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Ted Cruz threw in the towel and conceded that his father killed John F. Kennedy. Maybe it’s just us, but we can’t help but conclude that Crippled America is just about Donald Trump’s intense dislike of the Americans With Disabilities Act. And Jill Stein will spend the first presidential debate “in a private space physically, but her presence will be widely felt,” meaning she’ll be transmitting in Luke Skywalker’s brain to use the force to fire on the thermal exhaust port. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, September 23rd, 2016:
TODAY IN LOOMING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS - This is part of why fall is such a great season. Roberta Rampton: “The White House budget office scheduled a call with U.S government agencies on Friday to plan for a government shutdown in case the U.S. Congress fails to pass a short-term funding bill by a deadline next week. ‘It is our hope that this work will ultimately be unnecessary and that there will be no lapse in appropriations,” a spokeswoman for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said in a statement. The federal fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 and Congress must pass a spending measure by then to keep the government open.” [Reuters]
PEOPLE AREN’T REALLY FEELING THIS ONE SO MUCH THOUGH - Jonathan Bernstein: “I believe that a government shutdown (one that lasts beyond a couple days or so) only happens when one party really wants it to. That explains the two long shutdowns in 1995-1996, when Speaker Newt Gingrich incorrectly believed that President Bill Clinton would fold once pressure was applied, and the 2013 attempt spearheaded by Senator Ted Cruz to steamroll Barack Obama on the Affordable Care Act. The logic of shutdowns has proved to be pretty simple. Eventually, the government has to reopen. This means that Republicans in the House and Senate are going to have to come to some agreement with the president. Since everyone involved realizes that, neither side has an incentive to hold out beyond the deadline.” [Bloomberg]
James Inhofe praises the bipartisan Senate water bill ― which the House could pass apart from a CR to deliver Flint aid next week ― in a HuffPost op-ed.
BUT IS IT GOOD FOR THE CRUZ? HAVING NO DIGNITY EDITION - Ted Cruz, if you forgot, was the guy who called Donald Trump a sniveling coward. Matt Flegenheimer: “Senator Ted Cruz said on Friday that he would vote for Donald J. Trump for president, two months after Mr. Cruz pointedly declined to endorse his former rival in a speech at the Republican National Convention. ‘After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump,’ Mr. Cruz wrote in a statement posted on Facebook. Though Mr. Cruz and his aides had never ruled out an endorsement, many in his orbit had chafed at the prospect of supporting a man who had so viciously attacked the Texas senator during the nominating fight. Among other slights, Mr. Trump questioned Mr. Cruz’s eligibility for the presidency, citing his Canadian birth; seemed to disparage the appearance of Mr. Cruz’s wife, Heidi, in a Twitter post; and insinuated, without evidence, that Mr. Cruz’s father, Rafael, was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.” [NYT]
OBAMA VETOES 9/11 SAUDI ARABIA BILL - The Obama’s will get tons of kudos for this next year when they visit the mosque they purposely moved near. Jen Bendery “President Barack Obama vetoed legislation on Friday that lets the families of 9/11 victims sue Saudi Arabia for its alleged role in the terrorist attacks. But for the first time in Obama’s presidency, Congress has the votes to overrule him ― and it will next week. Obama issued a lengthy statement as he vetoed the bill, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. The White House has been protesting the bill for months, but even Democratic leaders disagree with Obama on this one. The bill prevents Saudi Arabia and other countries with alleged ties to terrorist groups from invoking their legal immunity in U.S. courts. It overrides the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which grants immunity to countries that aren’t designated state sponsors of terrorism.” [HuffPost]
Congress is expected to override the veto next week.
NJ LEGISLATURE MULLING CHRISTIE IMPEACHMENT - Brian Thompson: “Key members of the New Jersey Assembly have begun researching whether or not to bring articles of impeachment against Gov. Chris Christie, NBC 4 New York has learned. This follows early testimony in the George Washington Bridge scandal trial, which some Assembly members believe shows the Republican governor had more knowledge of the lane closures in Fort Lee during and after that week in 2013 then he has led the public to believe. One committee chairman who did not want to be named said ‘clearly obstruction of justice’ would be an obvious charge against the governor. The legislator told NBC 4 New York the chances are probably 50-50 that the assembly would pursue impeachment.” [NBC4]
***SPOTTED*** AT LAST NIGHT’S BELTWAY BIBLE BOOK PARTY- From our totally serious sign-up sheet: Harambe, Sam Levine, Igor Bobic, Marina Fang, Tyler R. Tynes, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, [a drawing of a snake], Linda Benesch, Tillie McInnis, Jessica Biel, Mike Allen, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack’s Food Truck, Barack Obama, Marine Todd, METALLICA, Bono, Ashleigh Liggett, Josh Stewart, Sara Rae Jonath, Anupama Pillalamarri, Ramya Swamy, Joseph Lindstrom, David Brooks, Joseph Stalin, Tom Ricketts, Antohny Foxxxxx, Michael Steel(e), Molly Haigitt, The Comrade Harambe Ice Luge And Champagne Dance Party, Sahil KApur, #NEVERTRUMP, An Uber Pool, Vice President Carly, Asawin (douche) Suebsaeng, Benjamin Freed, Paul, Purple Strategies, Al Greenspan, Andrea Mitchell, Balloon Boy, Sylvia Burwell, Raul Labrador, King v. Burwell, Smarf, @StewSays, Jim Manley, Jason Kowalski, Devon Kearns’ Jumpsuit, Thomas M. Reilly, Stacey Apfelbaum, #StandWithRand, Rob Gronkowski, The Slow Decline, A Cromnibus, Dan “I Insulted HuffPo The First Time I Met You But You Still Like Me And I Love You” Pollock, Dani, A Press Badge, Felipe!, Diane May, Devon Kearns “pneumonia free,” George HW Bush, Saddam Hussein, Paul Kendrick, Abe Lincoln, Byron C. Tau, III, Sara Dubois, Carolyn “Gilmentum” Fiddler, TJ Helmstetter, Mike Naple, Lauren Miller, Nick Berning, Laslo + Jolie, JonBenet Ramsey, Doris Kearns Goodwin, A Twitter Egg,
Playbook had a more accurate rundown this morning.
