All posts by BP

The Trump administration nabs a leaker

National, ,

It’s no secret that Donald Trump hates anyone in his administration leaking to the press. He has publicly called them “cowards and traitors” in his twitter storms.trumpplumbit1

On Thursday news report said his administration found and arrested its first leaker — not a high-level White House leaker, but a civil servant in the financial crimes division at the Treasury Department. And there is a Donald-sized punch line — the first leaker nabbed turns out to be a Trump supporter.

 Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a senior adviser at the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), is accused of leaking information about private citizens’ bank transactions, called Suspicious Activity Reports. Edwards provided a reporter with data that was used in 12 articles, the Department of Justice alleges.

Edwards and “an unnamed co-conspirator” (whom the WSJ identified as FinCEN colleague Kip Brailey) were allegedly in contact with the reporter for a year. Brailey’s attorney told the WSJ that Brailey, “is not a co-conspirator with anyone.”

[…]Both Edwards and Brailey regularly shared posts attacking liberals and sympathizing with Trump, the WSJ reports. Edwards reportedly “liked” an article calling Trump critic and former CIA director John Brennan a “hack,” and called sexual assault allegations against Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh “false” and said they set a bad precedent. Brailey apparently retweeted a message calling Hillary Clinton a liar and posts from women who said they didn’t vote for her in 2016.

Reports are that the leaked documents include bank records from Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort (currently in jail), former campaign aide Rick Gates, and Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen. All three are up to their necks in the investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia in 2016 and are said to be cooperating with Mueller. Whatever the motivation may have been for the alleged leaks isn’t clear. Edwards told investigators she was a “whistleblower.”

The Wall Street Journal speculates: The employee accused of the leaks—Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a senior adviser at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN — is a supporter of President Trump who believed, along with some colleagues, that another Treasury unit was mishandling sensitive data, according to people familiar with the matter.

What, why, or who Natalie Edwards at Treasury may have been blowing a whistle about may never be clear, but one thing is: bad things can happen to presidents who become obsessed and paranoid about press leaks.

There were reports this summer that Donald Trump became so obsessed about leakers in his administration that for a time he carried around a handwritten list of suspected leakers — like an orange orangutan version of Captain Queeg imagining “deep state” civil servant adversaries, aka “cowards and traitors” infesting his otherwise idyllic and pristine administration.

Forty-one years ago President Nixon’s downfall began when enraged by leaks to the press from his administration, he formed a secret squad of White House “plumbers” to plug them. The “plumbers” were the ones caught after breaking into the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate complex.

Remember what happened to him? He was hoisted on his own paranoid petard (look it up) by his own taped conversations and condemned by testimony from fired high-level members of his administration.

But of course P-45, the current occupant of the White House (looking dingier by the minute), “don’t know much about history.” But he’s a stable genius.

The RSLC, aka GOP Big Money: They’re ba-ack!

National, , , , ,

Vermont wasn’t on the RSLC’s early spring “18 in 18” hit list of Democratic state legislators. But now — as they did in the 2016 elections — the Republican State Leadership Committee is shoveling money into advertising against a group of Vermont Democratic and Progressive legislators: the big national conservative PAC money is  Ba-ack  in  Vermont theyreback

Apparently still oblivious to irony, the RSLC — a national conservative political action committee (founded by Karl Rove and funded with donations from Koch Industries ) — is again attempting to rally Vermont GOPers around a banner of “local control.”

John Walters reports in Seven Days: The Republican State Leadership Committee Vermont PAC is spending $186,000 for advertising against left-leaning Vermont politicians: House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero), Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) and Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive and Democrat. It’s the single largest expenditure by an outside group in this year’s general election campaign.

The $186,000 reported Tuesday was spent through Junction Consulting, an Essex-based marketing firm owned by Jay Shepard, one of the Vermont Republican Party’s two members of the Republican National Committee. When asked about the windfall, Shepard referred all questions to the RSLC.

 Some Vermonters may (should) recall that VTGOPer Jay Shepard was one of a only handful of GOP state and national party leaders speaking to The Atlantic Magazine to publicly back up President Trump’s contention that there were “some very fine people” who marched alongside the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis at the fatal Charlottesville Virginia riots in August 2017. Apparently satisfied with Trump’s “very fine people ” remark, Shepard offered the following about the white nationalist marchers wearing white hoods and flying swastika flags: “In all mob scenes there are people who just happen to be there, who aren’t leaders of organizations and are just confused as to what the march is all about.”

Seven Days’ Walters also reports that another Washington GOP super-PAC called A Stronger Vermont and  funded by the Republican Governor’s Association is placing their big money into ads supporting Phil Scott. So far this year, the super PAC has spent $473,225 on TV and online advertising, postcards and opinion polling, all in support of Scott.

