Pope Francis praised President Obama's efforts on climate change, giving the Democratic agenda 100 sorely-needed God points. John Boehner and Joe Biden will be standing behind the pontiff while he addresses Congress tomorrow, so hopefully the pope's Swiss Guard knows about Biden's notorious finger gun. And Chuck Grassley tweeted his annoyance that people weren't leaving the White House South Lawn fast enough after today's pope ceremony. He literally wanted people to get off the lawn. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015:
POPE DOESN'T HESITATE TO BE SUPER LIBERAL - Philip Pullella and Jeff Mason: "Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the United States to help tackle climate change and called on Americans to build a truly tolerant and inclusive society, as he struck a political tone on his first visit to the world's richest nation. In a speech on the White House South Lawn, the Argentine pontiff lauded President Barack Obama's efforts to reduce air pollution, months after Francis made the environment one of his top issues by issuing a landmark 'encyclical' letter. 'It seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history,' the pope said at a welcoming ceremony." [Reuters]
Out of an apparent excess of politeness, the Associated Press is calling climate change deniers "doubters." Weird.
POPE APPARENTLY NOT IN FAVOR OF BORDER WALL - Elise Foley: "Pope Francis began his remarks to Americans on Wednesday by applauding the nation's immigrant history -- a message that, although not political itself, could foreshadow more to come from a man who has long urged compassion for refugees and unauthorized immigrants. 'I am deeply grateful for your welcome in the name of all Americans,' the pope said at the White House after being welcomed by President Barack Obama. 'As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families.'... Obama was more explicit in his message about refugees and immigrants. 'You remind us that the Lord’s most powerful message is mercy,' Obama said to the pope. 'And that means welcoming the stranger with empathy and a truly open heart -- from the refugee who flees war-torn lands to the immigrant who leaves home in search of a better life.'" [HuffPost]
Jeff Sessions is not impressed.
AMERICA'S FAVORITE BUDDY DUO WILL HAVE THE POPE'S BACK TOMORROW - They'll be standing behind him while he addresses Congress and it's gonna make for good facewatching, Steven Dennis reports: "While their politics are very different, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Speaker John A. Boehner are both known for wearing their hearts on their sleeves, and each will be tested by what the pope says. And to ramp up the drama, the pope’s arrival comes as both men face critical decisions about their political future in the coming days. When Francis talks about the sanctity of human life, it’ll put Biden and the Democrats in the room on the spot -- with the nation days from a potential government shutdown fight over funding for Planned Parenthood. For Boehner, who first invited the pope in March 2014, Francis talking about tackling climate change, immigration, income inequality and the Iran and Cuba deals could cause plenty of heartburn, if not waterworks from the famously emotional speaker." [Roll Call]
John Boehner is so freaking pumped about this pope stuff.
CLASSIC HILL GOODBYE EMAIL - Patrick Velliky told his colleagues he's headed downtown on Friday: "As many of you already know, today is my last day with the office of Rep. Renacci. On Monday I will start my new position as Director, Congressional Affairs at Anthem, Inc. I believe I am one of the few congressional staffers to ever leave the same boss twice… to head to the same industry twice. I have learned invaluable lessons and built lifelong friendships thanks to so many of you, and I cannot thank you enough. I look forward to seeing you soon in my new capacity." See you soon!
Haircuts: Martin Matishak (h/t Laura Barron-Lopez).
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HILLARY STILL HAUNTED BY MAILER DAEMON - Chris Cillizza has a roundup of the latest disastrous email server news for the Clinton camp. HRC's claim that handing over emails is SOP turns out to be total BS, per the State Department. "In fact, State contacted Clinton in the summer of 2014 upon learning that she had exclusively used a private server to conduct business during her time as the nation's top diplomat. Asked about the discrepancy in Iowa on Tuesday night, Clinton told the Des Moines Register: 'I don't know that. I can't answer that.'" Also, the FBI has managed to recover personal and work emails from the server. "That raises at least the possibility that the 50 percent of her e-mails that Clinton deleted as private could be combed through to ensure that the judgments made by her lawyers were the right ones."
