► Turkey has begun a military offensive against American-allied Kurds in Syria, just days after President Trump announced a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the region.
► Former Gov. John Hickenlooper announced on Tuesday that his campaign for U.S. Senate raised an astonishing $2.1 million in just five weeks.
► If you’re having trouble keeping up with the rapidly-changing news on impeachment proceedings against President Trump, we’ve got you covered with a new feature we’re calling “Just Impeachie.”
► Check out the latest episode of The Get More Smarter Podcastand play the game that everybody is talking about (probably): “Duke or Donald?”
Get even more smarter after the jump…
IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…
► A Republican leader in Adams County says that Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) is not well-liked in his part of the state. Ben Nicholas, who heads the Adams County Republican Party Independent Expenditure Committee, spoke to the Jefferson County Republican Men’s Club and shared his belief that Gardner “played” Rep. Ken Buck by convincing him to run for State Party Chairman instead of launching a potential Senate Primary in 2020.
► But of course:
That’s the headline from a big CNN story exposing the fact that the acting head of the Bureau of Land Management, William Perry “Snidley” Pendley, probably doesn’t actually care all that much about protecting public lands:
The acting director of the federal agency responsible for managing one in every 10 acres of land in the United States has repeatedly denied the existence of climate change and falsely claimed in a 1990s speech there was no credible evidence of a hole in the ozone layer.
William Perry Pendley was appointed by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt as the acting director of the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in July 2019. Prior to his appointment, Pendley was a conservative activist, commentator, lawyer and served as the longtime president of the conservative Mountain States Legal Foundation.
“Despite the total absence of credible scientific evidence, the media is convinced and is attempting to convince us that we have global warming, an Ozone hole and acid rain and that it is all man’s fault,” Pendley said in a 1992 speech to the Heritage Foundation.
In other comments uncovered during a CNN KFile review of his social media activity, writings and public appearances, Pendley cited an anti-Muslim figure to claim Islam was at war with the United States, compared undocumented immigrants to cancer and blamed them for diseases.
Pendley’s questionable history on environmental issues won’t help Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) as he tries to greenwash his own record.
► Someday South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s name will be used as an adjective in place of the word “hypocrite.” As Talking Points Memo explains:
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) intends to rally his Republican colleagues in the Senate to sign a letter officially declaring the phone call between President Trump and the president of Ukraine a non-impeachable offense.
During an interview with “Fox and Friends” on Wednesday morning, Graham laid out his intentions for inviting Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani before the Senate Judiciary Committee, claiming he believes Giuliani has a “story to tell” and that he wants to “shed light on all things Ukraine.” Graham then announced that he plans to orchestrate a formal condemnation of the House’s impeachment inquiry.
“I’m going to ask my colleagues in the Senate, Republicans, to sign a letter to Nancy Pelosi saying we do not believe the transcript of the phone call between the president and the Ukraine is an impeachable offense,” he said. “They are about to destroy the nation for no good reason. I’ve read the transcript. I do not see anything wrong there and I want Nancy Pelosi to know that Republican senators are not going to impeach this president based on this transcript, so she can stop now before she destroys this country.”
Yup, same guy:
► Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that President Trump’s actions have actually galvanized Democrats in swing Congressional districts who had been undecided about impeachment proceedings:
“Our concerns continue to be re-confirmed,” Colorado Democrat Jason Crow said. “More and more information is emerging about his fast and loose approach to American foreign policy and his abuse of presidential authority.”
In a separate story, the Washington Post updates its spreadsheet of Republican responses to concerns about Trump’s behavior. Republican Sen. Cory Gardner is right where you’d expect to find him.
► As the Washington Post reports, the Trump administration is taking an odd step to address medical care that might make more sense than it sounds at first:
In a move long sought by doctors and hospitals, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will propose updates to two longstanding statutes banning physicians from referring patients for other medical services if it would financially benefit them. Officials say the laws are still important but were designed with the 1990s medical system in mind – not today’s system, where health providers are increasingly being paid for the quality of their care and how well they coordinate a patient’s care with other providers.
Azar and other top health officials said they plan to loosen a heavy web of regulations on doctors and hospitals resulting from the federal “Stark” law and the Anti-Kickback Statute. These regulations are getting in the way of health providers trying to work more closely together to provide better, more coordinated care for Medicare patients. Health providers currently get paid for each test they order or service they perform…
…These proposed rules are highly technical – but they underscore a broader effort by the Trump administration to improve how health providers in the United States are paid for medical care. This was a top priority under the Obama administration, and Azar has stressed he is also keeping payment reform at the top of his to-do list.
► Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powellwas in Denver on Tuesday to explain a “temporary” fed proposal to inject more cash into the American economy. Powell did not indicate whether or not the Fed would cut interest rates for a third time in 2019 when it meets later this month.
► Faith and Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed, one of President Trump’s most outspoke evangelical supporters, is calling on his flock to render themselves obedient to Trump in 2020.
ICYMI
► Can’t breathe because of poor air quality? Tough cookies, says the oil and gas industry.
October 09, 2019 10:31 AM UTC
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