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MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Order today at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
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By Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman @ NYTimes.com, Dec. 22
This is worth reading for the current picture, it is not the same old, it has new stuff. Like, for example:
Longtime associates said Mr. Trump’s relationship with his children has grown more removed and that he feels he does not have a friend in the White House. He disagrees with Mr. Kushner and Ivanka Trump much of the time, but cannot bring himself to tell them no, leaving that instead to Mr. Kelly, according to former aides. That made Mr. Kelly the heavy, they said, and therefore the target of their ire until he was finally forced out.
it is based on interviews with about 30 current and former administration officials, personal friends, political allies, lawmakers and congressional aides.
Set of 10 articles published Dec. 10-21 @ MigrationPolicy.org;(and whole Migration Policy Institute site has loads of good data tools and analysis)
Amid rising public skepticism and outright opposition to migration in a number of countries, 2018 was marked by a turn to harder policies in the United States and parts of Europe—even as most of the world came together to endorse a first ever international compact on migration. The year unfolded with an escalation of humanitarian crises in sub-Saharan Africa, South America, and beyond. Join us here for a review of the most consequential developments of the year in this countdown of the Top 10 Migration Issues of 2018.
Not expecting total agreement by anyone [I don't] or any agreement by some, but I find this periodic column to be quite interesting, often funny. There are two links among many within the article that I find particularly worth reading. For those interested in our international affairs as have been discussed here at dag they are repeated here and here.
By Joby Warrick, from Irbil, @ WashingtonPost.com, Dec. 21
The Islamic State is sitting on a mountain of stolen cash and gold that its leaders stashed away to finance terrorist operations and ensure the organization’s survival years into the future.
By Bob Herman @ Axios.com, Dec. 21
The Trump administration on Friday eased up on groups of hospitals and doctors called "accountable care organizations," which were created by the Affordable Care Act, in a regulation that will allow those companies to retain more money if they hold Medicare costs down and keep patient quality high.
The bottom line: The agency that oversees Medicare is still requiring these networks to take on more financial risk. But it's now backpedaling from some of the proposed rules, and as a result, it expects fewer hospitals and doctors to leave the program.
The details: Next year, the federal government will still push groups of hospitals and doctors to both keep savings from lower Medicare spending and pay out financial penalties back to the government if they spend above Medicare's targets [....]
By Tal Axelrod @ TheHill.com, Dec. 19
Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) Wednesday vetoed a bill intended to expand gun-owner rights, including by bolstering their legal defenses.
He also issued an executive order including “gender identity or expression” in Ohio's anti-discrimination policy for state employees.
The moves come as Kasich is considered as a potential primary challenger to President Trump in 2020, having a reputation as a moderate following his willingness to buck his party’s leader.
Kasich vetoed Ohio House Bill 228, which would have shifted the burden of proof to prosecutors to show that defendants used force in self-defense [....]
[....] I’m no novice when it comes to understanding the delicate balance between congressional and executive authority over international trade.
In fact, I was a leader in renewing Trade Promotion Authority as the ranking member of the Finance Committee in 2002.
I strongly supported its renewal under the leadership of Chairman Orrin Hatch in 2015.
What was important then and remains truer than ever today is that Congress plays a central and pivotal role in crafting trade policy.
Our Founding Fathers were explicit in placing this responsibility with the Congress in Article One of the Constitution.
We must remain vigilant to ensure that the aspects of trade authority that Congress has delegated are used appropriately and in the best interest of our country.
I am certainly not opposed to being creative in negotiations with other countries.
But I strongly disagree with the notion that imports of steel and aluminum, automobiles, and auto parts somehow could pose a national security threat.
I intend to review the President’s use of power under Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1962, which grants the president broad legal authority to impose tariffs in the name of national security.
Senator Portman and others have already introduced legislation to narrow the scope of how an administration can use the power that Congress authorized in 1962 under the influence of the Cold War [....]