S1P13 - News & Politics

A recap of politics and news since about 02/13/2019

National & International

• NASA Mars rover dies after over 14 years of exploration.
• 02/13 - FEMA administrator William "Brock" Long will resign. His tenure included allegations of improper use of government vehicles. 
• 02/13 - The House votes 248-177 to end US military aid to Saudi Arabia in Yemen. 
• 02/13 - A federal judge has ruled that Paul Manafort lied to prosecutors on Mueller's team, voiding his cooperation agreement.
• 02/14 - William Barr is confirmed for Attorney General by the Senate.
• 02/14 - Amazon abandons plans to build a headquarters in NYC. The state and city save $3 billion in incentives.
• 02/14 - Both Houses of Congress pass the government funding bill. Now it's up to Trump to keep the government open.
• 02/15 - Trump caves and signs a government funding bill that includes $1.4 billion in border fence money, far less than was on the table before the shutdown or in 2017. At the same time, he says he will declare a national emergency so he can reallocate funds from other sources. 
• 02/15 - Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld says he will challenge Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.  
• 02/15 - The Supreme Court will decide the census citizenship question issue this session.
• Pope Francis defrocks former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick for sexually abusing minors and seminarians. Too little and about 50 years too late. 
• 02/16 - Trump's nominee for UN Ambassador, Heather Nauert, withdraws from consideration. The former Fox News employee said the past two months had been grueling. She has an illegal nanny and tax problems in her past. 
• 02/18 - 16 states file suit to stop Trump from using emergency powers to build the wall.
• 02/18 - The Catholic church has secret rules and procedures for priests who father children or break their celibacy vows. More scandal for the corrupt organization. 
• 02/19 - Bernie Sanders enters the race for president.
• 02/19 - News that the Catholic church ignored reports of systemic sexual and physical abuse of deaf children in their care. 
• 02/19 - Trump nominates Jeffrey Rosen for deputy attorney general.
• 02/20 - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously to limit state and local fines and civil forfeitures. Excessive fines are unconstitutional. 
• 02/20 - A Coast Guard lieutenant was arrested on weapon charges and planning a terrorist attack targetting politicians and journalists. He is a self-proclaimed white nationalist. Yet, the national emergency is at our southern border. Also, no comment on this by Trump.
• 02/20 - Putin threatens US if we deploy missiles in Europe. No response from Trump.
• 02/20 - Trump plans to convene the Presidential Committee on Climate Security. It will be headed by a physicist, not a climate scientist, who thinks CO2 is a good thing. Typical Trump appointment. 
• 02/20 - Shockingly, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated his ethics agreement by filing false financial disclosures.
• 02/21 - The presiding judge issues a gag order against Roger Stone in his criminal case.
• 02/21 - The North Carolina State Board of Elections ordered a new election in the 9th Congressional District because of widespread ballot tampering by the Republicans. 
• The last of six NYC condos remove the Trump Place name from the building. Trump is now a toxic name in NYC. 
• 02/22 - New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with soliciting a prostitute. Is that a Super Ball? Trump will probably give him an award.
• 02/22 - Manhattan prosecutors are preparing state charges against Paul Manafort.
• 02/22 - Trump to nominate Kelly Knight Craft for UN Ambassador. She is the current ambassador to Canada and more importantly, a major GOP and Trump donor. Her husband is the CEO of a coal producer although I'm sure it is clean coal.
• 02/24 - The pope calls for an "all-out battle" against clerical sexual abuse. No specifics so I don't hold out much hope for significant change. Words, not actions.
• 02/24 - Trump delays the 3/1 increase in tariffs deadline with China. No new deadline indicated.
• The British Labour Party is now prepared to support a second Brexit referendum. The whole Brexit issue has become a complete clusterfuck. The deadline is March 29th. 
• 02/25 - A bipartisan group of 58 former senior national security officials issued a statement saying that “there is no factual basis” for President Trump’s proclamation of a national emergency to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. 
• 02/26 - The House voted to block Trump's border emergency declaration. The vote was 245-182. Thirteen Republicans voted with the majority. The resolution now goes to the Senate. This is the first time Congress has sought to overturn a presidential emergency declaration. 
• 02/26 - Chicago will have a Black female mayor. There is a runoff election on 4/2.
• 02/27 - Former Trump fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen testifies before the House Oversight Committee. 
• 02/27 - Trump meets with North Korea Leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam. 
• 02/28 - Trump and Kim abruptly cut short their summit with no agreement.  
• India and Pakistan have another dustup over Kashmir. Both have nuclear weapons. What could possibly go wrong?
• 02/28 - The US economy grew at a 2.6% rate in the fourth quarter. Good, but down from the previous two quarters. The annual growth rate for 2018 sits at 2.9%. 
• 02/28 - The GOP Senate confirms ex-coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to run Environmental Protection Agency. Thanks for putting another nail in the environmental coffin. 
• 02/28 - North Korea says they sought partial sanction relief, not the full relief Trump stated. Both sides are habitual liars so there is no way to determine the real story.

