votes that have been cast. That may be because it didn’t happen, or because nobody has actually tried to find out if it happened.

What, if any, help did they have from Americans? We know that during the campaign, Trump advisers claimed to be in touch with Wikileaks. We know that at least one right-wing activist was in touch with Michael Flynn while attempting to help people he believed to be Russian operatives.

Those two stories aren’t necessarily the same thing. You can imagine a situation where the tech guys are good enough that they don’t need any help at all. Or you can imagine a situation where there are lots of Republican traitors who want to sell themselves to a white nationalist big daddy like Putin but for whatever reason they aren’t efficiently used. What we do know suggests that both of those things happened to some extent, but most developments in this story come from one angle or the other, so it’s worth being able to put them in context.

Those are the things that we’re aware we don’t know. There are also unknown unknowns – questions that we don’t know enough to be asking yet. Don’t drive yourself up a wall dwelling on that, just be aware that we might get a curveball.

5. Obstruction:

Trump and his people have pulled lots of unethical and some most likely illegal crap to keep the public from learning more about all this.

Remember, we don’t know why Trump might try to cover this stuff up. He sure is acting guilty of some degree of participation in Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But it’s entirely possible that he’s trying to hide other sleazy behavior, or even that his all-consuming narcissism forces him to try and squash any suggestion that he couldn’t have legitimately won an election on his own (especially since deep down even he must know that’s true).

Still, it does look pretty bad. Developing obstruction stories include:

potential obstruction of justice in having fired former FBI Director James Comey;

refusal to comply with congressional oversight;

disinformation coming out of the White House on a massive scale;

demonization of the “fake news,” which has a tendency to spike around the time a credible news outlet publishes a Russ-a-lago story.

6. Foreign Policy:

You can get into the weeds with this if you want but mostly what you need to know is that American foreign policy has swiftly started catering to Russian interests.

How it all fits (maybe):

On top of all the complicated subplots, it’s tricky to read about a Trump-Russia development because you have to do two important things at once: a) put the story in context with what you already know and b) remember that most of the people involved only had some of that context, and that nobody could predict how it would all work out.

Those things are important for your own understanding as this story unfolds. They’re also important to help you sidestep the strawman deflections. The issue is about what happened, not whether it was a perfect execution of Dr. Evil’s Master Plan.

Here’s a possibility. Again, this is something that strikes me as plausible, not an expert analysis or anything.

The Russian power elite is dominated by old-school KGB guys and oligarchs. (Their money in politics problem is exponentially worse than ours, and ours is bad.) Imagine you’re someone operating in that power structure and think about Donald Trump before he came down that escalator two years ago, say, as of his 2013 Miss America pageant in Moscow, or his 2005 loan from the Russia-linked Deutsche Bank. From their perspective, he is an American oligarch, so cultivating some sort of relationship with him would pay off. At the very least, his real estate empire is going to be useful as a place to stash their money. And once you invest in an asset, you want to get as much out of it as possible. So you have Trump who’s deft with the media and who has this racist hostility toward Obama, who Putin dislikes. If you egg him on to become a political nuisance: good. If you egg him on and he decides to run for office: better, because he has a bigger megaphone. But if you can actually get him into office: best.

At the same time as the American division is cultivating that relationship with Trump, the cyber division is developing its capabilities, and the European division is flexing its muscles with interventions into the elections of neighboring countries. All it takes is one apocalyptically-inclined influence to see how it can all fit together……

This story isn’t necessarily complex because it’s some top-down fourteen-dimensional chess strategy. It’s possible that it’s complicated because it was always an open-ended scheme to milk this tool for all he was worth, and it had been chugging along and picking up steam for years before the White House became the target.

Or, in TV Tropes terms, the story of Putin’s Puppet might well be less Batman Gambit and more Gone Horribly Right.

The important point here is, we don’t know. You don’t need to get too wrapped up in speculation or mind-reading. Just check your sources and get what you can out of the facts as they’re responsibly reported, and that’ll let you hear if/when there’s more you can do.