Stewart Myrent

Just finished "The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington" by Brad Meltzer & Josh Mensch.  Really enjoyed the book & finished it in four days.  It was a very easy read; I really liked the fact that the chapters were fairly short, which made it easy to continue reading, even if I only had five or ten minutes to read, before having to do something else.  Washington was a relatively unique individual, whether in his own time, or even now.  The difference between Washington & the current CIC is extremely disconcerting & disturbing.  I just saw this AM that it's coming out that Trump lost over $1 billion (that's billion dollars, not million dollars) during the 1990's.  What a GREAT businessman, what with Trump airlines, Trump university, Trump steaks, Trump wine, etc., etc., etc., all of which went totally bust, not including other businesses I have not mentioned.  Did anyone notice that ALL these businesses have one thing in common?  They all are attached to the Trump name & brand.  Yikes!  It's exactly as I expected - no surprises here!  Does anyone remember when Nixon said that the American people deserved to know that their president is not a crook & that he was NOT a crook?  The other thing I find extremely disturbing, is that Steve Mnuchin recently stated that he is not obligated to release the president's tax returns, as the request to release them is prompted by partisan politics.  Trump really knows how to pick lackeys, who will defend this president, without any sensible reasoning or explanations.  If you all will recall, I was hoping to just skip 2019, because I knew it would be ugly & idiotic.  Well, we (unfortunately) are still stuck in 2019 & it's been ugly & idiotic.

Stewart Myrent

Just picked up "War on Peace", by Ronan Farrow, the son of Mia Farrow & Woody Allen.  He's turned out to be a fine young man, as I've seen him several times on the talk shows & I really enjoyed his comments, as he seems very knowledgable.  I've barely gotten into the book, but apparently it's mainly about the decimation of the Foreign Service under the Trump administration, letting go career employees (who are the only ones who know what they're doing) & apparently, not re-filling their positions.  But, I have a feeling that later in the book, those positions WILL be filled by totally ignorant, ill-informed, inexperienced & unqualified people.  I think the main premise of the book, is that without any experienced hands at either the State Dept. or the Foreign Service, America's prominence in world affairs is coming to a rapid end.  I believe that Trump is looking at it from the viewpoint that our foreign aid is going to many countries, who do not always support our views, and that, if we are giving them huge amounts of aid every year, we should be getting more in return.  Whether that be political support, or, more likely, a bigger profit factor.  But, it's always about 'quid pro quo'.  To get something, you have to give something.  It seems like the gist of the book is, if we keep diminishing the value of our State Dept. & Foreign Service, the only result can be diminished influence in the world for the U.S.  I have to say that although the chapters are longer than the last book I read, I think he has a really good writing style, with a deft touch for understatement & irony. 

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

We need a license to drive a car, why not a license to own a gun?

Gun licensing programs effectively reduce gun violence.

We must implement gun licensing programs in conjunction with comprehensive background checks and a ban on assault weapons to help end gun violence.

Death and dying are part of our students’ lives -

after teaching them to hide during lockdown

we count on heroes to take on shooters to save their classmates.

As of May 5th, there have been over 100 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2019

and 2,040 mass shootings since Sandy Hook in 2012.  

Love for our country manifests in justice. 

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

There is a time for mourning / for shiva.

“Everyone was upset there was no time to honor Kendrick.”  

“(It should be) about the victims, our faculty, and the first responders, the horror that our students went through just yesterday.”  

STEM School students walked out of the Brady group’s failed community vigil in Colorado which featured politicians and a Moms Demand Action volunteer.

then

after holding their own impromptu vigil in the rain, pointing their illuminated cellphones toward the sky, students returned to the gym and held a moment of silence for Kendrick Castillo who died saving his classmates and for the shooting survivors.  Several students took the microphone to speak about Kendrick who gave his life trying to stop one of the shooters and to express their frustration with the organizers.

