Beyond the horrific scenes in Los Angeles, our team has also been assessing the latest out of Washington. The FBI Director has been before the House Judiciary Committee refuting President Trump's Assertion about an FBI in tatters although our daily review of Fox News tries to push the narrative on an FBI in tatters. This is as the aftermath of President Trump's announcement has been felt throughout the Middle East. It was interesting that the State Department had advised Israel to refrain from public comments beyond what the Prime Minister Stated which underscores that apparently the Administration understood the gravity of the situation before it. What The Economist's Kal noted that we released over our Twitter Channel captured the essence of the current challenge being faced by President Trump right now:
There is also the matter of Senator Al Franken of Minnesota. He declared his intention to resign today. We just picked this from Professor Jonathan Turley during our review that is an interesting take on how Governor Dayton of Minnesota should consider his replacement:
The resignation reminded me of a column that I wrote when Franken first ran. I wrote about the striking difference between Franken and Peter Agre, a nobel prize winning humanitarian respected around the world. As I discussed in the column, the result seemed inevitable in American politics as voters decided between the cheap shot celebrity and the world renown scientist. Franken would respond to my column and went on to trounce Agre who would have doubled the IQ of the Senate by simply joining it.
As the governor of Minnesota looks for a replacement, it is worth noting that Agre is still available and still the more qualified candidate. In case Gov. Mark Dayton has lost his number, here is his academic email and site.
As we have been assessing our Month and gearing up for 2018, one of the areas of focus for us has been on the problem of homelessness as we have periodically featured the Guardian of London's series "Outsider in America" on our propeties. What we received below courtesy of the National Alliance to End Homelessness underscores how the issue of homelessness continue to be profoundly challenging not here in the United States but World-Wide as in the United Kingdom, for instance, over 100,000 children are homeless during this Christmas Season:
HUD’s newly-released 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress finds that on a single night in 2017, 553,742 people experienced homelessness. This represents an increase of less than one percent over last year, and is the first increase in total homelessness since 2010. Despite the overall increase, the report also shows that the majority of states and communities in the nation reported decreases in homelessness. In fact, current levels of homelessness remain two percent lower than they were in 2015, and 13 percent lower than in 2010. The report finds a 12 percent rise in unsheltered homelessness, with the largest increases in major cities. It also details small increases among homeless veterans – despite significant decreases for the past several years.
This is also a solemn day as it was on this day that Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. We salute all our Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guard and Naval personnel who are at the front lines as we leave you with this From General MacArthur:
It is out of despair & debility that they want to declare #AlQuds as capital of the Zionist regime. On issue of #Palestine their hands are tied & they can't achieve their goals. Victory belongs to Islamic Ummah. Palestine will be free, Palestinian nation will achieve victory.
What our team found especially poignant was this courtesy of Shahed Amanullah:
“Should there not, at the very least, be a modicum of humility in Washington DC... to consider that actually, they have no right to dictate that an occupied territory in the Arab world is the occupying power’s capital?” asks @hahellyerhttps://t.co/YCBTA1vCFr
This, in our view, is lost in the blind adherence to whatever the Government of Israel says as it continues to blame the Palestinians when it is clear that there is a Occupying and an Occupied Power and any semblance of the United States playing an honest broker for what is for all intent and purpose a dead peace process has been decimated as a result of the decision by the President not withstanding his and his handlers on it captured in this hard hitting article in the National in the UAE. 300,000 Stateless Palestinians who are currently living in the most despicable of conditions in Occupied East Jerusalem will also be affected in a major way that Israel will be forced to address. This is as the State Department has advised US Embassies to tighten security. As the World is witness to this dynamic, we see Israel striking Syria and ostenibly Iranian Targets which may present another flash point in the ever changing dynamics of the Middle East. As the formal Presidential Statement was forthcoming, our team was assessing another breaking story: Time's "Person of the Year" :
We join in commending all the slience breakers who have had the courage to speak up to transform us all as America and the World will be better for it--as they had the courage to show us all the way to a better way to live for us all. Please enjoy this the team at Time tweeted out early this morning on the history of the Person of the Year:
We also do find it interesting that Donald Trump, the President of China, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Kim Jung Un and Colin Kaepernick were named as runner-ups. Colin Kapepernick was the recipient of the Mohammad Ali Legacy Award and we here at the Daily Outsider congratulate him on it. There was a rebuttal to Donald Trump, though, as Time noted that, "...No Donald, we said that the women you abused were going to win the award!..." The Parent company of Time Magazine is in the process of being bought out by Meredith Corporation with backing from the Equity Arm of the Koch Brothers.
