Wednesday
Apr132016
The Commentariat -- April 14, 2016
Afternoon Update:
**NEWS FLASH** Daniel Tepfer of The Stamford [CT] Advocate: "...Superior Court judge [Barabara Bellis] Thursday refused to toss out the lawsuit by the families of the Sandy Hook victims against the manufacturer of the gun used by Adam Lanza to kill the 26 school children and teachers in December 2012...[Bellis] ruled that the federal law protecting gun makers from lawsuits does not override the 'legal sufficiency' of the claims by the Sandy Hook families that the gun used by Lanza should never have been made available for sale to civilians ... the lawsuit will go on and all sides are to report to her courtroom on April 19 for a status conference." -- unwashed
Caitlin MacNeil of TPM: "Megyn Kelly on Wednesday night confirmed that she met with Donald Trump on Wednesday morning, and said that she was able to 'clear the air' with the Republican presidential frontrunner after he has repeatedly slammed the Fox News anchor." CW: Just thought you'd like to know.
Nick Gass of Politico: "Bernie Sanders on Thursday repudiated the remarks of a surrogate who used the phrase 'corporate Democratic whores' on Wednesday night during the Vermont senator's rally in Washington Square Park, after Hillary Clinton's campaign demanded an disavowal from the candidate." CW: Yeah, see, you really can't call the only female presidential candidate a whore.
Ian Austen of the New York Times: "The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced legislation on Thursday to legalize physician-assisted suicide for Canadians with serious medical conditions." -- CW
Katie Zezima & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post on how Ted Cruz plans to win the nomination. -- CW
Nicholas Riccardi of the AP: Donald "Trump's national campaign is largely staffed by an insular circle with little experience in the complexities of presidential politics. The Colorado debacle has revealed another factor holding back the billionaire front-runner...: the inexperience of his supporters." -- CW
E.J. Dionne on the Great White "Moderate" Hope, John Kasich: "In his speech Tuesday, he proposed a balanced budget; a freeze on most federal regulations; tax cuts for individuals and businesses; sending 'welfare, education, Medicaid, highway infrastructure and job training' programs back to the states; a guest worker program; and fixes to Social Security that would certainly involve some cuts. In other words, he reprises the same agenda conservatives were offering in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. It's an approach that even many in the GOP -- particularly working-class Trump supporters -- see as inadequate. It also happens to be a variation on Ryanism." -- CW
Wherein newlywed Ted buys 100 can of Campbell's chunky soup. We'll let Heidi tell it. -- CW
*****
Presidential Race
Bernie Sanders in Washington Square. New York Times photo.
... Patrick Healy of the New York Times: "... Senator took his plea for a political revolution to the heart of Greenwich Village on Wednesday and heaped particular scorn on Wall Street to the delight of several thousand jubilant supporters.... The large crowd, and the senator's promises to change politics, had much in common with the 2007 rally for Mr. Obama in the park." -- CW ...
... The New York Times liveblogged Bernie Sanders' speech in Manhattan's Washington Square Park. -- CW
Nick Gass of Politico: Verizon, General Electric CEOs find Bernie Sanders "contemptible." Says Sanders, "I welcome their contempt." -- CW ...
... Eric Levitz of New York: "Bernie Sanders gave his shouting endorsement to a crowd of striking Verizon workers in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Early that morning, 40,000 Verizon employees across the East Coast launched the largest strike America has seen in four years, after ten months of negotiations with the company failed to produce an agreeable contract." -- CW :
CNN hosts a Sanders-Clinton debate tonight at 9:00 pm ET.
John Judis, formerly of the New Republic, in TPM: is voting for Bernie Sanders even though he is "not sure whether he is really ready for the job of president." -- CW
Dana Rubenstein of Politico: "Decrying the lead in Flint's water and the state of infrastructure in impoverished America, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday announced 'a new plan to fight for environmental justice across America.' She didn't get into the specifics of what that new plan entails, but she did make clear that New York City, headed by her surrogate, Mayor Bill de Blasio, is not exempt from her critique." CW ...
... Kevin Drum: "... it's nice to see a presidential candidate take lead seriously. We've been making progress on lead contamination for decades, but we've never truly made it a consistent priority. It's time to do that." -- CW
I know a lot about Pennsylvania, and it's great. -- Donald Trump, in Pittsburgh, yesterday. Read on.
