Kingfisher Cove

San Diego Saturday

Took a trip to Encinitas today—Nate, Sandra, Quinn, and me. Beautiful sunny day, and not quite so HOT as it was the last couple of days (pushing 90°), plus a bit of a sea breeze so close to the ocean. We had lunch at a seafood restaurant (Quinn had “lunch” there, too), then walked up and down the street to check out some shops. Quinn snoozed in his stroller the whole time!

Apparently he gave Mom and Dad a bit of difficulty last night, up a lot, hungry a lot, pooping a lot.  

                    “I drink my moo
                    I make my poo
                    That’s all I do.”

I believe he’s grown. He seems sturdier, stronger, and he’s been successful with holding his head up now and then. He likes to suck his fingers and if you try to move them (to get a photo of his face, etc.) he RESISTS. There is power in that resistance. (Welcome to the Resistance, grandson!)

He has a doc appt. Monday and it’ll be interesting to find out how much he weighs. I suspect he’s over 7 lbs. now.

I neglected to take a single photo while we were there. Not that there was all that much to take a photo of, since Quinn was in his stroller with the cute little sun cover (decorated with anchors!) shrouding his face. To make up for it, Sandra had fun with Snapchat filters!

And then there is this one, which (beware!) is kind of CREEPY!

Poor kid! Bwhahahaha!

Here’s the real thing, snoozing in the sheepskin I got him:

Guess

“Who would attack the London mayor in the midst of a terror attack, the San Juan mayor during a disaster, a Senator with brain cancer, and a disabled journalist?” ~Mary Wissink, Twitter

Faces

Pretty mellow days down here in San Diego. Warm, sunny days, and I am thankful for Nate and Sandra’s A/C, as well as the two pair of capris I brought with me. (Yes, only two. What was I thinking?)

This little baby is the sweetest little thang. He sleeps a lot, and when he wakes up, it’s mostly with cute baby noises instead of outright cries. There have been ZERO ongoing meltdowns, and I attribute that to likely having a strong stomach. (Both Nate and Sandra like spicy and ethnic foods of all kinds, and I’m convinced he’s inherited their ironclad tummy genes). He just seems to be remarkably content! He can’t have a full bath yet (still waiting for the belly button to fall off and for his circumcision to heal), but they did do a modified bath in his little bathing contraption…and he wasn’t particularly fond of that!

Here’s Nate being goofy in the same towel:

We’ve been out and about a few times, once when Quinn was only 4 days old! The wide eyes that people would flash when they saw the teeny tiny baby! Sandra barely looks like she was ever pregnant!

Quinn has had a couple of doctor appointments, and at his first one, he’d dropped down to 6 lbs. Sandra has struggled a little with breastfeeding (I remember that it was tricky at first), so at their 2nd appointment they met up with a lactation specialist who gave her some additional tips and encouragement. Also at his 2nd appointment he’d gone back up several ounces, so that’s good!

I’ve cooked or helped cook a few meals, done laundry, tidied up the house while they were gone for the doc appointments, and have become best buddies with their two dogs, Callie and Nikko, and their cat, Merlot. They love me. (I sort of spoil them).

Ready for some more baby faces?

Week Forty-Five

Compiled by Amy Siskind

Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.

Week 45 is the week of Paul Manafort — who now in retrospect, seems an even more odd choice by Trump for campaign manager. As Mueller zeroes in on Manafort and Flynn, almost every Trump campaign and WH staffers, past and present, is being drawn in to the expanding Russia probe. This week several regime members drew heat for unrepentant kleptocracy.

This week DHS informed 21 states they were targeted by Russia, strangely a year later and on a late afternoon on Friday. Trump, who benefitted from a slight approval rating reprieve courtesy of positive media coverage, continues to deny Russian involvement and to act erratically and unbefitting of the office on both foreign policy and domestic issues. Trump also continues to ignore what is shaping up to be a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.

