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“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.” ― Douglas Adams










DAILY SPECIALS


Big week on opioids
There's a lot going on this week in the House Energy and Commerce Committee's response to the opioid crisis.
What's happening:
  • The panel's health subcommittee will meet Wednesday and Thursday to mark up opioid bills. (The list of specific bills hasn't yet been released.) The subcommittee has already advanced more than 50 bills related to the epidemic.
  • Meanwhile, the committee's oversight panel is dragging a who's-who of drug distributors in on Tuesday, for a hearing about their role in the crisis. It's one of the few punitive elements of Congress' response so far.
More: The DEA on Friday suspended a wholesaler in Louisiana over its handling of opioids, the first such move since 2012, per the Washington Post. [Axios Vitals: Monday, May 7, 2018]









EPA






BERNIE SANDERS






NoRA: activists and stars launch gun control campaign to battle NRA
No Rifle Association Initiative unites Parkland students and celebrities including Alec Baldwin and Amy Schumer
 

NoRA

A group of activists and celebrities have launched a new campaign targeting the National Rifle Association.
The No Rifle Association Initiative, backed by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida – where 17 people were shot dead in February – and celebrities including Alec Baldwin, Amy Schumer and Jimmy Kimmel, aims to “shine a bright light on the bloody hands of the NRA and the politicians they purchase”.
The move comes as thousands of students walked out of classes on Friday, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, calling for gun control reform.
NoRA says it will mobilise people to vote out NRA-funded candidates in the November midterm elections. Its website offers information on registering to vote and contacting lawmakers.
“We’re going to plaster the nation with the faces of those who take NRA blood money with posters created by iconic artist Bradley Theodore,” a statement said. “We’re going to show up at the NRA convention in Dallas and make them wish they stayed home. We might just sue the pants off the NRA.”

Florida survivor calls for boycott

The activist David Hogg, one of the survivors of the Parkland shooting, has called for a boycott of the investment companies BlackRock and Vanguard.
The companies are “two of the biggest investors in gun manufacturers; if you use them, feel free to let them know”, Hogg – who is writing a book, #NeverAgain: A New Generation Draws the Line – wrote on Twitter, posting the hashtags #boycottvanguard and #boycottblackrock. [The Guardian, April 21, 2018]



READ







COMEY
On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

COMEY’S BOOK TOUR

The Trump administration sure does sell books.

The latest to cash in: former FBI Director James B. Comey, whose book “A Higher Loyalty” hit the stores this week and became an instant bestseller.

Comey launched his publicity tour for the book with an interview on ABC with George Stephanopoulos in which he likened Trump to a mob boss, calling him "morally unfit" for the presidency and a "stain" on those around him.

Trump suggested the former FBI chief should be imprisoned.

As Tanfani wrote, the extraordinary interview included Comey saying that he thinks it is possible that the president is in fact compromised by Russian intelligence.

Asked in the interview whether he thought Russia "has something" on Trump, Comey said: "I think it's possible. I don't know.”

Comey has taken fire from at least two directions. Trump’s allies call him a liar and accuse him of being out to get the president. And many Democrats can’t forgive Comey for the damage he did to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Comey insists his actions were justified, which has incensed many Clinton supporters.

What impact will all this have politically? As usual, don’t count on a big swing in public opinion. Most Americans have very firmly held views about Trump. That’s especially true among those who oppose him.

Among Trump’s supporters, some back him fervently. But there’s a significant minority whose support is softer. The question will be, over time, whether Comey’s charges sway some of them.

So far, despite a few polls that seem to be outliers, Trump’s approval rating has barely budged up or down since the beginning of January. [LA TIMES, Essential Politics, April 20, 2018]



TRUMP







WHIMSEY





U.S. MILITARY





TECHNOLOGY














THE NUCLEAR OPTION




INDIGENOUS PEOPLES





ENERGY



100% Renewable Energy is Within Our Reach
The world cannot afford to continue to rely on fossil fuels. Scientists now tell us that at current rates, within a decade we'll likely have put enough carbon in the atmosphere to warm the earth past the Paris climate targets. We are running out of time.
Cities and states around America are already moving towards this goal. Countries around the world are outpacing us: transport in the Netherlands is run increasingly on wind power, Santiago's train system will run entirely on solar power soon, China can power provinces the size of Texas for a week straight.
The technology to implement 100% renewables already exists and we have public opinion on our side. A majority of Americans favor government action to increase the development of renewable energy.
Corporate interests and politics stand in our way. I know we can overcome them. We must.
Thanks for staying engaged,

