The Commentariat -- June 20, 2014

Internal links, graphics removed.

Republican Governors' Bad Day

"AND Crime Was of the Essence of the Scheme."* Patrick Marley, et al., of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "Prosecutors allege Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of an effort to illegally coordinate fund raising among conservative groups to help his campaign and those of Republican state senators facing recall elections during 2011 and '12, according to documents unsealed Thursday. In the documents, prosecutors lay out what they call an extensive 'criminal scheme' to bypass state election laws by Walker, his campaign and two top Republican political operatives -- R.J. Johnson and Deborah Jordahl. This marks the first time prosecutors have disclosed the details of their probe." ...

... Monica Davey & Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times: "The allegations by five county district attorneys, released as part of a federal lawsuit over the investigation into Mr. Walker, his aides and the conservative groups, suggest that Mr. Walker's campaign expressly coordinated with the outside groups, including Wisconsin Club for Growth, to the point that campaign advisers also controlled some of the groups." ...

... NEW. Charles Pierce: "What we learned on Thursday, when the documents compiled by prosecutors were unsealed, is more than simply trouble for Walker and a shot below the waterline of both his local and national ambitions. It also is a window into the farce that the Supreme Court's decisions in various campaign finance and voting rights cases have made of our elections. Everything is a fake. Nothing ever happens by accident any more. 'Grassroots' are now largely useful only as camouflage for the same old corruption."

It's over, it's done, and I'm moving on. -- Gov. Chris Christie, to potential donors at Mitt Romney's "ideas retreat," June 14, 2014 ...

... Scott Raab & Lisa Brennan in Esquire: "... Paul Fishman, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey..., has empaneled a second grand jury [to investigate unlawful conduct by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie & his allies], and the U.S. Justice Department has sent assistant prosecutors and FBI agents to work the case.... Fishman's challenge is to nail down specific criminal charges on several fronts -- the diversion of Port Authority money to fund New Jersey road and bridge projects; the four-day rush-hour closures of George Washington Bridge lanes in Ft. Lee; and a web of real-estate deals spun by David Samson, long a Christie crony, when he chaired the PA's Board of Commissioners as Christie's appointee."

* Apologies to Robert Frost.

Mark Landler & Michael Gordon of the New York Times: "President Obama said Thursday that he would deploy up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help its struggling security forces fend off a wave of Sunni militants who have overrun large parts of the country, edging the United States back into a conflict that Mr. Obama once thought he had left behind. Warning that the militants pose a threat not just to Iraq but also to the United States, Mr. Obama said he was prepared to take 'targeted and precise military action' -- a campaign of airstrikes that a senior administration official said could be extended into neighboring Syria":

... It's All about Me. Martin Chulov & Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "A spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has said he will not stand down as a condition of US air strikes against Sunni militants who have made a lightning advance across the country."

Ed O'Keefe & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "House Republicans dramatically reshaped their leadership team Thursday by selecting Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to serve as the next House majority leader and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) as the next majority whip.... Scalise currently leads the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of conservative Republicans, and has been in office since 2008. A lifelong Louisianan, he has sparred frequently in recent years with Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy over spending matters.

Elena Schneider of the New York Times: "Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter, an automatic rifleman who shielded a fellow Marine from a grenade thrown at them during a firefight in Afghanistan in 2010, received the Medal of Honor from President Obamaon Thursday":

Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: "THE Federal Reserve is poised to keep purchasing large volumes of mortgage bonds, and potentially Treasury securities too, even after the likely conclusion of its prominent bond-buying program later this year. It is a prospect that reflects both the breadth of the Fed's campaign to stimulate the economy -- one initiative ending, others still running -- and the concern among many Fed officials that the central bank should not pull back too quickly."

Freedom's Just Another Word for Discrimination. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Fox News host Mike Huckabee on Thursday compared the effort to prevent LGBT people from having equal marriage rights to fighting against Nazi Germany." AND, AND, I'm just like Martin Luther King, Jr., fighting for freedom from the Birmingham jail against equal rights from the Washington Mall. David of Crooks & Liars sums of Huckabee's claim in his headline: "Huckabee says MLK would agree that marriage equality is like the Holocaust."...

    ... CW: Here Huckabee manages in a few sentences to trivialize the heroic resistance fighters of WWII, the suffering, oppression & murder of millions of Jews & others AND the work of Dr. King while at the same time advocating against equal justice, the most fundamental of human rights. That's pretty impressive. And right on the verge of insane.

