S1P14 - News & Politics

A recap of politics and news since about 03/01/2019

National & International

• Washington governor Jay Inslee announces he is running for president. He is the first governor in the Democratic race.
• Otto Warmbier's family speaks out against Trump's defense of Kim Jong-un. It is normal behavior for Trump to speak glowingly of evil dictators. 
• 03/01 - Pakistan returns the captured Indian pilot. Kashmir tensions de-escalate. Cooler heads seemed to have prevailed. No nuclear war this week.
• 03/01 - Trump's golf resort in Aberdeen, Scotland was ordered to pay the Scottish government's legal bills after losing a battle over a wind power development that the president argued would spoil the view from his course.
• 03/01 - A dozen mature trees were cut down and dumped into the Potomac River from Trump National Golf Course property in Virginia last week. Our pro-environment president at work. 
  

• 03/01 - Israel’s attorney general recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted on corruption charges.
• 03/01 - Justice Clarence Thomas has been maneuvering behind the scenes to whip votes for Rao, his former clerk. He reached out privately to at least two Republican senators. Supreme Court justices shouldn't be playing politics. 
• 03/04 - Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper enter the field for the Democratic presidential nomination.  
• Trump now blames the Democrats and Michael Cohen for the failed summit with Kim Jong-un. Of course, we all knew it couldn't possibly be Trump's fault. 
• 03/04 - The House Judiciary Committee has sent document requests to 81 individuals and entities tied to the president.
• 03/04 - A coalition of 20 states and California separately have filed lawsuits seeking to block Trump administration changes to the Title X family planning programs. Even more suits are expected. 
• 03/04 - There are allegations that Fox News squashed stories to help Trump and gave him some of the questions before a debate with Clinton. Shocking.
• 03/05 - FDA Commissioner Scott Gotlieb is resigning.
• 03/05 - Michael Bloomberg will not run for president in 2020. Good.
• According to US military analysts, North Korea has started rebuilding their missile test facility. So much for a successful summit. The master dealmaker at work. 
• The federal budget deficit is $310 billion, up 77%, in the first four months of the fiscal year. Mostly because of the GOP tax cut that was supposed to pay for itself.
• The trade deficit for 2018 rises to a record $891.2 billion, $419 billion with China. This despite Trump's tariffs and promise to reduce trade deficits. 
• Don, Jr., and Eric employed an illegal immigrant as the caretaker of their private hunting retreat. 
• 03/07 - Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sues the Trump Organization for nonpayment of $1.9 million in legal costs. He also sued for an additional $1.9 million in reimbursements for fines, forfeitures, and restitution. 
• 03/07 - Paul Manafort sentenced to 47 months in prison for bank and tax fraud. Too little time for his crimes. 47 months is only 20% of the minimum recommended sentence. 
• 03/08 - Jobs growth falls to only 20,000 in February. Expected job growth was 175K. The unemployment rate remains low at 3.8%.
• 03/08 - White House communications director Bill Shine resigns. He will move to Trump's reelection campaign. Shine is the former president of Fox News. He left Fox amid the sexual harassment and discrimination troubles at the network.  
• 03/08 - The House passes H.R. 1, a combination voting rights and campaign-finance/ethics reform bill. The GOP controlled Senate probably won't even consider the bill. 
• 03/11 - The Democrats choose Milwaukee as their 2020 convention site.
• Trump releases his latest budget. It's $4.7 trillion. A $1 trillion deficit, $8.6 billion for the Wall, big cuts to Medicare, by $845 billion over 10 years, and other domestic programs, increases for the military budget to $750 billion, a 5% increase. Typical Trump shit. Build a wall, boost the military, fuck the ordinary people. Why does the largest, most powerful military in the world need more money? 
• Congress invites NATO Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg to address a joint session.
• Nancy Pelosi on impeaching Trump, "He's just not worth it."
• 03/12 - Australian Cardinal George Pell sentenced to six years in prison for sexual abuse. Not a long enough sentence but it's a start.
• 03/13 - Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is sentenced to 73 months in prison in his DC conspiracy and fraud case. 30 months will run concurrently with his 47 month Virginia sentence. That leaves Manafort a total of 7½ years of prison time. 
• 03/13 - Manafort is charged with 16 crimes in New York including mortgage fraud. If convicted, Trump will not be able to pardon him on these state charges. 
• 03/13 - The Senate rebuked Trump with a 54-46 vote ordering the US military to end support of the Saudi's war in Yemen. Now onto the House.
• 03/14 - Beto O'Rourke enters the presidential race.
• 03/14 - The New York appellate court allows the Summer Zervos defamation suit against Trump to proceed.
• 03/14 - A judge has ruled that the Sandy Hook families' suit of gun maker Remington can proceed. 
• 03/15 - Trump vetoes the bill opposing his border emergency declaration. His first veto. Back to Congress to see if they can override the veto, probably not going to happen. Will wind up in the courts.

Texas & Local

• The Texas Senate unanimously passes a bill giving teachers a $5,000/year pay raise.
• A proposed House bill includes higher school funding but not the $5K raise.
• The legislature is considering a bill to make possession of one ounce or less of marijuana a civil offense, not a criminal offense. Good idea. 
• Hardly any bills actually get passed until the last week of the session.

wjh