1. In a series of bizarre Sunday morning tweets, Trump referred to Kim Jong Un as the “Rocket Man,” retweeted a criticism of a NYT story, and retweeted two of his own tweets.
2. Trump also retweeted a GIF of him hitting Hillary with a golf ball in the head, sparking criticism for the violent imagery against a female political opponent. Elected Republicans remained silent.
3. The original account of the golf GIF was @Fuctupmind, whose Twitter feed is full of racist, anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ tweets.
4. Trump began his first UN remarks by mentioning Trump World Tower, “I actually saw great potential right across the street to be honest with you.”
5. Trump threatened to “totally destroy” N. Korea, and using his new nickname for Kim Jong Un, said, “Rocket man is on a suicide mission.” N. Korea’s ambassador walked out before Trump’s speech started.
6. Trump also said, “I will always put America first,” and urged other leaders to do the same. Several analysts compared Trump’s speech to the 1920'swhen traditionalist reacted to changing times by stoking hate of others.
7. WAPO’s Asia Pacific reporter noted Kim Jong Un’s regime tells N. Korean people every day that the US “wants to destroy them and their country. Now, they will hear it from another source” — Trump.
8. On Wednesday, in an escalating war of words, N. Korea’s foreign minister likened Trump to a “dog barking.”
9. On Thursday, while threatening escalation, Kim Jong Un called Trump a “mentally deranged US dotard.” N. Korea analysts noted it is unprecedented to have Kim Jong Un himself directly attack a US leader.
10. On Friday, the LA Times reported aides repeatedly warned Trump not to deliver a personal attack on Kim Jong Un at his UN speech, saying insults could irreparably escalate tensions.
11. Pew Research reported America’s image has suffered since Trump took office. In a survey spanning 37 nations, just 22% have confidence Trump is doing the right thing in international affairs, versus 64% for Obama.
12. As tensions rise with N. Korea, 76% of S. Koreans and 72% of Japanese say they have no confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs.
13. Trump also blasted Iranian leaders as a “corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy,” and said “the Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions,” and an “embarrassment” to the US.
14. On Friday, Iran showed off its new ballistic missile at a military parade in Tehran. President Rouhani said, “when it comes to defending our country, we will ask nobody for their permission.”
15. At a bilateral meeting, Trump praised Turkey’s authoritarian leader Erdogan, saying: “We have a great friendship.” Erdogan is the subject of international condemnation for his brutal crackdown on dissidents.
16. State authorities in NH are investigating the wounding of an 8 year-old biracial boy as a possible hate crime. The boy was pushed off a picnic table with a rope around his neck by teenagers.
17. US Army recruiters are canceling contracts with hundreds of immigrant recruits, exposing some to deportation. Recruiters claim the move is to eliminate onerous background investigations from the enlistment process.
18. Newsweek reported white supremacists are recruiting on college campuses. At University of Houston, flyers reading “Beware the International Jew” and “Imagine a Muslim-Free America” were hung around campus.
19. McClatchy reported the Trump regime is considering a policy which would fast-track the deportation of thousands of unaccompanied Central American teenagers who arrived at the southern border.
20. More than 150k children who arrived at the southern border, escaping violence and poverty in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, would be sent back when they turn 18, without seeing an immigration judge first.
21. NPR reported parents traveling within Texas to a hospital to get their two-month old a lifesaving operation were arrested and put into deportation proceedings. A hospital nurse may have tipped border patrol off.
22. Under Obama, immigration agents avoided enforcement actions at hospitals, schools and churches. The Trump regime rounds up people in the country illegally at those places, even if they have no criminal record.
23. Guardian reported Trump has assembled the most male-dominated government in decades, with 80% of nominations for top jobs in the Trump regime going to men.
24. On Friday, DeVos formally rescinded Obama-era policies campus sexual assault meant to protect victims, instead siding with men’s rights advocates. No formal policy was put in place, just a higher burden of proof.
25. WSJ reported as Trump’s temporary travel ban expired Friday, DHS may replace it with a targeted approach that will impact nine countries, only one of which is not majority Muslim. Trump has no business interests in the six already on the list, it is uncertain about the additional three.
26. A triathlon scheduled to take place at Trump National golf course in NC, originally named “Tri at the Trump” then rebranded “Tri for Good,” was canceled amid controversy. This would have been the race’s fourth year.
27. WJAR-TV, one of RI’s most watched television stations, said it is being forced by its owner Sinclair Broadcast Group to broadcast multiple programs favorable to Trump.
28. AP reported the Republican Governors Associations quietly set up a media outlet, “The Free Telegraph.” Critics called the website, which makes no mention of a being a product of an official party committee, propaganda.
29. On Monday, Trump said he was looking into staging a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue for July 4th.
30. On Wednesday, in a speech at a lunch with African leaders, Trump praised the health care of Nambia, a nonexistent African country.
31. Nicaragua announced it will sign on to the Paris climate accord — leaving only Syria and the US outside it.
32. Trump blocked a woman with stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on Twitter. Laura Packard had tweeted Graham-Cassidy would jeopardize the lives of people like her who rely on Obamacare exchanges for coverage.
33. AP reported lawmakers across the country introduced dozens of bills this year which would close or limit public access to a wide range of government records and meetings.
34. The Trump regime has removed links to taxpayer-funded climate data on the U.S. Geological Survey website. A search for “Effects of Climate Change” had 2,825 items in December and today has zero items.
35. WAPO reported that in a memo to Trump, Interior Sec Zinke is recommending modifying 10 national monuments created by Obama, including shrinking the boundaries of at least four.
36. Justice Gorsuch campaigned for McConnell in a speech in McConnell’s hometown on Thursday. In Week 21, McConnell passed the filibuster-ending “nuclear option” that allowed Gorsuch to get confirmed.
37. WAPO reported Democrats are introducing The Hotel Act, legislation which would ban federal officials from using taxpayer fund for travel expenses at Trump-owned properties or locales.
38. POLITICO reported HHS Sec Price used a private-jet for travel, breaking precedent. Price has been an outspoken critic of federal spending, and has developed a plan for department-wide savings at HHS.
39. POLITICO also reported Price traveled by private by private plane at least 24 times since early May, costing taxpayers more than $300k. Many flights were to conferences, so dates were known well in advance.
40. The most frequent justification for chartered flights is lack of comparable options. POLITICO found several commercial flight options at comparable times for five chartered flights Price took last week.
41. WAPO reported according to a senior administration official, the WH did not approve Price’s travel on chartered planes.
42. On Friday, WAPO reported the HHS Inspector General is investigating Price’s use of two dozen chartered flights in recent months.
43. ABC reported Treasury Dept. investigators are also looking into a charter flight Mnuchin took from NY to DC on August 15 at a cost to taxpayers of $25k. There are ample flight and rail alternatives available for this route.
44. For a third time, Republicans in the Senate tried to pass healthcare without using regular order or trying for any bi-partisan support. McCain’s vote against these tactics will likely cause Graham-Cassidy to fail.
45. The Trump regime continued to sabotage Obamacare: HHS announced it will shut down the @HHSgov website for 12 hours during all but one Sunday in the remaining six weeks of open enrollment season.
46. Jeff Mateer, Trump’s nominee for a federal judgeship in Texas, in two 2015 speeches, described transgender children are evidence of “Satan’s plan,” and lamented that states were banning conversion therapy.
47. WAPO reported the EPA has spent $833k on Pruitt’s round-the-clock personal security detail over the past three months, doubling what was spent by his predecessors, and amid massive cost cutting for the agency.
48. According to a copy of his schedule obtained by WAPO, Pruitt met regularly with executives from the auto, mining and fossil fuel industries — in some cases shortly before making decisions favorable to them.
49. POLITICO reported a review of Trump’s pick for USDA hires reveals the agency is full of campaign staff and volunteers, many of whom have little or no federal policy experience or knowledge about agriculture.
50. Trump’s picks are also being paid above their pay scale. One former truck driver is being paid the highest levels on the federal government’s pay scale, a GS-12, earning $80k annually, although he has no college degree.
51. Former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo said he will need to liquidate part of his children’s college fund to pay for specialized legal representation in the Mueller Russia probe.
52. Flynn’s siblings launched a legal-defense fund to help defray the costs of the Russia probe. The family will not disclose the identity of donors, raising concerns from ethics experts.
53. Reuters reported Trump is using money donated to his re-election campaign and the RNC to pay for his legal fees related to the Russia probe.
54. CNN reported the RNC spent $231k in August to cover Trump’s legal fees, paying personal attorneys Sekulow $131k and Dowd $100k.