Trump is going to make a super president. He'll go to Beijing & ask, "How's Hirohito doing?" -- Constant Weader
Eli Stokols & Ken Vogel of Politico: "Wounded GOP front-runner Donald Trump is quietly setting up a parallel campaign structure, hiring known Republican fixers to professionalize his operation and sidelining his original team. Under the guidance of his new strategist Paul Manafort, Trump on Wednesday brought aboard Rick Wiley, Scott Walker's former campaign manager and a former senior party official well versed in the rule-making process that might decide the GOP nomination in a contested convention." -- CW
Hadas Gold & Marc Caputo of Politico: "A Florida prosecutor has decided not to prosecute Donald Trump's campaign manager for battery after a March run-in with former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields, sources with knowledge of the situation told Politico. The decision not to press charges against Corey Lewandowski is scheduled to be announced on Thursday afternoon by Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg." -- CW
Ryan Deto of the Pittsburgh City Paper: "[Monday], an open-carry support group posted a message on Reddit saying they would be armed and patrolling outside Trump's [Pittsburgh's] Oakland [neighborhood] appearance. The goal was to inhibit potential protesters. Trump is holding a town hall meeting with Fox News Sean Hannity [there]. A screenshot sent to City Paper ... details plans for a group of 50 people to patrol in loops armed with guns around Oakland blocks to stop potential protesters from starting roadblocks. The screenshot has since circulated on social media but appears to have been removed from Reddit." -- CW
Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "Colorado GOP Chair Steve House posted on his Facebook page that he has received over 3,000 calls to his home, some of which were death threats. Trump supporters evidently blame House, not Colorado law, for running a caucus instead of a primary and have posted House's personal information online." -- CW
Eric Levitz: "... it doesn't really matter whether [Donald] Trump has good reason to feel cheated -- what matters is that his supporters think he does. The more Trump can stoke the sense that he's been victimized by a corrupt Establishment, the more politically difficult it will be for the party to deny him the nomination on a first ballot." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. -- "The Trumpiest Editorial Ever Written." Jonathan Chait: "The New York Observer has endorsed Donald Trump for president, making it the only newspaper other than the National Enquirer to do so. The Observer is published by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, but it would be unfair to dismiss the editorial's merits merely on account of the familial connection.... The editorial..., in a kind of tribute to its subject, also apes his method of reasoning, or lack thereof. In some ways it resembles a Trump speech -- slogans, boasting, vacuous repetition -- but without the periodic interruptions to threaten protesters with beatings." Chait goes on to dissect the editors' "rationale": " its central theme that the existence of Trump voters proves Trump is right." -- CW ...
... Peter Sterne of Politico: "On Wednesday, one day after the New York Observer endorsed Donald Trump, the paper's national political reporter, Ross Barkan, announced that he would leave the paper.... Barkan told Politico said that a major factor in his decision to leave was the paper's relationship with Trump, who is the father-in-law of Observer owner Jared Kushner.... '[The endorsement] played a factor,' he said.... Barkan said that he was particularly troubled by Observer editor in chief Ken Kurson's decision to help Kushner write Trump's March 21 speech to AIPAC. '... Anyone knows that an editor in chief should not be reviewing the speech of a presidential candidate...' he said." -- CW
... Elsewhere in "Journalism": Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: "One of the biggest feuds of the ribald political year may be heading toward a détente: Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump held a private meeting at Trump Tower on Wednesday to discuss their differences, which have provided a running subplot to this year's election coverage. The session, which lasted close to an hour, was held at Ms. Kelly's request...." -- CW
Tom LoBianco of CNN: "Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Wednesday accused Donald Trump supporters of 'acting like union boss thugs' in pursuit of the Republican Party nomination, saying during CNN's town hall that they are intimidating potential Republican National Convention delegates." CW: Doncha love the way Ted uses his criticism of Trump to get in a dig at unions?
David Corn of Mother Jones: "The Time Ted Cruz Defended a Ban on Dildos. His legal team argued there was no right 'to stimulate one's genitals.'" He lost the case at the appeals court level & decided not to take dildos & vibrators to Supreme Court. CW: Which is a shame. Because I would have enjoyed thinking of Clarence Thomas, Nino Scalia & Sam Alito squirming during, ah, oral arguments. And Scalia's remarks surely would have been a high mark in the history of jurisprudence. Well, not the prudence part, maybe. ...
