Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of sixty-six.  Sunrise is 6:03 AM and sunset 7:43 PM, for 13h 39m 15s of daytime.  The moon is a waning gibbous with 98.4 of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1836, the oldest library in Wisconsin is founded.

Recommended for reading in full:

Conservative David French writes Donald Trump Is Weak and Afraid. The Mueller Report Proves It:

It’s difficult to overestimate the extent to which Trump’s appeal to his core supporters is built around the notion that — regardless of his other flaws — he possesses a core strength, a willingness to “fight” and an ability to strike a degree of fear in the hearts of his opponents. I live in the heart of Trump country in Tennessee, and I have consistently heard the same refrain from his most loyal supporters. Trump, as they say, “kicks ass.” He was the ultimate alpha male, a political version of Tony Soprano, a formidable boss who commands an army of loyal consiglieri. Cross him at your peril.

But now, thanks to the Mueller report, his “fights” look more like temper tantrums, and those closest to him — including low men like Lewandowski and far-more-noble men like former White House counsel Donald McGahn — understand that his fury is passing and his directives are unreliable, seemingly transitory and easily forgotten or disregarded.

Moreover, his vaunted personal judgment — an image cultivated through years of careful television production on The Apprentice — has been exposed as well. When one reads Robert Mueller’s account of Trump’s own campaign chair’s extraordinary efforts to maintain an encrypted connection to Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs, it’s plain that Trump was played. Paul Manafort used Trump’s gullibility as a business opportunity.

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As the Mueller report stated, Trump’s attempts to influence the investigation “were mostly unsuccessful,” but it’s “largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests.” He’s not strong. He’s not wise. He’s not honorable. And sometimes, when his subordinates disregard is orders, he’s not even truly the president. Regardless of his potential criminality, there is nothing revealed in the report that is admirable — or alpha — about Donald Trump.

David A. Fahrenthold reports ‘I have no recollection’: Trump turned to familiar refrain in response to Mueller questions:

President Trump has bragged that he has “one of the great memories of all time.”

But — when faced with questions from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about the 2016 campaign — Trump said his memory failed him.

When did Trump learn that his aides had met with a Russian lawyer offering dirt on rival Hillary Clinton?

“I have no recollection,” Trump wrote in written responses to Mueller’s team.

Did anyone tell Trump during the campaign that Russian President Vladi­mir Putin supported Trump’s candidacy?

“I have no recollection of being told,” Trump wrote back.

In at least 37 instances, Trump responded to Mueller’s questions — about his campaign’s contacts with Russians and about Russian interference in the 2016 election — by saying he couldn’t recall.

India’s Growing Economy:

Good morning.

Good Friday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of fifty-eight.  Sunrise is 6:05 AM and sunset 7:42 PM, for 13h 36m 32s of daytime.  The moon is full with 100% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1775, the American Revolution begins at the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

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Scott R. Anderson, Victoria Clark, Mikhaila Fogel, Sarah Grant, Susan Hennessey, Matthew Kahn, Quinta Jurecic, Lev Sugarman, Margaret Taylor, and Benjamin Wittes write What Mueller Found on Russia and on Obstruction: A First Analysis:

The report identifies and analyzes ten episodes of concern in the obstruction investigation.

1. conduct involving then-FBI Director Comey and Michael Flynn;
2. the president’s reaction to the continuing Russia investigation;
3. the president’s termination of Comey;
4. the appointment of a special counsel and efforts to remove him;
5. efforts to curtail the special counsel’s investigation;
6. efforts to prevent public disclosure of evidence;
7. further efforts to have the attorney general take control of the investigation;
8. efforts to have White House Counsel Don McGahn deny that the president had ordered him to have the special counsel removed;
9. conduct toward Flynn, Manafort, and a redacted individual (likely Roger Stone); and
10. conduct involving Michael Cohen.

Each episode includes a detailed set of factual findings and then analyzes how the evidence maps onto the criminal charge of obstruction, which requires (1) an obstructive act; (2) a nexus with an official proceeding; and (3) a corrupt intent. We have summarized all of the episodes and Mueller’s analysis of them under the obstruction statutes here.