55. The RNC has also paid nearly $200k of Donald Jr.’s legal fees for the Russia probe in August.
56. WSJ reported the Republican Party is funding Trump’s legal defense in the Russia probe with help from a handful of wealthy individuals, including a Ukrainian-born American with close business ties to Russian oligarchs.
57. NYT reported Donald Jr. has decided to forego his Secret Service protection, citing he wants more privacy.
58. Jody Hunt, Sessions’ chief-of-staff and Trump’s pick to be assistant AG of the DOJ’s Civil Division, was present at a key meeting between Sessions, Comey and Trump, at which Trump asked all but Comey to leave.
59. Sessions new chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, said Mueller’s Russia probe is turning into a “witch hunt,” and said Rosenstein should “order Mueller to limit the scope of his investigation.”
60. On Tuesday, Senate investigators canceled a meeting with Michael Cohen, saying he broke an agreement by releasing a statement and speaking to the media. NBC reports the committee will subpoena Cohen instead.
61. Guardian reported on the eighth person at the June 9 Trump Tower meeting: Ikray “Ike” Kaveladze, saying he is an associate of some of Russia’s richest and most powerful people.
62. Kaveladze was involved in the 2013 takeover of Stillwater Mining by Norilsk Nickel, a Russian mining firm owned by an associate of Putin — the first Russian company to take a majority stake in a US company. Kaveladze served on the new company’s board.
63. NYT reported on two Trump lawyers, Cobb and Dowd, overheard by NYT reporters while discussing over lunch a clash within Trump’s legal team over how much to cooperate with Mueller.
64. Per the overheard conversation, WH officials fear that colleagues are wearing wires for Mueller. NYT reported in the aftermath McGahn erupted at Cobb, and Kelly reprimanded him.
65. CBS reported FBI surveillance of Manafort during 2016 picked up conversations between Manafort and Russians about the campaign, and may also include conversations between Manafort and Trump.
66. WSJ reported Mueller’s team interviewed deputy AG Rosenstein about Trump’s firing of Comey in June or July. Mueller has independence on his investigation, but ultimately answers to Rosenstein.
67. Rosenstein said Trump shrugged off any potential consequences for firing Comey. Rosenstein also turned over the May 8 memo from Trump which outlined his rationale for firing Comey, to Mueller’s team.
68. CNN reported Manafort was wiretapped by the US government. The wiretap was first authorized by the special court that handles FISA warrants in 2014 when Manafort was the subject of a FBI investigation.
69. The surveillance was discontinued late last year for lack of evidence, then restarted by the FBI under a new FISA warrant for ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, which extended into early 2017.
70. NYT reported on aggressive tactics being employed by Mueller’s investigator against Manafort, including prosecutors telling him they planned to indict him as they searched his Virginia home.
71. To get the search warrant, Mueller’s team had to show probable cause that Manafort’s home contained evidence of a crime. To pick the lock, prosecutors had to persuade a judge Manafort would destroy evidence.
72. Also of note: Mueller’s team first learned of the emails between Donald Jr. and Russians to set up the June 9 meeting through NYT reporting.
73. WAPO reported Mueller has requested extensive records and email correspondence from the WH for 13 categories which investigators for the special counsel have identified as critical to their probe.
74. Mueller’s agents have zeroed in on Manafort and Flynn. Their past associates are being questioned on whether they tried to conceal consulting work that could have benefited foreign governments.
75. NYT reported requests relate to the areas of Flynn’s hiring and firing, the Comey firing, and Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak at which he said the Comey firing has relieved “great pressure” on him.
76. Documents are also sought for communications with Manafort, as well as Trump’s campaign foreign policy team: Carter Page, J. D. Gordon, Keith Kellogg, George Papadopoulos, Walid Phares and Joseph E. Schmitz.
77. Other areas include Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak, Spicer’s statements on Comey’s firing, and the June 9 Trump Tower meeting and the WH response to that meeting.
78. Axios reported Spicer’s colleagues say he filled “notebook after notebook” at meetings during the campaign and then at the WH. Spicer was known for keeping copious notes.
79. When Axios’s Mike Allen texted Spicer for a comment, Spicer responded, “From a legal standpoint I want to be clear: Do not email or text me again. Should you do again I will report to the appropriate authorities.”
80. WAPO reported that less than two weeks before the RNC Convention, Manafort made an offer in an email through an intermediary to give Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska a private briefing.
81. Manafort and Deripaska had a business relationship in which Manafort was paid as an investment consultant. Deripaska is one of Russia’s richest men, and someone Putin turns to on a regular basis.
82. Manafort emails indicate he may have been looking to get paid money owed by past clients using his role and influence as Trump’s campaign manager. An email in April asked, “How do we use to get whole?”
83. Also of note, Deripaska claimed Manafort siphoned off $19mm of funds intended for investments— for which Deripaska sued in US court. It is possible Manafort was looking to wipe that debt away.
84. Also in email, Manafort communicated with Konstantin Kilimnik, his long-time man in Kiev who attended Soviet military school, using code terms like “OVD” for Deripaska and “black caviar” for possible payments.
85. NYT reported in order to help defray his legal expenses, Manafort is working for allies of the leader of Iraq’s Kurdish region on a referendum on Kurdish independence from Iraq. The US opposes the referendum.
86. As part of that work, Manafort may leave the country and return to the region in the coming days for the vote.
87. NYT reported New York-based law firm Skadden, Arps has been asked by the DOJ for documentation related to work arranged by Manafort for Viktor Yanukovych, the Russia-aligned former PM of Ukraine.
88. The work was part of an effort to shield Yanukovych from international condemnation for his government prosecuting and convicting the former Ukrainian PM Tymoshenko without evidence and for political reasons.
89. Skadden, Arps has returned half the $1.1mm in fees the firm received. It is unclear if the document request relates to Mueller’s Russia probe, and its focus on Manafort.
90. Former Trump campaign manager Lewandowski, while defending Trump, said he hopes Manafort, Stone or any others on the campaign who colluded with Russia in 2016, “go to jail for the rest of their lives.”
91. Mueller brought in Stephen Kelly, former congressional affairs chief for the FBI, to act as a liaison to Capitol Hill. Kelly will be a point of contact and keep congressional investigators up to date on the special counsel’s probe.
92. Twitter will meet with the Senate Intel Committee next week relating to the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the US election.
93. Bowing to pressure from lawmakers and the public, Facebook will release 3k ads bought by a Russian agency to congressional investigators. Facebook also vowed to be more “transparent.”
94. Daily Beast reported Russians used Facebook to organize more than a dozen pro-Trump rallies in Florida during the 2016 election. The page for one such group, “Being Patriotic,” was closed by Facebook in August 2017.
95. On Friday morning, Trump defended Russia from Facebook ads as being a “Russia hoax,” while attacking Hillary, tweeting the greatest influence was “the Fake News Media “screaming” for Crooked Hillary Clinton.”
96. USA Today reported, according to the FBI, as many as 39 states had their election systems scanned or targeted by Russia. Several states are now considering switching back to paper ballots.
97. On Friday, DHS contacted election officials in 21 states to notify them they had been targeted by Russian government hackers during the 2016 election. This was the first time government officials contacted the states.
98. DHS did not make names of the 21 states public, citing privacy. BuzzFeed reported state officials are outraged, and wanting to know why it took DHS a year to inform them. Sen. Warner called the delay “unacceptable.”
99. PA and WI, states with odd voting patterns which were the subject of recounts, were among the 21 disclosed as of Friday night. Officials in FL, another surprise on election night, said they were also a target of Russia.
100. On Friday night, former DNI Clapper said US Intel’s findings on Russia’s election interference “did serve to cast doubt on the legitimacy” of Trump’s victory, and expressed concern that Russian interference will continue.
101. On Friday night in Alabama, at what was supposed to be a campaign rally for Sen. Luther Strange, Trump said of his support of Strange, “I’ll be honest, I might have made a mistake.”
102. The campaign rally turned out to be a 90 minute rant, including Trump again deriding Kim Jong Un, calling him “little Rocket Man.”
103. Trump also said of Colin Kaepernick who took a knee in protest, NFL owners should respond by saying, “Get that son of a bitch off the field.”
104. The next morning, Trump tweeted about Stephen Curry, a member of the NBA Champion Warriors who had expressed reservations about going to the WH: “Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
105. A WAPO opinion writer described how Trump is making Americans sick: including rising blood pressure, a surge in mouth-guards for night-time teeth clenching and grinding, and unusually busy psychotherapists.
106. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, decimating the island and leaving 3.5mm without electricity for months. On Friday, 70k were evacuated over concern of a failing dam. Trump did little to mention or address this crisis.
107. The Trump regime plans to rollback Obama-era limitations on drone strikes and commando raids outside conventional battlefields.

