Medicynic

Another two unqualified nominees

From Bradford Delong:

“This annoys me. Moore and Cain have given no explanation of their switch because their is no explanation fo their switch other than that they are kowtowing to their political masters. I find David Beckworth’s claim that he is “in no position to judge motives” is itself disingenuous: he is in a position to judge their motives. And that he claims not to be… erodes his credibility on all issues: David Beckworth: Who Should Serve on the Federal Reserve Board?: “Moore and Cain were both quite hawkish when a more dovish policy was needed, and have recently become more dovish when there is far less need for monetary stimulus. Why?… President Trump is the only other person I can recall whose views on monetary policy switched from hawkish when President Obama was presiding over a weak economy, to dovish when Trump is presiding over a stronger economy…. I’m in no position to judge motives…. If their change of heart was motivated by political considerations, that would be inconsistent with the Fed’s traditional independence from the rest of the government. When politics influences Fed decisions, it can destabilize the economy…”

“The individuals charged included the chief executives or employees of five telemedicine companies, the owners of dozens of durable medical equipment companies and three licensed medical professionals, the Justice Department said.”

“In Florida, Willie McNeal IV, the owner and chief executive of two telemedicine companies, hired health care providers and then paid them to prescribe braces for Medicare beneficiaries regardless of whether it was medically necessary, according to an indictment. Mr. McNeal would then receive illegal kickbacks in exchange for ordering those braces, the indictment said.”

“Mr. McNeal, 42, facilitated the submission of fraudulent Medicare claims worth nearly $250 million, the government said. If convicted, the government demanded that Mr. McNeal forfeit the profits obtained from the illegal kickbacks and any property that was purchased with those proceeds, including 10 properties in Florida.”

Medicynical note: In an increasingly poorly regulated capitalististic system why scam? Why cut corners? ………because that’s business, because MONEY, because “fiduciary responsibility,” because CEO and other execs stock options, perks, and salaries.

“Tapper also reports that Trump wants families separated even if they appear at ports of entry requesting asylum. This is illegal andwould be a PR disaster, but Trump doesn’t care. “He just wants to separate families,” said an unnamed senior administration official.”

Medicynical note: Just what we wanted, a president running the government like his own business, which he bankrupted 5 times. Or like his university, which broke the law and was forced to pay 25 million in restitution. Or like his foundation, which also was found to have broken the law and is now defunct.

“Sniped at for decades by health advocates, Russia’s doggedly defiant producer of asbestos — a substance banned as a killer by more than 60 countries — thinks it has perhaps finally found the perfect figure for a campaign to rehabilitate the product’s deeply stained image: President Trump.”

“”Trump is on our side,” said Vladimir V. Kochelayev, chairman of the board of Uralasbest, one of the world’s few remaining producers of asbestos, citing what he said were reports that the Trump administration was easing restrictions on asbestos use.”

Medicynical note: That a US president could be possibly advocating for asbestos is astonishingly stupid. But he is! (Both astonishingly stupid and advocating for asbestos). And the Republican Party……?

“SAUDI CROWN Prince Mohammed bin Salman has sent an unmistakable signal to all who hoped he would be moved by the international backlash against his brutal treatment of human rights activists, journalists and other perceived opponents. With the trial of 11 women’s rights advocates still in progress, his security forces rounded up 12 of their supporters , most of whom were detained Thursday. That included two U.S. citizens, in what can only be interpreted as a deliberate provocation.”

“The crown prince is telling the world — and in particular, the U.S. Congress — that objections to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and to the torture of women seeking the right to drive, have fallen on deaf ears. Maybe that’s because the response has lacked both a practical punch and the support of President”

Medicynical note: blowhards behave this way.

Looking back Trump and Nixon were very much alike.

• “In a tape-recorded 1972 Oval Office conversation between President Richard Nixonand Rev. Billy Graham, the nation’s best-known preacher agreed with a stream of bigoted comments Nixon made about Jews and their perceived influence in American life.
  Graham: “This stranglehold (of Jews in the media) has got to be broken or the country’s going down the drain.”
  Nixon: “You believe that?”
  Graham: “Yes, sir.”
  Nixon: “Oh, boy. So do I. I can’t ever say that but I believe it.”Graham: “No, but if you get elected a second time, then we might be able to do something.””
• Medicynical note: Why is it that republicans with their free market “anti-socialism” screeds are always small minded cheaters. Does this say something about an unregulated marketplace?

From Kevin Drum of Mother Jones

“Some of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.”

Medicynical Note: It was inevitable. Lies and half truths are not a surprise when you are dealing with the most corrupt presidency ever.