The RGA seems to be taking out a little extra insurance on their dollar investment in Scott. They’re taking no chances even though his re-election is supposed to be a safe bet.

What could go wrong? Phil Scott may have no governing vision and no leadership qualities, he may be in the thrall of hyper-partisan political operative and Chief of Staff Jason Gibbs. He may have issued high-handed and untimely budget proposals accompanied by ultimatums and vetoed more bills in his first two years than any previous Vermont governor.

But really. He’s such a nice guy.

Post-apocalyptic video game tourism promo: “A great way to remind people of West Virginia.”

National, , , ,

Here’s one for the what-won’t-a-state-do-to-promote-itself file. A soon-to-be-released post-apocalyptic video role-playing game called Fallout 76 by Bethesda Softworks uses images of rural West Virginia locations. The game will reportedly feature scenic vistas that hint at the state’s real-life pre-apocalyptic beauty. It was these images that caught the attention of the state’s tourism department prompting the state to join in on promoting the game. wvfallout

The Wheeling News Register reports: There are the remains of a ski resort near what was Elkins. The Moundsville Penitentiary still stands. Harpers Ferry, located near bombed out D.C., still exists. You can even fight monsters, such as the Mothman and the Flatwoods Monster. You’re free to see and experience it all in the game.

[Notably West Virginia really is the location of formerly secret Cold War era underground bunkers built for federal government office holders, officials, and their families. See “Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself — While the Rest of Us Die,” by Garrett Graff, who was briefly a candidate for Vermont Lt. Gov until tripped up by a residency clause.]

The Fallout 76 trailer opens with John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads song playing over views of West Virginia back roads. There are also monsters, including a huge winged beast inspired from local folklore. The players acquire nuclear launch codes and can use nuclear weapons to reshape the game world. Players then explore the West Virginia-inspired irradiated areas to find rare weapons, gear, and survival items, and then battle powerful enemy inhabitants.

 “Some people have been surprised given the post-nuclear setting, but we see it as an opportunity,” said Chelsea Ruby, the state’s tourism commissioner. “There are going to be millions of people exposed to our state and to the theme song of our campaign through this game, and given the way that the state’s beauty is portrayed in this, we just see it as a great way to remind people of West Virginia.”

The bulk of the campaign will kick off after the game’s release and will include promotions, targeted advertising and official travel itineraries and tour opportunities for Fallout fans who’d like to see the real-life inspirations behind the places featured in the virtual world.

Eight locations from the trailer are outlined on the state’s tourism website, with sliding images that allow users to toggle between the real-life and post-apocalyptic versions of each site.

Although many US states spend big bucks to promote themselves, it is difficult to accurately track the effectiveness of these expensive ad campaigns. Here in Vermont  we have been spared — at least so far — from spending our tax dollars hyping post-apocalyptic video games. Our  so-called “out of box,” attention-grabbing tax-payer funded promotion efforts have included dangling a $10,000 check to select people who agree to move here (as long as they e-commute out of state), regional Stay to Stay  weekend sales-promo pitches to “captive tourist audiences,”  and a pop-up lemonade stand stunt on a state hiking trail sponsored by an out-of-state outdoor-apparel manufacturer. The Scott administration, in 2016, even hired a Pennsylvania company for $1.58 million to create videos and glossy marketing materials to “rebrand” UVM to attract out-of-state applicants.

I suppose if offered the chance, Governor Scott’s Dept. of Commerce would jump to get a piece of post-apocalypse marketing. “Oh look, that’s where the Vermont state house once stood, it was such a brave little state!”

Test your Vermont knowledge:Take the Phil Scott IQ quiz

local/regional, ,

Good ol’ Phil Scott has been racing around Vermont politics for years but how well do you really know his gubernatorial track record?

philquizscottWell the grassroots group Indivisible Brattleboro has a great short quiz that may open some eyes and perhaps get people to the polls to vote.  Follow this link to take the: Phil Scott IQ Quiz                                        Here’s a sample for those who may want to study up first:numberone

Indivisible Brattleboro  according to their twitter page : We are the Indivisible team representing Brattleboro Vermont, and the surrounding area. Resisting the Trump Agenda and working to keep Vermont blue. More here :Indivisible Brattleboro.org

Smashing Trumpkins in November ?

National,

Here’s a hopeful bit of something to cling to on a Monday this week.

Republican Candidates this Year Fall Flat

smashing trumpkins

from the Washington Post: A number of Republicans running for governor or senator in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, including several who hitched their wagon to Trump’s political movement, are behind in polls by double digits, a remarkable turnabout in swing states that were key to the president’s 2016 victory.

At least for now it looks as if in some places the Trump GOP brand may be squashed at the polls. So don’t forget to VOTE, it’s easy in Vermont.

