Thursday
Sep102015
The Commentariat -- Sept. 11, 2015
Internal links removed.
Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Senate Democrats delivered a major victory to President Obama on Thursday when they blocked a Republican resolution to reject a six-nation nuclear accord with Iran, ensuring that the landmark deal will take effect without a veto showdown between Congress and the White House. A procedural vote fell short of the number needed to break a Democratic filibuster. It culminated hours of debate on the Senate floor and capped months of discord since the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China announced the agreement with Iran in July." ...
... Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: "The Senate voted 58-42, short of a required 60-vote threshold, on whether to end debate on the Iran deal, thus failing to even reach an up-or-down vote on the disapproval resolution itself." ...
... President Obama's statement is here. ...
... Or as John Cole of Balloon Juice put it, "All Over but the Wanking." Now we shall take a brief time out for the wankery ...
... Karoun Demirjian & Kelsey Snell of the Washington Post: "The House plans to vote Friday on a resolution of approval ... instead of a resolution of disapproval ... that was previously planned. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) promised Thursday that House Republicans will 'use every tool at our disposal to stop, slow and delay this agreement from being fully implemented' up to and including suing President Obama to keep him from enforcing the agreement.... The strategy shift comes after a group of House Republicans successfully pressed leaders Wednesday not to play ball with Obama over two confidential side agreements between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that lawmakers have never seen.... There's just one problem: In the eyes of the administration, the play clock runs out on Sept. 17. If Congress hasn't rejected the deal via a disapproval resolution by then, the pact will take effect." ...
... Ed Kilgore: House Republicans "are preparing votes on a resolution approving the deal (which is kinda beside the point now), a resolution denying the deal was ever properly submitted to Congress (good luck in court on that one!), and still another measure seeking to stop the administration from easing sanctions on Iran (ditto). The whole Republican effort seems mainly designed to remind the international community that they'll blow up the deal if they win next year's elections. I guess the other way to look at it is that House Republicans believe they haven't lost this fight if they don't admit it's lost!" CW: Reality is not a feature of Right Wing World. ...
... Burgess Everett & Seung Min Kim: "Republicans are plotting to make Democrats pay dearly for backing an agreement the GOP argues hinges on an historic enemy of the United States playing nice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to return to the floor next week to force Democrats to take more votes Republicans say they'll regret as soon as Iran violates the terms of the deal or sponsors terrorist attacks, which critics believe is just a matter of time. After that will come the attack ads, national GOP officials say." ...
... CW: If Republicans knew anything about the agreement, they would know it does not "hinge on" Iran's "playing nice." See the WashPo op-ed below by the leaders of France, Germany & Great Britain, & Hillary Clinton's speech on the deal. For starters. ...
... MEANWHILE, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel & British Prime Minister David Cameron write a joint Washington Post op-ed in support of the deal. Yo, crazy GOP, it's you nutsos against the world.
Juiet Eilperin & Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "President Obama has directed the U.S. government to accept at least 10,000 refugees from Syria in the next fiscal year, White House press secretary Josh Earnest announced Thursday, a six-fold increase over the number admitted this year to the United States."
Reuters: "Relatives of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 11 September 2001 attacks are due to gather in New York, Pennsylvania and outside Washington on Friday to mark the 14th anniversary of the hijacked airliner strikes carried out by al-Qaida militants." ...
Washington Post photo.... Kevin Sullivan of the Washington Post: "... the $26 million Flight 93 National Memorial visitor center ... opened this week, remembering the legacy of the 9/11 attacks and honoring the courage of 40 passengers and crew members who fought back against their four hijackers, preventing the plane from hitting its presumed target, the U.S. Capitol.... The visitors center and museum is set between two soaring concrete walls that rise 40 feet high, one foot for each of those who died. It is set directly on Flight 93's flight path, with a black stone walkway indicating the precise route that the plane followed. On the valley floor below, a large boulder marks the point of impact, serving almost as a headstone in a place where very few human remains were recovered."
Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "Barack Obama's intelligence chief is said to be in frequent and unusual contact with a military intelligence officer at the center of a growing scandal over rosy portrayals of the war against the Islamic State, the Guardian has learned. James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, is said to talk nearly every day with the head of US Central Command's intelligence wing, Army Brigadier General Steven Grove -- 'which is highly, highly unusual', according to a former intelligence official. Grove is said to be implicated in a Pentagon inquiry into manipulated war intelligence."
