25.5 - For the Record: a variety of short items

For the Record: a variety of short items

With our occasional feature called For the Record, we cover several topics briefly, not taking a lot of time on any of them, but we did want to make sure they at least got mentioned.

1. So For the Record: On June 12, TheRump had his first full cabinet meeting. It started with His High Orangeness praising himself and all he has supposedly accomplished and then it went around the room with everybody introducing themselves (which is reasonable) and then going on about how gloriosky it's just so double-fudge sundae with marshmallow and a cherry wonderful to be working for Donald J. TheRump, starting with Mike Pence saying it is "the greatest privilege of my life" to be TheRump's coat-holder and proceeding through Chief of Staff Reince Priebus thanking TheRump for "the opportunity and blessing to serve your agenda." As all the while, His Orangeness sat there soaking it all up, totally and completely pleased with himself and nodding approvingly.

Chris Cillizza of CNN called it "the weirdest Cabinet meeting ever." New York Times reporter Julie Davis said on twitter "Never have seen a Cabinet meeting photo op quite like that one," an opinion echoed by CNN's Jake Tapper. TheWeek.com called it "bizarre."

The presidency of Donald TheRump increasingly looks less like a presidency and more like a personality cult. Which is probably why he gets along with dictators so well.

2. For the Record: In May, in that one month, three 15-year-old unarmed black boys were killed by police in separate incidents in Texas, Connecticut, and California. In at least two of those cases, initial police accounts of the incident proved to be outright lies.

Overall, as of June 14, at least 548 people have been killed by police in 2017.

3. For the Record: Last fall, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services put in place a rule under which nursing homes that receive federal funding - which is most of them - could not include so-called mandatory arbitration clauses in their contracts. In other words, residents and their family members were given back the right to sue.

Now, under TheRump, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have a proposed rule that would rescind the previous rule and once again make forced arbitration, a method which almost never works to the benefit of consumers, the industry standard.

4. Next, I recently have referred to how we are instituting militarism as national policy, including TheRump's statement "We have given [the military] total authorization" and the push for a major shift in strategy in Afghanistan.

So For the Record: on June 14 Reuters reported that TheRump had given War Secretary Jim Mattis the authority to set troop levels in Afghanistan, opening the door to a new "surge" - a resurgent surge, we could call it -  in US forces there.

5. You undoubtedly know about the gunman who shot up a group of Republican lawmakers who were practicing for an annual charity baseball game, wounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise - who at last report is in critical condition - and at least four others before being killed.

You also have undoubtedly heard about how the shooter, one James Hodgkinson, was some real liberal and a Bernie Sanders supporter.

So I want this noted, For the Record: I predict that you will not find one single GOPper, one single wingnut, one single person on the entire right half of the US political spectrum who will describe this guy as what they always describe right-wing shooters as, "a lone wacko" and that instead they will claim he is "emblematic of the violence of the left."

6. For the Record: Two top Michigan health officials have been criminally charged for their roles in the handling of the Flint water crisis.

The state' Chief Medical Executive Eden Wells was charged with obstruction of justice and lying to police and state Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Twelve people died of Legionnaires' disease as a result of the decision made by the unelected Emergency Manager of Flint, appointed by Governor Rick Snidelywhiplash, to switch the city's water supply from Detroit to the Flint River in April 2014.

By the way, the water in Flint still isn't fit to drink.

7. Finally, just a quick pretty much personal note. I grew up in New Jersey and in a lot of ways it still feels like home, so it is with genuine satisfaction that I can say this:

For the Record, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Gov. Chris Christie has the lowest approval rating of any New Jersey governor in the 20-year history of the poll.

Eighty-one percent disapprove of the job Christie is doing; only 15 percent approve.