Why Is Trump Being So Secretive About The Agreement With Iran?

 For months now, Donald Trump has been claiming that he's only days away from reaching an agreement with Iran that would end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Finally, it looks like some kind of agreement (or memo of understanding) may have been reached.

Trump says the agreement has been digitally signed, and a formal signing will happen on Friday.

However, we must understand that this is not a final agreement that will end the war. It is only an agreement to extend the ceasefire another 60 days (and hopefully open the Strait of Hormuz) while talks continue to reach a final solution. Still, it is good news if it can accomplish at least that.

But it bothers me that Trump is being so secretive about what is in the agreement. Trump has always been very open about things that he thinks make him look good. That tells me that he is not at all sure that Congress (or the American people) will like what he's agreed to.

Has Trump, in his desperation to get out of this mess, given Iran the super hand? Has he surrendered while claiming victory?

He keeps claiming the contents of the agreement will be released, but so far, they haven't been. Why?

Top Secret Binder On Russian Election Interference Missing

The following is part of a story from CNN.com:

A binder containing highly classified information related to Russian election interference went missing at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, raising alarms among intelligence officials that some of the most closely guarded national security secrets from the US and its allies could be exposed, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Its disappearance, which has not been previously reported, was so concerning that intelligence officials briefed Senate Intelligence Committee leaders last year about the missing materials and the government’s efforts to retrieve them, the sources said.

In the two-plus years since Trump left office, the missing intelligence does not appear to have been found.

The binder contained raw intelligence the US and its NATO allies collected on Russians and Russian agents, including sources and methods that informed the US government’s assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to help Trump win the 2016 election, sources tell CNN.

The intelligence was so sensitive that lawmakers and congressional aides with top secret security clearances were able to review the material only at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, where their work scrutinizing it was itself kept in a locked safe.

The binder was last seen at the White House during Trump’s final days in office. . . .

The binder was not among the classified items found in last year’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

Trump Offers Only Two Things - Threats And Secrets (Satire)

 More great satire from Alexandra Petri in The Washington Post:

The more that comes out about Donald Trump’s post-presidency conduct, the clearer it becomes that the real challenge was not prying confidential information out of Trump but avoiding receivingconfidential information.

I think I see the problem. Donald Trump has two modes of conversation. He is either ranting about all the things he intends to do when he becomes dictator of the country — so many rights to strip away! so much vengeance to extract against his enemies! so many guardrails to dismantle! — or he is volunteering classified information. Those are really it. If you don’t want one, you have to buckle in for the other.

Which brings us to the news from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation that Donald Trump apparently shared sensitive information about U.S. nuclear submarines with an Australian billionaire. You might be wondering: Is this a private party, or can anyone play? Yes! All you have to do is pay money to be around Donald Trump by, say, attending a fundraiser or joining Mar-a-Lago, the most valuable golf club on the planet, valued at approximately $6 billion more than the sun, and you, too, can take the Trump Top Secret Challenge! See how long you can go without having Donald Trump just hand you some classified information.

Do you see all these people getting sensitive information from Trump — book researchers, foreign moguls, random users of the site formerly known as Twitter, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte — and wonder, Gee, how long can a person go in his company without hearing something they are not supposed to know? Is it measured in seconds, or in hours? Days seems too long. Fortunately, to answer this question, there’s the Trump Top Secret Challenge! Almost anyone can play! It’s not just for donors, although it is definitely for donors. The only objective is that you spend 24 hours around Donald Trump without learning any classified information.

Anyone can try! If you win, they give you a T-shirt (printed all over with state secrets), but nobody has won it yet. Somebody came close, once, because she was at Mar-a-Lago during a weekend when Trump was absent, but she made the mistake of visiting the wrong bathroom and — boom! Nothing but boxes of classified documents. Now she knows all our sources and methods. She wasn’t even interested in the sources and methods, but she hadn’t brought her phone into the bathroom with her, and she needed something to read.

Presumably the Australian billionaire who reportedly learned about our nuclear submarines was also trying to do the Trump Top Secret Challenge. He thought he had a shot. Here he is, a foreign national, a cardboard magnate, with no obvious interest in naval warfare. (Usually, you can tell if a man has interest in naval warfare. That is one of the first things you know about him, usually.) Going into the challenge, his fear was that, knowing his passion for cardboard, Donald Trump was going to rush him to the bathroom and start showing off his collection of boxes, asking for his opinion on their absorption power and shape stability, and he might accidentally glimpse a secret that way. He had girded his loins against that possibility. What he was not prepared for was the fact that Donald Trump, any time there is a lull in conversation, will just tell you how close our nuclear submarines can get to a Russian submarine without detection. (Duterte made the same rookie mistake back in 2017.)

Other noteworthy losers include Russian officials (in the Oval Office in 2017), random social media users who looked at Twitter at the wrong moment in 2019 and got to see a classified photo taken by a classified satellite, and a pigeon that got too close to Air Force One at a critical moment.

It is one thing to walk into a meeting in the Oval Office and, say, be Russian. Everyone knows that Donald Trump loves to impress Russia. The odds were heavily against them. But researchers working on a book about somebody else mistakenly thought they had a shot. They weren’t even at Mar-a-Lago. That seemed promising. But no! Moments into the conversation at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., and the former president is waving classified documents at them. “Secret,” said Donald Trump. “This is secret information. Look, look at this!” Those are actual quotes. 

This game is hard! But if you are willing to pay for proximity to the ex-president, you can play as many times as you like! Eventually, you’re bound to lose!

This Time It's Obvious - Donald Trump Is Guilty Of A Crime

Donald Trump has been guilty of several crimes, including fomenting an insurrection and trying to overthrow a fair and legal election. So far, he has not been charged with any of those crimes -- at least not yet.

But I don't see how he can escape being charged with this latest crime -- the theft and possession of top secret government documents.

A few days ago, with a legal warrant, the FBI went to Trump's home at Mar-A-Lago. They were looking for government documents, including top secret documents.

When the FBI search happened, Trump whined that it was just another witch hunt. He tried to gain sympathy and even began to fundraise off the search.

But he has a huge problem. The search was successful! The FBI carted away many boxes of government documents, and at least 11 batches of documents were top secret.

Trump's first attempt to weasel out of this was to claim the FBI didn't allow anyone to see what they were doing, and had probably planted incriminating documents. That was quickly revealed to be a lie. Trump's own attorney admitted that she witnessed the search. Nothing was planted, and she received a list of everything that was taken.

Trump then tried to say the warrant and search was not necessary -- that all they had to do was ask for the documents. That's another lie. They did ask for all government documents that he had taken. And when they originally went to Mar-A-Lago to get the documents, he only provided some. Even though he said he gave them all, there were 15 boxes that he had hidden, and did not provide. When they learned he had additional documents, they requested them. Trump did not respond. Then they issued a subpoena for the documents. Trump did not respond. It became obvious that a warrant and search would be required.

Trump has also claimed that another president took documents. He said President Obama took 33 thousand pages of documents (some including nuclear secrets) and moved them to Chicago. That was another lie. The National Archives said they moved those documents to Chicago and continue to oversee them. President Obama never had possession of the documents.

Trump's latest dishonest attempt to cover himself is to claim that the top secret documents were declassified by him, and that the moment they left Washington they were automatically declassified. But declassification doesn't work that way. While the president can declassify some top secret documents, he cannot do so secretly. There is a process that must be followed and other citizens must be given access to the declassified documents.

Trump will now probably claim he didn't know removing and hiding government documents (even those not secret) was a crime. That will be another lie. Trump signed a law early in his presidency that made that a felony worth five years in prison.

I honestly don't see how Trump is going to escape being charged with a crimes this time. He did take the documents (including top secret documents) and they were found at his home. His crime is obvious to everyone this time, and charges must be filed. Failure to charge him with a crime will mean he is above the law. In a constitutional democracy, no one is above the law.

Pay Attention To The Secret Parts Of Trump's Strategy

 The following op-ed is by Steve Benen (pictured) at MSNBC.com:

Donald Trump made little effort to hide his intentions about his 2020 defeat, even before it happened. In the run up to Election Day, the sitting president routinely said, for example, that he was prepared to reject the results based on whether he liked the outcome or not. All of this played out in public, for everyone to see.

But it’s the secret parts of the Republican’s strategy that warrant special attention.

The fake electors plot, for example, was kept under wraps, and participants were told not to disclose the scheme. But as yesterday’s Jan. 6 committee hearing also made clear, much of Trump’s plan to direct an armed mob to Capitol Hill was also concealed. As The New York Times explained:

President Donald J. Trump attempted to make the Jan. 6, 2021, march on the Capitol appear spontaneous even as he and his team intentionally assembled and galvanized a violence-prone mob to disrupt certification of his electoral defeat, the House committee investigating the attack showed on Tuesday.

The plan was for Trump to not only assemble the crowd, but also to deploy and join it. This simply wasn’t widely shared, however, even inside the White House.

The hearing highlighted a text from a Jan. 6 rally organizer, for example, who said Trump would have his followers march to the Capitol, though the then-president would pretend “to just call for it ‘unexpectedly.’”

The details, the organizer added, “cannot get out,” because other government agencies would object.

There was even a draft tweet, which documents show Trump personally saw ahead of Jan. 6, in which the Republican planned to tell his followers his rally would soon after be followed by a “march to the Capitol.”

The missive ultimately wasn’t published, but the point is that the then-president and his team planned to dispatch his summoned mob to the Capitol, and they were careful not to share this with others.

The Times’ report added, “For more than a year, Mr. Trump and his defenders have described the violence at the Capitol as a freewheeling peaceful protest gone awry. But the hearing on Tuesday laid out how the former president took a guiding role not only in bringing the mob fueled by his election lies to Washington that day, but also in the plan to direct it up to Capitol Hill, disregarding the advice of his closest aides.”

Indeed, this was a bizarre scenario in which the sitting president and members of his team had to keep parts of the federal government in the dark about his own plans precisely because he was acting against his own government’s interests.

Trump knew he was assembling a mob based on a lie. He knew the mob was armed. He knew he intended to dispatch the mob and have it descend on Congress. He knew top members of his own White House were vehemently opposed to all of this — fearing, among other things, being charged “with every crime imaginable.”

But Trump and members of his political operation quietly proceeded anyway.

Keep this in mind the next time someone on the right suggests the riot was simply a protest that spontaneously got out of hand.

States Are Helping The Rich Hide Money & Avoid Taxes

 

This is rather shocking, and I doubt that most Americans know it is happening. Some states are now acting like the foreign countries that act as tax havens. They are helping the rich hide billions from the IRS and avoid paying taxes they owe on that money. The crazy thing about this is that those states really don't benefit from the practice -- they have just knuckled under to corporate power.

Here is what The Washington Post editorial board says about this:

The so-called Pandora Papers leak of almost 12 million documents and files exposes the secret offshore accounts of world leaders, celebrities and billionaires. Yet for many, offshore doesn’t mean the Cayman Islands or Switzerland. It means right here in the United States.

For too long, too little scrutiny has been focused on states’ efforts to turn themselves into tax havens for the ultrawealthy. Local legislatures have for decades been devising rules to permit trusts that can be passed down from generation to generation in perpetuity, with scarcely anything paid in taxes along the way. Worse, powerful secrecy shields make it easy to store even ill-gotten gains with impunity. South Dakota, which also levies no income or capital gains tax, is an especially egregious case — or an enticing one, if you ask those behind at least $360 billion in anonymous, untraceable assets tucked away there. That state started a national trend that has spread to Delaware, Alaska, Nevada and New Hampshire, among others.

The situation has been a boon mostly for money managers and those whose money they manage; it has been a burden for the federal government and other states deprived of a tax base. And it hasn’t even really been a windfall for the trust-sheltering states, which aren’t getting much in the way of taxes themselves and don’t seem to be reeling in more residents or good-paying jobs at any great scale. Indeed, part of the appeal to individuals parking their dollars in South Dakota and the rest is that usually they don’t even have to set foot there.

This state-sponsored tax-dodging would be distressing enough on its own. Throw privacy and other shielding provisions on top of it, and it’s a scandal. Though management companies claim they do due diligence on clients, the Pandora Papers make clear that’s not the case. The Post’s investigation identified 206 U.S.-based trusts linked to 41 countries, nearly 30 of which held assets connected to people or companies accused of fraud, bribery or human rights abuses — from a sugar mogul criticized for mistreating workers in the Dominican Republican to the president of Ecuador only months after that country prohibited politicians from using tax havens. South Dakota and Delaware permit “asset protection trusts” that insulate wealth from claims by creditors; the mechanism lets clients dodge not only taxes but also lawful debts.

State attempts to audit these activities are either nonexistent or ineffective. That’s unlikely to change. The federal rules restraining corporate corruption are similarly full of holes — but here at least there’s some hope. The Enablers Act recently introduced in the House of Representatives is a start. The bill would require trusts and several other currently uncovered entities to vet clients for criminal activity. Expanding the Corporate Transparency Act passed in January to include trusts so that they, too, must report to a centralized registry would also help.

The United States should be one of many countries standing firm against kleptocracy, not one of those inviting kleptocracy to live there free of charge.

Trump's Secret Police Are A Big Step Toward Fascism

One of the tools that dictators use to remain in power is secret police. These police operate without having to identify themselves, and arrest citizens with a warrant or probable cause. Their purpose is not to uphold the law, but to terrify citizens into complying with the leader they support.

That is exactly what is happening right now in Portland, Oregon. Police units without any identifying insignia or names have been plucking non-violent citizens off the street without probable cause -- people who have not broken a law, and are just exercising their constitutional right to address their government in a peaceful demonstration.

The Trump administration says these federal police officers are just in Portland to protect federal building. But they have been doing much more than that. They have gassed peaceful demonstrators and fired "nonlethal" weapons at them -- and they have left those federal building to cruise the streets in unmarked vehicles to arrest peaceful demonstrators. Their actions have not quelled the demonstrations, or the little violence committed by a few. It has done just the opposite -- by creating larger crowds and exacerbating crowd violence by directing violence toward them.

The authorities in Portland did not ask for these secret police to come, and do not want them there. This federal secret police force is Donald Trump's idea. He doesn't think the demonstrations should be allowed, and thinks local officials should have dealt with them much more harshly -- so he has sent in his own goons. And I think at least part of his purpose is to create more problems, so he can campaign on a law and order agenda (ignoring the fact that much of the disorder has been created by his own actions).

Now, it is learned that he wants to take his secret police to other cities (mostly governed by Democratic mayors). It has been learned that 150 of these secret police are being readied to go to Chicago -- even though Chicago does not need them or want them there. Other cities being considered are New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, and Oakland.

This is a. terrifying prospect. Secret police sent  by the federal government to impose its will over citizens is a clear violation of the rule of law. And it is a giant step toward a fascists-style dictatorship. This gives us a clear picture of what America would look like if Trump is re-elected.

Presidential Candidates Have Not Released Medical Records

(These caricatures of Sanders, Warren, Bloomberg, and Biden are by DonkeyHotey.)

The job of the President of the United States is probably the most difficult job in the world. It is a job with enormous pressure, with the fate of this country (and the world) hanging on their decisions.

And it is a seven-day-a-week job. Even when the president takes a vacation, he/she is expected to stay current on what is happening in the world -- and be ready to react to a crisis.

It should then be obvious that the public has a right to know whether the person they elect has the health and stamina required to do the job right.

In the recent past, most candidates for president have released their complete medical records. Donald Trump (who is 73) changed that. He did not release his complete medical records, opting instead for a one-page summary that declared him in "astonishlingly excellent" health.

Four of the leading Democratic candidates are 70 or over -- and all of them have followed Trump's lead by not releasing their full medical records. The two younger candidates, Buttigieg and Klobuchar, have also not released their medical records. This is troubling. Doesn't the voting public deserve to know fully about their health -- especially the septugenerians?

Matt Viser and Lenny Bernstein of The Washington Post tell us what little the Democratic candidates have released:

Four of the six major Democratic candidates are 70 or older, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the polling leader, suffered a heart attack about five months ago — an episode he at first failed to disclose. But the candidates, for the most part, have declined to release full dossiers on their health, relying instead on the Trumpian physician testimonial.

Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, for example, has released a single page from his doctor declaring the 78-year-old in “great physical shape” and noting that he “plays golf avidly” and has a pilot’s license.

Former vice president Joe Biden has released a three-page letter describing him as a “healthy, vigorous 77-year-old male.”

Sanders, 78, has released letters from three doctors, including a cardiologist who expressed confidence that the senator from Vermont “has the mental and physical stamina to fully undertake the rigors of the presidency.” Despite the heart attack, Sanders has refused to provide additional information, and a campaign spokeswoman has branded questions about his health a “smear” similar to false claims that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

The fourth septuagenarian, 70-year-old Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, has released five pages of documents revealing her blood pressure (115/57) and thyroid condition, along with a doctor’s letter declaring her in “excellent health.” 

But neither Sen. Amy Klobuchar, 59, of Minnesota nor former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, has released any medical records — though Buttigieg argued during last week’s debate that the candidates should undergo physical exams and disclose the results.

What Did Trump Promise A Foreign Leader - And Why Is He Trying To Hide It From Congress?

You have probably heard about the latest Trump administration scandal. On a call to a foreign leader (likely Putin), Trump made a promise. That promise troubled an official in the intelligence community so much that he properly filed a whistleblower report.

Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson found the report determined the complaint was credible and of "urgent concern" (which would require its reporting to Congress). He forwarded the complaint to Joseph Maguire (acting director of national intelligence).

Maguire, after conferring with the Justice Department (and probably the White House) is now refusing to turn over the complaint to Congress -- even though the seven day time limit to do so has expired. He did meet in secret with a congressional committee, but refused to turn over the complaint or to even tell them what it contained.

In other words, he's breaking the law -- probably on orders from the White House.

What did Trump promise that foreign leader? Would it be damaging to this country or our allies? Or just embarrassing to Trump?

This is just one more example of Trump flouting the law, and refusing to honor the Constitution's division of power. He thinks he can do whatever he wants, and refuse any oversight from Congress when questioned. He's not acting like a president. He's trying to rule like a dictator!

Here's what the editorial board of The Washington Post says:

A NEW dispute has arisen between Congress and the Trump administration over a whistleblower complaint from within the intelligence community. By law, it should be shared with Congress, but the administration is refusing to do so. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) is entirely correct to insist that the administration follow the law. He should pursue the matter until it does.

According to Mr. Schiff, on Aug. 12 a whistleblower within the intelligence community filed a complaint that met the legal description of a disclosure involving a “serious or flagrant problem, abuse, violation of law or Executive order, or deficiency” related to funding, administration or operation of classified intelligence activity. Neither the subject of the complaint nor the whistleblower’s agency has been disclosed, but the complaint was deemed of “urgent concern” by the intelligence community’s inspector general, Michael Atkinson.

Mr. Atkinson sent it to Joseph Maguire, acting director of national intelligence. According to the congressman, a preliminary review by the inspector general determined that “there are reasonable grounds to believe” the information “is credible.” So far, this is how the system is supposed to work under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998 and subsequent presidential directives and laws. Mr. Maguire, the law says, “shall” forward such a whistleblower complaint to the congressional intelligence committees within seven days.

So far, that hasn’t happened. Mr. Schiff says the intelligence community’s explanation to him is that the complaint “concerns conduct by someone outside of the Intelligence Community” involving “confidential and potentially privileged communications.” The congressman says he thinks the intelligence community may be covering up misconduct involving the White House or the president. We don’t know. But Mr. Schiff says this is the first time he’s aware of that a director of national intelligence has overruled the inspector general and concealed a whistleblower complaint, for which the director has “neither the legal authority nor the discretion.” And that is suspicious. Mr. Schiff has issued a subpoena and demanded action by Tuesday, or appearance at a public hearing Thursday.

Mr. Trump has made plain his distaste for congressional oversight. Elsewhere, he’s resisting disclosure of his tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee, although the law in that case also is straightforward. Oversight is a vital function of Congress, one that’s not always performed as strenuously as it should be. At the same time, the Supreme Court has ruled that it can’t lead to boundless inquisitions, or what Mr. Trump would call witch hunts. The court said the investigating must be limited to “a legitimate task of the Congress.”

In the case of the intelligence-community whistleblower, this clearly falls under the definition of a legitimate task of Congress. Someone inside the intelligence community decided to follow the rules and filed this complaint for a reason. Neither Mr. Maguire nor Mr. Trump should be able to conceal such information. They should respect and uphold the law, not contravene it.

Why Does Trump Conceal What he Discussed With Putin?

The statement above is Donald Trump's reaction to a Washington Post story about the abnormal secrecy Trump has imposed over his one-on-one meetings with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Of course it is a LIE! There are no transcripts of these meetings, and Trump has even asked for the translator's note's (and forbid her from talking to anyone about the meetings).

No one (but Putin and Trump) knows what was discussed in those meetings, and we only have Trump's word that no treasonous actions took place. The American people don't know what was said. The American (and world) press doesn't know what was said. Congress doesn't know what was said. Our intelligence agencies don't know what was said. And even the senior staff at the White House doesn't know what was said.

Why the extreme secrecy? Shouldn't the senior White House staff, the Congress, and our intelligence agencies be privy to those discussions at the very least? What is Trump trying to hide?

This brings back a question that many (including me) have wondered about since Trump was sworn in (and began his Russia-friendly statements and actions) -- What does Russia (Putin) have on Trump?

Is it Trump's financial ties to Russia (which Trump has denied while his sons have bragged about)?

Is it that he helped the Russians to launder money through his businesses and properties?

Is it because the Russians have evidence of his collusion with them regarding the 2016 election?

Is it the embarrassing "pee tape" the Russians could reveal?

Or is it something else that could be revealed that no one knows about yet?

There is something, and Trump's desire to keep his discussions with Putin strictly secret would seem to point to that something being serious enough to damage or destroy Trump's presidency.

Another Oil Disaster In The Gulf Is A Growing Threat

(Image is from The Washington Post.)

The Trump administration wants to substantially increase off-shore oil drilling on both the east and west coasts of the United States. That may sound good to some Americans, but they would not be aware of the problems being experienced in the Gulf of Mexico.

There is an oil leak in the Gulf that has been happening for about 14 years now, and it's growing worse because the company (Taylor Oil) has been unable to plug the leak. In fact, the leak will soon be a bigger ecological disaster than the BP Oil disaster.

Here's some of the report by Darryl Sears on this in The Washington Post:

An oil spill that has been quietly leaking millions of barrels into the Gulf of Mexico has gone unplugged for so long that it now verges on becoming one of the worst offshore disasters in U.S. history. 

Between 300 and 700 barrels of oil per day have been spewing from a site 12 miles off the Louisiana coast since 2004, when an oil-production platform owned by Taylor Energy sank in a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Ivan. Many of the wells have not been capped, and federal officials estimate that the spill could continue through this century. With no fix in sight, the Taylor offshore spill is threatening to overtake BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster as the largest ever. . . .

The Taylor Energy spill is largely unknown outside Louisiana because of the company’s effort to keep it secret in the hopes of protecting its reputation and proprietary information about its operations, according to a lawsuit that eventually forced the company to reveal its cleanup plan. The spill was hidden for six years before environmental watchdog groups stumbled on oil slicks while monitoring the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster a few miles north of the Taylor site in 2010. . . .

On average, 330,000 gallons of crude are spilled each year in Louisiana from offshore platforms and onshore oil tanks, according to a state agency that monitors them.

The Gulf is one of the richest and most productive oil and gas regions in the world, expected to yield more than 600 million barrels this year alone, nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. oil production. Another 40 billion barrels rest underground, waiting to be recovered, government analysts say.

About 2,000 platforms stand in the waters off the Bayou State. Nearly 2,000 others are off the coasts of its neighbors, Texas and Mississippi. On top of that are nearly 50,000 miles of active and inactive pipelines carrying oil and minerals to the shore.

And the costs are high.

For every 1,000 wells in state and federal waters, there’s an average of 20 uncontrolled releases of oil — or blowouts — every year. A fire erupts offshore every three days, on average, and hundreds of workers are injured annually.

BP has paid or set aside $66 billion for fines, legal settlements and cleanup of the 168 million-gallon spill — a sum that the oil giant could, painfully, afford. But many companies with Gulf leases and drilling operations are small, financially at-risk and hard-pressed to pay for an accident approaching that scale.

One of them was Taylor Energy. . . .

Nearly a decade after the oil platform went down, the government determined that the actual level of oil leaking into the Gulf was between one and 55 barrels per day. Now, the new estimate dwarfs that: up to 700 barrels per day. Each barrel contains 42 gallons.

Despite that finding, NOAA is still in the early stages of a resource assessment of marine life that could explain the impact of the Taylor Energy spill, and is more than three years behind a deadline to issue a biological determination of the BP spill’s impact on marine life. . . .

Fourteen years after the Taylor spill, and 10 years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the federal government still doesn’t know the spills’ full impact on marine life. And there is no economic analysis showing the value of the oil flowing into the sea and potential royalties lost to taxpayers. Activists also want an analysis to determine if oil is ruining marshland and making its way to beaches.

Public Doesn't Like Current Electoral Process In The U.S.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “American elections are fair and open”

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:

 “Recently a political committee aligned with one of the nation’s top leaders accepted over $24 million from a single individual. The donor is anonymous, and the law permits that. Which statement comes closest to your views?”

 Do you think the Supreme Court should…

The University of Virginia Center for Politics recently commissioned the Ipsos Poll to do a survey on the thoughts of Americans about the current electoral process. The results are in the charts above, and they show many people would like to see some changes.

About 43% of Americans say our elections are not free and fair, while only 51% say they are. That's a problem. Why do they feel this way? Because they think the rich and corporations are being allowed to buy too many elections.

About 87% say political ads on TV should be required to say who paid for the ad, and 86% say the same of internet ads. About 75% say interest groups should have to follow the same campaign/election laws that political candidates must follow. About 72% don't like political donations being kept secret, 52% want donors to political organizations to be disclosed, and 48% would like limits placed on the amount super-PACs can raise and spend.

What Did Trump Agree To In Secret Meeting With Putin ?

(Cartoon image is by Arend van Dam at cagle.com.)

While Donald Trump bragged about what a good meeting with Vladimir Putin, he said nothing about reaching any agreement with the Russian leader. Instead, he left the impression that the two men had a friendly talk, and that talk had (in Trump's opinion) established a new and friendlier relationship between the two countries.

But Russia seems to have a different opinion of what happened in the secret Helsinki meeting. Here's what Russian military spokesman Major General Igor Kosashenkov said on Tuesday (the day after the secret meeting):

"The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is ready for practical implementation of the agreements reached between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in the sphere of international security achieved at the Helsinki summit." 

WHAT AGREEMENTS? Were agreements reached on international security that Trump doesn't want the American people to know about? Has Congress been informed about these agreements? If not, then why not?

If any agreements were reached in that secret meeting, even agreement in general terms, it should not be kept secret between Trump and the Russians. Did Trump give away something he shouldn't have? Did Trump give Putin a free hand in Syria? Did he assure Putin we wouldn't act to protect some of our Eastern European NATO allies? Did he agree to something else equally nefarious?

I would say that its time for Trump to tell Americans what went on in that meeting, but frankly, Trump can't be trusted to tell the truth about it. He has shown himself to be a prolific and consummate liar.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) has come up with what is probably the only way to find out what happened in the secret Helsinki meeting. She wants to subpoena the U.S. translator that was in the meeting to testify before Congress under oath.

Some people won't like that, but in my opinion, the meeting shouldn't have been held in secret to begin with. Top aides or cabinet members should have been in the room to curb Trump when his incompetence got out of hand -- and make sure any agreements reached were in the best interests of the United States.

This is especially important in light of the fact that most Americans don't trust Trump's judgement. As the chart below shows, only 35% of Americans think Trump exercises good judgement, while 50% thinks he does not -- a gap of 15 points.

The chart reflects the results of a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between July 15th and 17th of a national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,272 registered voters). The margin of error for adults is 3.2 points, and for registered voters is 3 points.

Is The "Pee Tape" Real? Putin Did NOT Deny It!

(Cartoon image is by Daryl Cagle at cagle.com.)

In one of the most embarrassing displays of weakness and/or gullibility ever by an an American leader, Donald Trump turned his back on his country and figuratively kissed Vladimir Putin butt. The shocking moment brings to mind a question many have been asking for months -- What dark secret is Putin holding over Trump? Is the "pee tape" real? Does Russia have even darker evidence -- like evidence of criminal activity?

One reporter had the guts to ask Putin the question -- Does the Russian government have any compromising material on Donald Trump or his family? Here is Putin's answer:

I did hear these rumors that we allegedly collected compromising material on Mr. Trump when he was visiting Moscow. Now, distinguished colleague, let me tell you this, when President Trump visited Moscow back then I didn't even know that he was in Moscow. I treat President Trump with utmost respect, but back then, when he was a private individual, a businessman, nobody informed me that he was in Moscow.

But let's take St. Petersburg economic forum, for instance. There were over 500 American businessmen, high-ranking, high-level ones. I don't even remember the last names of each and every one of them. Look, do you think that we tried to collect compromising material on each and every single one of them? Well, it's difficult to imagine, and utter nonsense of a bigger scale than this. Well, please, just disregard these issues and don't think about this anymore.

It was a simple question, and it could have been answered with a "yes" or "no". Putin did neither. His answer was that of a skillful politician avoiding the question.

Why didn't he say yes? Because the press would have wanted to know more, and the world would know that Trump is being blackmailed by Russia.

Why didn't he say no? Because Putin didn't want to let Trump off the hook. It was his roundabout way of reminding Trump that the secret is real and could be released if Trump doesn't cooperate.

I am now convinced that the Russians do have compromising material on Trump. I'm just not sure whether it's just the "pee tape" (which I believe is real), or whether there is more.