Help!

To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

Link Code:   <a href="URL">text</a>

OR you can try this Link Generator, which a contributor recommends: "All you do is paste in the URL and supply the text to highlight. Then hit 'Get Code.'... Return to RealityChex and paste it in."

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

The Ledes

Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Washington Post's liveblog of developments in the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse is here: “Divers recovered the bodies of two construction workers who died when a massive cargo ship struck and collapsed a Baltimore bridge, as investigators revealed Wednesday that hazardous material was leaking from breached containers on the stranded vessel and state and federal lawmakers rushed to begin the recovery from the disaster that crippled the Port of Baltimore. Rescue crews found the victims shortly before 10 a.m. trapped in a red pickup truck in about 25 feet of water in the Patapsco River near the mid-span of the hulking wreck of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland State Police Secretary Roland L. Butler Jr. said at a news conference. The conditions were treacherous for the divers, so Butler said they were suspending the search for the bodies of four other construction workers who plunged to their deaths when the container ship in distress struck the bridge shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, causing it to fall.

“The workers are believed to be the only victims in the disaster.... The victims recovered were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, Md. Other victims identified Wednesday were Maynor Suazo Sandoval, 38, from Honduras, and Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, who was the father of three. The names of the remaining two victims have not been released.” ~~~

~~~ CNN's live updates are here.

The Wires
powered by Surfing Waves
The Ledes

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington Post: “As a cargo ship the size of a skyscraper drifted dangerously close to a major Baltimore bridge that carried more than 30,000 cars a day, the crew of the Dali issued an urgent 'mayday,' hoping to avert disaster Tuesday. First responders sprang into action, shutting down most traffic on the four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge just before the 95,000 gross-ton vessel plowed into a bridge piling at about 1:30 a.m., causing multiple sections of the span to bow and snap in a harrowing scene captured on video.... Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) hailed those who carried out the quick work as 'heroes' and said they saved lives, but the scale of the destruction was catastrophic and will probably have far-reaching impacts for the economy and travel on the East Coast for months to come.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here. CNN's live updates are here. ~~~

     ~~~ A Washington Post liveblog of developments is here: “Six people [-- bridge construction workers --] were presumed dead Tuesday evening, authorities announced as they shifted from a search and rescue operation to a recovery effort.... The governor declared a state of emergency, and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) announced that the city has deployed its emergency operations plan. Vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore was 'suspended until further notice.'”

Public Service Announcement

The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

The Hollywood Reporter has the full list of 2024 Oscar winners here.

Ryan Gosling performs "I'm Just Ken" at the Academy Awards: ~~~

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

Washington Post: “The last known location of 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by world-renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was in Vienna in the mid-1920s. The vivid painting featuring a young woman was listed as property of a 'Mrs Lieser' — believed to be Henriette Lieser, who was deported and killed by the Nazis. The only remaining record of the work was a black and white photograph from 1925, around the time it was last exhibited, which was kept in the archives of the Austrian National Library. Now, almost 100 years later, this painting by one of the world’s most famous modernist artists is on display and up for sale — having been rediscovered in what the auction house has hailed as a sensational find.... It is unclear which member of the Lieser family is depicted in the piece[.]”

CNN: “Jon Stewart is heading back to 'The Daily Show.' The comedian, who during his 16-year run as host of the Comedy Central program established it as an entertainment and cultural force, will return to host the show each week on Mondays starting February 12, Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios announced Wednesday. Stewart, who returns as the 2024 presidential election season heats up, will also executive produce the show and work with a rotating line-up of comedians who will helm the program the rest of the week, Tuesdays through Thursdays.”

~~~ Marie: I don't know if this podcast will update automatically, or if I have to do it manually. In any event, both you and I can find the latest update of the published episodes here. The episodes begin with ads, but you can fast-forward through them.

Contact Marie

Click on this link to e-mail Marie.