You Can Call Me Nana, But Not Nana

When my little brother was just starting to talk, he called me “Nah-Nah” because he couldn’t pronounce “Tonya.” When Nate was born, it evolved that instead of Grandma and Grandpa, he would call my parents Nana and Papa (with Nana pronounced like ba-NANA). Well, I’m not Nana (and don’t want to be because that was my MOM), but I’ve decided that I like Nah-Nah! And so it shall be, but it will be spelled the same, because, reasons. (Ease, mostly).

And so, here I am!

What a feeling to finally see him in real life! And to hold him! He is such a tiny little human. As tiny humans do, he sleeps a lot, but when he is awake, I marvel at how his eyes move around, taking everything in. The gamut of facial expressions! Fleeting little smiles! He wails when he’s hungry, but once that need has been met, he’s all about contentment.

My God, what a gem!

So, his hair isn’t red like it appeared to be at birth. I’d say it’s brown with maybe a slight reddish tint. His complexion has darkened a little, so he’s definitely not ghost white fair-skinned like Nate. (He has gorgeous coloring; excellent blood flow! lol) He looks so much like Nate, but in his myriad of facial expressions, Sandra flashes through, too! He is quite the mix, that little boy!

This morning, the kids had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn and take Quinn in for his first pediatric exam. Poor little guy had his circumcision a couple of days ago so between that and his belly button cord still healing, he can’t have a proper bath just yet (just sponge baths). (And yes, he’s had a couple of blow-outs and he’s prone to peeing on himself! Bwahahaha!)

So, I’m here at their house with their doggies and kitty, who have proclaimed that I am their Best Buddy. I’ve unpacked my suitcase so I don’t have to live out of it for these two weeks, and I’m having a lovely cup of French press coffee. Life is good, but I’m missing that Little Guy! They should be home in an hour or so, and then later we’re going shopping for dinner ingredients and possibly a rocking chair.

I’m going to go empty the dishwasher, tidy up the kitchen and make myself useful!

 

Nana is beyond smitten.

Going South!

So, this was Nate when we were getting ready to leave the hospital after he was born. (Not a very good pic, obviously. The only way to get immediate photos back then were Polaroids!) But his resemblance to Quinn is there, I think.