"The War on Women Is Over -- And Women Lost." Molly Redden of Mother Jones: "This is what 2015 looks like: Abortion providers struggle against overwhelming odds to stay open, while women 'turn themselves into pretzels' to get to them, as one researcher put it.... The onslaught of new abortion restrictions has been so successful, so strategically designed, and so well coordinated that the war in many places has essentially been lost. Most abortions today involve some combination of endless wait, interminable journey, military-level coordination, and lots of money.... The struggle [for abortion providers] just to stay open is all-consuming."
Jessica Glenza of the Guardian: "Vice-President Joe Biden on Thursday joined the top US prosecutor [Loretta Lynch] and the Manhattan district attorney to announce a $79m initiative to end a backlog of untested sexual assault DNA kits. The initiative is funded by a $41m congressional allocation to the Justice Department and through $38m in civil forfeitures seized by the office of Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance. The joint effort promises to test more than 56,000 backlogged 'rape kits' in 32 jurisdictions in 20 states, over two years. Grants to local agencies to carry out such tests will range from $97,000 to nearly $2m."
Jonathan Chait: "The rapid willingness of the rest of the world to reduce its emissions has merely redoubled the [Republican] party's commitment to destroy any cooperative structure to reduce emissions.... The speed at which Republicans have changed from insisting other countries would never reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions to warning other countries not to do so ... says everything you need to know about the party's stance on climate change.... The Republican climate-change strategy has been hatched by a group of Republican politicians and fossil-fuel lobbyists so tightly intermingled there seems to be no distinction between the interests of the two.... Beyond the straightforward self-interest of coal and oil companies, there is the ancient right-wing distrust of international agreements in general. Plus, of course, Republicans continue to follow a policy of across-the-board opposition to the whole Obama administration agenda."
Sarah Ferris of the Hill: "A federal district judge on Wednesday delivered a blow to the Obama administration, ruling that the House Republican lawsuit against ObamaCare can move forward. 'The Court concludes that the House has standing to pursue those constitutional claims,' Judge Rosemary Collyer wrote in a 43-page decision. The ruling is an early victory for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who has repeatedly touted the lawsuit to his conference.... 'The Court stresses that the merits have not been briefed or decided; only the question of standing has been determined,' Collyer wrote. The Obama administration said it plans to immediately appeal the decision." Collyer is a Bush II appointee. ...
... Jonathan Cohn of the Huffington Post takes a deep dive into the ramifications of the case.
Paul Krugman: "... Japan needs to make a decisive break with its deflationary past. You might think this would be easy. But it isn't: Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, has been making a real effort, but he has yet to achieve decisive success. And the main reason, I'd argue, is the great difficulty policy makers have in breaking with conventional notions of responsibility."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Jonathan Chait: "If you have heard about Jeb Bush's new tax plan by reading political reporters, you have probably heard that it is a 'proposal to reform the tax code' that will 'crack down on hedge fund managers' (CNN), that it is 'mainstream and ordinary' with 'a populist note' (NPR), that it 'challenged some long-held tenets of conservative tax policy' (the New York Times), and has 'a nod to the populist anger roiling both parties' (The Wall Street Journal). It is, in other words, the same sort of coverage George W. Bush received when he unveiled his tax cuts in 1999.... On the other hand, if you have learned about the tax plan from some of the new policy-focused writers, you have drawn a very different impression. The difference lies between journalists who write narratives drawn from quotes from campaign sources and those who build their coverage on data. George W. Bush was fortunate that data-based journalism barely existed 16 years ago. His brother is counting on the power of narrative to obscure the data." ...
... CW: Because most readers will look at only the first couple of grafs of a report, especially a report on a subject they don't know much about -- like tax structure -- the MSM stenographers, probably purposely, do a terrible disservice to the democratic process. ...
... Ed Kilgore: "The 'wonkosphere' is very much onto Jeb's act, but its influence remains limited. And so, Jeb is able to turn a weakness -- he, like his brother, is in thrall to wealthy interests and cannot conceive of an economic 'plan' that doesn't begin with giving them pretty much all they want -- into a perceived strength: Jeb wants to cut your taxes and jump-start the economy, O ye middle-class voters! It is indeed the very essence of a misdirection play, and unfortunately, it’s working better than it should...."