Texas

• Still, no significant bills have been passed by the Texas legislature.
• Many local elections in Texas are scheduled for May 2019. Dallas will get a new mayor. There are also municipal, school board elections, regional water districts, etc. all over the state. Bedford has two city council seats on the ballot. 

wjh

S1P12 - Politics & News

A recap of politics and news since about 01/28/2019

National & International

• 01/28 - Speaker Pelosi invites Trump to deliver the SOTU on February 5th.
• 01/28 - US and Afghanistan Taliban agree in principle to a peace framework.
• 01/28 - The US announces sanctions on Venezuela.
• 01/28 - The Justice Department charges Chinese technology company Huawei and CFO with fraud.
• 01/28 - The CBO estimates that the #TrumpShutdown cost the US economy $11 billion.
• 01/29 - Now that they have been caught again, Eric Trump says the Trump Organization will use E-Verify to check new employees at all their properties. 
• 01/30 - US Intelligence chiefs disagree with Trump's assessment of global threats. 
• 01/31 - The Senate rebukes Trump's plan to withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan by a vote of 68-23.
• 02/01 - US to suspend INF missile treaty with Russia.
• 02/01 - Senator Cory Booker (D, NJ) announces that he is running for president.
• 02/01 - The US economy added 304,000 jobs in January.
• 02/04 - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan subpoena documents from the Trump inauguration committee about donors, finances, and activities.
• 02/04 - Trump will nominate David Bernhardt to be Interior Secretary. He is currently the acting secretary and is a former oil lobbyist with numerous conflicts of interest. Another example of Trump appointing someone to gut the department they lead. 
• Leaks of Trump's schedule shows that he has about 60% "executive" time daily. Unscheduled time mostly for watching TV. His workday rarely starts before 11:00 am and usually ends by 5:00 pm. Such a hardworking guy. 
• The Trump Organization releases undocumented workers at five NY and NJ golf properties. That's not a mistake, but a company policy to hire cheap illegal help. 
• 02/04 - Trump will nominate David Malpass to lead the World Bank. Again, Trump appoints an organization's critic to lead it. 
• 02/05 - Trump delivers the State of the Union (SOTU) address to Congress. The usual over the top theatrics full of falsehoods. WP fact-checking.       
• Trump announces during SOTU that he will meet with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un on February 27 & 28 in Vietnam.   
• 02/07 - AG nominee William Barr clears the Judiciary Committee. Will now be voted on by the full Senate.
• 02/07 - Jeff Bezos accuses the owner of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, of extortion and blackmail. 
• 02/07 - The Supreme Court votes 5-4 to block Lousiana's abortion law. 
• The CFPB proposes delaying restrictions on payday lenders, the Shylocks of the world. Another perk for the fat cats and screw the poor.    
• 02/08 - Elizabeth Warren officially enters the presidential race. 
• 02/10 - Amy Klobuchar enters the presidential race.  
• 02/12 - The Senate passes a sweeping conservation bill 92-8.  
• 02/12 - Maybe a compromise agreement on the government funding and border security has been reached in Congress. It's up to Trump now.             

