RFK Jr. repeats Kremlin propaganda. Kudlow criticized potential Fed rate cut as political, though Trump pressured Fed for cuts. A Maine rep's comments on Nazis sparked misleading controversy. Democrats proposed renaming prison after Trump. Updates on Trump's hush-money case, lack of evidence in GOP's Biden impeachment inquiry. College protests led to student suspensions. Trump compared himself to Mandela over potential jailing. Data on workforce changes with immigrants. Consumer confidence surveys show partisan divides. FTC report on grocery chains' pandemic pricing. Russia's drone attacks on Kharkiv criticized as terrorism. Campaign finance issues with FEC's partisan vetoes. Updates on Baltimore bridge collapse.
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1.) [UPDATE] RFK Jr. releases a statement on Jan 6th.
Although his campaign already walked back RFK’s use of “activists” to describe the Jan 6th rioters, RFK Jr. released a statement himself :
“I have not examined the evidence in detail—” [TS] He should have just stopped there.
[TS] There was no reason to take this person seriously before, now, there is even less. Two of the three candidates for presidency are just straight up off their rocker. It’s remarkable.
[UPDATE] On the Twins Pod podcast, RFK Jr. mirrors Putin’s talking points on Ukraine. [TS] The “DeNazify” point is especially disturbing. He’s just pushing Kremlin propaganda.
Larry Kudlow is a former Director of the National Economic Council under President Donald Trump.
[CONTEXT] “…in every presidential cycle since 1980 except for one, the Fed has either cut or raised...” - PIMCO
[TS] Trump pressured the Fed multiple times to cut the rate (all while Kudlow was his Dir. of the Natl. Economic Council). Examples:
Throughout 2018 and 2019, Trump frequently took to Twitter to call for lower interest rates, calling the Fed's rate hikes under Chairman Jerome Powell "insane" and a threat to the economic recovery.
In 2019, Trump explored legally demoting or firing Powell over the Fed's rate policies, though he lacked the clear authority to do so.
Trump broke with traditional White House practice of respecting the Fed's independence, openly stating he wanted lower rates to further boost the economy ahead of the 2020 election.
After the Fed did cut rates in 2019, Trump continued pressuring for additional aggressive rate reductions, tweeting that the Fed had "no guts."
At one point in 2020, Trump went so far as to say the Fed's policies amounted to an effective "handcuff" on the economy.
In short, Kudlow is a muppet. In contrast: Has Biden done anything remotely similar? Of course not. There is an asymmetry between the parties. ← Going to need another sign to tap for this one too…
3.) MAGA State Rep. in Maine, Laurel Libby (R) wants to know what, specifically, the Nazis did that was illegal - [TS] Misleading Clip.
[TS] First the clip, which is predictably making the rounds:
[TS] Before I start, you should ask yourself: “Does it seem normal that a republican state rep, during a session, is openly supporting Nazis?” Ok, don’t answer that. The context here is important. Per Stephanie Grindley WGME:
Representative Libby was previously talking about the First Amendment right to free speech. Twenty minutes prior, she had spoken about the "neo-Nazis" that were reported this past spring and summer appearing in Portland.
She’s not talking about WW2 Nazis. She was referring to our right for freedom of assembly.
She said while she might not agree with it, she believes it's still a person's right.
[TS] I agree fully. Freedom of speech/assembly does not exist to protect popular views, but unpopular views. While we all agree that nazi rhetoric is vile, you should be free to say it. Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences, socially. People should be free to ostracize and make fun of those views (liberally, I might add). It also doesn’t mean that a private business (Twitter, Youtube etc.)has to platform those views (something that the GOP seems deeply confused on). If those views are platformed, it doesn’t mean they deserve any algorithmic boosting to reach a wider audience — the old adage: “Freedom of speech, not freedom of reach.”
4.) AXIOS: Democrats introduce bill to rename Miami prison after Trump.
[TS] For a little context this was in response to some house republican members wanting to rename Dulles Airport to Trump Airport. Obviously, those democrats (Rep Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Rep Jared Moskowitz (D-FL)) aren’t actually serious about renaming a prison (I don’t know if I can say the same about the airport). I don’t like either proposal. Granted, the airport is just plain dumb, but why even respond to it? I think ignoring certain things is the best response.
For example, if a bunch of neo-nazis decide to march in your town, you might think they should be met with an overwhelming response (I certainly have that initial reaction). However, that’s likely what they want. Wouldn’t it be better if it was just 15 morons in white robes walking down the street holding signs? (I guess now it’s khaki pants and tiki torches)
5.) [UPDATE] Hush-money case: Kyle Cheney (Politico): Judge Merchan has denied Trump's effort to subpoena NBC for details of the new Stormy Daniels documents.
Presidential ad spending since Super Tuesday thru this week:
Biden camp and allies: $16.0M
Trump camp and allies: $3.4M
Kennedy Jr. camp: $409K
Future reservations currently booked (next week thru November):
Pro-Biden: $132.4M
Pro-Trump: $265K
[TS] This delta is rather remarkable. So much so that I almost don’t believe it. Maybe it shouldn’t be too surprising given the recent stories about republican fundraising woes, and also how much Trump is using for legal bills (+ stories of Trump trying to court billionaires).