“This was not a vigil,” one student said, “This is not what we wanted for Kendrick.  We didn’t want Kendrick to be a prop.  We wanted Kendrick to be mourned.  We wanted all of you to join us in that mourning ... we’re back now to tell you that we love Kendrick and we love all of the survivors.”

Following the vigil, the Brady group apologized that the vigil “did not provide the support, caring and sense of community crucial to communities who suffer the trauma of gun violence.”

Senator Michael Bennet acknowledged the vigil “should have been about Kendrick Castillo and the STEM School students ... that the event should have been set up to ensure their voices were fully heard.”  

As one of Kendrick’s classmates said, “I came here for my close friend Kendrick.  I just wanted to talk about him a little bit because everybody’s talking about gun violence and avoiding the fact that he died.”

There is a time for mourning / for shiva.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

When will the -there's no such rule- Biden Rule be extinguished as an excuse?

McConnell used a non-existent rule to keep Merrick Garland off the Supreme Court.

On June 25, 1992 (4 months later in the year than February 13 - when Associate Justice Scalia died) when there was no Supreme Court vacancy to fill, and no nominee to consider, Joe Biden nonetheless went to the Senate floor to urge delay if a vacancy did occur. 

He did NOT argue for a delay that would last until after the next president took office -

he felt that out of consideration for the president, the nominee, and the Senate itself,

the Senate confirmation process should be delayed until after the campaign season

Why? because of the overall level of bitterness that sadly infects our political system and the (1992) presidential campaign already -

and because confirmation could take place after election day during the lameduck session.

The Senate NEVER took a vote to adopt such a rule - and NEVER used such a rule - to delay consideration of a nominee until after election day -

not until McConnell refused to consider the nomination of Merrick Garland and spuriously labeled the reason, the Biden Rule.

In June of 1992 Biden was ruminating about the rancor following the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings fall of 1991 and the women who emerged to run in 1992 - the Year of the Woman.

McConnell resurrected and named Biden's rumination "the Biden Rule” - one of many ruses on his part to undermine the balance set forth in the Constitution, and not allow the president to nominate a candidate for a vacancy on SCOTUS.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Last night, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis signed a bill allowing teachers to carry guns in classrooms after receiving training.  The measure will go into effect on October 1.  Several school districts have declined to participate in the program; teachers and students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas among others have criticized the measure.  

Supporters of the Florida measure argue that these proposals will make students safer by allowing school officials to respond to on-campus shootings, but students, teachers, legislators, and policy experts note there’s no evidence backing up the benefits of more guns in schools -

they recognize more people with guns means a lot of things, but safety isn’t necessarily one of them.

But do we listen to students and teachers, policy experts and other legislators?  Florida not only passed the measure arming teachers but also voted down an amendment that would require school staffers to receive implicit bias training which focuses on the way stereotyping different groups can affect split-second decisions.

What does “school safety” mean? - lawmakers are relying on a very narrow understanding of “school safety” with little regard for what those affected have to say.  Responding to tragedy by overpolicing and hardening schools does not create safety for our students.

“Arming teachers is not a workable solution.” -- James Comey

Watch “Unforgiven” (the movie) for an exploration of what it takes to shoot a person -

consider trained security guards and how NOT well they have done protecting students,

consider what would be expected of teachers in a learning setting.

Stewart Myrent

Janis, couldn't believe that you referenced Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven".  It is my favorite movie of all time (it's a western, which I grew up with); to me, it's pretty much a perfect movie (the acting is great, especially from Clint & Gene Hackman), from beginning to end.  Don't want to get into any details, but if anyone hasn't seen this movie, I couldn't recommend it any more highly.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

The Brewers love the rivalry with the Cubs -

In a marathon that lasted longer than the (cold) rain -

bottom of the 15th, Willson Contreras hit his 10th homerun this season.

Bravo, Willson! that’s what you call a “crawl-off” homerun!  

Cubs defeat Brewers  2-1

GO CUBS GO! ! !  