wjh   

S1P11 - Baseball - Pre-Spring Training

Baseball News Since About 02/01/2019

Rangers

• The Rangers officially announced that the new stadium will have artificial turf. Not my choice. Let's hope they still use real dirt for the basepaths and warning tracks. The Diamondbacks are installing the same turf for this season so there will be a chance to evaluate it under game conditions.  
• The Rangers Triple-A team for the next four years will be the Nashville Sounds. Round Rock is now the Astros affiliate. 
• The Rangers have roster questions at first base, third base, catcher, and center field. Of course, starting pitching is a major question mark. It's the Tommy John surgery gang. 
• Delino DeShields has the center field job to lose but is not a lock. 
• Ronald Guzman is the favorite at first base but he has less than a year of MLB experience
• The Rangers sign Hunter Pence to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.

MLB

• This will be the 150th year of professional baseball. The Cincinnati Reds were founded in 1869. 
• 02/07 - Frank Robinson died. He was the first MLB Black manager, the first and only player to win the MVP award in both leagues, NL Rookie of the Year (1956), the 1966 Triple Crown, 12-time all-star, and a Hall of Fame member. RIP Frank.
• Discussions with MLB and the Players Union could result in the following rule changes in 2019 and beyond:
• Adoption of the designated hitter (DH) in the National League
• Require that pitchers face a minimum of three batters except when finishing an inning or an injury. 
• A 20-second pitch clock
• A single trade deadline
• A roster expansion to 26 players with a 12 pitcher maximum
• Reduce mound visits to 5, currently, it is 6
• A test of placing a runner on second base at the start of each extra half inning
• Tweaks to the draft order and MLB contract signings
• As an old guy, I would prefer that the DH be eliminated but that is not going to happen. That being said, both leagues should play by the same rules especially now that inter-league play is an everyday occurrence. I think 2019 is too soon though since the National League teams have already built their rosters based on no DH.
• No NL DH for the 2019 season has been decided.
• I have no problem with the 26 player, 12 pitcher roster. Again, teams probably need a year to make the necessary adjustments.
• I'm not sure about the three batter minimum. I know it is to speed up the game by eliminating pitching changes. Seems somewhat unfair unless teams were also limited in the number of pinch-hitters. This one needs some thought as it is a major change.
• The 20-second pitch clock and five mound visits can be done immediately.
• The trade deadline, draft order, and contracts are internal issues that I don't really care about and have a limited effect on the day to day games. 
• No draft changes for 2019. 
• Placing a runner on second base in extra innings is an abomination and should never be even discussed let alone implemented. It changes the fabric of the game and will alter several statistics such as RBIs, runs scored, ERA, and others. No way Jose!
• One item that wasn't addressed but should be is the active roster expansion up to 40 players on September 1st. That needs to be fixed. I would be in favor of no roster expansion at all or at most a couple of players. 
• The Disabled List has been renamed to the Injured List. The DL is now the IL.
• MLB is negotiating with The Disney Company to purchase 14 regional sports networks. These are the old Fox Sports regional networks that Disney/ESPN purchased. Stay tuned. 
• Rawlings will supply MLB baseballs and helmets for 2019.