... Eric Levitz of New York summarizes Ted's argument: "... Americans have no constitutional right to bear dildos, that the government has a legitimate interest in discouraging 'autonomous sex,' and that allowing the sale of sex toys is the first step on the road to legal incest." -- CW ...
... Bethania Markus of the Raw Story: Ted Cruz's former college roommate Craig Mazin tweeted, in response to Corn's story, "Ted Cruz thinks people don't have a right to 'stimulate their genitals.' I was his college roommate. This would be a new belief of his." -- CW ...
... John Cole of Balloon Juice: "I maintain that a Cruz Presidency would be worse for the nation than a Trump Presidency. Trump doesn't believe in anything. Cruz is the fucking American Taliban." -- CW
... CW: In fairness to Ted, he was the Texas state solicitor general, not the attorney general. The AG -- who was Greg Abbott, now the governor -- may not have given Ted any choice but to argue a case that was at odds with his alleged fondness for "autonomous sex." P.S. I hope you're happy we bring you all the important news here at Reality Chex. Ha!
The New York Daily News Editors endorse John Kasich for the Republican nomination.
Jonathan Chait: John Kasich schools Talmudic scholars on Old Testament. CW: Maybe Kasich should have studied up on Proverbs 26:12: "Do you see a person wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker: "Paul Ryan is still running for president." -- CW
Alexander Burns of the New York Times considers some Republican leaders who might yet save the Republican party from Donald & the Tailgunner. CW: Dream on, Alex.
Josh Rosenblat of Vox: "Cleveland and Philadelphia, which will host the [Republican & Democratic party conventions respectively], each received $50 million in federal money to cover the security costs associated with the conventions. Cleveland projects to spend $20 million of that on security equipment and supplies and $30 million on 'personnel-related expenditures.' Philadelphia has not yet announced how it will use the money." -- CW
Other News & Views
... Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "President Obama arrived at CIA headquarters Wednesday for the fourth and probably final visit of his presidency to an agency that regarded him with significant apprehension when he first came to Langley in 2009. The apprehension now is over who might be the next president to visit, particularly if it is Donald Trump.... The alarm about Trump goes beyond his apparent enthusiasm for the simulated drowning technique. 'There would definitely be concern about Trump being elected and not having a clear understanding of foreign policy and national security,' said Nada Bakos, a former CIA counterterrorism analyst." -- CW ...
Like the man said, if you want somebody waterboarded, bring your own damn bucket. -- Former CIA Director Michael Hayden, on Donald Trump, Feb. 22
Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "Senators on Wednesday reached a deal to act on a comprehensive energy bill as soon as this week, breaking a three-month partisan standoff over the tainted water scandal in Flint, Mich. The bill, sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska and chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee, and Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the panel's ranking Democrat, has broad bipartisan support and is expected to easily pass the Senate. It represents the first major energy bill to come to the Senate floor since the Bush administration. A similar measure has passed in the House, and President Obama has signaled his support for it." -- CW
Chris D'Angelo of the Huffington Post: "...a trove of public documents uncovered and released Wednesday by the Washington-based Center for International Environmental Law...show that oil executives were well aware of the serious climate risks associated with carbon dioxide emissions decades earlier than previously documented -- and they covered it up...the documents not only reveal that the industry...was 'clearly on notice' about the potential role of fossil fuels in CO2 emissions no later than 1957, but was 'shaping science to shape public opinion' even earlier, in the 1940s." -- unwashed. We know the Confederates swallowed it hook, line and sinker. I still say RICO (or something) should apply for willful long-term collusion to commit fraud against humanity. The Big Tobacco settlement action pales in comparison.
Bryce Covert of Think Progress: "Elizabeth Warren [along with seven cosponsors, including Bernie Sanders] wants to make tax filing season simpler and cheaper for most Americans....'The tax preparation industry relies on a complicated tax code to charge consumers high fees, and thus opposes simplification efforts -- particularly those that make it easier to file returns,' Warren's staff report notes." -- LT
Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "House Republicans told the leaders of the capital's beleaguered subway system on Wednesday that they would not 'bail you out,' soundly rejecting pleas for more federal funds to support it." CW: Yeah, and their staffs won't be able to get to work when DC Metro officials shut 'em down. Too bad.
Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "Federal health officials confirmed Wednesday that the Zika virus causes a rare birth defect and other severe fetal abnormalities, marking a turning point in an epidemic that has spread to nearly 40 countries and territories in the Americas and elsewhere." -- CW
Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that they expect a man who accused former U.S. House speaker Dennis Hastert of sexual abuse to testify at his sentencing hearing later this month. Attorneys for Hastert said in a court document filed last week and unsealed Wednesday that he has 'no current recollection' of the man's allegations." -- CW
Linda Greenhouse looks around the country at some of the absurd anti-abortion laws Republican-run states have enacted. -- CW
Beyond the Beltway
Monica Davey & Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "Racism has contributed to a long, systemic pattern of institutional failures by [Chicago]'s police department in which police officers have mistreated people, operated without sufficient oversight, and lost the trust of residents, a task force assigned by Mayor Rahm Emanuel has found. The report, issued on Wednesday, was blistering, blunt and backed up by devastating statistics. Coincidentally, it was released as city leaders were installing a new, permanent superintendent for the Chicago Police Department." The story includes the report. -- CW ...
... Zack Stafford & Ciara McCarthy of the Guardian: "Less than 24 hours after a 16-year-old boy was killed by Chicago police, hundreds of protesters gathered in the Homan Square neighborhood to protest about the latest police killing in the city. Protesters assembled on Tuesday evening near where Pierre Loury was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer. Police said Pierre was killed in an 'armed confrontation' with officers. During a vigil for the teenager, community members and activists mourned the latest black resident to be killed by the city's police." -- CW
Jon Swaine & Ciara McCarthy of the Guardian: "Dozens of killings by police in the US are being ruled justified without the public being notified, according to a Guardian study that sheds new light on the lack of official transparency surrounding the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers. Officers involved in one in every six deaths recorded during the first quarter of 2015 have a year later been cleared of wrongdoing and returned to work despite no announcements being made by authorities or local media reports appearing." -- CW
Stevie Borrello of ABC News: "Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards just signed an executive order that provides protection for the LGBT community in state jobs and contractors that deal with the state. The executive order also rescinds former Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal's controversial Marriage and Conscience Executive Order.... While the order helps protect the LGBT community, there is still no state law that protects them from employment discrimination in all areas of the private sector.... Louisiana did pass the Preservation of Religious Freedom Act in 2010, which Edwards supported. It is the strongest religious liberty protections in the country, but Edwards' executive order does not conflict with the law." -- CW
Cliff Sims of Yellowhammer News: "Multiple confidential sources inside of state government came forward to Yellowhammer this week with accusations that Alabama Governor Robert Bentley ordered a state helicopter to fly his wallet to him at the beach, after he accidentally left it behind in the wake of an argument with his then-wife. If true, the allegations call into question Gov. Bentley's assertion that he did not misuse state resources during his affair with his then-senior advisor Rebekah Mason." -- CW
Yanan Wang: School districts across the country are arming teachers. CW: What could possibly go wrong?
Way Beyond
Andrew Tilghman of the Military Times: "In one of the most aggressive actions in recent memory, Russian warplanes conducted 'simulated attacks' on the a U.S. Navy vessel in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, repeatedly flying within 30 feet of the ship, according to a defense official. Sailors aboard the destroyer Donald Cook said the aircraft flew low enough to create wake in the sea waters surrounding the ship, and the ship's commanding officer said the incident was 'unsafe and unprofessional,' the defense official said." -- CW
Anthony Faiola & William Booth of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers who arrived in Europe last year had hoped to bring their families in legally -- and safely -- once they gained refugee status. But bringing in relatives is becoming harder and harder." -- CW
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Reader Comments (10)
This is rhetorical, but why are these guys being arrested, and these guys were not?
A peaceful, unarmed protest advocating for democracy, causes overflowing DC jail cells.
An intimidating, armed vigilantism advocating for who knows what, is freedom of speech, which was even condemned by the NRA until they retracted it.
Bernie says "I welcome their contempt."
