Friday, August 30, 2019
Today's Tweet
This bit of distancing didn't totally come outa the blue. We've been hearing about some disgruntlement for a while, but I haven't seen anything quite so pointed.
Maybe DumFux News is acknowledging the writing on the wall. At this point, no one can be unaware that eventually, everybody hitched up with Trump is going to burn.
Has Trump finally compelled Rupert Murdock to give his hosts the green light to tell the truth.— Bill Maxwell 🌊 #CountryOverParty (@Bill_Maxwell_) August 30, 2019
If The executives were still protecting him the hosts would not be doing this and there are five or six of them over at Fox News who have turned now.pic.twitter.com/Mk6qhFYuJe
So we're left to wonder if this is a signal event. ie: Has Trump become toxic enough to the GOP that they're starting to recognize him as a threat to the Plutocracy Project? And are they just hedging their bets, thinking they can get Trump back into line by firing a shot across his bow, or are they telling him it's over?
Or maybe they're playing 45*'s Reality TV Flip-Flop-Flip Game where they throw something out there, making it look like there's a spat, when they're really just trying to get people to stop thinking they're always and only in bed with Trump?
But then again maybe not cuz it could be a real thing and then what if they're really mad at him and he's just being a dick to make us think the opposite, cuz if you're not a dick then people take unfair advantage of you and so you have to pretend you're a dick so you keep your fan base and holy fuck how do we get off this stoopid fucking ride!?!
But then again maybe not cuz it could be a real thing and then what if they're really mad at him and he's just being a dick to make us think the opposite, cuz if you're not a dick then people take unfair advantage of you and so you have to pretend you're a dick so you keep your fan base and holy fuck how do we get off this stoopid fucking ride!?!
The Joint's On Fire
...and the DOJ Inspector General is bitchin' about Jim Comey trying to put it out with a non-compliant fire extinguisher.
Harry Litman, WaPo:
Okay, so former FBI director James B. Comey failed to dot his i’s and cross his t’s in creating and retaining memos detailing his private conversations with President Trump during the months between Trump’s inauguration and his sacking of Comey on May 9, 2017.
The report issued on Thursday by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz found that Comey broke no laws and did not release any classified information.
But Horowitz took Comey to task for retaining the memos rather than leaving them with the FBI when he departed. The inspector general concluded that the memos were “public records,” not personal documents, as Comey had argued.
Horowitz also larded his report with civics lessons on the rule of law and the “dangerous example” in Comey’s failure to strictly follow FBI guidelines concerning the handling of government records. There is a strong sensation of outrage in the Horowitz report, which the New York Times characterized as “blistering.”
The problem with the report is that it gives almost no weight to the context in which Comey acted, a failing Horowitz aggravates with his hall-monitor rectitude.
Because the context was extraordinary. When a president summons the FBI director to demand loyalty, and then urges the director during a second conversation to drop a criminal investigation against an ally, we are not in the normal territory of FBI rules and procedures
Jim Comey's legacy is a mixed bag. He's considered something of a Boy Scout, which isn't all bad, until it slops over into the kind of priggishness that the guy carries around with him like some Calvinist circuit preacher.
I think it comes down to the problem of trying to be impartial at the expense of factual reality.
He shits the bed with that round of ridiculous "disclosures" about how Hillary was a dishonest fuckup, and that more emails had been discovered on Anthony Wiener's laptop, and that meant the investigation had to be reopened, which turned out not to be relevant at all, but reinforced the bullshit narrative 45* and House Repubs were peddling - and for what? To make sure Hillary didn't win by the landslide everybody was expecting? To salvage something for the GOP?
But then it seems like he went into the new administration intent on "balancing things out" - or something. Fuck, I don't know.
And I think that little guessing game is the key to the problem. Everybody is so enamored with carving out their own little fiefdom, they don't have enough time or energy to do the job they were hired to do, and we're left to spend our time and energy wondering what the fuck they're really up to.
This kinda shit has to stop.
Harry Litman, WaPo:
Okay, so former FBI director James B. Comey failed to dot his i’s and cross his t’s in creating and retaining memos detailing his private conversations with President Trump during the months between Trump’s inauguration and his sacking of Comey on May 9, 2017.
The report issued on Thursday by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz found that Comey broke no laws and did not release any classified information.
But Horowitz took Comey to task for retaining the memos rather than leaving them with the FBI when he departed. The inspector general concluded that the memos were “public records,” not personal documents, as Comey had argued.
Horowitz also larded his report with civics lessons on the rule of law and the “dangerous example” in Comey’s failure to strictly follow FBI guidelines concerning the handling of government records. There is a strong sensation of outrage in the Horowitz report, which the New York Times characterized as “blistering.”