wjh

S1P10 - Baseball

Baseball News Since About 12/01/2018

Rangers

• The Rangers announced that they will retire Adrian Beltre's number (29) at a ceremony in June. Good move. 
• The Rangers are considering both grass and artificial turf for the playing surface at the new Globe Life Field. I'm rooting for grass (pun intended). The Dallas Morning News had an interesting article on the options and decision process. 
• Have the Rangers already conceded the 2019 season? They have scheduled a Billy Joel concert at Globe Life Park for October 12, 2019. That is smack in the middle of the MLB 2019 playoff schedule. Guess they figure to be through with baseball at the end of the regular season. 
• 12/05 - Not exactly baseball, but related to the Texas Rangers. Beginning in February 2020, the "old" Globe Life Park will become home to a new XFL football team. There will be eight XFL teams. No word on the Dallas/Arlington team name or if Globe Life will remain as part of the stadium name. The Rangers will move to the new retractable roof Globe Life Field for the 2020 baseball season. 
• The Rangers sign free agent RHP Lance Lynn (31) to a three-year deal.  
• 2018 stats: WL 10-10, ERA 4.77, IP 156.2, K 161, BB 76 
• Career stats: WL 82-57, ERA 3.57, IP 1134.1, K 1080, BB 445
• Elvis Andrus (30) does not exercise his opt-out option on his contract. He remains a Ranger for the next four years with a club option fifth year. I'm glad to see Elvis will be around. 
• The Rangers avoid arbitration with Nomar Mazara and Delino DeShields. Each signed a one year contract. 
• 12/21 - The Rangers trade Jurickson Profar (25) to the A's for four minor league prospects, three pitchers and one infielder. They also gained $750K in their international bonus pool number. Profar is a premier utility player. He can play every position except pitcher and catcher. Profar's 2018 slash numbers were .254/.335/.458, OPS - .793, HR 20, RBI 77 in 146 games. He can be a free agent after the 2020 season. 
• Adrian Beltre's retirement and Profar's trade leaves third base a question mark for 2019. 
• The Rangers sign RHP Shelby Miller (28) to a one year $2 million plus incentives contract. Another reclamation project. He was 0-4, 10.69 ERA last year with Arizona. He was on DL about half the season with elbow inflammation. He missed all of 2016 after Tommy John surgery. 
• The Rangers sign Asdrubal Cabrera (33) to a one year $3.5 million deal. He is the prime candidate to be the starting 3rd baseman. A switch hitter, his 2018 numbers were .262/.316/.458 with 36 doubles, 23 home runs, and 75 RBIs.
• Joey Gallo will be a fulltime outfielder in 2019. No more first base or third base. So, who will play first? 
• 01/30 - The Rangers load up an 18-wheeler with equipment heading to spring training.
• Rangers pitchers and catchers report to spring training on February 13th. The first full-squad workout is February 18th.

Other MLB

• Mariano Rivera is the first baseball player to be unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The rest of the 2019 class is Roy Halliday, Edgar Martines, and Mike Mussina. Lee Smith and Harold Baines were previously voted in by the "oldies" committee. Induction ceremonies will be July 21, 2019. I have no real problem with any of the inductees although as a Texas Rangers fan, I would not have voted for Harold Baines. He was a complete bust as a Ranger. Roid Boys Bonds and Clemens still not close to getting enough votes. 
• 12/14 - The Orioles name Brandon Hyde as their new manager. He is 45 years old and most recently was a first base and bench coach for the Chicago Cubs. This will be his first MLB manager position. 
• 12/19 - MLB, the MLB Players Association, the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) and the U.S. government reach an agreement for Cuban baseball players to be signed by MLB clubs. The agreement is similar to those with Japan and Korea baseball. 
• 12/21 - Dodgers and Reds make a seven-player deal. The Reds get outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, left-hander Alex Wood and infielder/catcher Kyle Farmer to the Reds in exchange for right-hander Homer Bailey and a pair of prospects in infielder Jeter Downs and right-hander Josiah Gray. This appears to be mostly a salary dumping deal for the Dodgers. The Reds have upgraded their roster. 

Other Baseball

• The 2019 NCAA College Baseball preseason rankings are out. Vanderbilt is #1, Florida is #6, TCU is #19 according to the D1 Baseball poll. There are eight SEC, six ACC, and 5 Big 12 teams in the top 25. The same power conferences as usual.
• Baseball America has the Gators at #4.
• The Florida Gators open their baseball season at home on February 15th against Long Beach State. 