Back in 1936, FDR welcomed their hatred. See the clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjSTQwamo8M
Folks round here know enough bible to get by, so we can say that Ecclesiastes nailed it: "There is nothing new under the sun." (1-9)
I like Bernie's style, and pulling up some of that old New Deal post-Tammany New York Democratic rhetoric shows that he knows that history resonates in the present.
Oh boy, Open-Carry Trump supporters. While the petition to allow open-carry inside the Republican convention was nixed by the Secret Service, Ohio is an open-carry state, so supporters can parade around outside the convention center. I can see it now, Trump open-carry mixing it up with Cruz open-carry. You will be able to identify the Cruz ones. They will have bacon wrapped around their gun barrels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaZGaJrd3x8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uai7M4RpoLU
Speaking of Charles Blow's column this morning: the poor man is so tired. This election cycle is all so much, poor dear. He hardly has the energy to document his distortions.
Does anyone remember Lili von Schtupp in "Blazing saddles?" (I hope the U toobs link above works) She was tired too. That was my first thought about his fatigue.
Another comment: I googled the question of documenting how many people really did get together in Washington Square Park to listen to Bernie last night. Of course the NYT and CNN did not give numbers, but I was surprised not to find anything other than an estimated 27,000 given by Bernie's campaign. The police usually do crowd estimations. What were their numbers?
It's kind of like how, as the numbers of antiwar demonstrations against the war in VN grew larger and larger, the estimates of how many demonstraters there had been remained unrealistically small - until (I think) the demonstrations at the UN and the March on Washington scared everyone into saying there were so many against the war that things were getting a little out of hand.
Have our brains been so softened by media-lite that we don't mind not getting the answer to a simple question?
"Union boss thugs?" (Cruz referring to Trumpers)
Those must be in the same dyslexicon as "Commie capitalist running dogs".
Ted may not understand that he works for "bosses," Bernie and Hillary work for "union thugs."
He probably doesn't even know a verse of "Which side are you on?"
The video where Kasich visits the Jewish book store is worth it's weight in Talmudic humor. What chutzpah Kasich has to lecture these Jews on the old testament. He has his favorites, he says, as though he's talking about his favorite Red Sock's pitcher. And the screaming baby in the distance made it even more delectable.
As it is customary for Rachel Maddow to give us background on her main story,historical or current, last night started out with the clip of Nixon's farewell speech to the White House staff. What struck me watching this dark farewell once again was the reaction of those listening to it. Pat Nixon standing with her daughters and their husbands were dry eyed while one man in the audience was weeping uncontrollably. I thought: if it were my husband or father up there in such extremis there would be tears enough to wet the floor. Amazing control one has to have I suppose. Suppressed emotions aside––Rachel's main thrust here was reminding us that the husband of Tricia was a young law student named Edward Cox who is now the Chairman of the New York Republican party and will be hosting a gala event this evening in the same district where hundreds of protesters will be shouting their protests. If you want to have an invite to the gala it will cost you a thousand; if you want to join the protesters, all you need is a warm coat.
So Trump has hired Rick Wiley whose track record on winning candidates ain't so good. I'm beginning to get the sense that Trump doesn't really want the job, but wanted to prove he could run for it and carry all those "thousands and thousands" along with him and then say at the end when he hasn't enough delegates that the system is rigged against him. He must, in his heart of hearts, realize the job of president would be daunting and beyond him, plus he'd lose his golden locks fer sure and that, for Donald, would be the last straw.
Bernienomics might not be Feasible––But it's Useful:
Adam Davidson––NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/magazine/bernienomics-might-not-be-feasible-but-its-useful.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad
@PD Pepe: I worked with a newsman who took that final flight from Washington to San Clemente with the Nixons. He said Pat got drunk as a skunk. I don't blame her. And of course that never got reported. So I guess you're reading it here first.
Marie
Ted Cruz with a warm bowl of Campbell's Chunky Soup a la American Pie (movie)...who needs sex toys?
@LT: Except a nice fluffy, but firm pillow.
@Marie: I knew that Pat Nixon soothed herself with drink from time to time as did her husband big time. If I had been married to said "big time" I would have been "drunk as a skunk not only on the plane back home but most of the time at the W.H. home.