The problem with the report is that it gives almost no weight to the context in which Comey acted, a failing Horowitz aggravates with his hall-monitor rectitude.
Because the context was extraordinary. When a president summons the FBI director to demand loyalty, and then urges the director during a second conversation to drop a criminal investigation against an ally, we are not in the normal territory of FBI rules and procedures
Jim Comey's legacy is a mixed bag. He's considered something of a Boy Scout, which isn't all bad, until it slops over into the kind of priggishness that the guy carries around with him like some Calvinist circuit preacher.
I think it comes down to the problem of trying to be impartial at the expense of factual reality.
He shits the bed with that round of ridiculous "disclosures" about how Hillary was a dishonest fuckup, and that more emails had been discovered on Anthony Wiener's laptop, and that meant the investigation had to be reopened, which turned out not to be relevant at all, but reinforced the bullshit narrative 45* and House Repubs were peddling - and for what? To make sure Hillary didn't win by the landslide everybody was expecting? To salvage something for the GOP?
But then it seems like he went into the new administration intent on "balancing things out" - or something. Fuck, I don't know.
And I think that little guessing game is the key to the problem. Everybody is so enamored with carving out their own little fiefdom, they don't have enough time or energy to do the job they were hired to do, and we're left to spend our time and energy wondering what the fuck they're really up to.
This kinda shit has to stop.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Today's Tweet
And respect for the decisions other people make regarding who they are and what they need.
The cuteness notwithstanding, this teacher is brilliant— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) August 29, 2019
She’s simultaneously teaching her kids about bodily autonomy, consent, & love of each other
Also that last kid’s pause😅
Love this ❤️
pic.twitter.com/l5KVg96uGH
And maybe we should be trying a little harder to make sure teachers get the support they should have - starting with the money they should be making.
Devolving
There's an obvious pattern to the way Cult45 operates.
First, always always always remember that no matter what else, putting money in Trump's pocket while ducking his responsibility is the whole fucking point of the exercise.
So the tactical distractions are becoming epic, and I think the level of the weirdness of those distractions is proportional to the panic 45* feels as we accelerate towards the revelation of damning and (hopefully irrefutable) evidence of depravities that make Dorian Grey look like Jefferson Smith.
Three things popped up in the last few days - the first of which is kind of a redux of an old scandal.
Forbes:
Like autumn leaves, sponsored Cadillacs, Ferraris and Maseratis descend on the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York, in September for the Eric Trump Foundation golf invitational. Year after year, the formula is consistent: 18 holes of perfectly trimmed fairways with a dose of Trumpian tackiness, including Hooters waitresses and cigar spreads, followed by a clubhouse dinner, dates encouraged. The crowd leans toward real estate insiders, family friends and C-list celebrities, such as former baseball slugger Darryl Strawberry and reality housewife (and bankruptcy-fraud felon) Teresa Giudice.
The real star of the day is Eric Trump, the president's second son and now the co-head of the Trump Organization, who has hosted this event for ten years on behalf of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He's done a ton of good: To date, he's directed more than $11 million there, the vast majority of it via this annual golf event. He has also helped raise another $5 million through events with other organizations.
The best part about all this, according to Eric Trump, is the charity's efficiency: Because he can get his family's golf course for free and have most of the other costs donated, virtually all the money contributed will go toward helping kids with cancer. "We get to use our assets 100% free of charge," Trump tells Forbes.
Children born overseas to some American parents serving in the military or working for the federal government may no longer automatically claim U.S. citizenship if their parents had lived in the United States for less than five years, according to a new federal policy issued Wednesday.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh called the decision “absurd and inhumane.”
Under acting director Ken Cuccinelli, USCIS has become increasingly politicized. Cuccinelli recently defended the Trump administration’s“public charge” rule, which intends to deny visas or green cards to immigrants who may rely on government assistance, by providing a reinterpretation of the famous poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.
All of this weird shit - especially the weird shit they're doing with immigrants - has purpose.
First, always always always remember that no matter what else, putting money in Trump's pocket while ducking his responsibility is the whole fucking point of the exercise.
So the tactical distractions are becoming epic, and I think the level of the weirdness of those distractions is proportional to the panic 45* feels as we accelerate towards the revelation of damning and (hopefully irrefutable) evidence of depravities that make Dorian Grey look like Jefferson Smith.
Three things popped up in the last few days - the first of which is kind of a redux of an old scandal.
Forbes:
The real star of the day is Eric Trump, the president's second son and now the co-head of the Trump Organization, who has hosted this event for ten years on behalf of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He's done a ton of good: To date, he's directed more than $11 million there, the vast majority of it via this annual golf event. He has also helped raise another $5 million through events with other organizations.
