Monday
Mar282016
The Commentariat -- March 29, 2016
Afternoon Update:
Gary Robertson of the AP: "North Carolina's attorney general said Tuesday he won't defend in court a new state law preventing Charlotte and other local governments from approving protections for LGBT people, calling it discriminatory and a 'national embarrassment.' Democrat Roy Cooper made the announcement during a news conference a day after gay rights advocates sued to overturn the law approved last week and signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory."
Matthew Lee & Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The State Department and Pentagon ordered the families of U.S. diplomats and military personnel Tuesday to leave posts in southern Turkey due to 'increased threats from terrorist groups' in the country."
Lulu Ramadan of the Palm Beach Post: "Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump campaign manager, was charged this morning with misdemeanor battery after allegations of forcefully grabbing a reporter at a Jupiter news conference, town police confirmed this morning. Following a March 8 conference at Trump National Golf Club, Michelle Fields, a 28-year-old reporter formerly with the online Breitbart News Network, said she was grabbed on the arm by Lewandowski, 41, after she asked Trump a question about affirmative action." CW Note: You have to love the fact that the reporter who broke the story is named Ramadan. ...
... Here's police video of Lewandowski manhandling Fields in an incident Lewandowski says never happened:
... Nick Gass of Politico: "Donald Trump issued his first tweets Tuesday after Florida authorities charged his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, with misdemeanor battery for allegedly forcefully grabbing Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields. 'Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there!' Trump wrote. Surveillance footage from the venue at which the alleged incident took place, released Tuesday, appears to corroborate Fields' account that Lewandowski grabbed her as she sought to ask Trump a question following a March 8 news conference in Jupiter, Florida."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "A case that seemed poised to deal a major blow to public unions ended in a 4-4 tie on Tuesday at the Supreme Court, effectively delivering a big victory to the unions. When the case was argued in January, the court's conservative majority seemed ready to say that forcing public workers to support unions they had declined to join violates the First Amendment. But the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February changed the balance of power in the case, which was brought by California public schoolteachers who chose not to join unions and objected to paying for the unions' collective bargaining activities on their behalf.... Relying on a 1977 Supreme Court precedent, the appeals court in the case upheld the requirement that the objecting teachers pay fees. Tuesday's announcement, saying only that 'the judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court,' affirmed that ruling and set no new precedent."
Claire Landsbaum of New York: "GOP Rips Hillary Clinton for Politicizing Hyperpolitical SCOTUS Fight."
I'll Only Debate You if You Promise to Lose, Ctd. Nick Gass: "The debate in the Democratic race has largely returned to where it was several months ago -- on the debates themselves. Hillary Clinton's campaign on Tuesday refused to budge from its refusal to participate in future debates until Bernie Sanders pledges not to launch any attacks on the former secretary of state, maintaining that the Vermont senator has not upheld the lofty ideals he set for his own campaign's rhetoric."
Nick Gass: "Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Tuesday sharply criticized rhetoric about Muslims from both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, slamming both Republican candidates for their 'counterproductive' and 'inflammatory' comments."
New York Times Editors: "In a recent spate of interviews, including with The Times, [Donald Trump] was unable or unwilling to clarify his disturbing views on ... critical national security issues, which sometimes shift from one minute to the next.... Mr. Trump is confronting most of these issues for the first time, and many of his thoughts are contradictory and shockingly ignorant.... Mostly, his vision of cooperation with allies depends largely on how much they would pay the United States for protection."
Nick Gass & Katie Glueck of Politico: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Ted Cruz on Tuesday, becoming the latest lawmaker to support the Texas senator as he seeks to emerge as the consensus anti-Trump choice in the Republican primary. Walker said on Charlie Sykes' radio show on WTMJ in Milwaukee that he was 'proud' to back Cruz, casting his decision as one for Cruz and not against anyone else."
Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is threatening to skip CNN's town hall interview Tuesday night over the network's treatment of him. 'Wow, @CNN has nothing but my opponents on their shows,' he wrote on Twitter. 'Really one-sided and unfair reporting. Maybe I shouldn't do their town-hall tonight!'"
Sarah Ferris of the Hill: "Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday said he was 'very proud' to veto a GOP-led bill that would have stripped Planned Parenthood of state funding. 'We're here today to smack down the latest attack on women's health care rights,' McAuliffe said at an event attended by Planned Parenthood patients and staff."
*****
Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post: "President Obama used a keynote speech at an annual journalism dinner to lament the often divisive and sometimes vulgar state of American politics and to call on reporters to work harder to hold politicians accountable.... 'What we're seeing right now does corrode our democracy and our society,' he said. 'When our elected officials and political campaigns become entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis; when it doesn't matter what is true and what's not, that makes it all but impossible for us to make decisions on behalf of future generations'":
Katie Benner & Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times: "The Justice Department said on Monday that it had found a way to unlock an iPhone without help from Apple, allowing the agency to withdraw its legal effort to compel the tech company to assist in a mass-shooting investigation. The decision to drop the case -- which involved demanding Apple's help to open an iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, a gunman in the December shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., that killed 14 people -- ends a legal standoff between the government and the world's most valuable public company. The case had become increasingly contentious as Apple refused to help authorities, inciting a debate about whether privacy or security were more important."
