Bolton Gets Turked
Trump dispatched Bolton to Turkey, all hopeful,
That he could mansplain Trump’s Syrian “withdrawal.”
But Erdogan, alas,
Gave Bolton a pass,
To remind Trump that it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople!
Day: January 8, 2019
Trump’s Wall Address Unlikely to Change Hearts and Minds
Statistically significant changes in approval rarely follow a televised presidential address. Typically, the president’s ratings hardly move at all. Most changes are well within the margin of error — and many of them show a loss of approval.
— From the book, “On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit,” by political scientist George Edwards.
2018 Saw Surge in U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions
3.4%
“America’s carbon dioxide emissions rose by 3.4 percent in 2018, the biggest increase in eight years,” the New York Times reports. “Strikingly, the sharp uptick in emissions occurred even as a near-record number of coal plants around the United States retired last year, illustrating how difficult it could be for the country to make further progress on climate change in the years to come, particularly as the Trump administration pushes to roll back federal regulations that limit greenhouse gas emissions.”
At Least Six More Months of Mueller
6
Garrett Graff: “Last Friday, just like Punxsutawney Phil, DC District Court judge Beryl Howell emerged from her chambers, saw her shadow, and announced six more months of Bob Mueller. Judge Howell’s extension of Mueller’s grand jury, which was set to expire over the weekend, was widely expected—the special counsel’s office has made clear in recent weeks that it has plenty of unfinished business—but the extension underscores just how much work is still left in Mueller’s probe.”
As of Tuesday, 1.4 Million Ex-Felons in Florida Can Vote
1.4 million
“Tuesday is a historic day in Florida. Under an amendment passed by the voters in November, as many as 1.4 million former felons are regaining the right to vote. The referendum overturned a 150-year-old law that permanently disenfranchised people with felony convictions,” NPR reports.
Only Six in Terrorism Database Stopped at Southern Border
6
U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered only six immigrants on the U.S-Mexico border in the first half of fiscal year 2018 whose names were on a federal government list of known or suspected terrorists, according to CBP data obtained by NBC News. The low number contradicts statements by Trump administration officials who said Friday that CBP stopped nearly 4,000 known or suspected terrorists from crossing the southern border in fiscal year 2018.
Trump’s Approval Rating Fell in 43 States Last Month
43
A new Morning Consult poll in all 50 states finds President Trump’s net approval rating is now negative in nine states that he won in the 2016 presidential election: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Overall, Trump’s net approval fell in 43 states in last month.
Carter: I Never Discussed Wall with Trump
“I have not discussed the border wall with President Trump, and do not support him on the issue.”
— Former President Carter, becoming the latest former president to deny telling President Trump that he regrets not building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, The Hill reports. Trump last week claimed former presidents have discussed the subject with him.
A Tale of Two Lifestyles
As federal workers borrow from their kids, max out their credit cards, sign up as dog sitters, and even write paid online makeup reviews, federal elected officials are enjoying a very different lifestyle.
Donors/clients/customers/johns who attend at the “platinum level” will pay $100,000 but in return they’ll get ten tickets plus a photo opportunity, presumably with Voldemort himself.*
Not only that, but attendees will enjoy the rarefied atmosphere of the Mellon Auditorium. A D.C. venue review site describes the circa-1934 building’s, “dramatic roman doric columns, marble floors inlaid with gold, and spectacular auditorium standing more than 60 feet in height and embellished with limestone pilasters, gilded relief carvings, and polished oak where colossal luminaries, made of brass and burnished aluminum, are suspended from the ceiling.”
