Meanwhile, Trump is back to publicly berating Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who responded with a pointed statement — and then went out to dinner with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein in a very public sign of solidarity.
Noel Francisco, the solicitor general, was there too. You may recall that Francisco is in line for the No. 3 spot at the Department of Justice after the departure of Rachel Brand.
.. anyone who is surprised by the utter chaos, the ethical sleaze, the policy incoherence and the nepotism/cronyism was not paying attention during Trump’s career in real estate or during his campaign. This is how Trump ran his family operation, stumbling through one failed venture after another.
.. This is how Trump wound up declaring bankruptcy multiple times. No one — not Kelly, Ivanka, Jared, the GOP Congress or even Hicks — can keep him on task.
.. Trump will either be compelled to leave office or will continue to spin out of control. Aides tell the press this is a new level of chaos. Don’t worry — it’ll get worse.
Ehud Barak: We Must Save Israel From Its Government
For all of Israel’s great achievements in its seven decades of statehood, our country now finds its very future, identity and security severely threatened by the whims and illusions of the ultranationalist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
.. this government has been irrational, bordering on messianic
.. The government realizes that carrying out its one-state plan must entail steps and practices that necessarily clash with Israeli and international law — which is why it has effectively declared war on
- the Supreme Court of Israel,
- the free press and civil society, as well as
- the Israel Defense Forces’ ethical code.
This disrespect for the rule of law permeates other aspects of the government, too. It helps to shield the prime minister, his family and his aides from corruption investigations. Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud Party recently introduced legislation that would explicitly forbid the police from recommending indictments at the end of high-profile investigations.
.. there is a broad consensus among Israelis that rests on three pillars.
- First and foremost, security comes before everything; every Israeli understands this.
- Second, the unity, solidarity and integrity of the people take priority over the unity of the land — namely, the wish to possess the entirety of our historic homeland.
- Third, the principles of the 1948 Declaration of Independence, which lay out a vision for a democratic Israel based on freedom, justice and peace, are the foundation of our country’s de facto constitution.
.. The entire debate, then, is actually only over the fate of the isolated settlements, fewer than 100 small communities deep in the West Bank, containing around 100,000 settlers. Even if it is not possible to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at this stage — and it probably is not — it is obvious that continued construction in those isolated settlements directly damages Israel’s vital interests... Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition claims to support the three pillars of Israeli consensus but the truth is it is determinedly undermining all three... He prefers a Greater Israel with an Arab majority, violence and division over a united, self-confident Israel with a solid Jewish majority.. He sanctifies the Land of Israel before the People of Israel. And he systematically erodes Israel’s democracy and liberal norms of governance... In the service of this agenda, Mr. Netanyahu elevated fake news, alternative facts and whataboutism into art forms in Hebrew, long before those terms gained any traction in English.
The White House gives a green light to sexual harassers
An educated woman from the corporate world asked me recently: “What is wrong with your profession?” The answer: nothing that isn’t wrong with every other profession. Indeed, the problem is worse for women in low-wage, low-skill jobs
.. 60 percent of American women voters say they’ve experienced sexual harassment, the vast majority in the workplace.
.. 1 in 5 women said they had been raped or experienced attempted rape, 1 in 4 said they had been beaten by an intimate partner, and 1 in 6 women said they had been stalked.
.. industries that generate most sexual-harassment charges. Some of the leaders:
- hospitality and food services (14 percent of complaints),
- retail (13 percent),
- manufacturing (12 percent),
- health care (11 percent), and
- administrative and support (7 percent). The
- “information” (3 percent) and
- arts and entertainment (2 percent) sectors are well down the list.
Farmworkers, janitors and restaurant workers (as The Post’s Maura Judkis and Emily Heil powerfully described) are particularly vulnerable, as are women in any position where they are isolated or work at night.
.. Almost exactly a year ago, Conway participated in a Women Rule Summit, where she preached about the importance of sisterly solidarity. “It’s great to ask how we’re making opportunities for women, but do we even have each other’s support, frankly, on our way there?” she asked.
.. President Trump excuses his support for the accused child molester by saying Moore “totally denies it,” a standard under which the late Charles Manson was also innocent.
.. This is not a he-said/she-said case. It’s a he-said/she-said-she-said-she-said-she-said-she-said-she-said-she-said-and-others-corroboratecase.
.. As a practical matter, there’s little doubt Moore sexually exploited girls
A hurricane of conservative hypocrisy
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We also regularly assert that government is better when it prevents problems than when it focuses primarily on cleaning up after the fact. But when environmentalists suggest that development can be carried out in more sustainable ways or that climate change is worth dealing with, they are mocked as “anti-business” or “crisis-mongers.” Then a crisis comes, and we wonder why the politicians were so shortsighted.
.. As for the Arpaio pardon, it is seen as technically legal because presidential authority in this area is almost unlimited. But it may be the most dangerous act of Trump’s presidency. The occupant of the White House has claimed the power to permit government agents to violate the constitutional rights of Americans and to override the courts if he doesn’t like what they’re doing. This is the largest single step toward autocracy Trump has taken.
.. What we hear all the time is that conservatives are for “small government” and liberals are for “big government.” But this is very misleading shorthand... But liberals (often joined by libertarians) are among the first to stand up against government violations of the civil rights of individuals. Many conservatives — most certainly including Trump — use the “law and order” battle cry to accuse liberals concerned about civil liberties of being “soft on crime.” (In the case of the Arpaio pardon, Trump seems to be for his version of “order” but indifferent to the “law” part.).. Which is more threatening to our liberties: higher taxes to pay for new benefits, or an expansive view of police powers and presidential prerogatives?.. why should parts of the country that will almost never experience hurricanes help the hurricane-prone areas? After all, people don’t have to live in places subject to hurricanes... Disaster relief is premised on an old-fashioned “there but for the grace of God go I” solidarity.. Texas conservatives who voted against assistance for the victims of Superstorm Sandy in New York and New Jersey but are now asking for federal help on behalf of their folks. They broke this basic rule of solidarity in the name of an ideology that, when the chips are down, they don’t really believe in.