Tomorrow (Sunday)

watch the rubber match at 6:08 CDT on ESPN

How fun! the Brewers support math education at Miller Park by inviting students to interact with the math behind baseball.  In advance of Math Day at the ballpark, students receive a Brewers Math workbook - game day at Miller Park they gather data throughout the game and exercise basic statistical principles through the mechanics of the game.

Stewart Myrent

I wanted to mention that Ronan Farrow, in his newest book, "War On Peace", has a dedication to his book, simply "For Mom."  I'll get back to that in a few moments, because the major reason for my post today, is to wish all of the women, who are mothers & now (presumably) grandmothers, the happiest Mother's Day.  Even if you are not a mother (by choice or happenstance), I hope all of you have the best possible day today.  I have known for several decades now, that there are major differences between men & women (and I'm not talking about the obvious differences - I know that you're all shocked that it's only for the past few decades that I have noticed these differences), almost to the point that we (men & women) are very much like two different species.  But, women are endowed with certain qualities that are pretty much totally lacking in men.  I'm pretty sure if the population were only men, we would have totally killed each other off, well before now.  My own mother died in 1976 (she was only 53), so she's been gone over 40 years now.  Even if you're over 70 & your mother is over 100, I guarantee she worries about you & thinks of you every day.  It never changes.  I know that it's our mothers who teach us right from wrong & teach us, also, how to be respectable & polite members of society.  As I mentioned in a previous post, there are thousands of ways to be a good parent & probably several dozen ways to be a bad parent.  In a similar vein, I'm sure you have met a few women in your lives, who should not be mothers - but they are few & far between.  Getting back to Ronan Farrow, I have to say he is a very gifted & precise writer - he has won a Pulitzer Prize.  So, I'm thinking that since his father is Woody Allen (I have no idea what kind of father Woody was), my guess is that his mother (Mia Farrow) may have had much more to do with how he turned out.  When I think of Tiffany Trump, it seems like her mother (Marla Maples) did a pretty good job of shielding her from the effects of being too close to her father.  I am hoping that Melania figures out how to make sure that Barron is not brought too much under his father's sway.  As far as I can see, the three older kids (Ivana's) have been corrupted & I'm guessing could be facing significant jail time.  But for all of you women without the surname Trump, have a wonderful Mother's Day.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Stewart, thanks for your Mother’s Day wishes - I shared them with my daughters as well.  

My thoughts were with Kendrick Castillo’s mom - sadly I was rebuked by a mom who echoes Samuel Wurzelbacher (AKA Joe the Plumber): “Your dead kids don’t trump my constitutional rights.”  

I’m with the Parkland kids - Marching for Life.

Steve, are you hoping we’ll all be at Wrigley to cheer the Cubs together?

Stewart Myrent

Janis, thank you for the thank you for Mother's Day wishes.  Steve, I know your post stated you are coming in soon for your (perhaps) final Cubs game.  It's sounding to me like it will most probably be your final Cubs game at Wrigley.  A couple of years ago, I went to a Cubs game, because I had some cousins coming in to Chicago & they wanted to see a Cubs game at Wrigley.  I hadn't been there myself in probably 20 years, or so.  Although the structure of the ballpark hasn't changed at all (all the seating is pretty much the same), there have been many changes to the park, relative to signage, scoreboards & video boards (kind of like a modern ballpark) & you will be amazed.  You didn't mention when exactly you are coming in to see the game & didn't mention which game (or games) you will be going to.  Maybe you should go to more than one, if it does prove to be your final trip to Wrigley Field.  Although, I have no desire to go to Wrigley one more time (I actually took a Pace bus from Schaumburg to the game, because I had heard that parking (which I thought would be $20-30) was actually like $40-50 - the bus was not that comfortable, but it cost $4 each way - nice).  However, since I know that you have no plans to attend the 55th reunion, I would love to see you when you come in.  Don't know where you're staying when you come to Chicago, but I'm all the way out in Lake County & will be glad to meet you, while you are in town.  I'm off work Mon.-Wed.  If you're interested, give me a call at 847-361-9102 (Cell). 