A Disney deal could split the Murdochs as an operating team.
If The Walt Disney Company reaches an agreement to buy big parts of 21st Century Fox, it could represent more than a breakup of the kingdom that Rupert Murdoch built over decades. It could also lead separate his family as a team of operators working in the family business.
What we know: Disney is in advanced discussions to buy the 20th Century Fox movie and television studios, cable channels like FX and Nat Geo, a stake in the British broadcaster Sky, the Star India cable and media empire, and a stake in Hulu.
What would happen to Mr. Murdoch’s sons
This is where it gets interesting. If there’s a deal, James Murdoch, who’s currently Fox’s C.E.O., could become a senior executive at Disney, with a portfolio that would likely include oversight of Sky and Star. Several news reports have said that James Murdoch could eventually succeed Bob Iger as Disney’s C.E.O., though they cautioned that there’s no formal agreement.
His brother, Lachlan, would stay to oversee what remains of Fox, which would include Fox News Channel, the FS1 sports channel and the company’s broadcast network.
The WSJ has more on the dynamic between the brothers and their father, who remains deeply involved in the management of Fox:
At times, James has felt like a C.E.O. in title only, according to some people who know him. These people say James was never keen about the setup, is ready for a new chapter in his career and has sometimes been on a different page from his father and brother.
But the FT, citing an unidentified person close to the family, said that a split of the Murdoch men would be “a very amiable separation.”
What’s next: A deal could be announced as soon as next week. But Comcast is still in talks with Fox as well — even though that deal could be more problematic from a regulatory perspective, given that AT&T’s similar transaction with Time Warner has been sued by the Justice Department.
Critics’ corner
• “Even if it wins the Fox assets, buying a C.E.O. as part of the package might be too cute even for Disney.” (Lex)
• Peter Csathy, a media consultant, says that if Disney locks up a deal with Fox, it would have plenty of exclusive content for its forthcoming video streaming services. (Variety)
This is as we are witness to profound changes in healthcare with the pending CVS/AETNA merger and as we saw reporting of UnitedHealthCare buying a Doctors' Group. The Political Landscape, in the meantime, continues to be in a state of Flux as ever here in the United States. There is also the upcoming election in Alabama as President Trump came down in favor of Roy Moore and as the Republican Political Operation geared up in support of #RoyMoore. Senator Jeff Flake sent out this yesterday incurring the wrath of Steve Bannon--as Steve Bannon also went after Mitt Romney hard incurring a rebuke from the Governor of Utah over Twitter for Mr. Bannon: Although Ben Sasse, the Senator from Nebraska, called it a "bad idea"--he subsequently sent out a Tweet saying that if the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee throw its' support (that it withdrew) behind Roy Moore he would stop supporting it. This is as our team is continuing to assess the state of the Tax Cut legislation--as it appears that the House is rejecting compromises that secured the votes of Senator Flake and Senator Collins, and the state of the Children Health Program that has run out of money that we understand will result in 1.3 Million Children losing access to healthcare if it is not resolved soon. Back in our Backyard of Southern California, though, we are witness to horrific scenes yet again as fires rage on in Ventura County and the City of Los Angeles. The Fire in Los Angeles is near the Getty Center--what in our view is one of the Seven "modern wonders" of our World as the fires in Ventura County are currently out of Control.
