The Commentariat -- Aug. 8, 2013

David Henry of Reuters: "JPMorgan Chase & Co, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, said on Wednesday that it faces a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice over sales of mortgage-backed securities and that civil investigators have already concluded it violated securities laws. In a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, JPMorgan said it is responding to 'parallel investigations' being conducted by the civil and criminal divisions of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California over mortgage-backed securities."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The N.S.A. is not just intercepting the communications of Americans who are in direct contact with foreigners targeted overseas, a practice that government officials have openly acknowledged. It is also casting a far wider net for people who cite information linked to those foreigners, like a little used e-mail address, according to a senior intelligence official. While it has long been known that the agency conducts extensive computer searches of data it vacuums up overseas, that it is systematically searching -- without warrants -- through the contents of Americans' communications that cross the border reveals more about the scale of its secret operations." ...

... ** Linda Greenhouse strongly suggests the Chief Justice (any chief justice) has too much power. "While Republicans in Congress accuse President Obama of trying to 'pack' the federal appeals court in Washington simply by filling its vacant seats, they have expressed no such concern over the fact that the chief justice has over-weighted the [FISA] surveillance court with Republican judges to a considerably greater degree than either of the two other Republican-appointed chief justices who have served since the court's creation in 1978." ...

... Paul Lewis of the Guardian: "John Lewis, one of America's most revered civil rights leaders, says the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was continuing the tradition of civil disobedience by revealing details of classified US surveillance programs. Lewis, a 73-year-old congressman and one of the last surviving lieutenants of Martin Luther King, said Snowden could claim he was appealing to 'a higher law' when he disclosed top secret documents showing the extent of NSA surveillance of both Americans and foreigners.... Lewis was among the majority of Democratic congressmen who voted for an amendment in the House of Representatives last month that sought to effectively end the NSA's bulk collection of millions of phone records." ...

... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden extended his 15 minutes of fame Wednesday, as headlines tied his saga to President Barack Obama’s decision to cancel a planned summit meeting in Moscow next month with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But analysts said the talk of Snowden's role in the cancellation obscured a more basic reality: The U.S.-Russia relationship is now so frosty that it didn't appear the two presidents would actually accomplish enough to merit such a high-profile meeting."

Kevin Liptak of CNN: "During his address at Camp Pendleton between Los Angeles and San Diego, [President] Obama said [extremist] threats shouldn't cause Americans to 'retreat from the world.' It was the second time Obama spoke publicly about the recent threats, which prompted the United States to issue a worldwide travel alert and close embassies and diplomatic posts across the Middle East and North Africa":

Did Somebody Punk the Beast? J. K. Trotter of Gawker: "Within hours of publication [of the Daily Beast's story on the Al Qaeda conference call -- linked in yesterday's News Ledes]..., a bevy of national security journalists began casting doubts on the leaked information contained within the Beast's report. Two theories were quickly born. Adam Goldman of the Associated Press wondered if the leak was manufactured to protect human intelligence (that is, a leaker within al Qaeda), while Ken Delanian of the Los Angeles Times suggested that it was intended to glorify the NSA's signals intelligence capabilities at a politically vulnerable moment. Barton Gellman of the Washington Post, meanwhile, failed to see how the entire story -- the leak, the method of intercept, and the contents of the call -- added up." ...

... Hannah Allam of McClatchy News: "... how, then, does it make sense for the State Department to close embassies as far afield as Mauritius or Madagascar, where there's been no visible jihadist activity? And why is it that countries that weathered numerous terrorist attacks -- Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, for example -- were excluded or allowed to reopen quickly? ... Analysts who've devoted their careers to studying al Qaida and U.S. counterterrorism strategy can't really make sense of it, either. There's general agreement that the diffuse list of potential targets has to do with either specific connections authorities are tracking, or places that might lack the defenses to ward off an attack." ...

... Democracy in America: "It is also not yet apparent why the White House opted to make such a dramatic public statement of its concerns rather than use the information to disrupt the plot. Not only is there a significant economic cost from the consequent delays to travel, but according to intelligence sources there are potentially major security drawbacks as well."

New York Times Editors: "The fast-food workers who have been walking off their jobs illustrate a central fact of contemporary work life in America: As lower-wage occupations have proliferated in the past several years, Americans are increasingly unable to make a living at their jobs. They work harder and are paid less than workers in other advanced countries. And their wages have stagnated even as executive pay has soared.... If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation or average wages over the past nearly 50 years, it would be about $10 an hour; if it had kept pace with the growth in average labor productivity, it would be about $17 an hour." (CW: these strikes represent the kind of "suffering" I meant in my remark in today's Comments.)