Stewart Myrent

Steve, thanks for update on your itinerary.  It sounds like you already have full round of activities scheduled for your upcoming visit to Chi, although, frankly, if you are staying way south of the city & me stuck out in Lake County, it would be difficult for me to hook up with you during your visit.  To me, going to the far S. side of Chicago, would be almost as daunting as travelling to Thailand.  Additionally, I hate to disappoint you, but going to Wrigley, in no way represents a religious experience to me, but I get it.  I didn't realize that you had come in for the 2016 championship run, so you have already seen the changes made at Wrigley and, actually more recently, than I had been there with my cousins.  Doesn't sound like there's much chance of us getting together during your upcoming trip, but have a safe trip & return to Thailand. 

Roger C. Kaage

Sorry to change the subject again, but a couple of points cause me to burst out of my lurking.  First, take your minds back to our jr high/high school years--even if you're not a fan of musical theater, you probably realize those years are part of the golden age of musical theater.  And now, for those of you still in the Chicago area, you can relive one of those productions.  West Side Story is playing at the Lyric Opera, and the production is spectacular!  The dancing is the original Jerome Robbins choreography, and the voices of the principals are astounding. I heartily recommend your attendance.  It was well worth a two hour drive in, the stay overnight, and the long drive home.  For those of you in the area--take the time to enjoy it!

Secondly, I just finished a book I must recommend--Commander in Cheat, by Rick Reilly.  Even if you are not a golfer, but have a general understanding of the rules and integrity of the game, the insights into the mind and behavior of POTUS are maddening.  It's an easy read, but it's very troubling, too.

Okay--I'll go back to lurking for now.

Stewart Myrent

Roger, thank you for the heads-up on "West Side Story", which I have always loved, but have probably only seen the film from 1961.  We had a recording of the Broadway stage play at home, but I doubt that I will see the new stage version here.  However, I'm thinking it's way more likely that I will pick up a copy of "Commander in Cheat", by Rick Reilly.  On the other hand, I've already read 3 Trump books & I'm getting saturated with stuff about Trump.  I'm thinking, "Do I really need to read a book that tells me that Trump is a huge cheat at the game of golf?"  I don't expect to be shocked, or even surprised.  But, my time needs to be filled with something good to read, so I may pick up a copy at the library.

Stewart Myrent

Just finished Ronan Farrow's "War on Peace", the subtitle of which is "The End of Diplomacy and The Decline of American Influence".  I was expecting to find that this was brought on by the Trump administration, but was surprised to find that it began during the Obama administration, where the Defense Dept. was brought into primacy to settle international problems via military options, as opposed to the State Dept. & the Foreign Service, attempting to solve problems through diplomacy.  Of course, it was exacerbated by the Trump administration & Rex Tillerson, cutting funding drastically to the Department of State (and consequently the Foreign Service).  During Trump's administration, many career State Dept. & Foreign Service career diplomats were let go (or left on their own), and their positions are still sitting vacant, without ever being re-filled by replacement officers.  I was surprised by the info on the Obama administration.  This is why it's always a bad idea to assume anything. 

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Stewart, therein lies the answer to your question -

the difference between Trump supporters and others is others can support a president and agree or disagree objectively - even publicly express disappointment - with a president's policy. 

Sadly Trump supporters give - are expected to give - blind support to Trump. 

As we've seen on the Forum, they do not tell us why they support Trump or his policies, they just do.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

"A little-noticed provision in Trump’s sprawling new tax law - students from middle and low income families with large financial aid packages found their non tuition assistance for room and board taxed by as much as 37% - a byproduct of conservatives’ desire to simplify the tax code and bring in new revenues to help offset the fiscal cost of cutting tax rates for individuals and businesses.  