Presidential Race
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., in an emotional, wide-ranging interview on Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' on Thursday, expressed doubt about the likelihood that he would run for president, saying that 'I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there'":
... Steve M.: "My guess: Biden won't run. Maybe that's a good thing. But I'll be sorry if we never get to see him debate the GOP nominee, who, I'm more and more convinced, will be Trump. Biden can seriously talk policy, but I wonder if the quantity of blarney he tosses into the mix, and especially the quality of sentiment, could be the magic bullet against Trump. Watch the Colbert interview -- when Biden talks about his son, you can hear a pin drop. I don't think Trump's bombast would be a match for that."
Ryan Cooper of the Week: "Would Hillary Clinton actually perform that much better than [Bernie] Sanders (or another challenger) in a general election? There are good reasons to suspect not. To be sure, a great deal of Clinton's poor performance of late is likely due to blatantly unfair treatment from the mainstream media. We're now several weeks into wall-to-wall coverage of Clinton's email server thing, and there is still no hint that this supposed controversy is anything more than a minor bureaucratic foul-up.... Both [Clinton & Sanders] have some pluses and minuses.... The difference between any two Democratic presidents is going to be relatively tiny compared to that between a Democrat and a Republican.... So as far as the primary is concerned, Clinton better not rely on her supposed electability."
Glenn Thrush & Hadas Gold of Politico: Clinton backer & Media Matters founder David Brock trades insults with the New York Times re: their Clinton coverage. ...
... Rachel Bade of Politico: "The State Department inspector general opened a 'criminal investigation' of Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin in 2013 over allegations of 'theft' -- referring to overpayments she received and overtime she allegedly wrongfully billed. But the Justice Department declined to take up the issue.... Abedin's lawyers have acknowledged the $10,000 overpayment issue weeks ago and said they're fighting it. They maintain that she was actually working during the maternity leave and vacation time, though it doesn't appear she properly logged the information into the State Department system. But they've denied that the overpayment dispute, widely known, ever turned into a criminal investigation."
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "In a video produced in conjunction with IJ.com, [Martin] O'Malley, the former governor of Maryland who moonlights as an Irish folk rocker, took his guitar to Wall Street this week to show the world how to 'make an honest buck' in the heart of the financial world." Scroll down the page for Rappeport's item:
... CW: When I tried to play this video, it ended. To watch it, I had to click on the replay right away, or I got whatever video YouTube put up next in a thread. So it works about as well as Maryland's ObamaCare exchange worked. Update: It seems to be working better here than on YouTube. ...
... Jennifer Epstein of Bloomberg: "Facing increasing resistance from candidates and party officials, Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Thursday stood firmly by her plan to hold exactly six presidential debates -- and jabbed at [Martin O'Malley,] the candidate who's been most aggressive in agitating for more.... 'Every candidate does what they believe they need to to attract attention to their campaign,' she told reporters. 'He has chosen to focus on debates, rather than substance. That is certainly his prerogative.'" ...
... Evan McMorris-Santoro: "The Democratic Party is having a very loud, very public fight over the presidential primary debate calendar, pitting leaders at the Democratic National Committee against chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Top party leaders say Wasserman Schultz rolled out the debate calendar without consulting them and refused to listen to concerns that the tightly-limited calendar would cause problems. For her part, Wasserman Schultz says there's no way the calendar she set up will change.
The ALEC Candidate. Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "In an attempt to kickstart his flagging campaign, [Scott] Walker, who made his name nationally by taking on Wisconsin's public sector unions, has come up with a new union-bashing ruse. In a speech on Thursday at the alma mater of his hero Ronald Reagan, Eureka College in Illinois, he pledged to destroy the political activities of federal employee unions by blocking their political funding.... The idea of hitting public unions by cutting off their political funding has been promoted by ... the American Legislative Exchange Council, Alec, since at least 1998."
Nick Gass of Politico: "Bobby Jindal pulled no punches against Donald Trump on Thursday, raining down a deluge of criticisms on the current Republican leader in the polls, calling him 'a narcissist,' 'an egomaniac,' 'non-serious,' 'substance-free,' 'insecure,' 'weak,' 'shallow,' 'unstable,' among other knocks." ...
You may have recently seen that after Trump said the Bible is his favorite book, he couldn't name a single Bible verse or passage that meant something to him. And we all know why, because it's all just a show, and he hasn't ever read the Bible. But you know why he hasn't read the Bible? Because he's not in it.— Gov. Bobby Jindal in remarks prepared for a speech at the National Press Club
... CW: The guy is gonna kick sand in your face, Bobby. Here it is (via Gass): "Trump responded later in the day, remarking that Jindal 'did not make the debate stage and therefore I have never met him.' 'I only respond to people that register more than 1 percent in the polls. I never thought he had a chance and I've been proven right,' he said in a statement."