Bill McKibben [Sanders Institute, April 20, 2018]



THE ROOKIE: The energy industry is unsure what to make of the relatively unknown Francis Brooke , who will soon replace Mike Catanzaro as the top White House energy aide. A 28-year-old former baseball pitcher, Brooke spent the last year in Vice President Mike Pence's office serving in a junior role to Catanzaro and George David Banks. But Pro's Ben Lefebvre and Eric Wolff report energy lobbyists worry his promotion could leave them without steady hands to steer the White House as big decisions on the coal industry, biofuels and energy trade pile up - especially in the crucial run-up to the midterm elections. "It shows you this administration doesn't care about these issues," said one lobbyist who works extensively with the administration on energy policy. "I expect agencies are now going to have to play a bigger role. There's not going to be a lot of policy issues that will be determined over the next eight months or so." [POLITICO's Morning Energy, April 20, 2018]

WHAT'S THE HOLD UP? House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop says a comprehensive GOP energy bill is "being held up" until the Pentagon weighs how offshore drilling near Florida could affect national security, following backlash from the offshore proposal that led two Florida Republicans to pursue a permanent moratorium. A pending energy bill, H.R. 4239 (115) , is one potential vehicle to extend that moratorium. Bishop told Anthony he is waiting for a Defense Department report on how expanded drilling near Florida would affect "mission compatibility." A committee spokeswoman said the results of the study would help determine next steps on the moratorium. [POLITICO's Morning Energy, April 20, 2018]


SPEAKING OF METHANE: Earlier this week BP released its "advancing the energy transition" report, committing to near-term carbon reductions and setting a target methane intensity of 0.2 percent and holding it below 0.3 percent. The Environmental Defense Fund highlights the report Thursday in a post arguing on the next frontier of methane targets, as annual shareholder resolution meetings are on the horizon. [POLITICO's Morning Energy, April 20, 2018]



ELECTIONS

With seven months until the 2020 presidential primary season kicks-off in earnest, the top-tier Democratic potential candidates are nowhere to be found in Iowa or New Hampshire. These are  the first states that vote in the process and visiting early could help to lay the groundwork ahead of what is expected to be the largest presidential Democratic candidate field in modern history. So where are they?

Beyond a trip from Vermont US Senator Bernie Sanders to Iowa in February, the major names are ceding the early ground game to a relatively unknown group of potential candidates who have made frequent trips, hiring staff and calling activists so often their voicemails are ignored.

Not so the bigger candidates. Massachusetts US Senator Elizabeth Warren traveled to Ohio last week, but hasn’t stepped foot in an early primary state since the 2016 election. Former vice president Joe Biden raised eyebrows when he visited New Hampshire over a year ago, but hasn’t been back. Even Sanders, who lives in a neighboring state, hasn’t been to New Hampshire in eight months. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand just rejected an invitation to address a prominent Democratic event there. And California Senator Kamala Harris, along with former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe have been careful to avoid states that would cause presidential buzz, aides say.

That’s not to say they don’t have aides doing the work for them. AFL-CIO president Glenn Brackett said he’s seen some  outreach “of the getting to know you” sort from advisers to several major candidates.

Jim Demers, has served as a New Hampshire primary sherpa to past Democratic candidates ranging from Dick Gephardt to Barack Obama. (He was such a prominent person in Obama’s world that Hillary Clinton referred to Demers in a nationally televised debate.) Most recently, it was announced that Demers will encourage New Jersey Senator Cory Booker to run for president and will help him lay the groundwork in the Granite State as he did with Obama in 2008. Since the announcement,

But that doesn’t mean he’s encouraged him to show up just yet. A visit to New Hampshire, he notes, gets national notice. There’s scrutiny over every detail of the first visit and once you go one, voters (and the media) expect you to keep returning, or face questions about why you haven’t. So in recent elections, candidates have increasingly pushed their first visits later and later.

There are exceptions, of course. Obama made his first visit to New Hampshire a month after the 2006 midterm, for example. But for the most part, there’s been an emphasis on splashy first visits that intimate, early house party meet and greets.

“You can visit 48 states and it is not that big of a deal, but going to Iowa and New Hampshire is a different ball game,” said Demers. “And if you are thinking about running for president then your first visit has to go really well and then you need to keep visiting.”

Timing might be one thing, but there are other factors at play. For one thing, in the complicated political landscape of late, many candidates simply haven’t made up their minds about whether to run.

Robby Mook, who served as Hillary Clinton’s national campaign manager in 2016, said the decision this year is more complex than it has been in years.