Lydia DePillis of the Washington Post outlines President Obama's plans to reform the housing & mortgage markets. As she points out, you can get more detail at this White House page. ...

... On Wednesday, President Obama answered housing questions from citizens during an interview with Zillow CEO Spencer Raskoff:

... Hadas Gold of Politico: Zillow esimates the valuation of the White House at $319.6 million. ...

... Earlier That Same Tour of Post-Racial America. Laurie Merrill, et al., of the Arizona Republic: "Hundreds of protesters wielded signs, chanted slogans and argued with each other Tuesday outside Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, while President Barack Obama spoke about housing and the economy inside.... Obama foes at one point sang, 'Bye Bye Black Sheep,' a derogatory reference to the president's skin color, while protesters like Deanne Bartram raised a sign saying, 'Impeach the Half-White Muslim!' ... Bartram, a 17-year-old University of Arizona student from Black Canyon City, lashed out at people who call her racist.... She believes Obama supporters use the 'race card' against her because they disagree with her political message. 'He's 47 percent Negro,' shouted Ron Enderle, a 77-year-old Chandler resident...." CW: I can't think of any other reason people might call Bartram a racist. ...

... Think it's just stupid, crazy "average Americans" who act this way? Exotic is the New Black. Jason Noble of the Des Moines Register: according to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), "During [a] July 15 meeting -- which concerned filibuster rules and included no press and no staff -- one senator suggested his constituents still couldn't identify with Obama. 'I'm not naming any names, but one senator got up from a southern state and said, "Well, you've got to understand that to my people down here, Obama seems like" -- he thought for a second and he said -- "like he's exotic."'"

Ken Vogel & Jake Sherman of Politico: "Rep. Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez secretly spoke to wealthy donors at the Koch brothers' recently concluded summer gathering on the outskirts of Albuquerque. The 2012 vice presidential candidate and No. 2 House Republican are return participants to the twice-annual seminar, which also drew wealthy donors and conservative nonprofit leaders...."

Ben Goad of the Hill: "The National Rifle Association is asking the Supreme Court to strike down decades-old regulations prohibiting the sales of handguns to those under the age of 21. The powerful gun lobby is challenging a lower federal court's October ruling that upheld the ban. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that the current regulations are consistent with a long-held view that young adults between the ages of 18 and 20 'tend to be relatively immature and that denying them easy access to handguns would deter violent crime.'"

** Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post: "Airline seating may be the best concrete expression of what's happened to the economy in recent decades. Airlines are sparing no expense these days to enlarge, upgrade and increase the price of their first-class and business-class seating. As the space and dollars devoted to the front of the planes increase, something else has to be diminished, and, as multitudes of travelers can attest, it's the experience of flying coach. The joys of air travel -- once common to all who flew -- have been redistributed upward and are now reserved for the well-heeled few."

Senatorial Race

CW: For those of you who think Tea Party populism can't be all bad -- Betsy Woodruff of the National Review: "Louie Gohmert for Senate? That's what a number of Texas tea-party activists are hoping for. They're not happy with Senator John Cornyn.... Gohmert told the Washington Examiner that he won't be running for Senate." ...

... Jonathan Bernstein: "Cornyn is a mainstream extremely conservative Republican, while Gohmert appears to be a raving lunatic. Given the choice, it's not immediately clear which way most Texas Republican primary voters would go." ...

... AND, in more Louie News:

The Louie Gohmert Weekly Reader

Doktor Zoom of Wonkette: "Congresstool Louie Gohmert (R-Arkham) told Sean Hannity on Tuesday that when he was a judge, he figured that a mouthy defendant had to be dealt with, so he 'duct taped his head' in keeping with Article Umpty-Leven of the Constitution."

Presidential Race 2016

Gail Collins: Note to Chris Christie: women won't vote for a guy who yells. Here's the related video (hard to find because there are so many youtube videos titled "Chris Christie blows up at heckler," each reporting a different incident):

Local News

Lizette Alvarez of the New York Times: " Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, newly empowered by the United States Supreme Court's ruling in June that struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act, has ordered state officials to resume a fiercely contested effort to remove noncitizens from voting rolls." In the 2012 effort, the state targeted 182,000 Floridians. "Of those, fewer than 40 had voted illegally." CW: So, thanks, Rick Scott, for wasting my taxpayer dollars harassing Hispanics.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Karen Black, an actress whose roles in several signature films of the late 1960s and '70s included a prostitute who shared an LSD trip with the bikers played by Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in 'Easy Rider' and a waitress unhappily devoted to the alienated musician played by Jack Nicholson in 'Five Easy Pieces,' died on Thursday in Los Angeles. She was 74."