American "Justice," Ctd. Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department today announced that it is resuming a controversial practice that allows local police departments to funnel a large portion of assets seized from citizens into their own coffers under federal law.... Asset forfeiture is a contentious practice that lets police seize and keep cash and property from people who are never convicted -- and in many cases, never charged -- with wrongdoing. Recent reports have found that the use of the practice has exploded in recent years, prompting concern that, in some cases, police are motivated more by profit and less by justice.... Asset forfeiture is fast growing -- in 2014, for instance, federal authorities seized over $5 billion in assets. That's more than the amount of money lost in every single burglary that year." ...
... CW: This program really is a horrible abuse of power, one perpetrated against minorities more often than whites. Loretta Lynch should be ashamed of herself. Yo, Congress: instead of running hearings about against Planned Parenthood, medical researchers & stupid Hillary tricks, how about haulng Lynch up to the Hill & asking her to justify asset forfeiture. (Fat chance, of course, because cops love the program.)
Ari Melber of NBC News: "Two weeks into the nomination fight [of Merrick Garland for Supreme Court justice], 16 Republican senators now say they will meet with Garland -- over 25 percent of the GOP caucus -- according to a running count by NBC News.... At least three GOP senators also back a hearing for Garland's nomination -- moderates like Illinois' [Mark] Kirk and Maine's Susan Collins, plus Kansas' Senator Jerry Moran -- while most of their colleagues oppose both of those steps."
Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "The CIA took naked photographs of people it sent to its foreign partners for torture.... A former US official who had seen some of the photographs described them as 'very gruesome'. The naked imagery of CIA captives raises new questions about the seeming willingness of the US to use what one medical and human rights expert called 'sexual humiliation' in its post-9/11 captivity of terrorism suspects.... In some of the photos, which remain classified, CIA captives are blindfolded, bound and show visible bruises."
Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Alexandra Stevenson & Matthew Goldstein of the New York Times: "A former executive with a large private equity firm has been arrested and charged with securities fraud, federal prosecutors said on Monday. Andrew Caspersen, a Harvard Law School graduate and a partner at the Park Hill Group, an advisory firm that until last fall had been a part of the Blackstone Group's advisory business, has been accused of seeking to defraud a number of institutional investors of $95 million through fake private equity investments. One investor duped by Mr. Caspersen was a charitable foundation affiliated with an unidentified New York hedge fund that sank nearly $25 million in the scheme."
Peter Hermann, et al., of the Washington Post: "A man with a gun was shot by police Monday afternoon at the Capitol Visitor Center at the U.S. Capitol Complex.... The report of gunfire in a city on heightened alert because of terrorist attacks in Europe sent dozens of emergency vehicles to the Capitol building and forced staff and visitors into lockdown. Road barricades went up, and police officers with automatic rifles were stationed on street corners.... U.S. Capitol Police Chief Matthew R. Verderosa said the gunman was caught as he went through the screening process. The man 'drew what appeared to be a weapon and pointed it at officers,' the chief said."
Krugman has more on trade deficits in a blogpost. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
If Trump wins, it might be like the 'Hunger Games,' and kids might have to fight each other for the eggs. -- An 11-year-old boy, at Monday's White House Easter egg roll * ...
... Petula Dvorak of the Washington Post: The White House Easter egg roll became a tradition after 1878, when President Rutheford B. Hayes defied Congress & "invited the District's children to play on his lawn.... It became a tradition for decades after that, with brief suspensions during wars or tough times. And for all those years, it was [a] notoriously white event. In 1953, first lady Mamie Eisenhower saw black children peering in from outside the White House gates and insisted that black families be included in events in the following years. In 2006, a coalition of gay and lesbian families, sick of hiding in plain sight, joined to make their presence known at one of America's most family-friendly events and to show the George W. Bush administration that they are no different from other American families."
* CW: OR, that kid could go to Orange, Connecticut, where adults are already practicing Easter candy Trumpism.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Okay, here's a stupid piece of "analysis" coming out of Glenn Greenwald's lefty Intercept. Jim Lewis: Donald Trump "owes his celebrity, his money, his arrogance, and his skill at drawing attention to those coastal cultural gatekeepers -- presumably mostly liberal -- who first elevated him out of general obscurity, making him famous and rewarding him (and, not at all incidentally, themselves) for his idiocies." ...
... Steve M. takes apart Lewis's argument.
Presidential Race
Molly Beck of the Wisconsin State Journal: "Hillary Clinton on Monday urged a small crowd at UW-Madison to consider future rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court when casting a ballot in Tuesday's presidential primary and in November's general election. Clinton ... said to a group of invited guests at the Gordon Dining and Event Center that the next president is likely to appoint more than one justice to the nation's highest court and warned of the impact of a Republican governor making those choices." ...
... CW: Beck must mean "Republican president," not "Republican governor." Likely she suffers from an advanced case of Walker Syndrome & can't get Scottie out of her head. As P.D. Pepe wrote in yesterday's thread, Hillary must be channeling contributor Kate M., a Wisconsin native, who has been reminding us since the Days of Mitt to "Remember the Supremes!" ...