“As they weigh invitations to visit they are forced to ask themselves the questions about why they should run and what they want to say,” Mook said. “I think the honest reason why many of them aren’t visiting yet is that they haven’t figured those questions out yet.”

But for those that have decided, modern campaigns require more advance planning than just hoping on a plane. In this age of ubiquitous cell phone videos, candidate can’t just travel to New Hampshire and test a message or two. In the past, a failed didn’t get applause, these days it lives on forever online. But consider how campaign money, too, has changed. In modern elections, candidates need to spend more time with donors than they do with state senators from Dover, N.H. or Davenport, Iowa.

That hasn’t stopped the lesser-known White House hopefuls from putting the early primary states on their list. Former Missouri secretary of state Jason Kander and Maryland US Representative John Delaney have been in Iowa and New Hampshire multiple times. Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton went to both states last fall. Moulton’s Bay State colleague Joe Kennedy III is scheduled to keynote a major event in New Hampshire later in the year.

Others who have made trips to these states or have trips scheduled include Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, Montana Governor Steve Bullock and Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley.

Earlier this week eyebrows raised when former US attorney general Eric Holder -- a potential first-tier candidate if he inherits Obama’s campaign apparatus -- announced he would visit New Hampshire to address the Politics and Eggs breakfast, a traditional New Hampshire primary event, on June 1. For some, the announcement signaled that the season may soon be starting in earnest.

It’s also important to take into account that Trump’s presidency makes for a different playing field, on both sides of aisle. Democratic candidates who visit an early primary state may appear to be campaigning for themselves when they could be helping other candidates in battleground states win majorities in the House and Senate. Such a move could backfire, particularly if Democrats fail to take back the Senate.

“If you are a Democrat looking to run for president you need to meet Democratic voters where they are at and that means finding ways to stop Trump this week, this month and this midterm election and not what you might do two years from now,” said Democratic consultant Jesse Ferguson. “I wouldn’t read the lack lot of trips as a lack of interest. I would read it as a correct focus on a higher priority.”

On the Republican side, you might expect no activity because a sitting president is rarely challenged. But this year, some of Trump’s chief critics have visited the state testing the political waters, as they weigh whether to take on a deeply divisive commander in chief. Back-to-back visits from Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, Ohio Governor John Kasich and Weekly Standard founder Bill Kristol prompted the White House to quickly schedule their own trips by President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump within a single month.

But some say they wonder if the delayed calendar -- at least on the Democratic side where most of the focus will converge this season -- may signal that the New Hampshire primary has lost a bit of its luster.

“The lack of visits from some of the major Democratic players has been a point of conversation and there is worry about what this means for the New Hampshire primary,” said Brackett of the AFL-CIO. After all, he’s still trying to get a top-tier speaker for his well-publicized Labor Day breakfast. [Boston Globe, Ground Game, April 20, 2018]



WHITE HOUSE





Russian interference in the 2016 election   



How Moscow May Have Influenced Our Elections – And Is Poised to Do It Again


If U.S. intelligence is to be believed, the Russians spent significant resources trying to influence the 2016 presidential election. Just how many votes their efforts influenced is less clear; the White House claims not a single vote was influenced by Russian bots or trolls.

Steve Hall is a 30-year CIA veteran, and Jim Crounse has spent 40 years working on Democratic political campaigns. The two explore how the Russians have sought to impact American politics—and will likely do so again in 2018 and 2020:
  • “Imagine being the Russian intelligence officer in Moscow charged with understanding how a modern American campaign is run, and then constructing an influence operation to influence the election…It would have been a challenging endeavor indeed to run such a wide-ranging, complex operation only from Moscow. Which are the key battleground states, and which specific voters are the most persuadable? Who could provide such modeling data? Which themes resound best within the diverse American population, and how do you specifically target voting blocks with the greatest efficiency?”
     
  • “Those best positioned to answer these and other arcane questionsare those directly involved in the American domestic political process. We believe the canny Russian intelligence officer would have at least considered soliciting the services – either overtly or covertly – of a U.S. political consultant to advise on such questions.”
     
  • “The attention on the 2016 influence operations means Russia will need to look for new digital advertising avenues to void detection, and probably more layers to obfuscate the original source of their content. Putin’s operatives are likely to continue to try to hack key individuals and party committees in an attempt to gather embarrassing information like they did in 2016.” [The Cipher Daily Brief, April 18, 2018]



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 commercial or business interest information shared is purely informational, not an endorsement.  I have no connection with any such commercial or business interest.

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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