I talked to Nate on the phone for a while last night and got some of the particulars leading up to Quinn’s birth. Sandra’s water broke Sunday morning—caught them by surprise at least to an extent, since he wasn’t due for another two weeks, but there had also been some indications that he might come early, so it wasn’t a SHOCK. Once they got to the hospital in the early afternoon, she was already dilated to 4cm, which made everyone think he might come pretty quickly. But he stalled for a while at that point. I got the first news that they were admitted around 3pm and waited on pins and needles for updates! By 8:00 that night, she was still at 4cm, then shortly afterward Nate texted that she was at 6cm! I asked if things were pretty intense and he replied, “She’s getting mean during contractions, lol, it’s ok.” I replied, “Happens.”  

At some point after that, she had an epidural, and then I didn’t hear anything for a few hours (and didn’t want to bug Nate with texts if they were “busy!”) I went to bed about 1:00 a.m. (knowing then that Quinn’s birthday would be Sept. 18th instead of the 17th) and let Nate know that I had my iPhone under my pillow.

I woke up several times to “ding ding!” tones from beneath my pillow! After the epidural, things slowed down, even though she was fully dilated (!) and they were both able to actually SNOOZE for a while! They gave her something to gently move things along (the baby needed to move down further before she could start pushing) and then at 3am DING DING “We’re pushing!!” Then: “Looks like a red head!!!!”

Heh. It was another two hours before DING DING “He’s here!!!”

When I talked to him, Nate said Quinn’s hair doesn’t appear quite as red as it did right after he was born (but the pictures I’ve seen seem to have a reddish tint).

I WILL GET TO SEE FOR MYSELF ON THURSDAY!! Yup, flying down (just me) and I’ll spend two weeks there doing what I can to help out. (And baby snuggling!) Scrambling a bit to get laundry done and packing. And yesterday I needed to run to the doctor to take care of a couple of things. First, my eye has been driving me nuts with over-tearing (same eye as I had that tear duct surgery a few years ago). The over-tearing had turned into an obvious infection with me waking up with the eye crusted shut, and I was worried it might be pink eye (and no way could I be around anybody, let alone a newborn, with pink eye!) Turns out it’s a result of the stent from that surgery still in there that migrated up to the corner of my eye and is causing some havoc. When I get back, I’ll need to have it removed, but for now I’m treating it with antibiotic drops. It’s annoying, but at least the infection will be cleared up. And ALSO, on Saturday night after a super fun day with the neighborhood potluck and hanging out with neighbors down the beach, I was walking onto the path from the beach to our house (in the dark, but with a flashlight) and tripped over a seagrass-covered HOLE and twisted my ankle. Fell flat on my face, thankfully cushioned from the seagrass, but man that ankle hurt. It was really bad on Sunday, but by yesterday it was feeling a little better. It’s bruised and little swollen, but the doc felt it was just a sprain. I got myself one of those compression ankle braces and I’ll probably wear it on the plane to keep the swelling down. Today it just feels stiff and slightly achy, instead of spikey, stabby pain. So I THINK I’ll be OK to head out on my adventure!

Speaking of which, I have to admit that I’m a little nervous! Not so much about meeting Quinn, although it’s been a LONG TIME since I’ve held a baby or changed a diaper! (I have a feeling it’ll come back to me just fine). But, I will be out of my comfort zone, and being away from John and the critters for two weeks will probably feel a little weird. I am going to bring my laptop, though, so I can keep up (easier) on news and hopefully blog. I think I’ll have time? Maybe not?

I WANT MORE PICTURES!!!

Update: (Ask and you shall receive!)

Introducing Grandson Quinn!

Yes. That is red hair. He looks so much like Nate!!!

He was born this morning at 5:17 a.m., and weighed in at 6 lbs. 8 oz. and is 18 inches long (two weeks early).

I am OVER THE MOON!!!

You Guys.

Quinn is coming!!

Sandra was just admitted!

I’m a wreck!

Week Forty-Four

Compiled by Amy Siskind

Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.

Front and center this week were reports on Russia’s use of social media to influence the US election, possibly with help from the Trump regime. As well, a slew of reporting continued to build the evolving mosaic of connections and quid pro quo between members of the Trump regime and Putin allies.

Trump's short-lived pivot ended abruptly late in the week when he again evoked “both sides” on Charlottesville, then started an embarrassing tweet storm about a tragic bombing in London. An interview by Rachel Maddow of Hillary on her new book, provided a momentary pause and wake up call for how much our country has changed — both our global standing and government competency — under a leader who admires, and aspires to authoritarianism.