... Here's a clip:
... Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Sen. Chuck Grassley [R-Iowa] preemptively swung back at Hillary Clinton ahead of her Monday speech in which she's expected to hammer the Judiciary Committee chairman for his role in blocking the confirmation of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. 'With all the troubles she's getting on email, and the FBI's going to question her, I would imagine she'd want to change the tone of her campaign,; Grassley (R-Iowa) told Politico in an interview.... He was apparently referring to a Los Angeles Times story Monday that indicated an FBI investigation of the private email server she used as secretary of state is entering a final phase that will include interviews with her advisers." ...
... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The FBI does not have close to 150 agents working the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's email server, a source familiar with the matter told Politico Monday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, commented after the Washington Post reported that FBI Director James Comey told an unnamed member of Congress that 147 agents were working the Clinton investigation. Asked about the Post report, the source said: 'That number is greatly exaggerated.'"
Hillary Camp: If Bernie wants more debates, he'll have to be nicer.
OBummer. Jackbooted Feds Quash Freeedom. Niraj Chokshi of the Washington Post: "The Secret Service on Monday quashed the hopes of gun rights advocates who were pushing for the open carry of firearms to be allowed at this summer's Republican National Convention in Cleveland. An online petition in support of the effort rapidly gained signatures and attention in the past week, applying pressure to pro-gun Republican officials and presidential contenders to& walk the walk when it comes to guns.... Begun anonymously a week ago, the petition had collected more than 44,000 signatures as of early Monday afternoon, putting it well on its way to a goal of 50,000. Republican presidential contenders Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich were each asked about the petition, which none directly backed." CW: Uh, that should be, "the candidates responded in classical Weasel":
You know what a gun-free zone is to sickos? That's bait! -- Donald Trump, January 2016
I'm not going to comment to you when I haven't seen ... the fine print. -- Donald Trump, March 27, 2016
If you're a lunatic, ain't nothing better than having a bunch of targets you know that are going to be unarmed. -- Ted Cruz, December 2015
I haven't reviewed the particular petition. [Something, something,] Secret Service. -- Ted Cruz, March 28, 2016
... Francis Wilkinson of Bloomberg suggests the petition, which was created anonymously, is a stunt to highlight the hypocrisy of Republican politicians. "The rhetoric sounds like ... a too-predictable parody on the 'Daily Show.'... After all, if guns everywhere make us safer, how can a gun-free political convention possibly be a good thing? The party is no doubt counting on the U.S. Secret Service to take the blame for prohibiting guns at the convention. So the gathering of embittered factions, including the Trumpistas who are poised to 'riot' in the event their leader is denied, will almost surely attend the convention in their capacity as sitting ducks. For Republican leaders, that's a far better outcome than actually living up to their own gun-rights rhetoric."
The Independent Order of Trumps was an organization of New Jersey Civil War soldiers who "championed boozing and whoring, cursing and card-playing," David Brooks tells us in a column in which he attempts, successfully I think, to define Donald Trump's brand of misogyny: "... Trump represents the spread of something brutal. He takes economic anxiety and turns it into sexual hostility. He effectively tells men: You may be struggling, but at least you're better than women, Mexicans and Muslims."
John Harwood of the New York Times on how Trump "happened to" the Republican party: "Today, voters across the United States take their influence over presidential nominations for granted. As recently as 1968, however, just 15 states held primaries in which the rank-and-file selected convention delegates.... By 1980, 35 states were holding presidential primaries. Now, nearly every state holds either a primary or a delegate-selection caucus. As a result, precinct captains in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina have more influence over Republican and Democratic nominations than national party leaders. It opens the door to candidates who can attract grass-roots followings even as they repel party leaders." ...
... CW: I think Harwood is a bit off-base about the Democratic party. While he concedes the same thing could happen to Democrats, he notes that the party is not nearly as homogeneous as the GOP, making the likelihood of outsider insurgency much lower. He's right, but he glides over the fact that in 2008, Barack Obama was that outsider candidate. Although there were a few top Democrats who favored Obama early on -- Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) encouraged him to run -- the overwhelming majority of party poobahs initially lined up behind Hillary Clinton. Only as Obama began winning primaries or coming in a close second did he begin picking off party leaders/superdelegates. It was a BFD when leaders like John Lewis & Bill Richardson declared for Obama. (Lewis, notably, switched from Clinton to Obama when his Congressional district voted heavily for Obama.)
Aaron Rupar of Think Progress: "Neck-and-neck in the polls with Ted Cruz eight days before Republicans vote in the ... Wisconsin presidential primary, front-runner Donald Trump decided to go through the gauntlet of the Badger State's Trump-unfriendly conservative talk radio shows on Monday in hopes of winning some new supporters." The interviews did not go according to plan. ...