The best part about all this, according to Eric Trump, is the charity's efficiency: Because he can get his family's golf course for free and have most of the other costs donated, virtually all the money contributed will go toward helping kids with cancer. "We get to use our assets 100% free of charge," Trump tells Forbes.
That's not the case. In reviewing filings from the Eric Trump Foundation and other charities, it's clear that the course wasn't free--that the Trump Organization received payments for its use, part of more than $1.2 million that has no documented recipients past the Trump Organization. Golf charity experts say the listed expenses defy any reasonable cost justification for a one-day golf tournament.
So we're right back to playing the donors for suckers - or worse, enlisting those "donors" in service of the scam that easily could include kickbacks and influence peddling.
Eric Trump is in the running for top honors in the Douche Nozzle Of The Year awards every fucking year.
And then there's this one via WaPo:
Instead, officials said, those parents must apply for citizenship on behalf of their children before they turn 18 years old.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes citizenship applications, said it rescinded a policy that had allowed some members of the military and government employees to easily transmit citizenship to children born overseas, because it conflicted with other policies and federal law.
Families of kids receiving medical care in the U.S. got letters saying they have to leave within 33 days or face deportation and a temporary ban on returning
Massachusetts politicians slammed the recent change. “By no longer considering medical deferred action requests for immigrants, the Trump administration is now literally deporting kids with cancer,” Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey said on Facebook.
Now, they do tell us they're not out to fuck people over with this, and that the change in policy doesn't affect anyone who's already a citizen, or people born before the effective date of the new policy.
So, you might ask, what's the point? Why change the policy?
Good questions. Especially when we know Cult45 lies all fucking day every fucking day.
Other good questions:
Seein' as how the mother of my kids was born in Germany when her dad was active duty Air Force, and that she had to get some special declaration from the State Department to establish her citizenship (as an adult), could she be stripped of that citizenship?
Would my children then be considered anchor babies?
Are they subject to being rounded up and deported?
And now this, from VICE:
ICE will now be able to decide whether undocumented immigrants getting treatment for serious medical conditions can stay in the country, WBUR and the Associated Press reported Monday.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency that handles matters like naturalization and adjustment of status, had previously handled cases through the "medical deferred action" program. But these requests — essentially a form of short-term deportation relief for people getting treated for conditions like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy — are now being referred to ICE for “consideration,” a USCIS spokesperson told VICE News.
Under acting director Ken Cuccinelli, USCIS has become increasingly politicized. Cuccinelli recently defended the Trump administration’s“public charge” rule, which intends to deny visas or green cards to immigrants who may rely on government assistance, by providing a reinterpretation of the famous poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.
They told us over a year ago. John Kelly mentioned it at least once when he was Sec'y of DHS, and I think again when he went to work as 45*'s Chief of Staff, that we were taking these actions as a means to deter immigration from Hispanic countries to our south.
We might as well be saying, "We will treat you like you're dog shit on the soles of our shoes - and we have no qualms about fucking up your kids in order to get what we want."
So the original point of the cruelty was to warn people away. But as is always the case with such things, the point of the cruelty became cruelty for its own sake, and the whole mess escalates practically all by itself.
Most people can be talked into the notion that it's OK to do bad things for good reasons. But good people won't go along with it for long. So eventually, you have to replace all those good people.
Inevitably, all you have left is a group of people who're not only willing to do those shitty things, but who want to do those shitty things because they like to do shitty things.
We've seen it before - we're now entering the phase where the point of the cruelty is cruelty - the point of bullying is bullying - the act of torturing people is the point of torturing people.
The kicker is that we have a "POTUS" who stokes the drive to abandon our sense of honor - our very humanity - by floating a presidential pardon in front of anyone willing to step up and do his dirty work.
All of which, while not part of some elaborate strategically-plotted 4-dimensional chess, is in fact deliberate, in that it's calculated to spread wave after wave after wave of bullshit across the media spectrum in order to: a) create opportunities to steal money, and b) provide cover for the crimes.
This is not a government - this is a fucking robbery. And it's 39 kinds of fucked up.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Today's Tweets
This is one of the big lies coming from "conservatives.
Under socialism, both of these dogs would be paid the same. pic.twitter.com/81bM3NKgVz— Young Americans Against Socialism (@YAAS_America) August 27, 2019
The truth is that the dog on the left (the one doing the work) will be paid about 200 times less than the dog on the right (the Rent-Seeking dog).
Tipping
The Beat with Ari Melber:
Business Insider:
- MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell said a "source close to Deutsche Bank" told him that President Donald Trump's loans were underwritten by "Russian billionaires close to Vladimir Putin."