1. When asked about Hurricane Irma, Trump took the opportunity to compliment the Coast Guard’s branding: “If you talk about branding? No brand has improved more than the United States Coast Guard.”
2. Axios reported according to an adviser, Trump finally realized: “People really f@&@ing hate me.” The adviser noted Trump's need for affirmation may have led to his sudden embrace of Schumer and Pelosi.
3. WH social media director Dan Scavino Jr. tweeted then deleted a video, which he incorrectly attributed to Miami Airport during Hurricane Irma.
4. FP reported on growing concerns within the CIA that due to his personal beliefs, Trump ally Pompeo is rolling back the agency’s diversity mandate.
5. In June, senior CIA management abruptly canceled an event with the Matthew Shepard Foundation, in honor of their late gay son. Shepard’s death led to some of the country’s first federal hate crime laws.
6. On Sunday, Trump announced his sixth wave of US Attorney nominations: 41 of the 42 were men.
7. On Monday, Trump nominated six to become US attorneys. All six where white men.
8. Trump's NASA nominee Bridenstine was quoted as saying the agency should be reorganized, and “expansion of human knowledge” about space and Earth should be removed from NASA’s objectives.
9. The UNC Board of Governors approved a ban on litigation which effectively ended the civil rights center work benefitting low-income and minority groups at UNC’s law school.
10. ICE arrested a 34 year-old father of two in Santa Fe, using his younger brother, who was in HHS custody, as bait.
11. Phoenix New Times reviewed ICE arrest records and found that employees at two Motel 6 locations in predominantly Latino neighborhoods were alerting ICE on undocumented guests.
12. After an outcry on social media, Motel 6 said it would stop sharing guest lists, but has yet to acknowledge if this was only done at the local level, and to explain why employees were collaborating with ICE.
13. NYT reported the Trump regime is considering lowering the refugee quota to below 50k, the lowest level since 1980, and less than half the 110k admitted by Obama in 2016.
14. An ABC News affiliate reported DACA recipients are being detained for hours at Texas border checkpoints, with no explanation as to why. Border Patrol claim it’s new protocol.
15. A federal judge in Chicago blocked DOJ’s rules under Sessions which required sanctuary cities to cooperate with immigration agents in order to get public safety grants, like the COPS program in Week 43.
16. In the wake of Charlottesville, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other hate groups. The resolution called Heyer’s murder a “domestic terrorist act.”
17. The resolution urges Trump and his regime to speak out against hate groups, and called on the DOJ and federal agencies to use all resources to improve data on hate crimes, and address growth of hate groups.
18. On Tuesday, the House unanimously approved the resolution, and on Wednesday, press secretary Sanders said Trump “ looks forward” to signing the resolution.
19. Instead, on Thursday, Trump claimed that both sides were to blame in Charlottesville, repeating his charge that those who resisted the neo-Nazis and white supremacists were as much to blame as the alt-right crowds.
20. WAPO reported POLITICO’s editors warned staff on topics like physical attacks on journalists and white supremacy: “Try to stay away from those things because some of them are partisan.”
21. Trump nominated Eric Dreiband to lead the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. Dreiband testified against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and represented UNC in banning transgender people from using the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity.
22. In her book “Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History,” reporter Katy Tur detailed an unwanted kiss from Trump while covering his campaign. Tur said she was “mortified.”
23. Axios reported that according to an internal memo, the CDC is cracking down on employees communications with the press. The memo says not to speak to reporters, “even for a simple data-related question.”
24. On Monday, Trump's DOJ said in a court filing that a judge should erase her finding that Arpaio violated a court order and was guilty of criminal contempt — a symbol of vindication.
25. Two legal advocacy groups filed challenges to Trump's pardon of Arpaio, saying it was unconstitutional because it undermines the power of the judicial branch.
26. Salon reported Trump has formed at least 49 new businesses since he announced his run for presidency, and continuing since he took office. He has done almost nothing to separate himself from his businesses.
27. McClatchy reported despite Trump's pledge not to work with foreign entities, a construction company owned by the Chinese government was hired to work on Trump's new golf club development in Dubai.
28. BuzzFeed reported Trump International Beach Resort in Florida has asked the government for permission to hire more temporary foreign workers. Trump has sought more than 380 H-2 visas since June 2015.
29. Florida AG Pam Bondi will start next week on Trump's commission to combat the opioid crisis. In April, an ethics commission cleared Bondi of accepting a $25k donation from Trump at the same time she received a complaint on Trump University for fraud, which her office dismissed.
30. In a September report on executive branch agency waivers and authorizations, the OGE noted the WH has refused to provide information requested and to answer follow-up questions on secret WH waivers.
31. The Secret Service released just 22 of the visitor names to Mar-a-Lago in response to an April FOIA filing by CREW and two other groups. All 22 names were all related to Japanese PM Abe’s February visit
32. The limited disclosure violated a federal judge’s order to turn over all visitor names from Jan 20 — March 8, 2017. Trump has spent 25 days at Mar-a-Lago. CREW promised to head back to court.
33. WAPO shared a receipt sent to “National Security Council” from Mar-a-Lago, showing taxpayers were billed the “rack rate” of $1,092 for a two-night stay. Mar-a-Lago is 99% owned by Trump's revocable trust.
34. Derek Harvey, the controversial former Mideast chief for the NSC who was fired by McMaster, is going to work for Nunes.
35. At Trump's behest, McConnell is considering making the blue slip, a way for individual senators to block a nominees from their home states, advisory instead when it comes to appeals court nominees.
36. POLITICO reported, in a reversal of internal policy, OGE said WH staffers may accept anonymous donations from lobbyists to legal defense funds.
37. Late Friday, after scrutiny from the POLITICO story, OGE clarified its rules, saying contributions to legal defense funds from anonymous donors, as well as those from lobbyists and foreign governments, are unacceptable.
38. ABC reported Mnuchin requested use of a government jet to take him and his wife to their honeymoon in Europe, prompting an “inquiry” by the Treasury Dept.'s Office of Inspector General.
39. CREW sued the Treasury Dept. for documents relating to Mnuchin’s use of a government plane to travel to Kentucky with his wife Louise Linton. The Treasury Dept. failed to respond to a prior request for disclosure.
40. Trump's Election Integrity Committee convened its second meeting in NH. Of note, the list of witnesses included no people of color or women, but instead allies of Kobach and tarnished academics.
41. Gizmodo reported on a document obtained from the DOJ which shows Sessions was lobbied by Heritage Foundation to exclude Democrats, mainstream Republicans, and academics from Election Integrity Comm.