... Jesse Byrnes of the Hill: "Donald Trump on Monday defended his past controversial remarks on women, saying they date from his time as a celebrity entertainer. Radio host Charlie Sykes challenged the Republican presidential front-runner during an interview on WTMJ in Milwaukee, asking whether the rules are different for celebrities when it comes to insulting women. ;The rules aren't different, but certainly I never thought I would run for office,' Trump responded before the host finished asking the question."
Margaret Hartmann explains Trump's threatened suit of, well, somebody in Louisiana: "Donald Trump has been facing many unfair challenges in his quest for the GOP presidential nomination, from Establishment plots to derail his candidacy to shadowy forces that set the delegate requirement at the 'arbitrary number' of 1,237 (also known as math). Now the front-runner has vowed to fight back, after being cruelly robbed of ten delegates thanks to Louisiana's primary rules.... Of course, a winner like Trump has no use for that kind of logic. Everyone knows America's primary process isn't great, and threatening frivolous lawsuits is Trump's preferred method of fixing things." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Susan Hasler, a former CIA counterterrorism analyst, in a CNN opinion piece: Donald Trump & Ted Cruz don't know what they're talking about & their incendiary talk is increasing the likelihood of terrorist attacks: "Politicians such as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz harness the attacks to advance their own ambitions. They play to the psychological need to hit back, the need to do something quick and spectacular. Go bomb the crap out of someone -- a tack which also has the advantage of using up a lot of materiel and enriching the defense contractors who contribute so heavily to political campaigns. (Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon about the Lahore attack, which he called 'another radical Islamic attack' and said, 'I alone can solve.')"
Gene Robinson: "The 'media created Trump' storyline ignores the fact that the 'mainstream' media are about as popular among the Republican base as the Zika virus. And the one exception, Fox News, has been tougher on Trump than other outlets, not more accommodating.... Blaming ourselves for Trump's rise is just another way to ignore the voters who have made him the favorite for the GOP nomination." ...
... Charles Pierce makes mincemeat of Nicholas Kristof. I couldn't agree more. I realize Kristof was off in Afghanistan or somewhere when several decades ago I was reading -- in MSM, BTW, not in the Daily Worker -- about the grotesque income disparity that was growing in the U.S. Now to pretend, as Kristof does, that no one in the MSM was fact-checking Trump or challenging his trumped-up Trumpisms is a de facto admission that one is not even reading the NYT editorial pages, much less most of the other mainstream outlets. (Also linked yesterday.)
Reagan Democrats Are Dead, Literally & Figuratively. Peter Beinart of the Atlantic: "The electoral fantasy that Trump can win the presidency by luring vast numbers of blue-collar whites who wouldn't otherwise vote Republican is akin to the ideological fantasy that he can keep America prosperous and safe by banning Muslim immigration and getting Mexico to pay for a wall on the U.S. southern border. It's a fantasy that he can roll back history to a time when whites enjoyed more control, both over nonwhites inside the United States and over those who wish to enter from outside. This throwback fantasy is appealing inside a Republican Party where white voters remain unquestionably dominant.... And, unfortunately for Donald Trump, it's in today's America -- not Ronald Reagan's -- that he must compete this fall." ...
... Ron Brownstein, in the Atlantic, on Donald Trump's possible path to victory in November: it runs through the Rust Belt. ...
... Greg Sargent: "The key takeaway from Brownstein’s analysis: It's not impossible, but a lot has to go right for Trump in order to make it happen, rendering it highly improbable." CW: I'd like to remind Sargent that early on, I (tho perhaps not he) thought it was impossible for Republicans to retake control of the House in 2010.
CW: I missed this, but luckily P.D. Pepe didnt. Erin O'Neill of NJ.com (March 24): "A Philadelphia brewery plans to protest the leading Republican presidential candidate with a new beer series dubbed 'Friends Don't Let Friends Vote Drumpf.' The line of anti-Donald Trump beverages from Dock Street Brewery will start with the release of the 'Short-Fingered Stout,' a reference to the size of the billionaire businessman's hands (a topic that took center stage at a recent GOP debate in Detroit). The brewery ... describes the first beer in its series as 'a bitter and delusional stout with an airy, light-colored head atop a so-so body.'"
A Note to Suckers from Paul Waldman: Ted Cruz is not the rebel he claims to be. "The truth is that almost all of the policies Ted Cruz would pursue are exactly those that would have been pursued by Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, or any of the other Republicans who ran for president. Tax cuts for the wealthy? Oh yeah. Fewer regulations for corporations? Right on. No action on climate change? Yes, sir. Boost military spending? You know it. Right-wing judges? You betcha. Continue the assault on collective bargaining? No doubt.... The arguments between the establishment and the rebels like Cruz were always about tactics, not ideology."
Jack Holmes of Esquire: Secretary of John Kerry says leaders of other countries are "shocked" by the American "circus of campaigning" wherein certain unnamed presidential candidates are talking "about banning Muslim immigrants..., surveilling Muslim neighborhoods and also water-boarding." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jonathan Swan of the Hill: "The leader of the main super-PAC supporting Ben Carson has declared the group 'dormant' after questions were raised about its continued fundraising off of Carson's name. 'The 2016 Committee is, effective Friday, dormant,' the super-PAC's head, John Philip Sousa IV, told The Hill on Monday.... Prominent conservatives denounced the move, calling it a 'scam PAC' run by 'grifters.' Carson decried the fundraising in a Facebook post without mentioning the super-PAC by name."