wjh

S1P09 - Politics & News

A recap of politics and news since about 01/14/2019

National & International

• 01/14 - William P. Barr, President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, promised on Monday that he would allow the special counsel to continue his investigation. But will he release the full unedited final report?
• 01/14 - Two federal judges rule that the Trump administration can not roll back the ACA mandate to cover birth control. 
• 01/14 - Mitch McConnell speaks out against Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) following his racist remarks. Now, what will the GOP do about King?
• It looks like Republican House leadership moves to remove Steve King from all his committee seats. That's a start.
• The full House votes to rebuke white supremacy in general. Weak.
• An old real estate loan by Mick Mulvaney comes to light. He is being sued for $2.5 million. 
• 01/15 - William Barr, Trump's Attorney General nominee, goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing. 
• 01/15 - A federal judge has blocked the Commerce Department from asking a citizenship question on the 2020 census. It is expected to be appealed. 
• 01/15 - The Department of Defense extends its assistance to the Department of Homeland Security along our southern border through September 2019. Seems like a political move to enforce the "Trump Crisis". How much will this cost?
• 01/15 - A federal judge refused to compel the government to pay employees who are currently working without pay during the shutdown. 
• 01/15 - The UK parliament overwhelmingly rejects Theresa May's Brexit agreement with the EU 432-202. This is a complete clusterfuck. Noone has a plan. 
• 01/15 - Kirsten Gillibrand enters the Democratic race for president. Another woman in the race. 
• 01/16 - Speaker Pelosi suggests Trump postpone the State of the Union Address until after the government shutdown ends or to submit it in writing. Pelosi playing hardball.
• 01/17 - Trump cancels Pelosi's trip to Afghanistan. The pissing match is on. 
• 01/16 - US troops are killed in a bombing in Syria. ISIS has taken credit. Maybe ISIS isn't quite defeated as Trump says. 
• 01/16 - Theresa May narrowly survives a no-confidence vote (325-306) in Parliament. Unfortunately, they still have no confidence in her handling of Brexit. 
• 01/16 - The General Services inspector general says that the agency ignored concerns that Trump's lease on the old Post Office Building (Trump International Hotel) might violate the US Constitution's emoluments clauses. A new legal review is recommended. 
• 01/17 - The House votes 362-53 to oppose the lifting of sanctions against Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska controlled companies. A rebuke of the Trump administration.
• The GOP Senate supports the Russians and Trump despite eleven Republican defections. MRGA, Make Russia Great Again.
• 01/17 - The State Department found enough money to call back employees for one pay period. 
• 01/17 - Once again Rudy Giuliani changes his story. Now maybe there was collusion by the Trump campaign, but not by Trump himself. Rudy has to be the worst lawyer in the country.
• Michael Cohen admits to trying to manipulate online polls in favor of Trump. Then in true Trump manner didn't pay the IT firm he hired what was agreed to. Trump consistently said the polls were rigged. Turns out he was correct and he was the one rigging them. 
• According to a BuzzFeed report, Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the Russian real estate deal. 
• In a very rare public statement, the Special Counsel's office denies the details of the news report but not the underlying allegation. 
• 01/18 - Trump's disclosure of the planned Congressional trip to Afghanistan is not only petty but is a dangerous security breach. What a sad little person he is. 
• 01/18 - Trump announces that he will meet with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, in late February. 
• 01/19 - Trump addresses the nation on the shutdown. His proposal is to give him all the money he wants for the permanent border wall. He offers to give Dreamers temporary three-year protection from deportation. Permanent vs temporary, I get everything I want, you get a small temporary part of what you want. Compromise.
• 01/21 - Kamala Harris (D, CA) announces that she is running for president.
• 01/21 - Fact Checker states that Trump has lied or mislead 8,158 times during his first two years in office.
• 01/21 - Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, tries to walk back his statements that the Moscow Trump Tower deal negotiations continued well into 2016. Surprise, Giuliani put his foot in his mouth again. Why do they let this guy make public statements?
• 01/22 - In a 5-4 decision, The Supreme Court allows Trump's ban on transgender people in the military to go into effect while the case is litigated. 
• 01/22 - The Supreme Court takes no action on Trump's request to take up the DACA issue now. 
• 01/22 - Trump asks the Supreme Court to quickly make a decision on the 2020 Census "citizenship" question.  A US District judge has ordered the administration to stop plans to include the question. 
• 01/23 - Trump says he will deliver the State of the Union speech at the Capitol on January 29th.
• Speaker Nancy Pelosi says you will not as long as there is a government shutdown. Her House, she wins.
• Trump says he will deliver the speech at a different venue.
• Trump decides to wait until after the #TrumpShutdown to deliver the SOTO at the Capitol. Pelosi wins again. 
• 01/23 - Venezuelan opposition leader and Nation Assembly President, Juan Guaido, declares himself president of the country.
• Trump recognizes Guaido as interim president.
• Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, gives US diplomats 72 hours to leave the country.
• US and Venezuela agree to a cooling off period of 30 days. 
• 01/24 - Former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen has been subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
• 01/24 - Government funding bills with and without the wall both fail to pass in the Senate. The partial shutdown remains in effect. 
• 01/25 - Trump associate, Roger Stone, is arrested and indicted on seven counts by Robert Mueller. Counts include witness tampering, obstruction, and lying. 
• 01/25 - Trump agrees to the same temporary government funding bill that was on the table before the #TrumpShutdown. No wall money. The great negotiator caved.
• The Trump organization fired about a dozen employees at Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County. They are undocumented immigrants who have been working at the club, many for several years. Where will they get workers if Trump builds his wall?