Zombies! Paul Krugman: "... the goings-on at Veterans Affairs shouldn't cause us to lose sight of a much bigger scandal: the almost surreal inefficiency and injustice of the American health care system as a whole. And it's important to understand that the Veterans Affairs scandal, while real, is being hyped out of proportion by people whose real goal is to block reform of the larger system. The essential, undeniable fact about American health care is how incredibly expensive it is...."

Tim Egan on WalMart, Starbucks & the do-nothing House Republicans.

AND the CIA Scraps Its Own Excellent Plan to End Islamic Terrorism Forever. Code Name "Devil Eyes." Adam Goldman of the Washington Post: "Beginning in about 2005, the CIA began secretly developing a ­custom-made Osama bin Laden ­action figure.... The face of the figure was painted with a heat-dissolving material, designed to peel off and reveal a red-faced bin Laden who looked like a demon, with piercing green eyes and black facial markings. The goal of the short-lived project was simple: spook children and their parents, causing them to turn away from the actual bin Laden." CW: It coulda worked! Seriously, if Republicans really wanted to know why the Benghazi attack was successful, they might examine the quality of agents the CIA hires. Obviously, "best & brightest" is not an employment requirement at Langley.

Presidential Election 2016
Walker, Christie

Marin Cogan of the National Journal interviews "a different kind of Democrat" -- Brian Schweitzer, former Montana governor. ...

... Joe Coscarelli of New York: "Along with contending that Eric Cantor sets off his gaydar, former Montana Governor and 2016 extra-long-shot Brian Schweitzer compared Senator Dianne Feinstein, loosely, to a prostitute in the new issue of the National Journal.... Right on cue, Schweitzer apologized for 'a number of stupid and insensitive remarks,' although he did not specify which." In another post, Coscarelli calls the graf from Cogan's story below "the parenthetical aside of the year":

(It wasn't the only time Schweitzer was unable to hold his tongue. Last week, I called him on the night Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated in his GOP primary. 'Don't hold this against me, but I'm going to blurt it out. How do I say this ... men in the South, they are a little effeminate,' he offered when I mentioned the stunning news. When I asked him what he meant, he added, 'They just have effeminate mannerisms. If you were just a regular person, you turned on the TV, and you saw Eric Cantor talking, I would say -- and I'm fine with gay people, that's all right -- but my gaydar is 60-70 percent. But he's not, I think, so I don't know. Again, I couldn't care less. I'm accepting.')

Comments

[Citizen625]

Barbarossa: Here all this time I had a picture of Jane Fonda in my head when I read your name. If the notion is to exit this life with more insight and wisdom than you entered it with, I'm thinking you've made good choices thus far; I'm sorry to hear your body is not cooperating. Keep the faith, bro!

[Capt. Russ]

In 2010, Joe Biden was trying to put lipstick on the pig, just as Dick Cheney is trying to do now. Except for Cheney, it's more like putting lipstick on a moose.

I only made it 8 minutes into the Megan Kelly "interview" before I just couldn't take it anymore. Journalism my ass. Just like plating food at a restaurant, it's all about the presentation. Do you really think the Cheneys would agree to, or that Fox would even consider, them being blindsided by a question like "Do you still beat your wife?" Everyone on the set knew the script - the questions to be asked; the answers to be provided.

Pre-production meetings, often days, weeks or even months in advance, lay out the parameters. The players all know their carefully orchestrated parts. Megan quotes some critics, Cheney blurbs some bubbles from his isolation chamber that fail to address the criticism. Megan fails to follow up, giving gravitas to Cheney's wet dreams. Megan moves on to some other criticism, Cheney blurbs some bubbles from his isolation chamber that fail to address the criticism. Megan fails to follow up, giving gravitas to Cheney's wet dreams.

THEN Magen opens the door WIDE to let the Cheneys have their way as they spew forth...sorry, I didn't make it that far.

FOX appears to be attacking Cheney, but they are just giving him an opportunity to re-write history. "We won the war in Iraq, just ask Joe Biden. Now the Kenyan Marxist Feckless Dictator has managed to lose the war we won."

As the civil war in Syria has escalated, more and more Republicans who can get within shouting distance of a microphone or camera have been clamoring for the U.S. to arm the Free Syrian Army while the President and the Democrats have taken a more pragmatic approach and resisted making that fateful step. Well guess what? The Free Syrian Army is now ISIS. How 'bout them apples?

On June 17th Marie linked this post about ISIS by Gary Brecher, the War Nerd: http://pando.com/2014/06/16/the-war-nerd-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-too-extreme-for-al-qaeda-i-s-i-s/. I'm no CIA analyst, but this guy seems to know what he's talking about.