... I do not believe that it is appropriate at this time to be using any notoriety that I have gained to try to get people to donate to a political effort on my behalf. I'm not seeking a vice presidential slot or any cabinet post. My interest is in bettering our country for generations to come. -- Ben Carson, in a Facebook post
Yes, you have gained notoriety, Ole Doc, but assuming you didn't intend to admit it, I'd suggest you get a dictionary & find out what "notoriety" means. -- Constant Weader
Congressional Race
No Name v. Ryan. S. A. Miller of the Washington Times: "A wealthy businessman with tea party ties confirmed Sunday that he is mounting a primary challenge to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, saying that after donating to the Wisconsin Republican's past campaigns he feels 'betrayed' by the speaker on trade deals and immigration. The businessman, who is not yet revealing his identity, promised that his run will 'shake up the establishment in a profound way,' according to a political consultant close to the prospective candidate."
Beyond the Beltway
Anglo Republican Ladies Surprised to Learn Hispanics Vote. Fernanda Santos of the New York Times: "A protester was led off in handcuffs from the visitors' gallery of the Arizona Legislature on Monday amid a fractious debate over Primary Day last week, when a drastic cutback in polling locations left tens of thousands of Arizonans unable to vote, forced to cast provisional ballots or made to wait in long lines for hours in the high heat. As the anger bubbled over within a packed State Capitol, a sheepish election official blamed the chaos on poor planning and a misguided attempt to save money by closing poll locations. 'I apologize profusely -- I can't go back and undo it,' said Helen Purcell [R]. the Maricopa County recorder, during a hearing of the Arizona House Elections Committee on Monday.... Michelle Reagan [R], the Arizona secretary of state ... told reporters before the hearing that she had known about the [70 percent] cutback in polling places [in poor neighborhoods], but had not wanted to 'second-guess' the county's decision...."
John Myers & Liam Dillon of the Los Angeles Times: "In a move catapulting California into uncharted national territory, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday a six-year plan to boost the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour, promising that millions of low-wage workers would receive the help they desperately need. 'It's a matter of economic justice. It makes sense,' Brown said at a news conference at the state Capitol, surrounded by Democratic leaders of the Legislature and those from some of the state's most prominent labor unions."
Laura Nahmias of Politico: New York City "Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday he is instituting a ban on 'non-essential travel' by New York City employees to the state of North Carolina following the passage of a law there that overturns anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. De Blasio said he would also order a similar ban on non-essential travel to Georgia if the state's Legislature votes to override a veto by Gov. Nathan Deal of a bill seen by some as allowing discrimination against gay and lesbian people in Georgia."
Monica Davey of the New York Times: "Chicago has long been troubled by violence, but homicides and shootings have risen sharply this year.... As of Friday, 131 people had been killed here in the first months of 2016, an 84 percent rise in homicides from the same period in 2015.... The city is at a pivotal moment for law enforcement, mired in a crisis over police conduct.... The Justice Department is scrutinizing the patterns and practices of the city's police force; the mayor on Monday named an interim police superintendent to replace the department's fired leader; and voters have rejected Cook County's top prosecutor, defeating her in a primary on March 15."
Way Beyond
How Do You Say "Keystone Kops" in Flemish? Andrew Higgins & Aurelien Breeden of the New York Times: "The Belgian authorities on Monday conceded another enormous blunder in their investigation into the attacks last week on Brussels. They freed a man they had charged with terrorism and murder, acknowledging that he had been mistakenly identified as a bomber in a dark hat and white coat in an airport surveillance photo. The man, who was arrested on Thursday and charged on Friday, was released after three days in custody, during which some officials publicly vilified him as a terrorist. On Monday, the police said that the real attacker remained at large and they issued a new plea to the public to help identify one of the men who blew up a departures area at Brussels Airport." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
News Ledes
New York Times: "James Noble, the actor best known for his role as the absent-minded governor on the hit 1980s sitcom 'Benson,' died on Monday at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut. He was 94."
New York Times: "Lester C. Thurow, a prominent and provocative economist who earned a dedicated following through his long writing and speaking career, and who was known for his prescient warnings about the growing income gap between rich and poor Americans, died on Friday in Westport, Mass. He was 77."
New York Times: "Patty Duke, an Oscar-winning actress renowned at midcentury as a child star of stage, film and television, who, amid public struggles with bipolar disorder, went on to cultivate a respected screen career in adulthood, died on Tuesday at a hospital near her home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. She was 69."
New York Times: "A man claiming to be wearing an explosive vest hijacked an EgyptAir plane on Tuesday, forcing it to land in Larnaca, on the southern coast of Cyprus, before he was arrested, according to the Cypriot government."
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Reader Comments (26)
Thanks PD!
