Diplomats Scrambling, Florida Takes on NRA
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Vol. 7, No. 66
Hairy Situation: The Trump administration is scrambling to act on President Trump’s surprise decision to sit down with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to negotiate over nuclear weapons.
They are going to have to figure out where, when, and how the meeting will happen. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “This meeting won’t take place without concrete actions that match the promises that have been made by North Korea.”
Trump made an impromptu decision Thursday to meet with officials from South Korea in the White House for meetings with other people. When told of Kim’s request for a meeting Trump instantly said yes, spinning the wheels of diplomats trying to catch up. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was not included in the decision. The State Department’s chief negotiator on North Korea resigned from the demoralized Foreign Service just last week.
In the short term, the overture for talks decreases the threat of war, but increases it if the talks fail. Kim has a history of reneging.
Starting talks with the heads of state puts everything on the line. Negotiating teams from both countries usually have their disagreements and fights, letting the bosses seal the deal.
Plenty of people are skeptical about whether Trump can pull off a miracle. The Economist says, “Mr. Trump — a man who boasts about his television ratings, and who is bored by briefings and scornful of foreign alliances — could end up being played like a gold-plated violin.”
As the diplomats sort out details of when and where Kim and Trump meet, we can be sure of one thing. It’s going to be on a bad hair day.
The Gunshine State: The National Rifle Association promptly filed a lawsuit against the State of Florida after Gov. Rick yesterday signed a law that puts an age limit of 21 and a waiting period on the purchase of rifles and shotguns in the state. The law bans bump stocks that convert a semi-automatic rifle to a machine gun.
Scott said he’s unhappy about some features of the bill, particularly the one that allows for teachers to take training and carry a gun in school. “I still think law enforcement officers should be the ones to protect our schools,” Scott said.
The NRA suit objects specifically from raising the age to buy a gun from 18 to 21.
“This bill punishes law-abiding gun owners for the criminal acts of a deranged individual,” Chris W. Cox.
BCC: The lawyer who represented Donald Trump in the payoff to porn actress Stormy Daniels used a Trump organization email address while arranging the deal, increasing the likelihood that the transaction was a violation of federal election law.
The email address confirms that lawyer Michael Cohen was representing Trump in the nondisclosure agreement. If the payment was to silence Daniels before the election, it can be interpreted as an unreported contribution to the Trump campaign.
Econ 101: The US economy added 313,000 new jobs last month, the most since July 2016. New workers are streaming into the job market and the unemployment rate remains at 4.1 percent, a 17-year low. The Dow Jones closed up 444 points.
Nation: Three women and a gunman who took them hostage were found dead yesterday after an incident at a veterans home in the California wine country. The three women were employees and the gunman was identified as a 36-year-old decorated veteran of Afghanistan. The gunman had recently been kicked out of a program for post-9/11 veterans.
Take Two Aspirin: The notoriously dislikeable “pharma bro,” Martin Shkreli, who once raised the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent, was sentenced yesterday to seven years in federal prison for defrauding investors of $10 million.
Shkreli earned his fame for buying the rights to an Aids drug and placing the price out of reach. He met his critics with a smarmy smirk. But what got him in legal trouble was stealing from his investors.
Yesterday he put on a different face, crying and begging the judge for mercy.
“I look back and I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” he told the court. He said, “There’s no conspiracy to take down Martin Shkreli. I took down Martin Shkreli with my disgraceful and shameful actions.”
Pass in Review: President Trump is going to get his military parade, according to the Pentagon, but not a spectacle like the Bastille Day parade in Paris that inspired him to demand a show of his own.
The parade now planned for Veterans Day won’t include heavy armored vehicles that tear up the streets, but there will be a big air component at the end.
Trump will be watching from the presidential sandbox.
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