- "If true, that would explain every kind word Donald Trump has ever said about Russia and Vladimir Putin," O'Donnell said.
- There has yet to be any other reporting to substantiate this claim.
- Earlier on Tuesday, Deutsche Bank confirmed that it held tax records to do with Trump, but no details have yet been made public.
- Trump's ties to Deutsche Bank have long been the subject of rumor and speculation, and O'Donnell has a long record of controversial statements.
MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell added to the swirl of rumor that surrounds President Donald Trump's relationship with Deutsche Bank, suggesting that his loans with the lender were underwritten by Russian billionaires.
O'Donnell, appearing on the network Tuesday night with host Rachel Maddow, said that a source "close to Deutsche Bank says that the co-signers of Donald Trump's Deutsche Bank loans are Russian billionaires close to Vladimir Putin."
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, WaPo ran this today:
President Trump is so eager to complete hundreds of miles of border fence ahead of the 2020 presidential election that he has directed aides to fast-track billions of dollars’ worth of construction contracts, aggressively seize private land and disregard environmental rules, according to current and former officials involved with the project.
He also has told worried subordinates that he will pardon them of any potential wrongdoing should they have to break laws to get the barriers built quickly, those officials said.
And to be clear, the Press Poodles are pimping the narrative that this whole thing coalesces around the premise that it's all Trump's doing - that Trump is the driver and the sole owner of the responsibility.
Not even POTUS - the most powerful guy on the whole fucking planet - can pull this off all by himself.
To reiterate - 45* has NOT remade the GOP in his image. He's the near-perfect reflection of what that party has been morphing into for at least 2 generations.
He's not working alone. He's surrounded and propped up by a full compliment of enablers from Washington to Moscow to Wall Street.
And most of those Daddy State pimps are wearing Republican badges. It has to be obvious at this point that the GOP has become a criminal enterprise.
They must not be let off the hook this time.
Today's Today
Today we mark that fateful day in 2014 when Obama defiled all that is holy by wearing a tan suit at work.
Republicans - of course - lost their shit completely, railing about how how disrespectful he was being.
And - of course again - they were completely full of shit, which is pretty neat trick when you think about it, but not really because the Republicans' supply of shit is unlimited, and so they can completely lose their shit while actually remaining full of shit at the same time.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Just Pretty Dumb
Posted on the "Conservative" sub-reddit:
OK, but first, this can't really be an issue - you guys are just makin' shit up.
2nd, the science involved in this "issue" isn't concerned at all with what the Christianists think god did or didn't decide.
But 3rd, if we allow for god to be factored in, let's at least remember that this is the same god that gave us the platypus, and the laryngeal nerve, and a system for populating the earth that relied totally on incest - and he pulled that shit twice.
Given all that, I just don't see much that indicates we should regard god as anything but a massive fuck up, so there's no reason to think god is bound to make good choices as far gender identity is concerned.
OK, but first, this can't really be an issue - you guys are just makin' shit up.
2nd, the science involved in this "issue" isn't concerned at all with what the Christianists think god did or didn't decide.
But 3rd, if we allow for god to be factored in, let's at least remember that this is the same god that gave us the platypus, and the laryngeal nerve, and a system for populating the earth that relied totally on incest - and he pulled that shit twice.
Given all that, I just don't see much that indicates we should regard god as anything but a massive fuck up, so there's no reason to think god is bound to make good choices as far gender identity is concerned.
Isn't That Special
It's not so much that 45* doesn't know what the fuck he's doing - the real problem is that he's doing the bidding of someone (Uncle Walt prob'ly), and he thinks all he has to do is sell it - without knowing one fucking thing about any of it.
The time he wasted pumping out all that sailboat fuel yesterday - complaining about Obama - becomes a little clearer in light of this reporting in Business Insider from a few weeks ago:
(I may have put this up already, but it bears repeating)
The Department of Defense's quarterly report to Congress on the effectiveness of the US Operation Inherent Resolve mission said that "ISIS continued its transition from a territory-holding force to an insurgency in Syria, and it intensified its insurgency in Iraq" — even though Trump said ISIS was defeated and the caliphate quashed, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Many officials and experts have repeatedly warned that a rapid US withdrawal from Syria would enable ISIS to regroup into an insurgency after their battlefield defeats by the US-led coalition.
The time he wasted pumping out all that sailboat fuel yesterday - complaining about Obama - becomes a little clearer in light of this reporting in Business Insider from a few weeks ago:
(I may have put this up already, but it bears repeating)
- The Pentagon inspector general issued a report to Congress saying that the Islamic State is again growing in power in Syria and Iraq, with approximately 14,000 to 18,000 militants.