New York Times: "Donald J. Trump said Thursday he was not referring to Carly Fiorina's looks when he was quoted as saying, 'Look at that face' and, 'Would anyone vote for that?' Mr. Trump told CNN on Thursday: 'I'm not talking about looks. I'm talking about persona.'" CW: Of course that bull, because right after he said it & his staff failed to guffaw on cue, Trump said, "I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not s'posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?" (See yesterday's Commentariat.) ...
... Has anyone showed Donald Trump his own face? -- Anna Merlan of Jezebel
... Eliza Collins of Politico: "'Many of those comments are made as an entertainer because I did The Apprentice and it was one of the top shows on television,' [Donald Trump] told Greta Van Susteren on Thursday night. 'Some comments are made as an entertainer and as everybody said, as an entertainer is a much different ball game.'" CW: Very entertaining. Especially to someone like Van Susteren, who had serious cosmetic surgery to make her face more Trump-friendly. ...
... The Party of Misogyny. CW: Disparaging an older woman's appearance is an extension of the war on women. Republicans have all the bases covered. They have done their best to rescind the reproductive rights of young women. Their canonization of "traditional families," which hasn't worked out all that well, was a longstanding attempt to undermine & denigrate career women -- Trump's attacks on Megyn Kelly for a "lack of professionalism" was a riff on that theme. Just as confederates have never accepted equality for racial & ethnic minorities, they cannot accept female equality. Why is it exactly that Scott Walker & Chris Christie have attacked teachers' unions in particular? Even GOP tax policies are subtle backhands to feminism: the underlying rationale for Jeb!'s (& Marco's) plans to increase the Earned Income Credit is an incentive for "you girls to stay home & make more babies." Paid family leave, however? Faggedaboudit. Equal pay laws? Ha! Raise the minimum wage (which disproportionately affects women & minorities)? Bad for business. Social welfare programs (from which women benefit more than men)? Hammocks! The GOP's attitude is nearly cradle-to-grave oppression of women. ...
... Bradford Richardson of the Hill: "Donald Trump is going after Rolling Stone in the latest of a series of attacks against the media, saying the magazine's editors added 'a lot of garish stuff' to his controversial interview.... 'The writer actually called me and said, "I'm so upset, I wrote this great story and [publisher] Jann Wenner screwed it up" -- he told me that,' Trump said on CNN's 'New Day.' 'They added a lot of stuff, a lot of garish stuff, that I think is disgusting.'" ...
... CW: Trump's claim about the call from the writer seems at least believable. As Steve M. pointed out yesterday, "The profile's author, Paul Solotaroff, seems to be in awe of Trump and his trappings."
Trump to Face "That Face." Guardian: "Carly Fiorina, the sole female Republican presidential candidate, will join the line-up for the next prime-time televised debate, the only contender to step up from the so-called 'kids' table' to the main platform.... In total, 11 candidates have qualified for next week's main debate, the largest group to share a presidential debate stage in modern American political history." ...
... Patrick Healy & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "The Republican presidential candidates, increasingly certain that their televised debates can have make-or-break consequences for their campaigns, are preparing aggressive new tactics for their next face-off on Wednesday, hoping to draw voters away from the surprisingly durable Donald J. Trump as the 2016 race enters a more combative phase."
Government of the Rich People, by the Rich People, for the Rich People. Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: Jeb Bush "would make out like a bandit under his own plan. According to my quick-and-dirty, back-of-the-envelope calculations based on Bush's 2013 tax return, his liability for that year would have fallen by about $800,000, or about a quarter of what he paid Uncle Sam." CW: What a surprising coincidence. ...
... John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "Just like Reagan, Jeb's brother George, and Mitt Romney in 2012, Jeb talks about simplifying the tax code, boosting American competitiveness, stimulating growth, and restoring 'the opportunity for every American to rise and achieve earned success.' That's how voodoo economics is always marketed. But, despite the welcome addition of a few populist touches, such as pledging to euthanize the carried-interest deduction, Bush is writing the same old tired script."