wjh

S1P08 - Politics & News

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

National

• 01/01 - Mitt Romney (R), as he prepares to become a US Senator from Utah, writes a scathing Washington Post op-ed review of Trump's first two years.
• Trump now agrees to give the military about four months to withdraw troops from Syria. He backs down from his initial knee-jerk decision to do it in 30 days. Too bad he doesn't think things through before the decision. 
• A federal employees union filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging that the government shutdown is forcing about 400K employees to work without pay. 
• 01/02 - Apple lowers sales estimates for the quarter mostly due to China's economy slowing and global trade uncertainties. Trump's trade war at work.
• 01/02 - China says it has landed a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. How would we know, we can't see that side.
• 01/03 - Nancy Pelosi is elected speaker of the House.
• 01/03 - The Justice Department is investigating whether former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to Interior Department inspector general investigators. Another member of the Trump swamp. 
• 01/04 - The US added 312K jobs in December 2018. The unemployment rate was 3.9%. Both good numbers. 
• 01/04 - Administration officials to get large raises while 800K government employees go without paychecks. Both ironic and terrible optics.
• 01/04 - Senator Pat Roberts (R, Kansas) announces he will not seek reelection in 2020. Another old-guard Republican bales. 
• 01/04 - Trump threatens to keep government shutdown for months or years if he doesn't get wall funding. Also threatens to declare a national emergency and build the wall that way. #TrumpShutdown
• The Supreme Court agrees to hear North Carolina and Maryland gerrymandering cases. 
• 01/04 -  Kevin Sweeney, a retired Navy rear admiral who had worked closely with Mr. Mattis, was forced to step down as the Pentagon chief of staff. Trump was concerned about his loyalty. Not to the country but to Trump personally.
• 1/07 - The Trump administration has decided that the IRS can process tax refunds during the #TrumpShutdown. The IRS employees will not be paid until the shutdown ends. 
• 01/07 - It now appears that Trump's "immediate" withdrawal of troops from Syria has now changed to whenever. Another example of Trump making knee-jerk (emphasis on jerk) decisions only to have to walk them back when reality kicks in. 
• 01/08 - Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who in 2016 met with Trump campaign officials in Trump Tower, was charged on Tuesday in a separate case that showed her close ties to the Kremlin. Real estate money laundering.
• 01/08 - Court filings allege that Paul Manafort shared 2016 presidential campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik who has been tied to Russian intelligence.
• 01/08 - The #TrumpShutdown stalls the farm bailout payments that are needed because of Trump's tariffs and trade war with China. Karma.
• 01/08 - Supreme Court rules against mystery corporation from ‘Country A’ fighting subpoena in Mueller investigation.
• 01/08 - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refuses to meet with John Bolton. He says US conditions of protection from the Kurds for Syrian withdrawal is impossible. More fallout from Trump's kneeJERK decision to pull out immediately or slowly or more slowly, or never. Crystal clear and well thought out. 
• 01/09 - Eight House Republicans vote with the Democrats to reopen the Treasury Department without Trump's wall funding.
• 01/10 - Former Trump lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, agrees to testify publicly before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on February 7th.
• New analysis shows the oceans are heating faster than anticipated. Bad news for climate change.
• 01/11 - A military spokesman says that the withdrawal from Syria has begun. No details.
• 01/11 - The Trump administration does some magic so that mortgage loan income verifications can be processed during the shutdown. A favor to big business GOP supporters. Nothing swampy about that.
• 01/11 - Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D Hi) enters the presidential field. 
• 01/12 - Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and housing secretary under the Obama administration, officially enters the presidential race. 
• 01/12 - The government shutdown is now the longest in US history. Trump has another record. He must be proud. 
• 01/13 - Washington Post - ABC poll shows 53% blame Trump and Republicans, 29% blame Democrats for the government shutdown. A somewhat different view than Trump's tweets. 