- The report specifically said President Donald Trump's decision to rapidly draw down troops in Syria and pull diplomatic staff from Iraq increased instability and allowed the militants to regroup.
- Former Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, who resigned following the drawdown announcement, has repeatedly warned of this scenario, saying that Trump's policies would lead to chaos and "an environment for extremists to thrive."
The Department of Defense's quarterly report to Congress on the effectiveness of the US Operation Inherent Resolve mission said that "ISIS continued its transition from a territory-holding force to an insurgency in Syria, and it intensified its insurgency in Iraq" — even though Trump said ISIS was defeated and the caliphate quashed, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Many officials and experts have repeatedly warned that a rapid US withdrawal from Syria would enable ISIS to regroup into an insurgency after their battlefield defeats by the US-led coalition.
And don't forget that as we exit Afghanistan, we'll probably be obliged to hand over a shit load of weaponry to the Taliban - because the "government" we've been trying to install for almost 20 years is likely too corrupt and weak to stand up on its own, so our best option will be to help the bad guys (Talibanis) in their fight against the really bad guys (ISIS).
On That G7 Mess
45* spent over an hour on a word safari through The Merry Old Land Of Oz yesterday at the end of a G7 summit meeting that saw the other 6 leaders further isolate the US, which means (to me anyway) we can no longer refer to the President Of The United States as "the leader of the free world".
WaPo Fact Checker:
In a lengthy news conference at the conclusion of the Group of Seven summit of industrialized democracies, President Trump made numerous false, misleading or inaccurate statements on a variety of issues. Here’s a tour through some of the more noteworthy ones, in the order in which he made them.
“The tariffs have hit them [China] very hard. In a fairly short period of time, the United States will have collected over $100 billion in tariffs.”
As we have repeatedly noted, U.S. tariffs are a tax on the American people, not China. The tariffs are generally paid by importers, such as U.S. companies, who in turn pass on most or all of the costs to consumers or producers who may use Chinese materials in their products. (Technically, we should note that as a matter of demand and supply elasticities, Chinese producers will pay part of the tax if there are fewer goods sold to the United States.)
Numerous economic studies have found that the tariffs are costing American households hundreds of dollars a year. Moreover, China has retaliated by hiking duties on U.S. exports, costing the U.S. the equivalent of about $40 billion a year in lost exports. That’s why Trump has already spent $28 billion to bail out farmers who have lost access to Chinese markets.
Trump never appears to factor in those costs when he claims the United States will soon have collected $100 billion in tariffs. We’re not sure where that figure comes from. Comparing the customs revenue in the monthly Treasury statement before and after Trump started imposing tariffs on China in March 2018, we estimate that thus far an additional $37 billion has been raised through the end of July. Not all of that is on Chinese goods — Trump has imposed other tariffs — so he’s barely breaking even.
“The United States, which has never collected 10 cents from China.”
This is false. Tariffs have been collected on Chinese goods since the early days of the Republic. President George Washington signed the Tariff Act of 1789, when trade between China and the United States was already established. Tariffs on Chinese imports have generated at least $8 billion every year since 2009.
“Iran is a country that is not the same country that it was two and a half years ago when I came into office.”
This is a favorite line for Trump, and it’s wrong. He claims that the administration’s “maximum pressure” policy has left Iran unable to continue its regional activities. And although the administration’s sanctions have had a significant impact on Iran’s economy, there are also clear signs of Iran’s continued support for proxies and an aggressive stance against sanctions. We detailed the problems with this claim in this video:
“We made a ridiculous deal. We gave them $150 billion, we gave them $1.8 billion, and we got nothing. We got nothing.”
This is yet another Bottomless Pinocchio claim. Trump often makes it sound like the United States cut a check to Iran as part of the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He also always uses too high an estimate, $150 billion, for the assets involved.
But this was always Iran’s money. Iran had billions of dollars frozen in foreign banks around the globe because of international sanctions over its nuclear program. The Treasury Department estimated that once Iran fulfilled other obligations, it would have about $55 billion left. The Central Bank of Iran said the number was actually $32 billion.
As for the $1.8 billion (actually, $1.7 billion), this was related to the settlement of a decades-old claim between the two countries, not the Iran nuclear agreement. An initial payment of $400 million was handed over on Jan. 17, 2016, the day after Iran released four American detainees, including The Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian. The timing — which U.S. officials insisted was a coincidence — suggested the cash could be viewed as a ransom payment.