CW: I don't usually cite the latest stupid thing Mike Huckabee has said, but this was too much to ignore:
... the Dred Scott decision of 1857 still remains to this day the law of the land which says that black people aren't fully human. -- Mike Huckabee, on the radio
This isn't necessarily a mistake on Huckabee's part. He probably doesn't believe that the post-Civil War Amendments to the Constitution are valid. -- Constant Weader
... While we're at it, the Huckblocking of Ted Cruz? That was because the Mike & Kim Show was "our event" & Huck wasn't about to let Cruz crash it. CW: I'll have to admit I don't want Ted coming to my party, either.
Hey, Remember the Most Interesting Man in Politics? Russell Berman of the Atlantic: "On Thursday, [Rand] Paul sought to reclaim his standing in the campaign by turning to this year's most-popular method of attention-grabbing: yelling just a little bit louder and challenging his party's leadership. Paul headlined a rally on the National Mall to demand that Republicans defund Planned Parenthood in the coming budget fight. Standing alongside Sarah Palin and a group of conservative women, Paul said Republicans 'must hold our ground,' even if it results in a government shutdown that his party leader, Mitch McConnell, is trying to avoid." CW: Yes, Randy, there's no more "interesting" man than one who uses & abuses poor women in pursuit of his own personal gain.
From Goat Shed Dwellers to Billionaire Cruz Donors. Michael Kranish of the Boston Globe: "Brothers Farris and Dan Wilks grew up [in Cisco, Texas,] in a converted goat shed amid the ranchlands.... They had little money to spare and didn't show much interest in politics. Then, one day in 2002, they decided to invest in ... 'fracking.' Before long, two things changed: The brothers became fabulously wealthy, and election laws were upended by the Supreme Court. By the time the Wilks brothers sold their company, Frac-Tech, in 2011, they both were billionaires. This year, seizing upon the opportunity presented by loosened election laws, they have made a new investment: the race for the presidency.... Their cumulative $15 million has gone to support Senator Ted Cruz...." Farris is obsessively worried about "the gay agenda" & Dan wants to "bring the Bible back into the school."
Congressional Race
Robert Schmidt of Bloomberg: "Corporate and Wall Street donors have already been shying away from ... New Jersey Republican [Scott Garrett] since he reportedly made anti-gay remarks at a private gathering in July. Now, some key Washington insiders are coalescing around his likely 2016 challenger, Democrat Josh Gottheimer. Later this month, James Cicconi, the Republican head of external affairs at AT&T Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Peter Scher, a Democrat, will host a breakfast 'meet and greet' for Gottheimer.... The backlash is even more notable considering the power [Garrett] wields as the head of the House subcommittee on capital markets -- a panel known informally ... as the ATM, mainly because of the money lawmakers can extract from the industry." ...
Daily Kos: "Garrett voted against re-electing John Boehner as speaker in January, and his opposition to the Export-Import Bank also did not put him on Wall Street's good side. The final nail in the coffin may have been a Politico report describing how Garrett refused to donate to the NRCC over their support for gay candidates. Major Wall Street donors canceled a fundraiser for Garrett after the news broke...."
Beyond the Beltway
Kate Zernike & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "It was a traffic jam that, in the end, rerouted the career of the chief executive of the world's fourth-largest airline, and how one led to the other is a tale of power, politics and New Jersey wheeling-dealing.... Like a never-ending thread, the federal investigation into the [GWB] lane closings led prosecutors to look into the dealings of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge, and its chairman at the time, David Samson. This revealed his close relationship with officials at United, the largest carrier at Newark Liberty International Airport, which the authority runs.... People close to the case said those same prosecutors had been asking questions about the role played by Jamie Fox, a longtime friend of Mr. Samson's and United's onetime lobbyist whom [Gov. Chris] Christie, a Republican, appointed state transportation commissioner last year."
Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press: "It took 14 hours, two failed votes and a day full of drama, but at 3:12 a.m. Friday, state Rep. Todd Courser [RTP] resigned from his state House seat, and an hour later, Rep. Cindy Gamrat [RTP] was expelled on a 91-12 vote, ending a controversial sex and cover-up scandal that has rocked Lansing for the last month." ...
... NEW. We call them Evangenitals. -- Forrest M.