Texas

• 01/09 - The 86th Texas Legislature convenes.  

S1P07 - Politics & News

A recap of politics and news since about 12/15/18

• Trump has made 7,546 false or misleading statements in his first 700 days in office. That's an average of almost 11 per day. Impressive. 
• The latest count for the president too busy to golf. Trump has visited his resorts 154 times and played 121 rounds of golf in 101 weeks. So much for being too busy to play golf. At the same point in his administration, Obama had played 60 rounds. The midterm elections and holidays' government shutdown slowed Trump at the end of the year. 
• There were 1,419 false or misleading claims from Trump just in the seven weeks leading up to the midterms, according to Fact Checker. Trump once again wins the Golden Pinocchio award for the most prolific dispenser of false claims.
• Trump names Mick Mulvaney as his acting chief of staff. Certainly not the first choice and apparently not the permanent choice.
• A federal district judge in Texas has ruled that the ACA (Obamacare) is unconstitutional. This ruling will, of course, be appealed. I want to thank our Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, for initiating the lawsuit. The Trump administration has declined to defend the law. Actually, Obamacare was ruled constitutional several times. It's Trumpcare that may be unconstitutional, that's Obamacare after the GOP gutted it. 
• Trump cancels the White House press Christmas party. Scrooge, the enemy of Christmas. 
• 12/15 - Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior, will leave by the end of the year. He has been under misconduct allegations and investigations. He is also an enemy of the environment. A true swamp creature. Good riddance. Another one bites the dust. 
• 12/15 - The Paris Climate Accord is kept alive and adds uniform measurement and reporting standards. 200 countries, including the USA, agree to the pact. The US is scheduled to withdraw from the accord in 2020 unless Trump changes his mind.
• 12/16 - New report to the Senate Intelligence Committee indicates even wider Russian interference in the 2016 election and also says the interference was pro Trump and GOP. Or, it could have just been a 400 lb guy on his bed. 
• New Senate report says Russian disinformation teams targetted Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Of course they did. Putin is trying to help his buddy, Trump. 
• 12/17- Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (R), 78, announces he won't run for reelection in 2020. Another old-guard Republican to retire. 
• 12/18 - Trump agrees to shut down his charity foundation. The New York state lawsuit against Donald, Donald, Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump will proceed. It seeks financial retribution and a ban on any of the Trumps from serving on a nonprofit board. Their motto: It's better to receive than to give. 
• 12/18 - Arizona governor, Doug Ducey (R), appoints Martha McSally (R) to the Senate. She will fill the seat formerly held by John McCain. McSally lost the 2018 senatorial election to Kyrsten Sinema (D). Even when Republicans lose, they win. There will be a special election for the seat in 2020 and the regular election in 2022. McCain was reelected in 2016. 
• 12/18 - Trump backs down on his threat to shut down the government over his border (or is it, boarder) wall funding. 
• 12/19 - Senate passes interim funding bill through 01/08/19.
• 12/20 - Hold on, now Trump says he won't sign interim budget bill. Will the government really have a Trump shutdown?
• 12/18 - The Senate passes a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill (87-12). Now on to the House.  
• 12/20 - The House passes the criminal justice reform bill 338-56. Now it goes to Trump for signature.
• 12/19 - The Fed raised interest rates ¼ point to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. The Dow falls 350 points.