Thursday
Sep032015

The Commentariat -- Sept. 4, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

Afternoon Update:

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), in a Washington Post op-ed, says he will vote against the Iran nuclear deal.

Alex Seitz-Wald of MSNBC: "In an exclusive interview with NBC News/MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Friday, Hillary Clinton said she's 'sorry' there's been so much controversy over her private email server, but declined to apologize for the decision to use it. She also suggested that GOP front-runner Donald Trump is unqualified to be president and weighed in on the surprisingly robust challenge to her candidacy from Democratic primary rival Bernie Sanders":

*****

Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "Justice Department on Thursday unveiled a new policy that will require its law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant to deploy cellphone-tracking devices in criminal investigations and inform judges when they plan to use them. The department's new policy, announced by Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, should increase transparency around the use of the controversial technology by the FBI and other Justice Department agencies. It imposes the highest legal standard for the device's use, and a single standard across the department."

Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Senator Cory A. Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, endorsed President Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran on Thursday, padding support for the accord, which already has enough votes in the Senate to thwart a Republican-backed resolution of disapproval." ...

... Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) will support the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, he announced Thursday." ...

... ConservaDem Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) also announced her support today. Via Paul Waldman. That's 37.

... Kevin Drum on why Republicans couldn't kill the Iran nuclear deal: "Ever since 2009, their political strategy has been relentless and one-dimensional: oppose everything President Obama supports, instantly and unanimously. They certainly followed this playbook on Iran. Republicans were slamming the deal before the text was even released.... This did two things. First, it made them look unserious.... Second, by forming so quickly, the Republican wall of opposition turned the Iran agreement into an obviously partisan matter. Once they did that, they made it much harder for Democrats to oppose a president of their own party. A more deliberate approach almost certainly would have helped them pick up more Democratic votes.... [But] it's quite possible that Republicans actually did nothing wrong. They simply never had a chance in the first place." ...

... AND there's this. Times of Israel: "An official from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading pro-Israel lobby in the US, on Thursday blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for harming the opposition to the Iran nuclear deal by insisting on addressing Congress on the issue in March. 'Netanyahu's speech in Congress made the Iranian issue a partisan one,' the AIPAC official told Israel's Walla news. 'As soon as he insisted on going ahead with this move, which was perceived as a Republican maneuver against the president, we lost a significant part of the Democratic party, without which it was impossible to block the agreement,' said the official, who asked not to be named." ...

... Update: Adam Entous of the Wall Street Journal on Netanyahu's lobbying efforts to scuttle the deal: "Both supporters and opponents say they can't recall any other foreign government inserting itself so directly into an American political debate, especially against a deal the White House considers a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's legacy." Firewalled, so cut & paste a snippet into Google search if you don't have a WSJ subscription.

Amanda Holpuch, et al., of the Guardian: "Aid groups and at least 14 senators have called on the US government to take in thousands more Syrian refugees by the end of 2016, amid international outcry prompted by shocking images of a three-year-old boy's body lying face down in the surf in Turkey.... Asked on Thursday about US plans to take in more refugees, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there are no 'impending policy changes' and that the US will continue to offer aid to Europe." CW: It isn't clear to me who the 14 senators are, but the article obliquely suggests they're Democrats & that Republicans are resisting bringing Syrian "jihadists" into the U.S. See also Way Beyond the Beltway below.

Paul Krugman: "Take it from those who share our language, but not our currency: There are many ways to make money work.... What's important for both capital and trade, it turns out, is whether your economy offers good investment opportunities under an umbrella of legal and political stability." ...

... CW: Which is why Republicans' ceaseless efforts to destabilize the government & tear down the social fabric & that bolsters the economy are, IMO, the largest drags on the U.S. economy. Our biggest economic problem is Republicans.