But the initial cash payment was Iran’s money. In the 1970s, the then pro-Western Iranian government under the shah paid $400 million for U.S. military equipment. The equipment was never delivered because the two countries broke off relations after the seizure of American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Iran. Two other payments totaling $1.3 billion — a negotiated agreement on the interest owed on the $400 million — came some weeks later.
“That [Iran nuclear] agreement was so short-term that it expires in a very short period of time. With a country, you don’t make a deal that short. Countries last for long times, and you don’t do short-term deals, especially when you’re paying that kind of money.”
The JCPOA was adopted in October 2015 and formally implemented on Jan. 16, 2016, by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States — and Germany and Iran.
We have previously examined Trump’s claim that the deal would expire in seven years and Iran was then free to build nuclear weapons. It’s not clear what he meant, but he may have been referring to “Termination Day” in October 2025, when provisions of a U.N. resolution endorsing the deal expire, or he may have been referring to the fact that some provisions of the JCPOA itself expire 10 years into the deal, in 2026.
But as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has pledged not to develop nuclear weapons — ever. In agreeing to the JCPOA, Iran recommitted itself to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran also agreed to abide by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol. It has committed to ratify this agreement in 2023.
Other parts of the JCPOA would remain in force for years after 2026, including international monitoring of Iran’s production of uranium ore and centrifuge parts and restrictions on uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel.
“They’re allowed to test ballistic missiles. You’re not allowed to go to various sites to check. And some of those sites are the most obvious sites for the creation or the making of nuclear weapons.”
Trump is generally wrong about inspections. Under the JCPOA, Iran’s declared nuclear sites, such as the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, will be under continuous monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency — and the IAEA would have immediate access. Under the deal, for 10 years, Iran will have limits on the enrichment permitted at Natanz; the IAEA will be able to keep close tabs on the production. The JCPOA even allows IAEA monitoring of Iran’s centrifuge production and storage facilities, the procurement chain, and mining and milling of uranium — verification measures that many experts say exceed previous negotiated nuclear deals.
The issue involves the question of what to do if the IAEA learns of suspicious activity at an undeclared site. The IAEA can demand instant access — but Iran could refuse. So the JCPOA sets up a process to resolve the standoff, described in a 29-page document known as Annex 1, that could take up to 24 days to resolve.
This provision was added to remove a loophole in the Additional Protocol, which requires IAEA access to suspect sites in 24 hours but does not have immediate consequences for a nation that refuses to permit access. Some critics have said the 24-day time frame is too long, but that’s not the same as having no access as Trump claimed.
As for missiles, it’s worth recalling that the JCPOA was the product of lengthy negotiations. Iran insisted the deal was limited to the nuclear program, not its missile program. Limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles thus have been handled under U.N. Security Council resolutions, including the one that implemented the deal, which helped slow down Iran’s missile development. In theory, if Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons, it makes the missile program less fearsome.
“China has been taking out of this country $500-plus billion a year for many, many years — many, many years.”
Trump consistently inflates the U.S. trade deficit with China. It was $380 billion in 2018, $337 billion in 2017 and $309 billion in 2016, according to the Commerce Department. Notice that it has continued to grow under Trump.
As we often note, countries do not make or lose money on trade deficits.
A trade deficit simply means that people in one country are buying more goods from another country than people in the second country are buying from the first country. No matter what, people are receiving goods in exchange for their money.
“I’ve spent — and I think I will, in a combination of loss and opportunity, probably it’ll cost me anywhere from $3 billion to $5 billion to be president.”
Trump offers no evidence for this claim. It’s highly dubious, especially when he may not even be worth much more than $3 billion. (Yes, Trump claims he’s worth $10 billion, but Forbes has run the numbers and estimated $3.1 billion.) Note that Trump refers to a “loss and opportunity,” which suggests he’s counting deals that were only a figment of his imagination.
“I ran one election, and I won. Happened to be for president.”
Trump often rewrites his biography to gloss over the fact that he unsuccessfully sought the Reform Party nomination in the 2000 cycle. He announced the creation of a presidential exploratory committee on Oct. 7, 1999, but officially ended his campaign on Feb. 14, 2000.
“Having to do with a certain section of Ukraine, that you know very well, where it was, sort of, taken away from President Obama; not taken away from President Trump, taken away from President Obama. President Obama was not happy that this happened because it was embarrassing to him, right? It was very embarrassing to him. And he wanted Russia to be out of the — what was called the G-8. And that was his determination.”
There are so many things wrong in this passage, made as Trump defended his effort to invite Russia to the next G-7 meeting. Russia, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, in 2014 seized the Crimea section of Ukraine, in violation of international law. Crimea was not taken from Obama, as Trump oddly claimed, but from Ukraine.