• 12/19 - Mueller seeks a transcript of Trump associate Roger Stone's testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. Are indictments coming soon?
• 12/19 - Trump says he will pull all US troops out of Syria immediately. Only members of Congress, the Pentagon, the State Department, and our allies. Trump did receive approval from Turkey, Iran, and his good buddy Vladamir Putin. 
• James Mattis, Secretary of Defense, resigns. He stated that his views do not align with Trump's. The Syria withdrawal appears to be the final straw. Another one bites the dust. All of "Trump's generals" are now gone or soon will be. 
• In a temper tantrum after actually reading Mattis's resignation letter, Trump pushes him out on 1/1/2019 rather than the scheduled February departure. 
• Brett H. McGurk, the special presidential envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State, is also stepping down over Mr. Trump’s decision to pull troops from Syria
• Attorney General nominee, William Barr, wrote a memo to the Justice Department criticizing the Mueller probe into obstruction of justice. Will he restrict the investigation if he gets confirmed?
• DOJ ethics officials have said acting AG Whitaker should recuse himself from overseeing the Mueller investigation. He has ignored that advice.
• 12/20 - Trump orders the withdrawal of 7,000 troops from Afghanistan which is about half of our forces there. Again it surprises almost everyone including the Afghans.
• 12/21 - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has surgery to remove two cancerous nodules from her left lung. No other cancer was detected and no further treatment is prescribed. Let's all hope for her complete recovery and back to work soon. 
• 12/21 - The Supreme Court refuses to allow Trump to deny illegal immigrants from seeking asylum.
• 12/21 - Trump says he won't sign any funding bill that does not include money for The Wall. Congress adjourns for the holidays. About a quarter of the government shuts down. Those employees are either furloughed or must work without pay. Merry Christmas!
• About ¼ of the federal government shuts down. More than 420K employees deemed essential will have to work without pay. Another 380K employees will be furloughed and several government departments and services will be shuttered. Welcome to the Trump shutdown.  
• Congress adjourns until 12/27. No resolution to the shutdown until at least then.
• 12/22 - Frustrated with the falling stock market, Trump rants about Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and inquires if he can fire Powell. Looking for a scapegoat despite all Trump has done to cause uncertainty in the Markets.
• Trump signs major farm bill. Food stamp funding remains intact.
• 12/26 - Trump visits troops in Iraq. His first visit to combat troops. Nice that the Commander-in-Chief visits the troops. Unfortunately, he had to badmouth the generals and lie about military pay raises. He is pathetic. 
• Congress abdicates on funding the ¼ of government that is shut down. The plan is to wait until after January 3rd when the new Congress is sworn in. It is these folks, Trump, and their staffs who should not be paid during any shutdown. 
• 12/28 - The EPA proposes rule changes that would allow coal-fired power plants to emit more mercury and other pollutants. Trump's assault on the environment continues.
• Trump threatens to close our southern border if he doesn't get his wall. How would he do that without a wall? Hope you don't like affordable fruits and vegetables in the winter. Many come from Mexico.
• 12/29 - Trump issues an order to freeze federal employees pay in 2019. More great holiday news for those federal employees still getting paid. 
• 12/31 - Elizabeth Warren announces she will enter the 2020 presidential race. No surprise here. 
• 12/31 - We end the year with the #TrumpShutdown still in effect. About ¼ of the government in a shutdown and 800K federal employees not being paid. 
• Happy New Year!

wjh