Benjamin Mueller, et al., of the New York Times: New York City "Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City's police commissioner [Bill Bratton] apologized on Thursday for the mistaken arrest of James Blake, a retired top-10 professional tennis player, who said he was slammed to the ground outside his hotel in Midtown Manhattan after being confused for a suspect in a credit card fraud investigation.... Mr. Bratton, speaking at a news conference on Thursday, said he had concerns about 'the inappropriateness of the amount of force that was used during the arrest.' An initial review of video evidence of the arrest, he said, led him to believe that it may have been excessive. The officers failed to report the mistaken arrest, as they were required to do.... The officer's decision to throw an unarmed, compliant man to the ground added to the sense that black people are often roughed up by the police out of view, with few resources to bring attention to their grievances." CW: No kidding. Would police have body-slammed me & roughed me up if they mistook me for a white-collar criminal? I doubt it.
Miranda Blue of Right Wing Watch: "The Oath Keepers, the anti-government 'Patriot' group that mounted an armed standoff with the Bureau of Land Management at the Bundy Ranch, stationed armed guards outside of military recruitment centers after the Chattanooga shooting, and unsettled Ferguson protestors when they showed up carrying assault rifles, is now offering anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis a 'security detail' to protect her from further arrest if she continues to defy the Supreme Court's marriage equality ruling." ...
... Steve M.: "Since [both Mike Huckabee & Ted Cruz] described [the federal government's efforts to force Kim Davis to comply with the law] as government tyranny, and they both say that privately owned firearms are a citizen's defense against tyranny, aren't they obligated to participate in an armed intervention if an evil federal judge sends Davis back to jail? If not, why do they hate freedom?"
News Ledes
Al Jazeera: "At least 107 people have been killed and 238 others injured after a crane collapsed in Mecca's Grand Mosque, Saudi Arabia's civil defence authority says."
AP: "US officials have arrested a man who allegedly tried to help plan an attack on a 9/11 memorial event. The US attorney's office said Joshua Ryne Goldberg, 20, of Orange Park, Florida, had been charged with distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction."
AP: "Prosecutors have released new photos taken in the chaotic aftermath of the Colorado theater shooting, including pictures of the auditorium where James Holmes killed 12 people. The images, which prosecutors released in response to open-records requests, also show the elaborate homemade explosives in Holmes' apartment, which he had rigged into a potentially deadly booby trap." Includes slideshow.
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Reader Comments (23)
Judging by some comments on the NYT article regarding the new homo species found in South Africa, some are far from convinced about the importance of the discovery, the hype, and even the professional reputation of Lee Berger.
Marie provides a link to the NYT article in the right hand column.
More musicians coming out against the use of their music at campaign events. This time it's R.E.M. vs. Trumpy and Teddy.
Michael Stipe's remark - "Go fuck yourselves, the lot of you — you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men. Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign."
Another reason to like R.E.M.
The discovery of the Homo naledi is a huge deal––and a very exciting discovery since that site had been excavated before but no one discovered that small opening which housed these hundreds of bones. There are more bones to gather, I understand, and the process is extremely difficult.
One wonders what Ben Carson has to say about this find. He does not believe in evolution (because of his religious trappings?) Yesterday I noticed in the Gail Collin's piece that she mentions his disbelief in evolution, but then says how strange because he is a scientist. I'm not sure someone who is a surgeon could be labeled a scientist.
@Unwashed: No confusion this time about what song was playing–-good for Michael to snipe at the "sad. attention-grabbing, power hungry little men" although he might have used a different noun at the end to include the likes of Palin and that gal with the far away eyes.
And speaking of Jeb!'s new tax plan here's a NYR piece by James Surowieki discussing Joseph Stiglitz's three books–-"Why the Rich are so Much Richer." worth reading.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/sep/24/stiglitz-why-rich-are-so-much-richer/
PD: if you are confused:
"... , check with the sun
Carry a compass to help you along
Your feet are going to be on the ground
Your head is there to move you around, so"
(copyright R.E.M.)
@PD Pepe: besides being a neurosurgeon & pediatric specialist, Carson is a bona fide scientist. We know this because of the research he did & a paper he coauthored on a study in which the researchers used aborted fetal tissue. According to Wikipedia, Carson wrote many articles for peer-reviewed journals. In addition, his surgical innovations have been cited by other medical scientists.
Even if he hadn't engaged in direct scientific research -- as he has -- I wouldn't quibble with calling Carson a scientist. While I don't doubt his work required "gifted hands," it also required a deep scientific understanding of the complexities of the brain. He wasn't just removing warts.