[Reuters]
BOEHNER ANKLE-BITERS DOING THEIR THING - Scott Wong: "Growing chatter about a possible coup against Speaker John Boehner has set Capitol Hill on edge. Talk that conservatives might use a government-funding showdown to overthrow the powerful Ohio Republican has triggered a flurry of behind-the-scenes jockeying among lawmakers eager to move up the leadership ladder. And that has lawmakers wondering more than ever if Boehner’s days as Speaker are numbered. 'That’s what tells you there’s something afoot. You know there’s some drops of blood in the water, because all the sharks are starting to circle,' said one conservative lawmaker who backs Boehner's ouster." [The Hill]
GOVERNMENT HACK FIVE TIMES WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT
- Notification that your fingerprints have been stolen should arrive via U.S. mail any day now, reports David Alexander: "Hackers who stole security clearance data on millions of Defense Department and other U.S. government employees got away with about 5.6 million fingerprint records, some 4.5 million more than initially reported, the government said on Wednesday. During an ongoing analysis of the data breach, the estimated number of people who had fingerprint records stolen rose from 1.1 million to about 5.6 million, the Office of Personnel Management said in a statement. OPM has estimated a total of 21.5 million people had their Social Security identification numbers and other sensitive information stolen in the hacking incident earlier this spring." [AP]
HILLARY CLINTON: OBAMACARE MUST BE MINE - Jeffrey Young: "Hillary Clinton wants to tackle one of the biggest items of unfinished business in health care reform by offering policy proposals she says will help patients with high and rising out-of-pocket costs. In a summary of those plans issued Wednesday, Clinton's campaign vows to preserve the Affordable Care Act while adding new benefits like a tax credit for households with the highest out-of-pocket costs and protections against surprise medical bills. Clinton previewed her health care proposals on Tuesday during an event in Des Moines, Iowa, that was mostly focused on her policies seeking to reduce prescription drug costs. 'I will defend the Affordable Care Act, but as president I want to go further,' Clinton said." [HuffPost]
Clinton said today she would meet with Black Lives Matter activists.
BERNIE SANDERS REALLY INTO THIS POPE GUY - Ashley Alman: "Sen Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) can't seem to hold back his excitement about Pope Francis, the Catholic leader widely heralded for his commitment to social issues. Though Sanders' praise of Pope Francis is nothing new, he's taken many opportunities to reiterate his support since the pope's arrival to the United States Tuesday afternoon. In a floor speech that took place just as the pope was landing in Washington, the senator and Democratic presidential hopeful lauded Pope Francis for 'speaking out with courage and brilliance about some of the most important issues facing our world.' The speech went on for 11 minutes." [HuffPost]
Chris Wallace deserves more attention for being the best Sunday show interviewer.
TRUMP MAKES ANOTHER FRIVOLOUS LEGAL THREAT - It's almost as if Donald Trump is not a serious person or legitimate candidate for higher office. Igor Bobic and Cristian Farias: "The presidential campaign of Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened legal action against a politically oriented clothing outlet for using the GOP front-runner's name, which is trademarked, in its domain name and merchandise. StopTrump.us sells t-shirts and other apparel online 'as a way to creatively respond to the attacks from Donald Trump to immigrants from Mexico and Latin America.' Its merchandise features Trump’s name and face along with slogans such as 'Donald Is Dumb,' 'Stop Trump' and 'America Is Already Great.'... But unlike efforts to protect his brand, Trump's move to stifle political speech stands on more shaky legal footing. 'Trump does not have a legitimate claim here,' Eugene Volokh, a UCLA law professor who specializes in First Amendment, told HuffPost." [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - RIP Yogi Berra.
TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEATHWATCH - Trump is having another Fox News tantrum. Will the network buckle again? The Donald tweeted that Fox News "has been treating me very unfairly & I have therefore decided that I won't be doing any more Fox shows for the foreseeable future." But Alex Weprin reports for Politico that a "Fox News spokesperson said that Trump's tweet was sent after the channel canceled his appearance on O'Reilly's show." God, Trump is such a loser!
COMFORT FOOD
- The benefits of sleeping naked.
- An engineer explains how one would go about building a 2,000-mile border wall.
- This street altercation is so Brooklyn it's gotta be fake.
TWITTERAMA
@ChuckGrassley: Somebody fr whitehouse just chkd sound system for pope visit. The gentleman correctly counted 1to 10 and did it loudly
@ChuckGrassley: Another whitehouse person just wiped dew off podium
@ChuckGrassley: What happened? This was supposed to start at 9am
@ChuckGrassley: At rate crowd leaves whitehouse it will take hr to get bk to Hill
@elisefoley: I bet the pope isn’t pleased that he inspired this
@JebBush: When asked if he had an audience with Pope John XXIII, Yogi Berra replied "No, but I met with him.” Am sure they’re meeting again today. RIP
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