42. The author of the letter from Heritage, Hans von Spakovsky, participated in Kobach’s NH meeting, on a panel. Spakovsky has led the charge for strict voter ID laws for more than a decade.
43. In a statement, Alan King, a Democratic judge from Alabama on Trump's Election Integrity Committee, criticized the commission for overzealous efforts to purge people from voter rolls in favor of more affluent voters.
44. ProPublica investigated the Election Integrity Committee's use of emails and found no instructions or training has been given. Some commission members are using private email which violates federal law.
45. On Monday, Mexico withdrew its offer of aid to help Hurricane Harvey victims, noting Trump failed to send condolences to Mexico for a magnitude 8.1 earthquake and hurricane.
46. NYT reported that in a WH meeting, Kelly likened Mexico to Venezuela under the leadership of the Chávez regime, and suggested it was on the verge of a collapse which would have repercussions for the US.
47. Despite an ongoing DOJ investigation into Malaysian PM Najib Razak for misappropriating billions of dollars from a government fund he controlled, Trump invited him to the WH for a friendly visit.
48. Najib has also been criticized for human rights violations under his leadership. He and his entourage stayed at the Trump Hotel DC.
49. Yahoo reported Russian news agency, Sputnik, is under investigation by the FBI into whether it is acting as an undeclared propaganda arm of the Kremlin in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
50. Andrew Feinberg, Sputnik’s former WH correspondent, turned over emails to the FBI. Feinberg said supervisors regularly “would say, ‘Moscow wants this or Moscow wants that.’”
51. Feinberg also told MSNBC many of the popular articles from right-wing media outlets like Breitbart, Infowars and Gateway Pundit and were prominently featured on Sputnik’s website.
52. RT, the Russian state-owned outlet, said it will be required by the FBI to register as a foreign agent in the US, signaling their content will be viewed as propaganda of Moscow.
53. Russian journalist Latynina fled Russia with her family following a series of attacks. Latynina writes for an independent newspaper and Friday received a prize for defending human rights and freedom of the press.
54. Priebus and McGahn both hired lawyer William Burck to represent them in the Mueller Russia probe.
55. POLITICO reported lawyers for former and current Trump aides are advising clients not to lie for Trump. Lawyers are also warning clients that being connected to Trump won’t protect them from criminal charges.
56. WSJ reported some of Trump's lawyers concluded earlier this summer Kushner should step down. Among their concerns were undisclosed meeting with Russians, and mentioning Mueller probe to other WH staff.
57. Also knowing the June 9 meeting was yet to come out publicly, lawyers had prepared talking points for Kushner’s resignation, blaming the toxic political environment and him being used as a weapon against Trump.
58. Russian politician Vyacheslav Nikonov, a member of the Duma, said on live TV that Russia stole the US presidency. The TV show focused on the US’s diminishing power on the world stage.
59. Daily Beast reported Russia used Facebook’s event-management tool to remotely organize and promote political protests, including an August 2016 anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rally in Idaho.
60. The event was hosted by “SecuredBorders,” outed as a Russian front in March. When their Facebook page was taken down last month, the group had 133k followers.
61. Former FBI agent Clint Watts noted this group is an example of the next step in Russian influence: “The second part of behavior influence is when you can get people to physically do something.”
62. In the months leading up to the Idaho rally, there were dozens of stories on right-wing websites like Infowars and Breitbart implying immigrants were taking over Twin Falls.
63. Business Insider reported on another Russian-link Facebook group: “Heart of Texas,” which had over 225k followers, and was taken down by Facebook last week.
64. The group started by posting anti-Hillary memes, then became shifted as Election Day neared. Starting in November, “Heart of Texas” organized a series of anti-immigrant, anti-Hillary rallies across Texas.
65. ProPublica reported Facebook enabled advertisers to target ads towards users who expressed interest in categories like “Jew hater” and “How to burn jews.” After ProPublica contact them, Facebook took these down.
66. Bloomberg reported that Russia’s effort to influence US voters through Facebook and other social media is a “red-hot” focus of Mueller, as well as possible links in that effort to the Trump campaign.
67. WSJ reported Facebook has given Mueller more details on Russian ad buys, including copies of the ads and details about the accounts that bought them and the targeting criteria they used.
68. While Congress has the power to subpoena Facebook for “basic subscriber records” and to call witnesses, Mueller’s search warrant compels Facebook to disclose much more detailed information.
69. Vanity Fair reported that Congressional investigators and Mueller are focused on whether any Americans helped Russia target social media to impact crucial swing districts and wavering voter demographics.
70. In an interview with Forbes after the election, Kushner bragged about the Trump campaign’s online efforts, and said he had a technology expert “give me a tutorial on how to use Facebook micro-targeting.”
71. Questions also emerge about possible ties between Kushner and Parscale to data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica, whose major investor is Robert Mercer, a patron of Bannon.
72. Senate Intel Committee ranking members Burr and Warner said they are likely to ask representatives from Facebook to publicly testify on Russia’s activity on their platform during the 2016 election.
73. Sen. Warner tweeted that groups linked to Russia which used Facebook to meddle in the 2016 election paid in Rubles.
74. A campaign finance reform group, headed by the former chair of the FEC Trevor Potter, said Facebook was an “accomplice” in a Russian influence scheme, and called on the company to publicly release Russian ads.
75. BuzzFeed obtained a proposal delivered by a Putin diplomat to Trump three months into office detailing a wholesale restoration of diplomatic, military, and intelligence channels between Russia and the US.
76. Members of the WH and State Dept. did not dispute the authenticity of the proposal. Delivering the proposal meant Russia believed Trump would not hold alleged 2016 election interference against them.
77. Daily Beast reported the Trump campaign has begun turning over documents to Mueller. The Mueller probe is broad, and it is treating the WH, transition team, and campaign as separate legal entities.
78. At a press briefing Tuesday, Sanders said the DOJ “should certainly look at” prosecuting Comey, claiming he had leaked privileged information to the media and offered false testimony to Congress.
79. On Wednesday, Sanders again said Comey, essentially a political opponent, should face criminal charges for leaking a memo to the NYT.
80. Sanders also said ESPN reporter Jemele Hill should be fired for her Monday tweet referring to Trump as “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.”
81. NYT reported after Trump was told that Mueller was appointed, he berated Sessions in the Oval Office. Trump called Sessions an “idiot,” and said picking him for AG was the “worst decisions he had made.”
82. Trump blamed the Mueller appointment on Sessions’s decision to recuse himself from the DOJ Russia investigation, and said Sessions should resign. Sessions said he would quit and sent a resignation letter.
