NEWS ROUNDUP
Howard the Schmuck | Our national shame | Mumblin’ Manafort
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
LOCAL
► From The Stranger — UW avoids finals week strike by making deal with student employees — University of Washington administrators and student workers reached a contract deal Friday evening. Members of UAW 4121, which represents 4,500 student employees, voted 62 to 38 percent to approve it over the weekend. The deal will improve student employees’ pay and health insurance. However, it does little to address one of the union’s signature issues: fees that go toward athletic facilities and transit access.
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Massive Spokane distribution center called ‘Project Rose’ smells a lot like Amazon — New details are emerging about the mysterious Project Rose, a large-scale warehouse on the West Plains that looks an awful lot like an Amazon fulfillment center.
ALSO TODAY at The Stand — Union-buster Howard Schultz quitting day job, mulling politics
EDITOR’S NOTE — Just what we need, another trickle-down billionaire running things. It’s hard to believe that this union-busting jackass — who thinks what ails America is that we aren’t fiscally conservative enough — was reportedly Hillary Clinton’s pick for Labor Secretary if she’d won. You’ll excuse us if we just continue to think of him as the a**hole who lost us the Sonics.
THIS WASHINGTON
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — State money for postage-paid ballots might not be enough — Snohomish County gets $166,000, but if turnout is high this year, it might cost more.
OUR NATIONAL SHAME
► In the NY Times — Trump immigration policy veers from abhorrent to evil (by Nicholas Kristof) — Family separations arise in part because of the new Trump administration policy, announced last month, of “zero tolerance” for people who cross the border illegally. That means that parents are jailed (which happened rarely before), and their kids are taken away from them… There is no excuse for brutalizing children by ripping them away from their parents. We as a nation should protect our borders. We must even more assiduously protect our soul.
► NBC’s “Why is this happening?” — Fighting a dehumanizing U.S. immigration system, with Lee Gelernt (podcast)
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
► In today’s Washington Post — Manafort accused of witness tampering in Russia probe — Prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III say former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate repeatedly contacted two members of a public relations firm and asked them to falsely testify about secret lobbying they did at Manafort’s behest.
► In today’s Washington Post — Why it’s essential to go after Trump for obstruction of justice (by Jennifer Rubin) — Thanks to Manafort and to the president’s assertion that he cannot obstruct justice (and to boot can pardon himself), we now have public attention focused on the crime of obstruction of justice, which is serious for any private individual and a fatal breach of the president’s oath to “take care” that the laws are faithfully executed. Even Republicans are fessing up that obstruction is a really big deal, whether a president can be prosecuted in office (or after office) or “merely” impeached.
EDITOR’S NOTE — From Mumblin’ Manafort’s greatest hits…
Whenever Paul Manafort is in the news for all of his crimes I think of this clip.
“Trump has no financial relationships with any Russian oligarchs?”
Paul Manafort: *mumbles into oblivion*pic.twitter.com/6fy7ioG0vY
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) June 5, 2018
NATIONAL
► From TPM — Arkansas imposes nation’s first-ever Medicaid work requirement — This week, Arkansas becomes the first state in the nation, and in the nation’s history, to require its non-disabled adult Medicaid expansion population to work or volunteer 80 hours a month to maintain their health care benefits. Health care advocates in the state say they expect thousands of low-income people to lose coverage — both those who can’t find work and those who can’t navigate the state’s online-only system for documenting their hours.
► In today’s Washington Post — David Koch is leaving Koch Industries, stepping down from Americans for Prosperity — His brother, Charles Koch, announced in a letter on Tuesday that David Koch’s health has been in decline since he was hospitalized last summer.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.