Speaking of feckless, WTF is going on with the MSM? Even PBS newsreaders seem to be in a Twilight Zone where they never met a blatant disregard for the truth that they couldn't ignore. What if my Red Sox call up a rookie player from the minor leagues and he hits a home run on the first pitch during his first at bat in the majors? Well, by the time he gets to first base the announcers have told us how many rookies have done this, when they did it and the name of their team. Before the next pitch is thrown, we are told how many of those rookies went on to successful careers in MLB, and those who washed out.

The announcers may know some of those stats off the top of their heads, but there is a room "in the truck" full of researchers feeding data through ear buds to the on air team. Why don't news teams have this capability?

Speaking of sports, shouldn't politicians be required to wear suits, like racecar drivers, emblazoned with badges & logos from their corporate contributors?

The truth about the lies and deception in the run up to the Iraq War and the disastrous aftermath are well documented by Gary Brecher, linked above, and Peter Bergen: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/13/opinion/bergen-iraq-isis-bush/, among others.

Yeah, that Peter Bergen, the one who, in 1997, produced the first television interview with Osama bin Laden. I’ve got a feeling he may know a thing or two about Islamic Fundamentalism and Jihad.

My question: "Who's in the bubble? Me, because I think these few people understand? Or the MSM and their bobble heads who can't see past their next paid appearance?"

[PD Pepe]

@Citizen: Your message to B. warmed me this morning. When he first told us about his ALS some time ago I told him about a friend of ours who also has this disease and, like B., is still doing pretty well. (It's a pity that the pharmaceutical companies aren't willing to do more but from what I understand, it's just not profitable). Here's to B. and though he be not Fonda, he be someone we've grown mighty fond of.

@Capt. You are probably correct in your assessment of the Kelly. Cheney interview, but the fact that Megan was doing it at all was noteworthy. You are aware, I assume, that Murdock has come out against more troops in Iraq and had some choice words against those like Cheney who are coming out of their holes and opening their own on the MSM. Perhaps Megan was just following Daddy's direction. Whatever the case may be I like to give a little praise to those we usually rake over the coals if they show some semblance of sanity.

[Akhilleus]

Capt. Russ,

Love the idea of having pols wear corporate logos so's everyone can see in whose pockets they sleep comfortably 'til the next election go 'round (just think of all the wingnuts with "Property of Koch" emblazoned across their ass), but that nice little Johnny Roberts and his friends, the Four Dwarfs, said they didn't have to, while sticking their tongues out at voters and making with "Nyah-nyah" sounds.

And I think, in some instances, there are whispers into the IFB earpieces of many media jamokes. But instead of suggesting salient information that might aid viewers' ubderstanding of the issues, they're reminding the interviewer not to piss off anyone (ie conservative squeaky wheels) by digging too hard. If a Dickless Cheney and his scary looking daughter-bot want to rewrite history, just hand them the pen, sit back, and shut your mouth. Oh, and try not to show your own corporate ownership logos. We'll all pretend that what just happened was real, honest-to-god jounalism; not obsequious kabuki.

Oh, and by the way, can you hurry along that heavy hitting Red Sox rookie?

[Nadd2]

It looks like Scott Walker, as a mastermind, isn't quite up to snuff.

The RW blogs are spinning furiously to play up the "witch hunt" aspect of the investigation conducted by 5 Wisconsin county prosecutors, completely ignoring the fact that yes, there is a witch. Besides, what Walker did wasn't illegal, they say. Wow, was it sleazy, though.

Very gratifying to have Walker exposed as the crook we have known him to be for some time.

@Barbarossa, very sorry about your illness. Best wishes for your continuing battle against this horrible disease.

[MAG]

@Barbarossa —went to your Web site and can see you are still a fighter! Nice to put a face to the name. Hope for the best for you. I also, downloaded the mail in form and will try to help you achieve your fund-raising goal as well.

@Citizen625 —an aside: There's Barbarossa (red beard in Italian or the code name for 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union)...and then there's Barbarella (Jane Fonda) and then there's Barbaresco (a lovely Italian red). All things being unequal! Oh, and close enough for further confusion: Baba Wawa.

[Barbarossa]

In case you missed this:

On June 19,1939, the Mayo Clinic informed Lou Gehrig that he had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS. Ever since then, in this country, ALS is also called "Lou Gehrig's Disease."

