Day 137: Russian Election Attacks

Our scoop of the day (mmm, strawberry!) comes from a top secret NSA report.

• Days before the 2016 election, Russia was involved in both spear-phishing and hacking attempts against US voting software and electoral officials. Given this, any collusion with Russia at this stage should be accompanied by a charge of treason.
• This week has been dubbed "infrastructure week" by the administration, as it rolls out a series of plans. Better would be to describe it as "privatization week", because that's about all that they're offering. I fully support investing in infrastructure, which has historically been associated with economic stimulus along with improved safety and services. Today's idea: privatize air traffic control. I think Nancy Pelosi's response is pretty accurate: this is a tired and rejected idea that will likely compromise safety.
• As you may have noticed, I try very hard not to comment on Trump's twitter habits. However, a few articles deserve attention. The non-partisan-to-a-fault Associated Press has condemned Trump's tweeting during crises, saying that he cannot be counted upon to deliver accurate information. Furthermore, his words are designed to incite fear, essentially giving terrorists what they want. He is quick to jump to conclusions and aggressively attacks suspected Islamist attacks. At best, he should be ignored.
• Remember how they said it would all be ok because Trump would have adults in the room to advise him? Well, they're around, but Trump isn't in that room. Remember his recent speech where he specifically refused to pledge US commitment to the NATO treaty? Before giving that speech, all of those adults had made sure that that commitment was present in it. He essentially blindsided his foreign policy team. I've said it before: Trump is all sorts of dangerous. This is exhibit A.
• Trump has doubled down on his travel ban, going so far as to call it a "TRAVEL BAN". The DoJ lawyers who have repeatedly claimed that it's not a ban are likely to be supremely unimpressed, given that they've just filed to the Supreme Court to try and have it reinstated.
• In a continued abdication of global responsibility, the US is continuing to threaten to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council.
• Career diplomats at the very highest levels are quietly revolting against Trump, with the latest being an ambassadorial resignation over the withdrawal from the Paris agreement.

How on earth has a diet of daily scandals become the new normal? It's exhausting!