I was going to save "Remember the Supremes" for my last comment. But Hillary done stole it. Meybe I should sue, since it looks like that is going to be the MO for our Orange-faced wonder boy (with the 3 inch dick) from now until the election. I am glad Democrats are beginning to pick up on this in their campaigning--the Supremes, not the little dick! And it goes for State guvnmints too. Scotty Walker can appoint a Supreme Court judge in Wisconsin if there is a vacancy, and you know what that means! (I'm guessing he checks in with about a 2 inch pecker.)
As for notoriety, I nailed that one. Learned it in my English class at Shorewood High School. Funky English teacher forbid us to use the term "notorious" when referring to someone we liked and respected. She pounded into our little heads that notorious meant "being well known in a BAD way!" The opposite of notorious is illustrious. A good example is: We all will miss the illustrious Marie Burns (aka CW). And I will miss all the illustrious commenters, who have so enriched my life for lo these many!
Back to words. My personal unfavorite. The Democrat Party! Yikes! Have you noticed that every Republican and Foxie creep uses that term? Whatta buncha notorious Ass Hats!
Just two more days to go. I cannot find a good grief counselor out here on the edge of the world. But there are plenty of drug counselors. Since marijuana is legal here, that may be in my future. Can you imagine a 76 year old woman, high on "Trainwreck," (a Christmas present from my Yoga teacher), wandering the streets of Depoe Bay moaning about being unable to function because I am in withdrawal from my daily dose of Reality Chex--for which there is just no damn substitute?
See ya later, crocodile!
Would just like to post a thank you for Constant Comments. Can't quite get my head around what it is going to be like without your morning updates.
I just wanted to second Kate's comments about how bereft my first cup of coffee will be without RC. Marie, thank you for the magnificent work you have done for what feels like a large portion of my life. Come Friday, it will be like losing a great and wise friend (or may I say a dozen great and wise friends). Has someone had the foresight to set up an online support group? Unlike Groucho Marx, I will join if the club will have me.
Re: Trump supporters.
"Mis-underestimate" them at your peril (take that Akhilleus). Exhibit A, my "kin folk" in deep East Texas. They elected Louie Louie Gohmert six times with something like a 80% margin.
Who says we don't have a representative government.
Re: governors appointing SC justices,: Beck probably got her Supreme Court anxieties mixed up for good reason. The Wisconsin Court suffered a death of a moderate Justice last fall and Walker appointed a lightweight, very rightwing and despicable (Google Rebecca Bradley writings) as an interim justice who is now running for a full term. The race is widely seen as a referendum on Walker, and Bradley is supported by gazillions of dollars of dark money ads sliming her opponent. I hope Bernie and Hillary supporters will come out in numbers sufficient to boot this awful women off the Court.
Just three more mornings... might I paraphrase a Catholic prayer:
Hail Marie, full of grace-- the lord or lords be with thee...
Distances remain on my mind.
RC and Maestro Marie have gathered quite a like-minded group who obviously enjoy one another's company and, as many have said, would like to keep in touch.
Am presently traveling in Nebraska enjoying the company of my wife and one other, also an occasional commenter, a college classmate of ours whom I introduced to RC some years ago. I know that after April 1, they will remain in my life, but...
.....This morning's mail from Kate who I'm guessing lives about thirty miles from me when I'm not on the road, puts me in mind of the paradox we have been living, having become so close in mind and yet all physically distant, whether it be thirty miles or oceans apart, and reminds me of my previous plea that someone can suggest a way that RC devotees will find a way to keep in some future touch following Friday's implosion.
Anyone?
Time's running out.
A good day to all.
Yowsa! another Philadelphia story: The Dock Street Brewery in west Philly has come up with what they call a SHORT FINGERED STOUT––described as "bitter and delusional stout with an airy light colored head atop a so-so body." So Kate––come on down and drown your sorrows–––I'll meet you there and buy the first round. Bring some weed for an extra boost.
Some more gun news: Public colleges and universities in Texas will no longer be able to ban the concealed carrying of handguns when a new law takes effect in August. When I first mentioned this I had hoped the schools could over-ride this, but it looks like they will not be able to. Now we have professors leaving their jobs in protest––and I imagine fear. "What! You give me a D on a paper I worked my ass over?" Bang! The biggest outcry has been at the Austin campus where the U.of Texas is located. Nice work, Texas––once again we are amazed at your little dashes of genius.
Last night Rachel reminded us about Eric Cantor's loss and Dave Bratt's win illustrating the beginning of something going terribly screwy. In Sunday's Hartford Courant my congressman, Rep. John Larson wrote a long Op-Ed about how the Republican congress fueled Trump's rise and he, too, mentions Cantor saying that in the aftermath of Romney's loss Cantor recognized that his party needed to return to the center and compromise on immigration. As majority leader, many thought he had the sway to guide congressional Republicans back to the days of compassionate conservatism ( did we actually ever have that?) When he tried, the base rebelled and he lost his seat. The night of that election Cantor was out and about having coffee at Starbucks, so confident of keeping his seat. Did we know then that Cantor was the canary in the coal mine? I recall being somewhat shocked and worried since the vote for Bratt who was known as right wingy did not purport well.
