PBC News & Comment: Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right

Crazy speculation about causes of California wildfires comes from Trump on the right, and leftish crazies who blame space weapons…--Trump’s arrogance and ignorance on equal display in recent tweets
--on Facebook, Liam Patrick from Bath, NY is a leading expert on the causes of fires in California, and a leftish climate change denier
--“evidence” cited includes 2018 YouTube video of woman blaming Rothschilds
--the actual causes are utility lines and human behavior
--Gov. Newsom is threatening PG&E with a public takeover, as PBC advocates
--in power shutdowns provoked by wildfire risks, cellphones are unreliable because carriers have no obligation to keep towers operating
--House committees start releasing transcripts of “secret” interviews, as White House blocks testimony from key lawyer, John Eisenberg
--Buzzfeed’s Jason Leopold does great reporting using FOIA, but first batch of Mueller investigation papers is underwhelming
--Hillary Clinton reacts to weak documentary “The Great Hack” and keeps the Russia blame game going amid hints she may try another run in 2020
--reporting on new polls and Wall St. fears, NY Times minimizes Bernie Sanders
--Beto O’Rourke drops out, as Kamala Harris makes the cut for November debate
--Dems lag hugely on social media, Axios reports
--Dems tap Obama campaign genius David Plouffe to run dark money super PAC to focus on social media in 4 key states
--NY Times runs 10-page special section analyzing Trump’s 11,390 tweets since 2016
--NY Times laments that Israel is losing support from progressives
--for unexplained reasons, White House has frozen promised military aid to Lebanon
--as election looms, UK’s conservative leader announces fracking ban
--rightwing British magazine The Spectator claims Jared Kushner gave MBS OK to arrest Khashoggi, and Turkey used it to blackmail Trump to exit Syria
--E. Jean Carroll, advice columnist who accused Trump of raping her, files defamation suit to follow up
--appeals court ignores Trump’s wild claims of immunity, orders his accounting firm to release tax records
--Oregon federal judge blocks Trump bid to require immigrants to prove they have health insurance
--Iraqis who risked their lives during US occupation are being denied refugee status to enter US