For present purposes, the critical point is that in six of these episodes, the special counsel’s office suggests that all of the elements of obstruction are satisfied: Trump’s conduct regarding the investigation into Michael Flynn, his firing of Comey, his efforts to remove Mueller and then to curtail Mueller’s investigation, his campaign to have Sessions take back control over the investigation and an order he gave to White House Counsel Don McGahn to both lie to the press about Trump’s past attempt to fire Mueller and create a false record “for our files.” In the cases of Comey’s firing, Trump’s effort to fire Mueller and then push McGahn to lie about it, and Trump’s effort to curtail the scope of the investigation, Mueller describes “substantial” evidence that Trump intended to obstruct justice. Only in one instance—concerning Trump’s effort to prevent the release of emails regarding the Trump Tower meeting—does the special counsel seem to feel that none of the three elements of the obstruction offense were met. It is not entirely clear how Mueller would apply his overarching factual considerations, discussed above, to the specific cases, but he does seem to be saying that the evidence of obstruction in a number of these incidents is strong.

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of fifty-one.  Sunrise is 6:07 AM and sunset 7:40 PM, for 13h 33m 48s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 98.7% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1906, the 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake shakes that city, killing thousands and causing significant property damage.

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Natasha Bertrand and Anna Nemtsova describe The Trump-Putin Relationship, As Dictated by the Kremlin (“Why does the White House cede control of the narrative to the Russians?”):

It would have once been unthinkable to accuse a sitting president of putting the interests of a hostile foreign power above those of the United States. But Trump’s continual praise of Putin on the campaign trail, his pursuit of a multimillion-dollar real-estate deal in Moscow throughout the election—while Russia was waging a massive hacking and disinformation campaign to undermine his opponent, Hillary Clinton—and the secrecy that still surrounds his conversations with Putin gave many, including the FBI, pause.“All this would be unusual enough for any president,” The Atlantic’s David Frum notedin January. “It is more than suspicious for a president being formally investigated by the FBI as a possible Russian-intelligence asset.” ….

Trump took the extraordinary step of confiscating his interpreter’s notes after his first private meeting with Putin in Hamburg, Germany, in 2017, according to the Post, and demanded that the interpreter refrain from discussing the meeting with members of his own administration. (The White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters earlier this month that Trump was concerned about leaks when he confiscated the notes.) Then–Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters after that meeting that Trump and Putin had discussed Russia’s election interference in 2016. But he wouldn’t say whether Trump accepted Putin’s denial of any such interference at face value—providing Russia with another golden opportunity to shape the narrative.

Bess Levin writes Trump’s Lawyers Prefer His Exceptionally Shady Financial  Documents Not See the Light of Day: 

As we learned from Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony in February, a New York Times exposé last month, and documents obtained from The Washington Post shortly after that, Donald Trump’s long history of lying about his wealth has not been confined to bragging about it on TV, but also allegedly made its way into financial statements sent to banks and insurance companies, in which the ex-real-estate developer inflated his assets to obtain certain loans. For example, in a 2011 document, Trump purported to own 55 home lots ready to sell for at least $3 million apiece at his Southern California golf course; in reality, he’d only been zoned for 31, thus overstating his future revenue by roughly $72 million. A year later, in another “Statement of Financial Condition,” he tacked an extra 800 acres on to the size of his 1,200-odd-acre Virginia vineyard. At one point, he claimed Trump Tower had 68 stories, despite the fact that anyone with eyes could tell you there are 58.

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with thunderstorms and a high of sixty-one.  Sunrise is 6:08 AM and sunset 7:39 PM, for 13h 31m 05s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 94.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1970, the crew of Apollo 13 successfully returns to Earth despite an oxygen tank explosion during their mission.

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Shawn Regan writes 5 Ways The Government Keeps Native Americans In Poverty:

Imagine if the government were responsible for looking after your best interests. All of your assets must be managed by bureaucrats on your behalf. A special bureau is even set up to oversee your affairs. Every important decision you make requires approval, and every approval comes with a mountain of regulations.