Larson ends his piece with this:
"These are dangerous times. A Congress that ignores the challenges Americans face only enhances Trump's claim that he's the only one who can cut a deal and get things done. Americans are desperate for a government that works. If congressional Republicans want to stop what Trump stands for you don't do it on Twitter or with TV ads.
You simply do your job."
Dan,
Mis-underestimating a cockeyed constituency is never a good idea. Your example of Louie Gohmert is well taken. And normally I would say "Well, Texas...." and point out Bush, Perry, Cruz, Cornyn, and an empty asylum full of escaped wingnuts at the state level.
But then we have to consider Scott Walker, who was elected in the formerly reliably sane state of Wisconsin, and Ms. Whack Job, Michele Bachmann, picked four times by the Minnesota electorate. Total fraud and racist beefcake boy Scott Brown was sent to the senate by voters in Massachusetts, until he ran into the Warren buzzsaw (ie, had real competition).
The fact that the 113th congress (of government shutdown fame and the Ted Cruz Green Eggs and Ham filibuster) was the worst in history had as much to do with the voters as it did with the barking mad mutts that ran that particular nut house.
No wonder the founders created the Electoral College.
@Ken Winkes - I second your wish that we could find a way to keep in touch. In fact I brought up the subject last week, but confess I don't have a solution. A Facebook page for alumna of this site, perhaps?
Ken Winkes:
I'm not a regular commenter, but have been around long enough to throw in a stupid remark every once in a while. Besides Marie, the commenters on this site are what keep me coming back, so I share your concern about keeping in touch.
Maybe a Google Group if anyone knows how to set that up -- can't be too hard if the Republicans in my town can do it. Or how about a Friends of RealityChex or RealityChex Mourners on Facebook, or a closed RealityChex group Facebook page? That's really easy. I belong to a closed cancer bloggers page and it has been a great way to keep in touch.
Anyone else?
Marie, are you leaving the site open for legacy or shutting down the URL?
Considering the fact of the imminent razing of the RC domain (a fact I've sullenly been trying to deny), I'm thinking I might get in a few before the fact digs about possible moments of future history while there's still time on the clock.
The Peter Beinart Atlantic piece about Drumpf winning by dint of currying favor with Reagan Democrats brings up an interesting (if you want to call it that) and very real possibility that the Orange Headed Clown will not be very magnanimous should he 1.) be the nominee (after sending in his brownshirts to break up the convention), and 2.) lose in the general. I can see him opting for something similar to the declaration of Charles Foster Kane's flunkies after he gets walloped in a big election:
"...I'm afraid we got no choice."
This outcome will certainly be the best we could hope for from Drumpf. A more likely scenario would be much less peaceful.
Victoria, Ken, et al -
If you want to keep in touch
(A) Someone volunteer to take Marie's offer to turn over the site
(B) It will be at least the "Facebook page" while new management gets their bearings, i.e. group contact will still be available
(C) I believe that no one can replace Marie, her dedication and capacity for prodigious (illustrious?) output are phenomenal.
(D) But if new management can persuade commenters to provide more references, you might get about 50% of the product with about 1000% more people providing input.
(E) And after a few weeks/months, Marie will be unable to abide the half-assed product and become your biggest contributor -- but just not shackled to the desk every day.
I'd be happy to set up a Facebook page and get you started. On a closed group page, anyone can find the group and see who's in it but only the members can see posts. On a Secret page only the members can find the group and see the posts.
Just let me know.
I have kept quiet since I've never contributed to RealityChex, but I've devotedly read the postings and the enlightening comments for the past several years. My day is not complete without the information and support the group provides. CW has done a terrific job and I will sorely miss her. I will also miss all the astute commentators and wish we could somehow keep the spirit of this group alive! As some have mentioned a Facebook page or list might be just the thing.
Kate,
I am with you completely regarding the slur that is "Democrat Party". I take it upon myself to point out to red state acquaintances and co-workers, who use it constantly, that there is no such thing as the Democrat Party and the use of this term is intended as an insult and taken as such by actual members of the Democratic Party. I've been told that Democrats are too thin skinned and should just get over it because this is, in fact, the actual name of the party. Fox has told them so, so there. Suggesting they try to find the web site for the "Democrat Party" elicits either an insult (another one) or the kind of sad head shake reserved for mental defectives.
The website Conservapedia gives the game away. It states that the term "Democrat Party" is simply the "grammatically correct term" for Democratic Party since there is no Democratic Party. Thus insulting wingers take it upon themselves to lecture those of us who are Democrats about what we should call our party. Mighty white of them.
The site goes on to aver that Democrats contrive to use the word "democratic" as a sneaky assertion that their party is more democratic than other parties (only immature little snots think like this). The fact that this is, in fact, true, wouldn't get you very far but it does provide the reason for this slur. They simply don't want to acknowledge the idea that the opposing party does involve and support democratic ideals. The kind the Republican Party eschews and seeks at all turns to elide as often as they can get away with it.
But there is just no arguing with assholes and ignoramuses so, after a couple of corrections, I let it go. Theirs is a party that has become mired in corruption, ignorance, racism, hatred, and drowned in a red tide of stupid. But like most bullies and assholes, they love to stick it to those they consider their enemies, and since they're largely impotent and ignorant concerning issues of real importance, they're happy to call us names and shout "I know you are, but what am I?"