83. Sessions later told associates the way Trump publicly demeaned him was his most humiliating experience in his decades of public life.
84. Flynn refused a new request to appear in front of the Senate Intel Comm. Flynn has offered to testify before both the Senate and House Intel Committees in exchange for immunity, but neither committee accepted the offer.
85. Top Democrats on the House Intel and Foreign Affairs wrote in a letter that Flynn concealed more than a dozen foreign contacts and overseas trips during the process of renewing his security clearances in 2016.
86. The foreign contact information came from three private companies advised by Flynn which were pursuing a joint venture with Russia in 2015 and 2016 to bring nuclear power to several Middle Eastern countries.
87. WSJ reported Flynn continued promoting the project after he took the position of NSA in the Trump regime, even after NSC ethics advisers directed Flynn to remove himself from the project.
88. Even after Flynn was fired by Trump, he continued to lobby the Trump regime on the project, including Cohn and Barrack, Jr. ahead of their May trip to Saudi Arabia.
89. NBC reported Flynn’s son, Michael G. Flynn is the subject of the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The inquiry is based at least in part on his work with Flynn Intel Group.
90. CNN reported the DOJ refused the Senate Judiciary Committee's request to interview two top FBI officials — Carl Ghattas and James Rybicki - on the firing of Comey, citing Mueller’s ongoing investigation.
91. NYT reported Senate Judiciary Committee ranking members Grassley and Feinstein are considering subpoenaing members of the DOJ in their inquiry on Trump's firing of Comey.
92. CNN reported Susan Rice privately told the House Intel Committee that she unmasked the identities of senior Trump officials to understand why the crown prince of the UAE came to New York late last year.
93. The New York meeting (reported in Week 21) took place last December, and was attended by Flynn, Kushner and Bannon. In an unusual breach of protocol, the UAE did not advise the Obama administration in advance.
94. Shortly after in January, Erik Prince, brother of Betsy DeVos, attended a secret meeting in Seychelles, arranged by the UAE, with a Russian close to Putin, allegedly to set up a back-channel for communications.
95. WAPO reported DHS ordered all federal agencies to ban the use of a Kaspersky security software. Co-founder Eugene Kaspersky graduated from a KGB-supported school and worked in Russian military intelligence.
96. The moves comes after the GSA removed the company from its approved vendor list, suggesting a vulnerability exists with Kaspersky that could give the Kremlin backdoor access to the systems the company protects.
97. BuzzFeed reported that Flynn, Bannon and Kushner met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in NY days before Trump was inaugurated to push a deal which Flynn was advising on: nuclear power plants in the Middle East.
98. An eye witness said at least half-a-dozen other people were with the trio at the Four Seasons bar. Flynn failed to disclose the meeting in security clearance forms, and Kushner disclosed it only in his amended forms.
99. As part of the for-profit deal, reactors would be built by US companies and security would be provided by the Russian state-owned firm Rosoboron. Congressional approval would have been needed.
100. In February, Abdullah visited the WH and met with Trump, Kelly and Mattis. A statement afterward underscored that the US “is committed to strengthening the security and economic partnership with Jordan.”
101. Bloomberg reported at the time Veselnitskaya met with Donald Jr. at Trump Tower, she also represented real-estate company Prevezon, which was under criminal investigation for a money laundering case.
102. In 2013, Bharara filed a civil suit against Prevezon. Sessions abruptly settled the case three days before trial in May for just $5.9mm. There was no mention of the ongoing criminal investigation.
103. Democratic lawmakers want to know if the Trump team members put pressure on Sessions to settle the case after Bharara was fired.
104. Bloomberg said in the criminal case several countries and banks including Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, UBS and TD have supplied documents to the US to track more than $200mm that left Russia after a massive fraud.
105. Business Insider reported that in the Prevezon criminal case, grand-jury testimonies are at a key stage. Prevezon is owned by the son of a powerful Russian government official.
106. POLITICO reported Kyle Freeny, an attorney working on the DOJ’s highest-profile money laundering case, is joining Mueller’s team.
107. Democrats flipped two very pro-Trump districts in special elections: there was a 28-point swing in NH, and a 31-point swing in OK.
108. Benevity tracked a shift in donations made by Fortune 1000 US workers: ACLU went from #87 in 2015 to the top spot in 2017. SPLC went from #230 in 2015 to #17 in 2017.
109. Early Friday morning, Trump took to Twitter after a bombing in London: “Another attack in London by a loser terrorist,” and “Loser terrorists must be dealt with in a much tougher manner.”
110. UK PM May publicly alluded to Trump's tweet, saying she never thinks it’s helpful to “speculate” on “an ongoing investigation.” Friday, McMaster tried to clarify the tweets, saying Trump was speaking “generally.”
111. Bloomberg reported PM May complained directly to Trump, saying she was unhappy with his response when he called to offer condolences.
112. Joining his classmates at Yale, 185 of Mnuchin’s high school classmates from Riverdale Country School classmates called on him to resign.
113. WSJ reported Rohrabacher contacted the WH trying to broker a “deal” that would end Assange’s US legal troubles, in exchange for a computer drive or other data-storage device that he said would exonerate Russia.
114. Kelly intercepted the call and advised Rohrabacher the deal “was best directed to the intelligence community.” Kelly did not make Trump aware of Rohrabacher’s message.
115. AP reported that despite a pledge by the Trump inaugural committee to give leftover funds to charities, nothing has been donated. The group has helped pay for redecorating the WH and the Pence’s residence in DC.
116. Trump's inaugural committee raised $107mm, a record amount and double what Obama raised for his well-attended inauguration. The amount of times to close out the books is also unusual.
117. Pence’s press secretary Marc Lotter resigned. It was unclear what his next move will be. Pence recently replaced his chief of staff.
118. In an Atlantic article, “How Trump Is Ending the American Era,” Eliot Cohen described the damage Trump has done, and continues to do to America’s global standing.
119. On Friday, the Pentagon issued new guidance clarifying that transgender troops currently in the military can re-enlist in the next several months. This is yet another example in past weeks of Mattis going against Trump.

This.

“We know there’s something wrong, but what I’m tired of is people, daily, nightly, on all the cable news shows telling us there’s something wrong. I just think we ought to direct our resources and our energies to doing something about it. And other people have made this point: If the guy was running Dairy Queen, he’d be gone. This guy couldn’t work at The Gap. So why do we have to be victimized by his fecklessness, his ignorance? Let’s just stop whining about what a goon he is and figure out a way to take him aside and put him in a home.” ~David Letterman