Inbox: GIPHY is LIVE GIFing the First Presidential Debate (and more!) on Monday!
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DONALD TRUMP DOESN’T JUST MAKE FUN OF DISABLED PEOPLE - He really puts his money where his mouth is, and that is to be commended. Ben Walsh: “At least eight times over the last 19 years, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s properties have been subject to lawsuits for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, court records show. Additionally, a federal inspection found ADA violations at one of his properties. Only once did Trump come close to winning, in a suit that was dismissed at the request of both sides. Five of the cases were settled, while two ended in consent decrees requiring building modifications and one met its end in a Trump property bankruptcy. When a disabled Purple Heart veteran filed a lawsuit in 2004 alleging that the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York lacked proper handicapped-accessible emergency exits, guest rooms and restrooms, Trump dragged the case out for three years. He tried to get the lawsuit dismissed and counter-sued his own architects to try and shift liability to them, but a judge dismissed that attempt. Trump eventually settled and agreed to make changes to the hotel.” [HuffPost]
TRUMP NOT EXACTLY DOING BIGLY IN AMERICA’S MOSQUES - Donald Akbar. Tim Mak: “Donald Trump’s campaign has begun to make quiet attempts to make amends with the American Muslim community. In September, representatives from his campaign reached out to mosques in Illinois and Virginia, Muslim community leaders tell The Daily Beast, with hopes of speaking to their congregations. They said no to the photo-op—but said they remain in negotiations with the campaign to meet with him privately...earlier this month, Stephanie Holderfield, the Illinois State Director for the Trump campaign, reached out to the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Ill. She was interested in whether Trump could appear publicly before their congregation on Sept. 12, says the mosque’s president, Oussama Jammal. The day was during Eid-al-Adha, a major Islamic celebration, when 20,000 American Muslim would gather at a stadium to pray in the morning. Its leaders rejected the idea outright, both because it was an Islamic holiday and because they didn’t want to give Trump a stage, but said they were open to a private meeting between local Muslim leaders and the Republican nominee.” [Daily Beast]
FOX WILL LET YOU DECIDE, ALSO REPORT - It’s not a journalist’s job to fact check, or ask questions. Michael Calderone: “Since Donald Trump finally admitted last week that President Barack Obama was born in the United States, the Republican nominee has done more than two hours of interviews with Fox News and Fox Business hosts. Yet the toxic crusade that Trump pushed for five years, and which was amplified through several appearances on Fox News in early 2011, hasn’t come up. Trump briefly acknowledged on Friday, Sept. 16, that Obama was born in the U.S., a fact long clear to anyone who was not a fringe conspiracy theorist. He did so that morning only after promoting his new Washington, D.C., hotel and ceding the microphone to a stream of veterans praising him ― a spectacle the cable networks carried for more than 20 minutes before any actual news was made.” [HuffPost]
TRUMP’S CONSTITUENCY NOT IN HIS KEY DEMO - How much of the Trump presidency will be spent selling timeshares to Mar-a-Lago? Shannon Pennypiece: “On a recent afternoon, a Tennessee family in matching khaki shorts browsed through merchandise in the building’s store; a young, tattooed couple with backpacks ate ice cream in the food court. The crowd was there to get photos taken in front of the gold-lettered Trump name above the entrance; they didn’t appear to be in the market for $500-a-night hotel rooms. And that’s the wider problem for Trump: A large chunk of his business depends on filling those rooms, charging golfers thousands of dollars a year in membership fees and selling multimillion dollar apartments. That means appealing to consumers who are relatively wealthy, well educated and clustered in the major cities ― precisely the groups that Trump’s presidential campaign has tended to alienate.” [Bloomberg]
BECAUSE YOU’VE READ THIS FAR - Here’s a polite cat.
CINCINNATI INQUIRER ENDORSES DEMOCRAT FOR FIRST TIME IN SEVENTY GABILLIONITY YEARS - Seriously, not since that Iroquois chief ran on that pro-small business platform in 1624 has the paper departed from the GOP: “The Enquirer has supported Republicans for president for almost a century – a tradition this editorial board doesn’t take lightly... That’s why there is only one choice when we elect a president in November: Hillary Clinton...Trump is a clear and present danger to our country. He has no history of governance that should engender any confidence from voters. Trump has no foreign policy experience, and the fact that he doesn’t recognize it – instead insisting that, “I know more about ISIS than the generals do” – is even more troubling. His wild threats to blow Iranian ships out of the water if they make rude gestures at U.S. ships is just the type of reckless, cowboy diplomacy Americans should fear from a Trump presidency. Clinton has been criticized as being hawkish but has shown a measured approach to the world’s problems.” [Inquirer]
COMFORT FOOD
- The New York Public Library installed a $2.6 million “book train.”
- A side-by-side speed test of every iPhone made.
- Cat not really feeling this meal.
TWITTERAMA
@jbarro: Trust in the media is declining because people now expect the media to change the preferences of their political opponents.
@elisefoley: FRIDAY NEWS CHUMP
@willrahn: 2020 DEBATE STAGE —
SASSE: Trump isn’t conservative, couldn’t back
PENCE: We needed to stop HRC, did my part
CRUZ: Well, funny thing...
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