How well would this work? Just ask Native Americans.

The federal government is responsible for managing Indian affairs for the benefit of all Indians. But by all accounts the government has failed to live up to this responsibility. As a result, Native American reservations are among the poorest communities in the United States. Here’s how the government keeps Native Americans in poverty.

Indian lands are owned and managed by the federal government.

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Nearly every aspect of economic development is controlled by federal agencies.

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Reservations have a complex legal framework that hinders economic growth.

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Energy regulations make it difficult for tribes to develop their resources.

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The federal government has repeatedly mismanaged Indian assets.

Michael Kranish reports Inside the Russian effort to target Sanders supporters — and help elect Trump:

After Bernie Sanders lost his presidential primary race against Hillary Clinton in 2016, a Twitter account called Red Louisiana News reached out to his supporters to help sway the general election. “Conscious Bernie Sanders supporters already moving towards the best candidate Trump! #Feel the Bern #Vote Trump 2016,” the account tweeted.

The tweet was not actually from Louisiana, according to an analysis by Clemson University researchers. Instead, it was one of thousands of accounts identified as based in Russia, part of a cloaked effort to persuade supporters of the senator from Vermont to elect Trump. “Bernie Sanders says his message resonates with Republicans,” said another Russian tweet.

While much attention has focused on the question of whether the Trump campaign encouraged or conspired with Russia, the effort to target Sanders supporters has been a lesser-noted part of the story. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, in a case filed last year against 13 Russians accused of interfering in the U.S. presidential campaign, said workers at a St. Petersburg facility called the Internet Research Agency were instructed to write social media posts in opposition to Clinton but “to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump.”

Trump threatened to close the border. Here’s what could happen if he did:

Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of sixty-four.  Sunrise is 6:10 AM and sunset 7:38 PM, for 13h 28m 20s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 88% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Common Council meets tonight at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1917, Lenin returns from exile to Petrograd.

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Conservative Evangelical Michael Gerson writes The real threat to religious freedom is Trump:

So another norm of public decency falls, like a historical building demolished to make way for one of Donald Trump’s tasteless towers.

When the president of the United States goes after an American Muslim — in this case Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who came to the United States as a Somali refugee — using images of the 9/11 attacks, it is cruel, frightening and dangerous in new ways.

It is cruel because Trump essentially delivered his political rant while standing on desecrated graves. The images he employed not only included burning buildings but burning human beings, drafted into a sad and sordid political ploy. Is nothing sacred to Trump? When said aloud, the question sounds like an absurdity. Trump has never given the slightest indication of propriety, respect or reverence. His narcissism leaves no room to honor other people or to honor other gods. Both the living and the dead matter only as servants to the cause of Trump himself.

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Could this have been a slip of the tongue? No, it wasn’t. Trump has a long history of animus — raw animus — against one of the Abrahamic faiths. He has said, “We’re having problems with the Muslims.” And: “There is a Muslim problem in the world.” And: “The United Kingdom is trying hard to disguise their massive Muslim problem.” And: “Islam hates us.”

The Koran, in Trump’s scholarly opinion, “teaches some very negative vibe.” He has claimed: “You have people coming out of mosques with hatred and death in their eyes.” He once called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” He has variously and publicly considered the closing of mosques, warrantless searches and the creation of a national database to track Muslims. In Trump’s view, “We’re going to have to do things that we never did before.”

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None of this requires us to believe that Omar is a wise or thoughtful public figure. She isn’t. She traffics in the worst anti-Semitic tropes. But Trump’s perception of religious liberty as freedom only for the faiths he prefers is a potential threat to every religious group. What if some future leader views Mormonism as incompatible with American democracy, or evangelical Protestantism? By what principle would Trump supporters be able to criticize discrimination against such groups?

Religious freedom is either rigorously equal, or it becomes an instrument of those in power to favor or disfavor religions of their choice. And those believers who are currently in favor may someday discover what disfavor is like.

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