 

Go sit down at the city dump

Uncategorized,

It’s been too fast: (Grassley sets deadlines)  and definitely too crazy out there (Sec. Ben Carson sees centuries old Fabian/socialist plot) in the news the last few days. It left me looking for something like  “the Goodle days”.

When we’ve all grown old from a-wondering how,
Oh we’ll all sit down at the city dump,
And talk about the Goodle Days.

Sometimes I get to thinkin’ that we’re almost done,
And there ain’t nothin’ left that we can figure out.
And I guess it must have seemed a lot more like that
Back in the Goodle Days,
But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go.
There’s always somebody don’tcha know,
A-hangin’ round a-sayin’ “Well I told you so”,
Back in the Goodle Days.

 

Rocket $cience? NASA may dip into ads & naming rights

Business, National, ,

Another bad idea crawled out of the swamp of stupid inhabited by Trump and his appointed department secretaries and administrators. Trump’s recently appointed head of NASA Jim Bridenstine is reportedly exploring selling advertising and naming rights to U.S. space program rockets and other spacecraft. That’s right — the United States space program, once the pride of the nation and envy of the world, may now sell off advertising rights for “extra cash.”

The NYTimes.com on Jim Bridentstine’s “vision”: “Is it possible for NASA to offset some of its costs by selling the naming rights to its spacecraft?” he asked during a meeting of a council that advises NASA. “Or the naming rights to its rockets? I’m telling you, there is interest in that right now.”[…] Mr. Bridenstine has asked a committee of the NASA Advisory Council to explore whether it might be done, despite regulations or laws that seem to prohibit such activities. He also raised the possibility of allowing NASA astronauts to sign endorsement deals.adonthemoon

So who is Jim Bridenstine, the new head of NASA? Well…Bridenstine is a former US Navy pilot, executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and a three-term Tea Party GOP congressman from Oklahoma. He had a little ethical lapse while in Congress — “called on the carpet” you could say. The issue surfaced in 2015: Bridenstine was involved in an ethics controversy when it came out that in May 2013 he and nine other members of Congress and some staffers took a trip to Azerbaijan that was found to have been paid for by that country’s government-owned oil company. Bridenstine also received two rugs, one valued at $2,500 and another at $3,500. He ultimately returned the rugs. On top of that as a Tea Party congressman he holds many extreme rightwing positions including anti-LGBT views, and until recently climate change denial. “I heard a lot of experts, and I read a lot,” he is quoted as saying after joining NASA.

But here’s the best part of his biography as far as NASA is concerned and it may even hold the key to his vision of the future for NASA. In 2007 while working for defense contractor Wylie Laboratories on aircraft instrumentation systems, [h]e also became involved in a speculative Rocket Racing League. The idea was to race rocket planes in a setup patterned after the NASCAR stock car racing circuit. One demonstration run was made in 2010, but nothing else came of the league.

Sadly, Bridenstine is just one of Trump’s “best” people, the horrible multitudes supposedly working away in the federal government to MAGA: Make America Greedy  — er, “Great”  —  Again. And nothing says greatness to the entire world more than commercializing our space program for “a little cash.”

Big business: sugary CBD-infused delivery systems

Business, National, , ,

I haven’t had the stomach to read much in depth news for the last few days but found this sort of refreshing pause. Coca-Cola Corporation is in talks with a Canadian company, Aurora Cannabis Inc. about marketing an infused drink of some kind.

(Reuters) – Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) is closely watching the fast-growing marijuana drinks market for a possible entry that would expand the world’s largest soft drink maker’s ambitions further away from sugary sodas. sodapot

Coca-Cola announced its interest in a statement on Monday, responding to a report from BNN Bloomberg that said it was in talks with Canada’s Aurora Cannabis Inc (ACB.TO) to develop drinks infused with cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.

Coke would join a rush by major alcohol makers and a cigarette company to test the cannabis market and find partners ahead of the Oct. 17 launch of legal recreational marijuana in Canada.

Coke and Aurora, in separate statements, each said they were interested in cannabidiol-infused beverages but would not comment on any specifics or talks. Aurora’s stock soared 17 percent, while Coke’s edged up slightly.

Coke may be coming full circle back to its 1880’s “medicinal” roots. According to Snopes.com Coke really did — at least early on — have some coke, cocaine in it. Coca-Cola was named back in 1885 for its two “medicinal” ingredients: extract of coca leaves and kola nuts. Just how much cocaine was originally in the formulation is hard to determine, but the drink undeniably contained some cocaine in its early days.

It’s probably worth wondering if Keurig Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (sort of a Vermont corporation) to see if they too are looking into cannabidiol-infused beverages. In 2014 it was partnered with Coke but jettisoned that relationship in 2015. KGMCR is now partnered with Dr. Pepper brand sugar-laden drinks. I suppose corporate cannabis soda could be just what Dr. Pepper ordered for Green Mountain Coffee.