Since nobody really knows what causes ALS, it continues to be very expensive to do research on its causes and treatment. As a PALS (Person with ALS), I'm doing my part to raise money for the ALS Association's research programs this summer and fall. Lou Gehrig only lived two years after diagnosis. So far, I've survived four years. I'll do all I can while I'm still relativelly functional 

Here is a link to my page:

http://webga.alsa.org/goto/BobsWarriors

I know we're constantly bombarded with appeals for this or that cause. The ALS Assciation has a very good rating from Charity Navigator, with 72.4% of funds going where they should and only 11% on overhead. The CEO of the Georgia branch receives no salary. 

Any amount you can give will be much appreciated. 

Posted with permission. 

[Akhilleus]

Barbarossa,

Seems that you've beaten the odds so far. I'll be happy to help in my own way with your cause. "Once more into the breach, dear friends..." and all that.

You just can't keep a good man down, and that, my friend, is you.

I wish you all the best with your battle. Your spirit comes through with every word.

[Akhilleus]

An Osama Bin Laden action figure?

Seriously?

I thought, for a second, that this was another Andy Borowitz idea (I got caught once mistaking a Borowitz blast for a real piece of news. Hey, it's not entirely my fault. It would be hard, on a regular basis, to make up shit half as crazy as conservatives hand out on platters every day).

Not only did some CIA tools think this was a good idea, they used taxpayers' money to manufacture I don't know how many hundreds, maybe thousands, of these things. Can't you just picture the faces of Shanghai factory workers putting these things together? They must have thought, "Christ, the Party bosses were right all along. Those Americans have fucking lost it."

And what kind of parents did they think would buy this thing for their kid? "Here sonny, how about a King of the Terrorists action figure that turns into a Darth Maul-looking monster? It's called Devil Eyes. Fun, right?"

I'm sure Hasbro needs to recoup their investment in such an insane boondoggle. Oh, wait, I've got an idea:

Republican Member of Congress inaction figures!

There could be a whole line. Wind them up and they don't do shit. There's the John Boehner inaction figure with the highball glass grip. Then over here, you have your Darrell Issa inaction figure with a revolver pointed permanently at his foot. And don't miss the Ted Cruz inaction Figure. He forces all your other toys to shut down.

Collect 'em all, kids!

[Akhilleus]

Wudz new in Wingnut World, kidz?

Well, every day is a miracle of maleficence in Wingnut World.

Remember the IRS scandal that really wasn't? The one Darrell (Just My Facts, Ma'am) Issa has been trying to make hay out of for some years?

Well it appears that some e-mails have been lost at the IRS (could these guys be more pathetic?) and this new "scandal" has become, in a matter of hours, the newest GOP chew toy, ready for immediate mastication along with the entire collection of other chew toys--most of which are getting a tad ratty: Benghazi, marriage equality (seems like ol' Mike Huckabee has his incisors dug down into that one, because Freedom, I guess), immigration reform, Trouble in Iraq (like that's never happened before), Fast and Furious, the previous IRS "scandal", gun control (which barely exists in a form worthy of the name), discrimination against white males, discrimination against Christians, discrimination against Christian white males who haven't paid their taxes in twenty years, climate change facts, dirty Mooslims who show up at hearings designed to talk smack about dirty Mooslims who dare to ask questions, election fraud (perpetrated almost entirely by Republicans, but never mind that now), and pretty much anything else they can cover in rabid saliva.

But this one really seems to have Wingnut World in a lather. Just imagine! Missing e-mails! Headlines are declaring "Worst Scandal Ever", and "IRS chief refuses to apologize!", "Cover Up!" "GOP Furious!", and my favorite, from Fox Nuze: "Get Real, Team Obama, We're not that Gullible!" because, as with all the GOP chew toys, Obama's face is sure to pop up if you bite into it hard enough.

But I have to say, if this really were a situation in which, say, millions of White House (as opposed to IRS) e-mails were mysteriously destroyed, in direction contravention of the Presidential Records Act and the Hatch Act, e-mails directly connected to an illegal and highly unethical purge of US attorneys, by the president himself, who wouldn't play ball with the administration and attack their political enemies when told to, well, it's a good thing that never happened cuz the Wingnut World denizens would have puh-lenty to say about that.

Wouldn't they?

[Dede C]

Barbarossa,
I found your page and will be donating! My debate is whether to give the money that I was going to give to Emily's to ALS also. Perhaps ALS will use it more wisely.

My cousin had ALS. We went to the ALS clinic in San Fransisco together. The head of the clinic told her very gently that she had two choices - to go internally with anger or outwardly with (I guess) acceptance. It was a very difficult year for all of us. There is something about your picture that makes me grateful that you have chosen to "go outward".
Thank you, Dede