If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. - Carl Sagan
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| READ |
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| MITCH MCCONNELL Senate Majority Leader |
6. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader
Years from
now, historians will make the case that he was the most consequential
politician of the early 21st century. He scuttled every attempt Obama made at
compromise—and even denied him an appointment to the Supreme Court—which in turn persuaded countless conservatives to
hold their noses and vote for Trump. Is he fond of the president? No, but as
long as Trump's bill-signing hand works to cut the taxes of the GOP donor
class, McConnell is
as pleased as can be. [The 50 Most Powerful
People In Trump’s Washington*, This story originally appeared in the March 2018
issue.]
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TRUMP
– RUSSIA PROBE
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| PAUL MANAFORT |
COALITION URGES TRUMP REJECT STEEL, ALUMINUM
TARIFFS: A coalition of free market and limited
government groups are calling on Trump not to impose import restrictions on
steel and aluminum. "The national security case to restrict steel and
aluminum imports is thin and the toll such restrictions would take on the
economy is considerable," the groups said in a letter on
Thursday. The letter was signed by the National Taxpayers Union, R Street
Institute, American Legislative Exchange Council, Competitive Enterprise
Institute and FreedomWorks.[ POLITICO's Morning Trade, February 23, 2018}
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| FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA |
Former President
Barack Obama is scheduled to make an appearance at the 12th annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference [February 23] at the Boston Convention and
Exhibition Center today. Obama's session starts at 2 p.m. and if you were
hoping to see him, tickets to the conference are sold out. But who knows, maybe
he'll grab some grub with his daughter Malia (who is over at Harvard). [Boston Globe, Fast Forward,
February 23, 2018]
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JAMES
MATTIS
Secretary of Defense |
MEMO SHOWS MATTIS BACKED COMMERCE FINDINGS ON STEEL, ALUMINUM: The
Department of Defense supports the Commerce Department's conclusion that
unfairly traded imports of steel and aluminum "impair" U.S. national
security, but it has concerns about "the negative impact" that
proposed restrictions could have on key allies, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
said in a memo released Thursday night.
"DoD believes that the systematic use of unfair trade
practices to intentionally erode our innovation and manufacturing industrial
base poses a risk to our national security," Mattis wrote in the
memorandum to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. He also argued that China is the
source of steel and aluminum market distortions - and should be the main
target.
Whatever steps are taken, "it is critical that we reinforce
to our key allies that these actions are focused on correcting Chinese
overproduction and countering their attempts to circumvent existing
anti-dumping tariffs," Mattis said.
However, because U.S. military requirements for steel and
aluminum represent only about 3 percent of U.S. production, DoD does not
believe the import threat is so grave that it will not be able to acquire the
steel and aluminum it needs for national defense requirements, Mattis said. In
addition, the best option for restricting imports would be "targeted
tariffs" on selected countries, rather than a global quota or tariff
system, he said.
"If the administration takes action on steel, DoD
recommends waiting before taking further steps on aluminum. The prospect of
trade action on aluminum may be sufficient to coerce improved behavior of bad
actors," he said. [POLITICO's Morning
Trade, February 23,2018]
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| CYBERSECURITY |
The White House touted its
leadership on defending against foreign election interference and its handling
of Russia. ... House Oversight Democrats told Equifax that it should extend its
identity theft protection services put in place as a result of its massive data
breach. ... "The House Intelligence Committee, for years considered an
oasis of bipartisanship in a fractious Congress, has collapsed into what many lawmakers call unprecedented bitterness and distrust
that endangers its core mission of protecting national security."
[POLITICO's Morning Cybersecurity, February 21, 2018}
INVEST TO BE THE IN-BEST - Increased
federal spending on cybersecurity research may be the key to reducing cyber
risk, the White House's economic advisers told President Donald Trump in
a report published Wednesday. The report ran the
gamut of issues affecting the American economy and included a chapter devoted
to cyber threats. "Direct government investment in [cyber] research may be
a way to leverage economies of scale that ultimately benefit private firms
across industries," the Council of Economic Advisers said in the report.
When research is left solely to the private sector, they said, "companies
generally do not have incentives to share this basic research with each other,
and this may result in duplicative investment efforts across companies."
The report also praised the technical standards
agency NIST's cybersecurity framework , but it warned
against being overly prescriptive with cyber standards because "they could
be very costly to implement and thus lead companies to use a compliance-based
rather than risk-based cybersecurity approach." And in a nod to the
intersection of economic security and national security, the report expressed
concern about America's "dependence on foreign workers and foreign
companies to help meet much of the United States' domestic cybersecurity
needs." The report said the discussion over the use of Russian cyber firm
Kaspersky Lab's products highlighted "the critical need to increase the
domestic supply of cyber workers, and reduce American dependence on foreign
cyber products."
The report also mentioned only one cybersecurity bill - the Cybersecurity Disclosure Act. The bipartisan
measure, which the report doesn't take a stance on, would require public
companies to disclose whether they have cyber experts on their board. [POLITICO's Morning Cybersecurity, February 22, 2018]
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| SCREEN |
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| MARIJUANA |
Californians have been able to use marijuana
as medicine for two decades, but
soon even their sick pets may be able to take advantage of cannabis’ benefits. And minors
with special needs or severe disabilities who rely on marijuana for medical
purposes would
be allowed to use the drug at their school under legislation. [L.A.
Times Essential Politics, February 20,
2018]
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| HEALTHCARE |
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| ISIS |
INFRASTRUCTURE
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| FROM THE PORCH |
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| CANDIDATES |
NOTE: The news sources here vary. Not all sources have the same credibility, but in an effort to share some different perspectives, they are included here. This compendium itself cannot claim to be unbiased. Please take into consideration where these different perspectives originate in assessing their value. Thank you
NOTE: I have no official connection to any organization from which information is shared.. Occasionally, I post informational material and/or an opportunity to donate or join as a "community service" announcement. These again are shared for their varying perspectives.
Any books listed are random or topic-related to something else in the post. Think of these as a "library bookshelf" to browse. They are shared for informational or entertainment value only, not as being recommended
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