Cannabidiol, of course, doesn’t produce a high. No widespread word on whether it gives users the munchies, although some sources say … maybe. If so, how convenient to imbibe the medicinal compound in a hunger-reducing sugary drink — no brownies required.

President Donald Trump accused voters of meddling in the upcoming midterms

National, Uncategorized

A little something from the Onion.com

WASHINGTON—Warning that the group was secretly planning to affect the outcome of the November elections, President Donald Trump accused voters Monday of meddling in the upcoming midterms. “It’s clear that the disgusting and disgraceful voters are going to try to influence the midterms—the voters must be stopped!” said Trump in a series of tweets, asserting that millions of voters were potentially involved in a massive, coordinated effort to handpick election winners. trumpvote“I’ve been hearing about all these voters who are already plotting to go to their polling place, show their ID, and cast their vote all on the same day, and that’s a big problem. And it’s already happening, folks—just take a look at the primaries. We’ve got voters with ulterior motives online, too, trying to influence people by spreading information about candidates on social media. We absolutely cannot as a society allow voters to meddle in our elections, and if we don’t do something, voters will try to interfere with the 2020 presidential election, too.”…

If you peel the joke back you find it isn’t too far from the truth. Last week the GOP Senate leadership and White House killed a bipartisan election security funding bill that was making its way through the U.S. Senate.

“An historic day”: U.S. super-yacht owners rejoice at last

Business, International,

At last — thanks to Trump and the US Congress — super-yacht owners can rejoice!

While deadlines for re-uniting refugee-immigrant children with their parents continue to be missed and unfinished business piles up in the US Congress, Republicans in Congress still manage to serve up some goodies to a certain type of constituent:  one-percenters. Tucked away in the John S. McCain Defense Authorization Act of 2019 that President Trump signed on August 13th was the decidedly non-defense provision “adjusting” shipping registration regulations for the benefit of super-yacht owners.

Super Yacht News reports: On 13 August, 2018, Donald Trump, president of the United States (US), signed off on a piece of legislation that would make it possible for yachts over 300gt [gross tons] to fly an American flag and register their yachts in the US.superyacht

Super yachts are essentially a kind of ocean-going tribute to worldwide income inequality. For example, the Cayman Island-flagged Octopus, owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is 414-feet long (and well over 300 gt at 9,932 gt) and has 41 suites, a pool, two helicopters, a basketball court, and a recording studio.

Until the new provision takes effect, vessels exceeding 300 gross tons (gt) were required to meet commercial operational standards, or they could not register as an American vessel — nor fly an American flag. Until a new code specifically for large yachts is ready in 2020, yachts of this size can now fly the US flag under the law Trump signed. Exemptions were available, but according to Super Yacht News, obtaining them was “both expensive and arduous” for the mega-wealthy yacht owners. Maybe now, with these changes, Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVoss can get her family to change the flag on their Cayman Island-registered 164-foot yacht, The Seaquest.

There is no doubt the one percenters didn’t beg and cajole very hard for this special legislative treat: only after a ten-year slog of lobbying and targeting members in congress  did the U.S. Super Yacht Association (USSA) finally succeed.

In 2014 the USSA hoped to ease certain US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “small vessel” cruising regulations that require personally reporting in to customs and border authorities while in U.S. waters. The mega-rich yacht owners  want to avoid regulations that may cramp their privileged lifestyle. US super-yacht owners will be able to fly an American flag — now that the flag also proves convenient in helping them avoid border-patrol and customs scrutiny. Notice that USSA president Kitty McGowan calls the new law the “icing on the cake.”

The recent favorable legislation, according to McGowan, was made possible in large part by lobbying efforts of large yacht owner Tilman J. Fertitta of Texas. Fertitta, for those who may not know, is star of the TV show Billion Dollar Buyer, and sole owner of Landry’s Restaurants and the Houston Rockets.He is also a longtime  fan of President Trump and thinks Donald is doing a great job.

Quoted in gcaptain.com, Fertitta remarked: “For at least a half century, ridiculous regulations prohibited American citizens from displaying their patriotism by flying an American flag on their yacht. […] Thank you to all those that made this possible and to President Trump for eliminating over 50 years of bureaucratic red tape. This is truly an historic day for American yacht owners and the yachting industry.”  The country — canoeists, rowboaters, lobster harvesters, shrimpers, sailors, and pleasure- and working-boat owners of all kinds and sizes (not to mention the vast majority of inland and coastal non-boat owners) — can breath a sigh of relief  for Fertitta and his wealthy buddies that the super yacht owners are free at last from red tape. Now what say Congress do something positive about Medicare for all ?

Say what you will about Trump and his GOP-controlled Congress, even though immigration reform remains unresolved, gun legislation and almost everything else meaningful seems to languish by design, they always find time to serve up thoughtful little treats to their one percenters.

And for the rest of us?  well maybe …yachtjobzz