[UPDATE] Financial Times has a chart. [TS] The future graph is wild.
7.) CNN /Grayer: CIA refutes whistleblower claim pushed by Republicans leading Biden impeachment inquiry.
House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden were dealt their latest blow this week when the CIA informed them that an allegation they pushed was false, the latest example of House Republicans citing questionable information to make a serious claim.
Without the evidence or the votes to impeach the president, at this point there is no clear consensus on how – or even when – to end the Republican-led impeachment inquiry. This latest development comes after the Department of Justice charged a once trusted FBI informant with lying about the president and his son Hunter Biden’s involvement in business dealings, undercutting a major aspect of Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into the president.
House Oversight Chair James Comer and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan accused the CIA in a letterlast month of intervening in the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden by preventing IRS and DOJ investigators from interviewing a witness in their probe, based on information they say came from a whistleblower.
But the CIA has refuted that claim in a letter obtained first by CNN that was sent to Jordan and Comer.
“Without confirming or denying the existence of any associations or communications, CIA did not prevent or seek to prevent IRS or DOJ from conducting any such interview. The allegation is false,” CIA Director of Congressional Affairs James A. Catella wrote to the Republican Committee Chairs.
[TS] This impeachment started out as embarrassing, but my god, is there no bottom to this ineptitude? If there are credible accusations, I am all for investigating anyone, including the president.
8.) On the heels of Vanderbilt suspending students — Pomona College President Gabi Starr suspended / arrested students who rushed into an administrative building Friday night.
Per KTLA, at least 18 students face suspension after protest at Pomona College
According to student-led activist group Pomona Divest Apartheid, the demonstrators were protesting the removal of a “mock apartheid wall” that was created by students on Pomona College’s Marston Quad.
[TS] This is good. The fealty administrators showed to the students in the last 10 years was counterproductive. Protests are fine, but the tactics these students used fell far outside a typical protest. You shouldn’t be allowed to break into buildings, surround and scream at faculty, and even get physical without consequences. In short: It’s about damn time.
9.) Trump says on Truth Social that it would be “my great honor” to go to jail for violating Judge Merchan’s gag order and that it will make him a “modern day Nelson Mandela.”
[TS] I only included 2 of the “tweets” in the thread and highlighted the relevant parts. Part 2 just talked about Judge Engoron.
[TS] He’s daring the the courts at this point. I imagine that might actually be what he wants. Will probably get a pop from his base. Ironic that the courts don’t want to act because they’re fearful of looking political, except treating Trump differently is inherently political.
10.) (2019 - 2023) Net Change Workforce data as it relates to native-born and immigrants.
Steve Rattner (American financier, investor, and former Obama administration official who served as the lead advisor on the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry in 2009) publishes graph of the net change in workforce. Explainer:
As the native-born workforce ages into retirement, immigrants have been essential to America's post-COVID labor market recovery.
Some additional commentary by Ernie Tedeschi (former economist at U.S. Department of the Treasury):
Payroll employment is up across citizenship categories since 2019
Since Biden took office, ~2/3 of payroll gains have gone to native-born workers
The *entire* fall in native-born LFPR since 2019 is simply due to aging.
Continuing…
Punctuating the role of age: when just looking at 25-54 year olds, the native-born employment-to-population ratio is higher than pre-pandemic.
[TS] These graphs always illustrate how nebulous economic questions always yield partisan answers. The last question is so much more narrow, focused and concrete and look how more closely aligned all three parties are.
12.) NYT: Large Grocers Took Advantage of Pandemic Supply Chain Disruptions, F.T.C. Finds.
A report found that large firms pressured suppliers to favor them over competitors. It also concluded that some retailers “seem to have used rising costs as an opportunity to further hike prices.”
“Some firms seem to have used rising costs as an opportunity to further hike prices to increase their profits, and profits remain elevated even as supply chain pressures have eased,” the report read.
In its report, the F.T.C. concluded that supply chain disruptions did not affect companies equally across the grocery industry. Compared with larger firms, small grocery retailers faced more difficulties getting products during the pandemic.
The report’s findings are partially based on information the F.T.C. obtained from nine large retailers, wholesalers and consumer good suppliers, including Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Associated Wholesale Grocers, McLane Company, Procter & Gamble, Tyson Foods and Kraft Heinz. The regulator ordered the companies in late 2021 to turn over “detailed information” that would help shed light on the causes behind supply chain snarls and how business practices could have worsened disruptions.
13.) Russia attacks Kharkiv with Shahed drones. At least six killed. [TS] Pure, blatant terrorism.
[TS] Russians are trying to do to Kharkiv what they did to Grozny, Aleppo, Mariupol.
14.) Citizens for Ethics (CREW): “This is a huge problem with the current FEC. Partisan vetoes have let three GOP commissioners block any enforcement of campaign finance law against Trump every time it should've been enforced.”
15.) [UPDATE] on Baltimore Bridge: Second channel opened allowing some vessels to bypass wreckage at the Baltimore bridge collapse site
[TS] Also good news. Per BBC: No contaminants found in river after collapse
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