Deflategate Punctured. Ken Belson of the New York Times: "In a major setback for the N.F.L., New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady prevailed in his battle to have his four-game suspension overturned on Thursday, as a federal judge reversed a ruling by Commissioner Roger Goodell to bench one of the league's biggest stars in a dispute over underinflated balls he used in a January championship game. Judge Richard M. Berman of Federal District Court in Manhattan did not rule on whether Brady tampered with the footballs in a bid for competitive advantage. Instead, he focused on the narrower question of whether the collective bargaining agreement between the N.F.L. and the players union gave Goodell the authority to carry out the suspension, and whether Brady was treated fairly during his attempt to have his suspension overturned." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Margaret Talev of Bloomberg: "Vice President Joe Biden opened up for the first time publicly about his painful deliberations over whether to run for president so soon after his son Beau's death to brain cancer, saying the key question is 'whether my family and I have the emotional energy to run. Can I do it? Can my family undertake what is an arduous commitment that we'd be proud to undertake in ordinary circumstances?' Biden told an audience of 2,000 people at an Atlanta synagogue Thursday night, during a question-and-answer session following a speech he gave on U.S. foreign policy. 'The honest-to-God answer is I just don't know.'" CW: So looks like all the tea-leaf reading wasn't complete balderdash. For the first time, Joe himself admits to be considering a run.

Jamelle Bouie cites a number of reasons that Bernie Sanders is likely to lose the nomination. CW: Bouie's list is okay as far as it goes, but he ignores Bernie's biggest hurdle: the superdelegates. These are the 800 or so party poobahs who can shift the nomination despite the states' popular votes. They were such an impotant factor in 2008 that I started Reality Chex because there was no one place where a person could keep track of the superdelegate totals, & those totals would determine whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would get the nomination. No matter how well Bernie does in the primaries, the vast majority of superdelegates are unlikely to give him a nod unless Clinton is under indictment, Biden (or some other savior-candidate) doesn't step in & O'Malley drops out.

Rebecca Traister in New York: "What if the big secret contained in Hillary Clinton's emails is that she's not the monster her critics have portrayed her as for decades? ... Barring the possibility that more serious breaches are turned up, these emails may do the work a thousand soft magazine profiles never could have: letting us in on the fact that after all these years, we do know Hillary Clinton. And she's not half bad." CW: An enjoyable read. ...

... Ellen Brait of the Guardian: "Edward Snowden has branded as 'completely ridiculous' the idea that Hillary Clinton's personal email server was secure while she was secretary of state.... In 2014, Clinton accused Snowden of inadvertently helping terrorists. Since then she has toned down such criticism and said the NSA needs to be more transparent.... Snowden was also asked if he was concerned about what the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump might do to him if he is elected president in 2016. Trump has called Snowden 'a total traitor' and 'a bad guy' and said 'there is still a thing called execution'.... 'It's very difficult to respond in a serious way to any statement that's made by Donald Trump,' he said." ...

... Philip Victor of Al Jazeera America has more here.

Tim Egan: "In just under two weeks, the Republicans who want to be president will gather in Simi Valley, Calif., at the presidential library of Ronald Reagan for their second debate.... The real Ronald Reagan -- serial tax-raiser, illegal immigrant amnesty granter, deficit creator, abortion enabler, gun control supporter and peacenik -- would never be allowed on the stage. The party has moved so far to the right from Reagan's many centrist positions that the guy would be told to go find a home among the Democrats." ...

... CW: Egan brushes aside Reagan's supply-side economics & neglects to mention his views that elements of the social safety net -- Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, etc. -- formed a network of communistic programs, that unions were there to be busted, the wilderness was there to be raped, & regulations were there to be cut. Nostalgia for Reagan cuts both ways. Today's Republican elites are merely carrying Reaganism to its logical extremes. ...