Boston Globe: "Two former UMass-Dartmouth students with ties to Boston Marathon terror bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were indicted today on obstruction of justice charges for allegedly trying to impede the Boston Marathon terror bombing investigation. Kazakhstan nationals Dias Kadyrbayev, 19, and Azamat Tazhayakov, 19, are accused of helping to get rid of incriminating evidence that Tsarnaev left behind in his college dorm room on April 18, three days after the terror bombing killed three and wounded 260 in Boston."

AP: "A wildfire that broke out in the inland mountains of Southern California has expanded exponentially, burning homes, forcing the evacuation of several small mountain communities and leaving three people injured.About 1,500 people had evacuated as the wildfire of more than 9 square miles raged out of control Thursday in the San Jacinto Mountains near Banning...."

Los Angeles Times: "At least one child has been killed and major roads in parts of Missouri have been closed by floods caused by days of fierce rains, officials said on Wednesday."

Dallas Morning News: Former First Lady "Laura Bush said [her husband George W. Bush] was 'doing great' after having a stent implanted in his heart Tuesday to clear blockage in an artery. He returned home early Wednesday from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas...."

Al Jazeera: "President Barack Obama has phoned Uhuru Kenyatta, his Kenyan counterpart, to offer Washington's support following a devastating fire at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), east Africa's largest. The US embassy in Kenya said Obama made the call on Thurdsday a day after his country marked the 15th anniversary of the twin bombing of US embassies in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania."

Comments

[James Singer]

I get an increasingly gnawing feeling that we don't really know what the fuck we're doing--beyond doing something, that is.

[Kate Madison]

@James Singer-

I have had that gnawing feeling constantly (since I became somewhat sentient)--after we entered the Vietnam War.

I do not think human awareness and judgement will improve much in our lifetime. Sigh.

[Patrick]

A number of Marie's selections today quote terrorism expert-pundits scratching their heads, "why those embassies?", "What's the specific threat that would caused that pattern?"

They all act as if the specific threat is AQ, when in fact it is the US House GOP majority. You can bet that Susan Rice, now sitting atop the interagency assessment groups that analyze threat and response at the White House, is not about to let those yahoos have another Benghazi hammer. The President is not about to inject common sense to overrule the "abundance of caution" actions.

Not to say that there is no real threat. I don't know. But the way the congress works now, the administration is not going to take the political risk of being covered in bullshit for the next few years if anything does happen out there in the 'hoods.

[Marie Burns]

@Patrick: good point. Maybe potentially-life-saving precautions are one of the few upsides to extreme partisanship.

Marie

[Marie Burns]

@Kate Madison: for a country that pretends to be an egalitarian democracy, we are now & always have been one that is run by and for wealthy, straight (or pretend-straight) white men (mostly of the Anglo-Saxon persuasion). That ethnic minorities, women, gays & the poor made the strides that we did in the 20th century was quite an achievement. What we've seen since the election of Reagan -- & through all of the presidents since -- is an erosion of that noble moment in history when populism prevailed & the Congress embedded equality-ensuring measures into our laws. Meanwhile, Johnnie & the Supremes, the Tea Party, the Koch brothers, Fox "News," bought-and-paid-for Congresscritters of both parties (& perhaps soon, Larry Summers) are chip-chipping away at the dregs of those 20th-century promises.

The one anomaly/bright spot: it's easier to be your gay self today than it ever has been. This is not an accident. Gay Americans (& their advocates) fought hard for their rights, & I suspect the vast majority of gays suffered personal losses before any measure of "victory" ensued. Not as rough as getting hosed by Bull Connor maybe, but hardships all the same. Suffering should not be a prerequisite to achieving equality, but it seems to be. We are no longer chattel & slaves, so our legal status as citizens "equal under the law" gives us a good place from which to reverse the Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Obama trend, but we may have to suffer to achieve in actuality what an earlier generation put on paper.

Marie

[forrest morris]

It's not easy being green. (He got his start here in our little town).
And it has not ever been easy being gay. At least if you're gay you
can hide it like we did in the 50's and 60's, but you can't hide being
a woman, or African-American, so you would think that African-
Americans, Lesbians, Etc. would band together for equal rights. I
don't see that happening. In my world, African-Americans deny
that there are any gays or lesbians in their society. Bullshit! I've
lived on this sphere almost 80 years and have learned a lot about
racism, sexism and lots of other isms. But you are totally right. Things are 100% better than they were in the 50's and 60's and
even the 70's. We can now get a room anywhere when traveling.
Can go into any restaurant in the country and get a table. We still
have to look over our shoulders any place in this country, especially in the south, which I personally would never venture
into again. So we have a long way to go, and in my lifetime, I hope
there is really such a thing as equal rights for all, not just white-anlo-saxon-protestants. Thank you Marie for your posts.