"In the past, a student from a household with a joint income of $50,000 awarded a scholarship that covered room and board was taxed at their parents’ rate of 12%.  Under the new law, students awarded $11,500 for room and board at a public university were taxed up to 35%, and students awarded $12,680 for room and board at a private university were taxed up to 37%." 

 -- Erica L. Green, May 17, 2019  The New York Times

Is the law a consequence of haste or underlying greed? 

Imagine the hardship and stress for young American students.

Congress: Unless you want substantial tax increases on scholarships,

              Fix the law you passed.

“We used to tax the rich and invest in public goods like affordable higher education.  Today we cut taxes on the rich and then borrow from them.  

“The only beneficiary of this debacle is a parasitic student loan industry.

“In a recent class of 25 undergraduates at Boston College, just eight will graduate without debt, either because of full scholarships or family wealth.  For the rest, imposing debt looms — $40,000 on average, but six reporting school debt of more than $150,000.

"Putting tens of millions of families into debt servitude serves no economic or societal purpose.  It’s damaging not only to individual finances but to society and the economy as a whole.  Student debt delays household formation, discourages both entrepreneurship and public service, and thwarts homeownership, among other forms of wealth building.  

"Nearly all the Democratic presidential candidates have put forward plans to address the problem of college affordability.”

 -- Entrepreneur Dariel Garner who got a world-class education for free (both undergraduate and graduate school) at University of California, Berkeley, between 1968 and 1975.

Stewart Myrent

Steve, very sorry I missed your call on Sat., but the caller ID said "Unknown".  I had never seen that before, but I thought it might be a scammer, although I have received calls where caller ID said "Scam Likely", which I never answer, of course, but I thought it might be you.  If you have time to call again & caller ID says "Unknown", I will pick up next time.  Don't know if you brought a laptop with you & if you will even see this post, but I hope you can see this.  I am guessing you are going to Wrigley for this series with the Phillies.  If you are going tonight, you will see former Cubs great, Jake Arrieta, going against new Cubs starter (and major disappointment) Yu Darvish, but game last night against Nationals was fairly epic & Cubs won the series, 2-1, giving them 10 series wins in the past 11 series.  If you are going tonight, have a great time & bring home a win.  Hope you have time to try calling again.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Mayor Pete got a standing O at FOX News town hall with Chris Wallace.  Instead of refusing to appear on FOX, Buttigieg projected his calm, incisiveness and wit to denounce its opinion hosts - the guy is no wimp.  He continues to debunk the notion that Democrats want an angry candidate, insists “The election needs to be about voters.”

Trump tweeted:

“Hard to believe that FoxNews is wasting airtime on Mayor Pete ... They (FoxNews) forgot the people.....

....who got them there... Gee, he (Chris Wallace) never speaks well of me - I like Mike Wallace better...and Alfred E. Newman (Trump’s name for Buttigieg) will never be President!”

FOX News Brit Hume linked to Trump’s tweet:

“Say this for Buttigieg.  He’s willing to be questioned by Chris Wallace, something you’ve barely done since you’ve been president.  Oh, and covering candidates of both parties is part of the job of a news channel.”

A FOX News journalist joins Buttigieg to push back on Trump and FOX opinion hosts.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

See Atticus Finch (played by Jeff Daniels) in Broadway’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” (adapted for stage by Aaron Sorkin).

- Though we don’t always do the right thing- we can always try to do the right thing. -      -- Scout

We’re short on heroes these days.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

May 18, 2019 Republican Representative of Michigan Justin Amash tweeted a document length thread:

Here are my principal conclusions:

1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller’s report.

2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct.

3. Partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances.

4. Few members of Congress have read the report.  

I offer these conclusions only after having read Mueller’s redacted report carefully and completely, having read or watched pertinent statements and testimony, and having discussed this matter with my staff, who thoroughly reviewed materials and provided me with further analysis.  