Time Magazine's Ryan Teaague Beckwith provided the clearest indication of the challenges faced by President Trump (as underscored by the Esquire's Charles Pierce) in the aftermath of the indictment not withstanding the spin by the White House and the subsequent reaction by President Trump himself as there were apparent reports that Jared Kushner, the President's Son-in-Law and White House Senior Adviser directed General Flynn's contacts with Russians.
When George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in October, President Trump blew off the news by calling him a "young, low level volunteer" who "few people knew."
Trump's attorney, Ty Cobb, attempted the same maneuver on Friday as former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the transition.
In a statement, Cobb pointedly noted that Flynn was national security advisor "for 25 days" and slyly added that he was "a former Obama administration official."
"Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn," he said in the statement. "The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel's work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion.”
But the official response — Trump's own response hasn't been tweeted yet — is simply a tougher sell this time around.
Unlike Papadaopoulos, a hapless figure who sort of chanced into the Trump campaign, Flynn was a central character. A campaign advisor on national security who regularly went out on the hustings, Flynn intrigued Trump enough to merit serious consideration as a running mate, according to multiplereports from July of 2016.
"The turn toward a military figure is being driven by Trump himself rather than by his advisers, the people said, and comes as the real estate mogul is telling his friends that national unrest may demand a 'tough and steady' presence alongside him on the ticket," noted one report in the Washington Post.
Flynn led a chant of "lock her up" from the stage of the Republican national convention, using his national security background as a cudgel against her private email server. "If I did a tenth, a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today," he said, in a quote that he has had many occasions to regret.
And before his time as national security advisor, he served on the Trump transition team, where he admitted in the plea deal that a senior member of the transition team directed him to make contact with Russian officials in December of 2016.
In his official statement, Trump's attorney also pointed out that Flynn pleaded guilty to "a single count of making a false statement to the FBI," another attempt to minimize the day's events.
But that's also a tough sell. It's fairly typical in complex cases like the Russia investigation for prosecutors to agree to drop more serious charges if a defendant agrees to cooperate with the investigation.
And, make no mistake, Flynn faced some serious charges. In addition to the false statements he pleaded guilty to making, he faced questions about his business dealings overseas (as did his son), possible involvement in a plot to remove a Muslim cleric (which Flynn's lawyer denied) and his failure to report $530,000 for lobbying on behalf of the Turkish government (which he later addressed in a filing), among other things.
Cobb's statement was also belied by Trump's own actions in the past.
When Trump asked then-FBI Director James Comey in the Oval Office to "let this go," it was about an investigation into Flynn, according to a memo that Comey wrote immediately after the meeting. And it was Comey's subsequent firing that led to the appointment of Mueller as special counsel.
All of which leads to the final part of Cobb's statement today.
"The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel's work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion," he said.
That mirrors reports that Cobb has told Trump and others in the White House that the investigation will be wrapping up soon and that Trump will be exonerated, and other reports that Trump himself — in a highly unusual move — pressed senior Senate Republicans to wrap up their own Russian investigation soon as well.
It's been a little over six months since Mueller was appointed — barely the amount of time that most low-level criminal cases take for completion. Flynn's guilty plea indicates that at least one member of the transition team — as yet unnamed — may face charges as well. A grand jury has already postponed some testimony in light of the plea.
Of all the tough sells in Cobb's statement, the idea that Mueller's investigation is almost over might be the hardest pitch.
This is as the Tax Cut plan was passed by the United States Senate and this was released by the team at the Guardian--and as Vox.Com noted over its' Twitter Feed over the Weekend that, "..A person in the bottom 10 % gets a $50 tax cut; A person in the top 1 % gets a $34,000 tax cut....":
Senate Republicans feel force of protest … but pass tax bill anyway
Activists targeted key senators over tax, with sit-ins, phone calls and other lobbying efforts, while net neutrality campaigners have Verizon in their sights
A person participating in a rally holds a sign in protest of a Republican-crafted tax cut plan, outside the US Capitol Building after sunset in Washington DC. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA
Tax bill passes Senate … but only after activists make their voices heard
Senate Republicans finally managed to pass some legislation on Friday night, in the form of their much-criticized tax bill… but only after a remarkable effort from activists to thwart the bill.
