Donald Trump's only fixed position on abortion is his disdain for women - Richard Wolffe
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| TRUMP |
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| WOMEN'S RIGHTS = HUMAN RIGHTS |
-- SEN. DICK DURBIN
(D-ILL.) spoke with CHRIS WALLACE on FOX NEWS' "FOX NEWS SUNDAY: "The basic issue at hand here is whether or not a woman
has the power to make decisions - the freedom to make decisions - regarding her
own body and her own life. That is the fundamental issue here. When you start
denying that to women across America, those are fighting words. ... If one or
two Republican senators believe this choice is out of the mainstream, then we
could have a very serious issue before us on confirmation." [POLITICO Playbook, July 1, 2018]
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| U.S. SUPREME COURT |
ON THE WORLD STAGE --
WAPO's JOSH ROGIN, "Trump is trying to destabilize the European
Union": "During a private meeting at the White
House in late April, Trump was discussing trade with French President Emmanuel
Macron. At one point, he asked Macron, 'Why don't you leave the E.U.?' and said
that if France exited the union, Trump would offer it a bilateral trade deal
with better terms than the E.U. as a whole gets from the United States,
according to two European officials. The White House did not dispute the
officials' account, but declined to comment." https://wapo.st/2KiRAE4 [POLITICO Playbook, June 29, 2018]
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| DEMOCRATIC PARTY |
Superdelegate Reform Wins at the Unity Reform Commission
Our Revolution is leading the coalition of progressive partners to
pressure the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee to pass
the Unity Reform Commission's recommendations. The URC's recommendations are a
consensus of many different sections of the Democratic Party into one set of
policies to make the party more inclusive, accountable, and transparent. Just
Wednesday evening, the Unity Reform Commission scored an incredible victory.
The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee approved a measure to bar superdelegates
from voting on the first presidential nomination ballot in a contested
convention.
"This is a huge step towards making our presidential primary
process more democratic," said Our Revolution Board Chair and Vice-Chair
of the Unity Reform Commission Larry Cohen. "For those of us involved in
primaries or general elections working on the rules, both inside and outside
the Democratic Party is as critical to movement building as the candidates we
support." This, and other critical URC measures, will face a final vote at
the Summer DNC convention in Chicago. [Our Revolution, June 29, 2018]
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| READ |
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| WOMEN |
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| WHITE HOUSE |
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| VETERANS |
Robert Wilkie appeared to be sailing toward confirmation as
Veterans Affairs secretary [Wednesday] after a committee hearing in which no
senator voiced strong objections to his service.
"'I, as others, believe you are going to be confirmed,'
said Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, the panel's top
Democrat. 'I think you have the tools to do the job.'
"Tester played a prominent role in Rear Adm. Ronny
Jackson's decision to withdraw from consideration for the post over allegations
of misconduct as White House physician. [POLITICO's
Morning Defense, June 28, 2018]
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| MITCH MCCONNELL |
— AND TAKE-TWO IN THE HOUSE: The
House is expected to vote on remaining amendments and final passage of its
fiscal 2019 Defense appropriations bill, H.R. 6157, after its plan to vote Wednesday
was delayed.
On Wednesday, the House did adopt two key amendments, reports our colleague Connor O'Brien:
Lawmakers approved with little fanfare on a voice vote an amendment from Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) that would
bar funding to procure goods or services from the Chinese telecommunications
companies Huawei and ZTE, or to extend or renew a contract with them.
Lawmakers also adopted by voice vote an amendment from House Armed Services Seapower
Subcommittee Chairman Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and ranking Democrat Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) to permit the Navy to
undertake a dual purchase of two aircraft carriers, matching provisions in the
House-passed NDAA.
Meanwhile, the White House has
laid out its objections to the bill, including to funding included for extra
Littoral Combat Ships and the JSTARS recapitalization program, adds Connor: "The White House urged lawmakers to fund just
one LCS at $647 million. The House defense appropriations bill would fund
three, triple the Pentagon's request...
"The administration also dinged appropriators for funding
the JSTARS recapitalization program, which the Air Force wants to cancel. The
bill would fund the replacement program for the aging fleet of JSTARS aircraft
at $623 million, none of it requested. The administration instead called for
investing in a new follow-on to JSTARS, the Advanced Battle Management System,
arguing the recap program 'does not meet the needs of the warfighter across the
full spectrum of conflict.'" [POLITICO's
Morning Defense, June 28, 2018]
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| TECHNOLOGY |
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| SCREEN |
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| PUTIN/TRUMP |
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| ENERGY |
FERC'S FRIDAY NIGHT NEWS DUMP: Regulators
at FERC have known that one day they would have to decide how they would move
to protect the power markets they oversee from the state-enacted energy
programs, particularly those that support nuclear units, that are tilting the
playing field. A divided FERC waded in Friday night in a way that raised
concerns among climate advocates and consumer groups about the future of the
markets and the viability of state energy initiatives.
So ... what happened? PJM Interconnection,
which runs the market that spans 13 states, came to FERC with two proposals
this spring for "mitigating" state energy programs in its capacity
market that ensures enough power plants are available to provide electricity.
FERC didn't like either PJM plan. But the commission's three Republican members
ordered PJM to rewrite its current market rules, declaring they were
"unjust and unreasonable and unduly discriminatory." The order — which was published at 8:45
p.m. Friday — stated the current rules didn't protect competition in the
capacity market against "unreasonable price distortions and cost
shifts" from the state policies that are keeping older, uneconomic plants
resources in operation or subsidizing new power technologies that aren't yet
competitive. Axing the current rules may indicate that FERC's tolerance for
state programs may be over.
In a late-night tweetstorm, Democratic FERC
Commissioner Rich Glick took issue with the move, writing that the agency
shouldn't use its authorities to restrain state efforts to address global
warming. "Doing so puts the Commission on the wrong side of history in the
fight against climate change," he said.
Fellow Democrat, Cheryl LaFleur,
also weighed in with a sharp dissent. The majority was considering "the
most sweeping changes to the PJM capacity construct since the market's
inception more than a decade ago." The commission, she added, is
"proceeding to overhaul the PJM capacity market based on a thinly sketched
concept, a troubling act of regulatory hubris that could ultimately hasten,
rather than halt, the re-regulation of the PJM market."
Doing DOE's work: Public Citizen's Tyson
Slocum has been raising this issue to ME since before the Energy Department's
grid study was released last year, warning that DOE's efforts to rescue coal
and nuclear plants would surely give cover to PJM's plans. "FERC is now
clearing a wide path ... for PJM to implement a 'market-based' bailout for
uneconomic power plants that will have profound impacts on working families'
utility bills and on states' ability to craft emissions reduction
strategies," he said by email. "Everyone remains focuses on the DOE's
clumsy efforts to pick winners and losers, while FERC quietly just gave a green
light for PJM to do the same."
What now? FERC is taking comments through
Aug. 28 and will "make every effort" to issue new rules by Jan. 9. [POLITICO's Morning Energy, July 2, 2018]
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.
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