In comparing Barr’s principal conclusions, congressional testimony, and other statements to Mueller’s report, it is clear that Barr intended to mislead the public about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s analysis and findings.

Barr’s misrepresentations are significant but often subtle, frequently taking the form of sleight-of-hand qualifications or logical fallacies, which he hopes people will not notice.  

Under our Constitution, the president “shall be removed from Office on impeachment for, and Conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”  While “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” is not defined, the context implies conduct that violates the public trust.  

Contrary to Barr’s portrayal, Mueller’s report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment.  

In fact, Mueller’s report identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence.  

Impeachment, which is a special form of indictment, does not even require probable cause that a crime (e.g., obstruction of justice) has been committed; it simply requires a finding that an official has engaged in careless, abusive, corrupt, or otherwise dishonorable conduct.  

While impeachment should be undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances, the risk we face in an environment of extreme partisanship is not that Congress will employ it as a remedy too often but rather that Congress will employ it so rarely that it cannot deter misconduct.  

Our system of checks and balances relies on each branch’s jealously guarding its powers and upholding its duties under our Constitution.  When loyalty to a political party or to an individual trumps loyalty to the Constitution, the Rule of Law—the foundation of liberty—crumbles.  

We’ve witnessed members of Congress from both parties shift their views 180 degrees—on the importance of character, on the principles of obstruction of justice—depending on whether they’re discussing Bill Clinton or Donald Trump.  

Few members of Congress even read Mueller’s report; their minds were made up based on partisan affiliation—and it showed, with representatives and senators from both parties issuing definitive statements on the 448-page report’s conclusions within just hours of its release.  

America’s institutions depend on officials to uphold both the rules and spirit of our constitutional system even when to do so is personally inconvenient or yields a politically unfavorable outcome.  Our Constitution is brilliant and awesome; it deserves a government to match it.

Day 851 of the Trump presidency.

Stewart Myrent

Steve, so sorry I missed your call again last night.  I was actually at the home of another Niles West alum, Bob Fimoff, who lives quite close to me (in Grayslake), watching that disgusting Cubs game & I didn't even realize you had called again, until I got home & listened to your V.M.  Don't know if you remember Bob & his twin sister, Barbara.  If I had heard the call coming in, I definitely would have picked up, as my call log showed "Unknown" call at 8:17PM, so I would have been prety sure it was you calling.  Sorry, again.  I know your V.M. said you schedule is tightening up & apparently, you have not even arrived in Chgo yet.  Be glad you were not here yet for the game last night, as Darvish did not make it through 7 innings & the Cubs did NOT win that game.  Hope you have a laptop with you, so you can receive my posts to you.  If your schedule is getting hectic & you don't have time to try to call again, I will understand, but if you have time, please try calling again.  I will be off work tonight & tomorrow night again.  Hope to hear from you.  Janis, all I can say, is, "Yikes.", but all I can say about Trump is, part of me is glad I lived long enough to see what's happening right now, because otherwise, I probably wouldn't have believed it.  Are you ready to just skip 2019 (as I suggested months ago) & just move on to 2020?  I am reading "Kushner Inc.", and I have to say that Jared is way more like Trump, than I ever realized, despite his civil veneer.  He also was raised to believe that laws, norms & mores do not apply to him.  I am starting to believe that ALL the Trumps believe they are above the law & the rules do not apply to them.  I am anxious for our government to get back to normal.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

So much for Infrastructure Week...

Trump calls a deal on infrastructure “one of the easy ones”...

He was scheduled to meet with Nancy and Chuck and other top Democrats for a second round of talks about how to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure,

Nancy and Chuck had agreed to a $2 trillion investment in an infrastructure package -

would be nice if Trump had an infrastructure plan...

Democrats pass your own bill in the House and send it to the Senate.  Just do it.

Day 853 of the Trump presidency.