The decision to expel Russia from the Group of Eight — and to refuse to participate in a planned summit at Sochi, Russia — was unanimously approved by the other seven members in an effort to punish Russia for its actions. The action was also accompanied by sanctions on Russia by the assembled group.
“International law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state’s territory through coercion or force,” the G-7 communique said. “To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built. We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine’s constitution. We also strongly condemn Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations. We do not recognize either.”
Putin has remained unrepentant about the seizure of Crimea and has not met the demands set by the G-7 to allow Russia to return to the annual gathering.
“If it was annexed during my term, I’d say, ‘Sorry, folks. I made a mistake.’ Or, ‘Sorry folks.’ ”
Hmmm. How often has Trump said he was sorry — or that he made a mistake?
WaPo Fact Checker:
In a lengthy news conference at the conclusion of the Group of Seven summit of industrialized democracies, President Trump made numerous false, misleading or inaccurate statements on a variety of issues. Here’s a tour through some of the more noteworthy ones, in the order in which he made them.
“The tariffs have hit them [China] very hard. In a fairly short period of time, the United States will have collected over $100 billion in tariffs.”
As we have repeatedly noted, U.S. tariffs are a tax on the American people, not China. The tariffs are generally paid by importers, such as U.S. companies, who in turn pass on most or all of the costs to consumers or producers who may use Chinese materials in their products. (Technically, we should note that as a matter of demand and supply elasticities, Chinese producers will pay part of the tax if there are fewer goods sold to the United States.)
Numerous economic studies have found that the tariffs are costing American households hundreds of dollars a year. Moreover, China has retaliated by hiking duties on U.S. exports, costing the U.S. the equivalent of about $40 billion a year in lost exports. That’s why Trump has already spent $28 billion to bail out farmers who have lost access to Chinese markets.
Trump never appears to factor in those costs when he claims the United States will soon have collected $100 billion in tariffs. We’re not sure where that figure comes from. Comparing the customs revenue in the monthly Treasury statement before and after Trump started imposing tariffs on China in March 2018, we estimate that thus far an additional $37 billion has been raised through the end of July. Not all of that is on Chinese goods — Trump has imposed other tariffs — so he’s barely breaking even.
“The United States, which has never collected 10 cents from China.”
This is false. Tariffs have been collected on Chinese goods since the early days of the Republic. President George Washington signed the Tariff Act of 1789, when trade between China and the United States was already established. Tariffs on Chinese imports have generated at least $8 billion every year since 2009.
“Iran is a country that is not the same country that it was two and a half years ago when I came into office.”
This is a favorite line for Trump, and it’s wrong. He claims that the administration’s “maximum pressure” policy has left Iran unable to continue its regional activities. And although the administration’s sanctions have had a significant impact on Iran’s economy, there are also clear signs of Iran’s continued support for proxies and an aggressive stance against sanctions. We detailed the problems with this claim in this video:
“We made a ridiculous deal. We gave them $150 billion, we gave them $1.8 billion, and we got nothing. We got nothing.”
This is yet another Bottomless Pinocchio claim. Trump often makes it sound like the United States cut a check to Iran as part of the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He also always uses too high an estimate, $150 billion, for the assets involved.
But this was always Iran’s money. Iran had billions of dollars frozen in foreign banks around the globe because of international sanctions over its nuclear program. The Treasury Department estimated that once Iran fulfilled other obligations, it would have about $55 billion left. The Central Bank of Iran said the number was actually $32 billion.
As for the $1.8 billion (actually, $1.7 billion), this was related to the settlement of a decades-old claim between the two countries, not the Iran nuclear agreement. An initial payment of $400 million was handed over on Jan. 17, 2016, the day after Iran released four American detainees, including The Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian. The timing — which U.S. officials insisted was a coincidence — suggested the cash could be viewed as a ransom payment.
But the initial cash payment was Iran’s money. In the 1970s, the then pro-Western Iranian government under the shah paid $400 million for U.S. military equipment. The equipment was never delivered because the two countries broke off relations after the seizure of American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Iran. Two other payments totaling $1.3 billion — a negotiated agreement on the interest owed on the $400 million — came some weeks later.
“That [Iran nuclear] agreement was so short-term that it expires in a very short period of time. With a country, you don’t make a deal that short. Countries last for long times, and you don’t do short-term deals, especially when you’re paying that kind of money.”
The JCPOA was adopted in October 2015 and formally implemented on Jan. 16, 2016, by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States — and Germany and Iran.
We have previously examined Trump’s claim that the deal would expire in seven years and Iran was then free to build nuclear weapons. It’s not clear what he meant, but he may have been referring to “Termination Day” in October 2025, when provisions of a U.N. resolution endorsing the deal expire, or he may have been referring to the fact that some provisions of the JCPOA itself expire 10 years into the deal, in 2026.