Patrick Murray of Monmouth University: "When Republicans and Republican-leaning voters are asked who they would support for the GOP nomination for president, Donald Trump leads the pack at 30%, which is up 4 points from early August before the first debate. Ben Carson (18%) has increased his vote share by 13 points and now holds second place. Jeb Bush (8%) has dropped by 4 points and now stands in a tie for third with Ted Cruz (8%). Following behind are Marco Rubio (5%), Carly Fiorina (4%), and Mike Huckabee (4%). Scott Walker (3%), who held third place in Monmouth's August poll, has dropped 8 points since then. Chris Christie, John Kasich, and Rand Paul each get 2%. The remaining six candidates included in the poll score no higher than 1% each." Via Paul Waldman. ...

... Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare. Michael Lind in Politico Magazine: "The success of Trump's campaign has, if nothing else, exposed the Tea Party for what it really is; Trump's popularity is, in effect, final proof of what some of us have been arguing for years: that the Tea Party is less a libertarian movement than a right-wing version of populism.... Tea Partiers are less upset about the size of government overall than they are that so much of it is going to other people, especially immigrants and nonwhites. They are for government for them and against government for Not-Them."

Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump will sign a pledge Thursday to support the GOP nominee in next year's general election, effectively ruling out a third-party or independent run, according to two Republicans familiar with the move." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Paul Waldman: "Since the pledge would be happily violated by the only candidate who it was designed to constrain in the first place, it has little practical significance. But it does make the Republican Party look pathetic. They're so scared of the guy leading their primary race (as well they should be) that they have to beg him to pinkie-swear that he won't turn around and screw them over in the general election...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Prince Rebus's Pyrrhic Victory. Robert Costa: "... bringing Trump more fully within the party's tent, Republicans gain reassurance about his intentions -- and court possible fallout for working closely with the unpredictable and sharp-tongued billionaire, who has angered Hispanic leaders with his controversial comments on illegal immigration. Trump made his announcement at an afternoon news conference after meeting with the loyalty statement's author, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus...." ...

... "Trump Outsmarted the GOP." Jim Newell of Slate: "The Republican Party ... has now committed itself to supporting [Trump's] agenda, which goes against decades of its own dogma, if Trump is able to pull off the nomination. Most of [Thursday's] news has been framed as Trump signs pledge to support eventual nominee. Another way to look at it is Establishment Republican candidates pledge to support Donald Trump." ...

... "Donald Trump Has the Republican Party in the Palm of His Hand." Brian Beutler of the New Republic: "Trump wasn't communicating to the party that its knock against him for threatening an independent run has been effective. To the contrary, it's that he doesn't think the threat is necessary anymore -- that he's now genuinely well-positioned to win the primary, rather than an insurgent threat who can be neutralized by party heavyweights.... It is now easy to imagine Trump eclipsing 40 percent of the vote before the primaries begin, and ripping up that pledge if a panicky Republican Party responds by erecting obstacles to his victory." ...

... Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "In a tussle outside Trump Tower on Thursday, a member of Donald J. Trump's security team responded to a protester, who had grabbed him from behind, by hitting him in the face. The member of Mr. Trump's security team had ripped a large blue sign reading 'Trump: Make America Racist Again' away from protesters gathered outside Trump Plaza, where the candidate signed a pledge to the Republican Party that he wouldn't stage a third-party candidacy...." CW: So, yeah, Trump's rhetoric incites violence against Hispanics -- even in his own staff. ...

... Hugh Stumps Trump. The Internets is abuzz with the news that confederate talk-show host Hugh Hewitt challenged Donald Trump's knowledge on Middle East politics & Trump flunked (oh, & Carly Fiorina pretty-much aced it). But as Steve M. correctly (IMO) notes, "The fans don't care." ...

     ... Update: Trump may not know the names of leaders of Middle-East revolutionary groups, but Greg Sargent notes that his thinking on the Iran nuclear deal is a lot smarter -- and more realistic -- than his rivals'.

What Did the Dingbats Say Today?

Elections Matter -- to the Earth. Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: Marco "Rubio vowed to reverse key components of the climate agenda [President] Obama has been touting in Alaska, while also making the case for turning back some of the nation's energy authority to the states and away from the federal government. While outlining his proposals during a swing through Oklahoma -- currently the fourth-largest producer of natural gas in the United States -- the Florida senator decried in particular the Environmental Protection Agency's new rules to reduce greenhouse emissions under its Clean Power Plan."