Stewart Myrent

Just finished reading "Kushner, Inc.  Greed.  Ambition. Corruption.", by Vicky Ward.  It was a fairly easy read - I finished the book in less than a week.  Some highlights: Chapter 3, "FamilyFirst": "A story, perhaps apocryphal, that made the rounds in the New York real estate world was that during one meeting in New York, Jared walked in and, upon learning that Charlie (his father) had hurt his foot, took off his father's sock and kissed it."  From Chapter 7, "They Are Like Robots": "At 'Observer' (paper owned by the Kushners) events, all of them would show up - Charlie, Seryl (his mother), Jared, Nicole, Dara and Josh.  They kissed each other warmly every time they saw each other, as if they hadn't been together in years.  One person said their closeness spooked him.  'They still vacation together.  They eat together, they all office together.  They're all in meetings together...They are like robots, these kids.', said the same person.  'They're well-dressed.  A hair's not out of place.  You never see Jared sniffling.  Never sick.  Never see him down.  It's strange.' "  From Chapter 8, "A Most Convenient Candidate": Talking about Corey Lewandowski, Trump's first campaign manager, that he "almost certainly would not have been any of the other Republican candidates' first choice for campaign chief.  But Trump adored him.  'He's like the son he never had,' said someone on the Trump campaign.  'Corey is amoral.  He's the closest thing Trump can get to Roy Cohn (Trump's ruthless mentor), without the law school degree.  He's cunning.  He's crafty.  He comes up with the kind of cunning shit that Trump loves.  And he's cheap.' "  From Chapter 12, "The Secretary of Everything": During Trump's inaugural night, Jared "looked uncharacteristically emotional.  Michael Cohen, who lived in the couple's building in New York, had once observed of Kushner that he is usually so calm, 'he's almost like a flat line on an EKG.' "  And, "the author of 'Trump Nation', Timothy O'Brien, gave the couple the nickname Javanka, explaining, 'I think of it as shorthand for the joint - and relatively unchecked - power they wield in the Trump White House, given their proximity to the president and the financial and familial ties they share with him.' "  Talking about Ivanka, 'Her relationship with her father was so tight it was nearly impossible for outsiders to intervene.  Multiple people noticed that she'd regularly wander into the Oval Office, often with a child in tow, and talk to Trump in a sing-song voice.  He'd call her 'baby' or pat her on the bottom.  He sometimes stopped what he was doing to ogle her when she left the room.  'Doesn't she look great?' he would say to others in the room.  One person told me he found something about the dynamic sickening."  Revelatory, I would say, but certainly not shocking. 

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Twitter thread from GOP MI Rep Justin Amash to lay out Trump’s effort to obstruct justice:

“Mueller’s report describes a consistent effort by the president to use his office to obstruct or otherwise corruptly impede the Russian election interference investigation because it put his interests at risk.

“The president has an obligation not to violate the public trust, including using official powers for corrupt purposes.  For instance, presidents have the authority to nominate judges, but a president couldn’t select someone to nominate because they’d promised the president money.  

“It also revealed criminal activities, some of which were committed by people in Trump’s orbit and, in the case of Michael Cohen’s campaign finance violation, on Trump’s behalf.  

“The investigation began before the president was elected and inaugurated.  After Trump assumed the powers of the presidency, Mueller’s report shows that he used those powers to try to obstruct and impede the investigation.  

“Trump, through his own statements—such as complaining about people who ‘flip’ and talk to investigators—and through communications between his personal counsel and Manafort/Cohen, gave the impression that they would be pardoned if they did not fully cooperate with investigators.  

“Some of the president’s actions were inherently corrupt.  Other actions were corrupt—and therefore impeachable—because the president took them to serve his own interests.  

“The president has authority to fire federal officials, direct his subordinates, and grant pardons, but he cannot do so for corrupt purposes; otherwise, he would always be allowed to shut down any investigation into himself or his associates, which would put him above the law.”  

Day 854 of the Trump presidency.