But as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has pledged not to develop nuclear weapons — ever. In agreeing to the JCPOA, Iran recommitted itself to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran also agreed to abide by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol. It has committed to ratify this agreement in 2023.
Other parts of the JCPOA would remain in force for years after 2026, including international monitoring of Iran’s production of uranium ore and centrifuge parts and restrictions on uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel.
“They’re allowed to test ballistic missiles. You’re not allowed to go to various sites to check. And some of those sites are the most obvious sites for the creation or the making of nuclear weapons.”
Trump is generally wrong about inspections. Under the JCPOA, Iran’s declared nuclear sites, such as the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, will be under continuous monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency — and the IAEA would have immediate access. Under the deal, for 10 years, Iran will have limits on the enrichment permitted at Natanz; the IAEA will be able to keep close tabs on the production. The JCPOA even allows IAEA monitoring of Iran’s centrifuge production and storage facilities, the procurement chain, and mining and milling of uranium — verification measures that many experts say exceed previous negotiated nuclear deals.
The issue involves the question of what to do if the IAEA learns of suspicious activity at an undeclared site. The IAEA can demand instant access — but Iran could refuse. So the JCPOA sets up a process to resolve the standoff, described in a 29-page document known as Annex 1, that could take up to 24 days to resolve.
This provision was added to remove a loophole in the Additional Protocol, which requires IAEA access to suspect sites in 24 hours but does not have immediate consequences for a nation that refuses to permit access. Some critics have said the 24-day time frame is too long, but that’s not the same as having no access as Trump claimed.
As for missiles, it’s worth recalling that the JCPOA was the product of lengthy negotiations. Iran insisted the deal was limited to the nuclear program, not its missile program. Limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles thus have been handled under U.N. Security Council resolutions, including the one that implemented the deal, which helped slow down Iran’s missile development. In theory, if Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons, it makes the missile program less fearsome.
“China has been taking out of this country $500-plus billion a year for many, many years — many, many years.”
Trump consistently inflates the U.S. trade deficit with China. It was $380 billion in 2018, $337 billion in 2017 and $309 billion in 2016, according to the Commerce Department. Notice that it has continued to grow under Trump.
As we often note, countries do not make or lose money on trade deficits.
A trade deficit simply means that people in one country are buying more goods from another country than people in the second country are buying from the first country. No matter what, people are receiving goods in exchange for their money.
“I’ve spent — and I think I will, in a combination of loss and opportunity, probably it’ll cost me anywhere from $3 billion to $5 billion to be president.”
Trump offers no evidence for this claim. It’s highly dubious, especially when he may not even be worth much more than $3 billion. (Yes, Trump claims he’s worth $10 billion, but Forbes has run the numbers and estimated $3.1 billion.) Note that Trump refers to a “loss and opportunity,” which suggests he’s counting deals that were only a figment of his imagination.
“I ran one election, and I won. Happened to be for president.”
Trump often rewrites his biography to gloss over the fact that he unsuccessfully sought the Reform Party nomination in the 2000 cycle. He announced the creation of a presidential exploratory committee on Oct. 7, 1999, but officially ended his campaign on Feb. 14, 2000.
“Having to do with a certain section of Ukraine, that you know very well, where it was, sort of, taken away from President Obama; not taken away from President Trump, taken away from President Obama. President Obama was not happy that this happened because it was embarrassing to him, right? It was very embarrassing to him. And he wanted Russia to be out of the — what was called the G-8. And that was his determination.”
There are so many things wrong in this passage, made as Trump defended his effort to invite Russia to the next G-7 meeting. Russia, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, in 2014 seized the Crimea section of Ukraine, in violation of international law. Crimea was not taken from Obama, as Trump oddly claimed, but from Ukraine.
The decision to expel Russia from the Group of Eight — and to refuse to participate in a planned summit at Sochi, Russia — was unanimously approved by the other seven members in an effort to punish Russia for its actions. The action was also accompanied by sanctions on Russia by the assembled group.
“International law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state’s territory through coercion or force,” the G-7 communique said. “To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built. We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine’s constitution. We also strongly condemn Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations. We do not recognize either.”
Putin has remained unrepentant about the seizure of Crimea and has not met the demands set by the G-7 to allow Russia to return to the annual gathering.
“If it was annexed during my term, I’d say, ‘Sorry, folks. I made a mistake.’ Or, ‘Sorry folks.’ ”
Hmmm. How often has Trump said he was sorry — or that he made a mistake?
Monday, August 26, 2019
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