Trump’s EPA Pick Is A “Fuck You” To Environmentalists (And The Planet)

Ken AshfordEnvironment & Global Warming & Energy, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Today Trump announced his pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Would it surprise you to learn that he’s a far right climate change denier in the pocket of the fossil fuel industries? Scott Pruitt, a Republican, has been a key architect of the legal battle against Mr. Obama’s climate change policies, actions that fit with the president-elect’s comments during … Read More

The Power Of Fake News

Ken AshfordFake News, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

This morning, Trump got on Twitter (you know this doesn’t end good, right?) and tweeted this: Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016 P.S. (although it really is another story unto itself) Trump sent … Read More

Trump’s Carrier Deal Is The Opposite Of Capitalism

Ken AshfordCorporate Greed, Economy & Jobs & Deficit, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

  So a few days ago, President-elect Donald Trump tweets that Carrier is not moving to Mexico and it is keeping jobs here.  He pats himself on the back for delivering on a campaign promise.  Except now we learn the truth: The Carrier deal, brokered by President-elect Donald Trump, may not have saved as many factory jobs as was presented … Read More

The OGE Is Trolling Trump

Ken AshfordPolitical Scandals, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

The Office of Government Ethics, which is responsible for ensuring executive branch personnel don’t run afoul of conflict of interest laws, has been pressuring Trump to place his fortune in a blind trust, like virtually every president before him. But Trump has thus far refused — and in his Wednesday tweetstorm, he purposefully did not say he plans on actually divesting from … Read More

What Digby Says, Part MCLVII

Ken AshfordElection 2016, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

On Trump and Trump supporters being “sore winners”: An incident in Brooklyn this past weekend illustrates the phenomenon. Two women in a restaurant were bemoaning the election of Donald Trump when a man and his wife sat down next to them and became incensed about what the two women were saying. The manager moved the couple to a different table and gave a meal without … Read More

Trump’s Newest Odd Tweet

Ken AshfordElection 2016, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

I don’t know.  Maybe it was Castro’s death, and Trump missed being in the headlines.  But for whatever reason, he tweeted this: In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016 This is extremely bizarre.  Is … Read More

Photo Op

Ken AshfordImmigration and Xenophobia, Syria, Trump & Administration, War on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

Hey!  Look!  It’s President-Elect Donald Trump!  And who is with him?  Why, that’s Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.  This was yesterday as they were meeting at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster NJ. I wonder what that was all about. Kris Kobach is a central figure in the nativist movement and the architect of Arizona’s notorious “papers please” law. … Read More

Does Korematsu Provide Precedent For A Muslim Registry?

Ken AshfordConstitution, Godstuff, Race, Supreme Court, Trump & Administration, War on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

No. No, it doesn’t.  Not even a close call. Let’s just all get on the same page. This is happening: Trump surrogates are already citing Japanese internment camps from WW II as “precedent” for Muslim registry pic.twitter.com/DVnjtom0mc — Brendan Karet (@bad_takes) November 17, 2016 And the obvious question is…. would it be constitutional for the government to require citizens to … Read More

The First Test Should Be A Massive Infrastructure Bill

Ken AshfordCongress, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Trump promised it, Democrats have always loved it.  And Republicans hate it. Trump promised a half-trillion dollar building program, about twice as much as even Hillary Clinton.  It certainly would put Americans to work (not that unemployment is a problem) AND more importantly, it is needed. But will Trump get it? It will be interesting to see how it plays out. … Read More