I think it's clear his religious prejudices have interfered mightily with his ability to be an objective scientist -- whether he's talking about evolution or homo- and heterosexuality. Luckily, these prejudices don't seem to have interfered with his professional work, but they certainly could have. The human brain, after all, is the product of evolution, & many a human brain thinks it inhabits a gay body.
And, yeah, it does seem to me to be completely crazy & pathetic to harbor the socio-religious beliefs Carson does, given the scientific knowledge he has acquired.
Marie
Unwashed,
I've harbored a bit of resentment toward Michael Stipe since he dissed the Beatles as of no consequence, purveyors of elevator music, but I may have to soften my stance after such eloquence.
You can bet there's one R.E.M. song the Confederates won't swipe:
This one.
Marie and PD,
Interestingly, a piece in the New Yorker the other day suggests that religion is the last thing scientists should concern themselves with for some of the same reasons Marie suggests, the possibility of an interference with objective reasoning. Certainly there have been successful and objective scientists who have also been religious people, but the climate in which scientists work today as changed almost as drastically as that which surrounds the planet.
Lawrence Krauss, a physicist and cosmologist who runs the Origins Project at the University of Arizona (a pretty interesting project it is, too) contends that Americans who are religious, especially those who tend toward Evangelical forms, are treated with such deference that it is considered dangerous to challenge their world views even though they have no problem demanding that everyone kowtow to their belief system, declaring that none shall contend with their beliefs and live to tell about it. Or something like that.
"Ultimately, when we hesitate to openly question beliefs because we don’t want to risk offense, questioning itself becomes taboo. It is here that the imperative for scientists to speak out seems to me to be most urgent...Scientists need to be prepared to demonstrate by example that questioning perceived truth, especially 'sacred truth,' is an essential part of living in a free country."
Well, he didn't have to wait long before Confederates have largely proved his point for him. This morning he is being attacked as a "shockingly sophomoric" fanatic in a hit piece in, where else, the National Review, written by Kevin Williamson, a theater critic who fancies himself an expert on economics. Williamson doesn't really address Krauss' point as much as insult him for being anti-religion and a kook to boot. Williamson himself wrote a book a couple of years ago, "The End Is Near and It’s Going To Be Awesome" in which he declares that Democrats (especially Obama) have ruined everything, but it's okay because soon international corporations will overthrow government (which he likens to the Mafia which sends out leg breakers to keep the sheeple in line) and take over everything, the awesome part.
So let's see....who's the fanatic, the kook?
But he proves Krauss' point. If you speak up against Confederate world views, especially their reliance on religion to tell them what to do, you will be cut off at the knees.
Q.E. fucking D.
And one more point about the virulence of the response to Krauss' piece. I firmly believe that many--too many--progressives don't appreciate the fierce acrimony harbored by Confederates for anyone questioning them. It is a zero sum game to them. No one gets out alive but them. You go against them, they will come after you. And they won't stop. There is no room for discussion, no time for conversation, and never any harbor granted to anyone who talks of compromise. Republicans are demonstrating that exact philosophy in their approach to the Iran deal. They will stop at nothing to wreck this thing. Same with Planned Parenthood. Doctored videos are as good as incontrovertible evidence. These people are psychotic.
Enjoyed the video of Martin O'Malley singing Woody Guthrie on Wall Street. Clever but not overly so. Beats the shit out of that awful faux country bullshit thing that Hillary release a while back. Phew...
And at least a few people knew who he was (or read the stickers on the guitar case). Unfortunately that $1.74 is about all he can expect from the Masters of the Universe.
But hey, at least that guitar was not for show. The case had some ragged edges. It's seen some use. Plus he has good taste in guitars. Looks like a Taylor. Good git.
@Akhilleus: A Taylor guitar?! Oh noes. Hope O'Malley know not to fly Christie/United Airlines.
Marie
@Ak: QED
"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," say Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED."
"Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that" and promply vanishes in a puff of logic." -- Douglas Adams, from "A Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
@Ak,
Thanks for the info about Stipe's Beatles comment. I wasn't aware of it and don't know why he said it other than in reaction to the bazillion times we've heard their songs either in the original or covered versions. The Beatles certainly made an impact both musically and culturally. I might just listen to one of their albums on my plane trip home this afternoon instead of my usual Velvet Underground/Lou Reed, early Pink Floyd (Syd Barrett period) or Jimi Hendrix.