The Mature Party they ain't.
The OK Corral in Cleveland!
I'm all for every single attendee at this summer's Republican National Convention to strut around the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland strapped like Rambo on a mission to kill commies for Christ.
C'mon, wouldn't you guys pay to watch the Trumpistas draw down on the Cruzified Crew?
In fact, I think all candidates and losers who have already demonstrated their unworthiness but still think they can escape Cleveland with the nomination (Scott Walker, The Rat, Lyin' Ryan), should all have to walk around with a bullseye stapled to their asses. And Wayne LaPierre and his evil minions should be handing out weapons at every entrance to the venue and keep stocks of ammo out in the hall just in case a firefight breaks out between various delegations. Dude! Just think of the ratings!
They're always telling us that more guns are the best for all Americans. Let's see them walk that walk.
Couldn't possibly be that some of them are a bit skittish about the idea of Trump brownshirts and Cruz Jesus freaks getting them in their sights, could it?
Pansies. Guns for Everyone at the Q, I say! Make mine an automatic.
Keystone cops in Flemish: Sluitsteen smerissen.
@Jackalizer: I was kidding, but thanks a lot. I checked out your Flemish on Google's translator, & you're right. (The Google translation was "capstone cops," which is close enough, although a "keystone" & a "capstone" are not the same things.)
Marie
Susan Collins (R-ME) is "perplexed," I tell you, "perplexed" at Mitch McConnell's decision to block Merrick Garland's Supreme Court nomination.
Is she that stupid? No, really, I'm asking.
Sorry, forgot the link:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/29/3764297/susan-collins-merrick-garland-mitch-mcconnell/
Nancy,
No. But she has to pretend that she doesn't understand what a colossal dick McConnell is. Anyone who's been around the senate as long as Collins knows full well what a conniving, self-serving, hypocritical, mountainous piece of shit Turtle Man is.
Remember when the Asshole Party took over the senate and McConnell promised to "restore honor and dignity and civility" to that august body? He's restoring something but is sure ain't honor and dignity. And civility? Pshaw.
Suggestions of Facebook as a vehicle for follow-on versions of RC, while I am sure are well meaning, surely must be in jest. Or, it least I hope they are.
Herr Drumpf's assertions that there is nothing to see on the tape of his campaign manager manhandling a reporter is all of a piece with his patented misogyny. So a man shoves around some uppity bitch? What's the problem?
There are so many bad, bad, bad signs about this guy, but I have no doubt that many of the knuckledraggers now supporting him see Lewandowski's actions as not just acceptable, but completely in line with the way they believe the world should be: white men rule; they should be able to smack out-of-line broads and kick and punch niggers who think they're better than white people. This is the Trump milieu.
I'm not a huge Hillary fan, but if there has ever been a more obvious choice for president based largely on the astonishingly ignorant and violent essence of one campaign over the other, I'm not aware of it.
Although I think it would be absolutely wonderful to be able to continue Reality Chex using commenter/volunteers, I know I cannot be one of them. I am waaaay too tech-impaired. (Jeebus, I can't even embed a link correctly.) Also, that old bromide "Too many cooks spoil the broth" comes to mind. I just cannot imagine Reality Chex without Marie--but, as you all know, I am an old hippie who gets high on "train wreck" and wanders the streets--so I may be "misunderestimating" my tech-savvy fellow commenters. Hope so.
I saw Nancy's offer to set up a Facebook page just for us, and I must say, although not a FB fan, I am interested. (Sorry, David, I know you are horrified!) Anyway, I belong to a closed FB group that functions very well, partially because it has someone in charge. It is subject-specific, and I am sure that helps too. Very, very different from the little I have seen on regular FB which mostly makes me want to arc a bean.
I am wondering if anyone else, besides Nancy, is interested in a closed Facebook group dedicated to political news and sidelights. I think we could persuade CW to participate a bit if we offered to help her tile! I would want only those of us who are commenters here on Reality Chex as members--including those who follow RC but do not make many comments. But, NO TROLLS. I think that could be accomplished by having Marie check the list of group "members" to make sure we are all Kosher. And we would probably need some volunteer commenters to keep the TROLLS at bay and point out obvious errors, etc. I could certainly do that.
That's where I am as of right now. One last concern: we have not heard from Barbarrosa for a very long time. Do any of you have any information about what has happened with him? Knowing how ill he was with ALS, I fear the worst.
March 29, 2016 | Kate Madison
P.S. I copied this from a comment I made above to Marie's "How to Continue" note. Did not think everybody would read that.
Kate,
Regarding FB, I am not horrified at the suggestion but the "ambiance" of FB seems so inappropriate for RC. I am a member of a couple of FB closed groups and I am not impressed. But with that said, any that are willing to contribute to some method of continuing the RC tradition certainly have the say in how they would do it. Managing a platform, membership, controlling trolls, etc. are certainly a big part of doing what Marie has done (well) over the years.