In Arizona activists had protested through Thursday night outside John McCain’s office, while people did the same outside Susan Collins’ office in Bangor, Maine. Both had been seen as potential no votes before committing to the bill this week.
Even on Friday morning, progressive group Indivisible had been urgingactivists to spend the day making calls to senators, providing phone numbers and suggested scripts to urge elected officials to vote against the legislation.
The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell: wealthcare victory. Photograph: Edelman/Sipa/Rex/Shutterstock
It wasn’t just activists who launched desperate efforts. The DNC urged supporters to make calls, while the editorial board of the New York Times took over the @nytopinion Twitter feedon Wednesday “to urge the Senate to reject a tax bill that hurts the middle class & the nation’s fiscal health”.
This morning, The New York Times Editorial Board is tweeting here to urge the Senate to reject a tax bill that hurts the middle class & the nation's fiscal health. #thetaxbillhurts
On Mondaythousands of activists across the country had launched sit-ins at senators’ offices. In the end all the effort wasn’t enough. But there will be more battles to come.
Verizon focus of last ditch net neutrality protest
Hundreds of protests are planned outside Verizon stores on Thursday 7 December, to demonstrate against the upcoming Federal Communications Commission vote on net neutrality.
Activists say they have chosen to target Verizon as the FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, is a former lawyer for Verizon. The company has lobbied for current regulations – designed to protect an open internet – to be overturned.
The FCC is due to vote on defanging those regulations on 14 December – potentially allowing internet service providers like Verizon to charge for different levels of web access.
It’s really hard to illustrate net neutrality. Photograph: Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images
“We’ll demand that our members of Congress take action to stop Verizon’s puppet FCC from killing net neutrality,” said a message on the groups’ Verizon Protests website, which has a tool for people to find their nearest protests.
Broken musical instruments for children
Grammy award-winning composer David Lang is launching his Symphony for a Broken Orchestra in Philadelphia this weekend – a novel attempt to draw attention to the more than $1.2m that has been slashed from the city’s musical instrument repair fund.
Lang – who won a Grammy in 2010 for his composition The Little Match Girl Passion and the Pulitzer prize for music in 2008 – sourced 1,500 broken musical instruments the School District of Philadelphia for the performance.
This is a photo of a trombone. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian
“If there are 1,500 broken musical instruments, that’s 1,500 children who should be playing these instruments and whose lives could be changed,” said Lang. “There is something heartbreaking about it.”
Lang hopes people will donate to repair instruments through the Symphony for a Broken Orchestra website – those instruments will then be put “back into the hands of a child”.
We’re reading
• “I’m a multimillionaire so Trump’s tax plan is great for me,” writes Morris Pearl for Time. “It’s a disaster for everyone else.” Pearl is chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, a group of wealthy people who believe millionaires, billionaires and corporations should be taxed more. The idea that the Senate tax plan “is going to help anyone beside the ultra-rich is ludicrous”, Pearl says.
• More than 20,000 people have signed a petition urging the justice department to investigate “claims of sexual assault against Donald J Trump”. “We request that the Justice Department appoint a special counsel to open an investigation into the years of accusations against Donald Trump,” wrote Susan O’Connor, who started the petition. More than 20 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct – he has denied all the allegations. The Guardian has compiled a list of all the accusations against the president. Trump denies any wrongdoing.
Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn) will resign in light of the increasing number of women alleging sexual harassment and assault. It is the end of a remarkable career that took Franken from Saturday Night Live to the most exclusive club in Washington.
A person participating in a rally holds a sign in protest of a Republican-crafted tax cut plan, outside the US Capitol Building after sunset in Washington DC. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA
