What Had Happened Was...
A lightning fast weekly recap so you don't feel like an idiot on Monday. (July 22nd -28th)
Here’s a catch-up of the major and interesting events of the week of July 22nd, 2019. You can check in with a minimal time commitment, read about the big stuff and stay in the know before we’re on to the next. This week we had more big haired leaders assuming power, Mueller re-iterating what we already knew, Kim Jong Un getting trigger happy AGAIN, the Senate confirming that Russia got to all 50 states in the election and Trump continuing to play the racist greatest hits for his fans. Let’s dive right in.
Boris Johnson Becomes Prime Minister of the UK
With a very narrow majority, Boris Johnson became the Conservative Party’s choice for Prime Minister on Wednesday and promised that Britain would leave the European Union in October with “no ifs or buts.” The parallels between Johnson and Trump did not go un-noticed as Johnson’s personal political ambitions often show him to be less interested in his job and more interested in self-promotion. As the lead spokesman for the 2016 “Leave” campaign (which ultimately evolved into Brexit) he was known to make racist remarks and utilize a fear of minority crime to garner support.
Based on the fact that Brexit is such a disaster that it led to the downfall of Theresa May, Johnson has gone full steam on making a square peg fit into a round hole by November. Given that he has no real sense of propriety or boundaries and is desperate to look like the savior for his party, you can expect things to get very intense with Johnson assembling a “war cabinet” of six key ministers to deliver Brexit by October 31st “by any means necessary.”
His team has approved additional spending to finance one of the country’s “biggest ever public information campaigns” to ensure individuals and businesses were ready for a no-deal exit. The fact that resources in the UK are so strapped as it is will mean more kickback from the public, who could easily call this another “disinformation campaign” similar to Brexit itself. There are also plans to fund 500 new Border Force officers and look at new infrastructure around the country’s ports to minimize congestion and ensure goods could flow. Sound familiar?
Mueller Testifies
Mueller spent an entire day testifying before both the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence committee on the conduct of the president and Russian interference in the 2016 election. The biggest takeaway was that Mueller confirmed he and his team had not exonerated Trump in his report. For a quick video review, check out Mueller in a Nutshell. For a more substantial review of the entire testimony, review my live tweets for the day here.
North Korea Fires More Missiles
Despite Trump’s attempts to claim he’s made progress on denuclearization, in North Korea, Kim Jong-un launched more short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday that was similar to a missile fired five days ago that was likely based on a Russian design. South Korea confirmed that Thursday’s missile flew eastward from a base northwest of Pyongyang (the capital) and traveled about 260 miles — a distance well short of the range of intercontinental ballistic missiles, but still within striking distance of Seoul or American troops based in South Korea.
Although Trump has prematurely claimed that the nuclear threat from North Korea is over, American intelligence now estimates that North Korea has continued production of nuclear weapons and has even expanded its missile program. New satellite images show what appears to be a secret North Korean base that is spread out over three square miles of mountainous terrain. Even though American intelligence agencies had been monitoring the base for years, its location was never publicly known until now, and the images continue to contradict all of Trump’s claims of diplomatic progress in denuclearizing North Korea.
Russian Infiltration in 2016 Confirmed by Senate to Be Big
In a report released Thursday, the Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that Russia targeted election systems in all 50 states in 2016. The attempts to access election infrastructures all over the Unites States were far more sweeping than previously understood and the overall plan went largely undetected by the states and federal officials at the time. The report is the culmination of more than 200 witness interviews and the collection and review of nearly 400,000 documents. It is also the first volume of a series to be released over the next month.
What was more alarming than the details found in the report, was the behavior of the Senate Majority Leader in trying to brush it all off. Mitch McConnell is not only blocking more funding for states in desperate need of new voting equipment and reinforcements from hacking, he and other GOP leaders are acting as if they are working with Russia to rig 2020. It’s the only explanation based on behavior and the lack of alarm from Republicans, considering that there is proof that Russia assisted Trump to win in 2016. The choice of party over country by the GOP is more apparent than ever. You can read all the details about this story here.
Trump’s Racism Continues
Trump’s number one campaign strategy has quickly morphed into the Jan Brady approach to riling his base: “racism, racism, racism.” Cut to another Friday night racist tweet and a really moving on-air response by Victor Blackwell that you need to watch. (click on the tweet below.)
Trump’s feed has been filled with racist double-downs all weekend and as of this morning a few minutes ago, he’s posted even more tweets attacking the districts of Democratic Leadership, even claiming that San Francisco is unrecognizable now because of Nancy Pelosi. He has even posted media of actual garbage on his feed and equated it with heavily minority populated locations. It’s just the same old lashing out at those attempting to hold him to account, except now he’s employing a one-two racist combo in his punches to further appease his base.
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Amee Vanderpool writes the “Shero” Newsletter and is an attorney, contributor to Playboy Magazine, analyst for BBC radio and Director of The Inanna Project. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.