You're right about the song you linked (I won my bet against myself about which one it would be.) I lost mine decades ago. In fact, during the mid-70's born-again "I Found It" movement a group of us like-minded friends had buttons made stating "I Lost It" just to annoy the other side.
Re the hypocritical Christian Confederates, I heard some gossip at a local watering hole last night that the Gov. Robert Bentley (AL) may be in political and marital trouble. His wife of 50 years is filing for divorce because of an affair he's been having with a married with children female staffer 28 years his junior. Involves misuse of state resources as well.
Sorry but can't include links using this remote. If you're interested check out www.al.com to get the scoop on this dope. Mr. Christian Dermatologist my ass.
Whyte,
Douglas Adams continues to offer sanity in a world of seriously unsane people.
And speaking of the HGTG, it just occurred to me what a great GOP candidate Zaphod Beeblebrox would make. He wouldn't have to talk out of both sides of his mouth at the same time, he has two heads. AND he's an egocentric narcissist constantly jabbering on about his supreme qualifications which he'd be happy to describe if only he could remember them.
Unwashed,
If you're gonna stick with Lou Reed, I'd suggest stuff from a little later, like "Rock 'n' Roll Animal" with that amazing Steve Hunter intro to "Sweet Jane" followed by the 13 minute live version of "Heroin". Great stuff. When Hunter, after running down a variety of intricate screaming riffs, turns the corner into that immediately recognizable "Sweet Jane" progression, you can really feel the whole crowd leap to its feet. I once heard a street band in Harvard Square do an acoustic, sort of bluegrassy version of "Sweet Jane" it was surprisingly very good. Can't go wrong with Lou.
Oh yeah, love the idea of the "I Lost It" buttons. Can't imagine any Born Agains who noticed them and knew what you meant thought it was funny. Fundies are not exactly known for their sense of humor. Nothin' funny 'bout Jesus, ya know.
Marie,
No wonder United is in hot water. Passengers staring out the window might ask themselves why stevedores are defiling their luggage, especially expensive guitars, by flinging them into cargo bays, but they have to work quickly, those people. You never know when they'll be tasked to handle a perk for a Friend of Christie.
Funny video. I'd forgotten about that incident. I once pulled my guitar off the baggage delivery run only to find that the lock had been destroyed and the case broken. Not fun. Always thought about buying a seat just for the instrument but then prices skyrocketed.
Comin' and goin', they get ya.
Ak,
I have the vinyl in my collection. Definitely made to play loud. Saw Lou live in a small art deco theater once, strangest audience ever, was two hours late but still a great show.
For a little relief from the news, check out this homage to Lou Reed.
Sorry, pasted the wrong link.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R63EI8ySsU
Travel tip:
When I was working in Europe for months at a time I never brought a guitar with me. I just went to a local shop, bought a used one, and sold it back when I left. Usually for about what I'd paid. Got to try out a lot of different instruments and met some really nice music people.
Unwashed,
Saw Lou a few times. You're right about the crowd. Never the type of show where you'd run into Chamber of Commerce types or Rotary Club members, that's for sure.
@Unwashed: Re: Al. Gov. Bentley. We have those same Repub.
politicians here in Mi. Although, I understand one just resigned
today and his concubine has been asked to do the same. We call
them Evangenitals. Thinking about only two things. Jesus and
getting re-elected and, oh sorry, then there's that other thing: SEX.
Forrest,
Thanks for the new word of the day. I'll be sure to make use of if it when I return to the Bible Belt next week amongst all the holier than thous.
A couple of things of concern to me--not related.
First, Hillary Clinton states that during her first month in office she would invite Bibi Netanyahoo to the Oval office (to make nice, I assume). She does not like how the Obama administration handled Bibi and AIPAC (she did not mention AIPAC, but it was hanging in the air, if ya know what I mean). She said in so many words that we have to suck up to Israel and Bibi and make sure they feel safe and protected. Yikes! What disgusting pandering--especially given the way Bibi and the Likud have dissed Obama!
Second gripe. I am still reeling from reading about and seeing the video of former tennis star, James Blake, being body-slammed and arrested in front of the Hyatt in NYC in a mistaken incident. James, of course, is (half) Black, and the arresting policeman is White. James is not making a big deal out of this, and I wish he would. And I hope the Black Lives Matter movement will pick it up. Here is the link to the video.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/09/11/james_blake_nypd_video_security_footage_shows_former_tennis_player_s_arrest.html