Radley Balko of the Washington Post: Scott Walker wrote an opinion piece on the right-wing site Hot Air blaming President Obama -- & others who urge or have implemented scrutiny of policing practices -- for the recent killing of law enforcement officers in Texas & Illinois. Scottie said things were way better in the good old days. "Walker is simply wrong when he tries to use [Texas officer Darren] Goforth's death to say that more oversight and scrutiny of cops have made the job more dangerous. There's just no evidence of that. All the available evidence suggests precisely the opposite.... For some reason, Republicans and conservatives from Donald Trump to Ted Cruz to Walker to Mike Huckabee think the government entity that has the power to detain, arrest and kill should get the least scrutiny of all."

Today, judicial lawlessness crossed into judicial tyranny. Today, for the first time ever, the government arrested a Christian woman for living according to her faith. This is wrong. This is not America.... I stand with Kim Davis. Unequivocally. I stand with every American that the Obama Administration is trying to force to chose between honoring his or her faith or complying with a lawless court decision.... Where is the call for President Obama to resign for ignoring and defying our immigration laws, our welfare reform laws, and even his own Obamacare? Blah blah. -- Ted Cruz, on the incarceration of County Clerk Kim Davis

Lawless, tyrannical Judge David Bunning, who jailed Davis for contempt of court, is a George W. Bush appointee. Not quite sure how a judge who tells a defendant she must obey the law is lawless. Maybe Harvard Law should ask Ted to return his sheepskin. It has to be embarrassing for a prominent law school to have a prominent graduate who doesn't know what the meaning of "law" is. Much less "tyranny." -- Constant Weader

AND Jeb! is still confused about the whole thing. Which he described as "a sign of leadership." The Bush family's idea of leadership might not be just the same as yours.

Quote of the Day. A broken clock is right once a day. -- Rick Perry, responding to Donald Trump's remark that Perry was dropping out of the presidential race

Beyond the Beltway

Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Deputy clerks at the [Rowan C]ounty[, Kentucky,] clerk’s office [in Morehead] issued a marriage license to [a] same-sex couple on Friday, a day after their boss was jailed for refusing to do so. Trailed by supporters and the news media, a couple, James Yates and William Smith Jr., entered the Rowan County clerk's office and received a marriage license, ending a standoff that has captured the attention of a country still coming to grips with a Supreme Court decision establishing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage." ...

She has done her job. Just because five Supreme Court judges make a ruling, it’s not a law. -- Legal scholar Joe Davis, husband of Kim, today

Kim Davis mugshot.... Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "A defiant county clerk rejected a proposal that would have allowed her deputies to grant same-sex marriage licenses, hours after she was sent to jail by a federal judge for disobeying a court order. Through her lawyer, the clerk, Kim Davis of Rowan County, said she would not agree to allow the licenses to be issued under her authority as county clerk. Had she consented, the judge would have considered releasing her from custody. Five of the six deputies told Judge David L. Bunning of Federal District Court that they would issue the licenses, though some of them said they would do so reluctantly. The lone holdout was Ms. Davis's son, Nathan." CW: Holy cow! Nepotism, too? This story was linked yesterday when the lede was,

A federal judge [in Ashland, Ky.,] on Thursday ordered a Kentucky clerk jailed for contempt of court because of her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The clerk, Kim Davis of Rowan County, was ordered incarcerated after a hearing here before Judge David L. Bunning of Federal District Court. ...

... Ryan Felton of the Guardian, relying partially on new agencies: After Davis refused to allow her clerks to issue the licenses in her stead, "the judge then ordered ... the deputies to begin issuing the licenses on Friday. Upon the hearing's conclusion, [Judge David] Bunning said he expects compliance, even with the clerk's continued dissent.... Davis, a Democrat, earns $80,000 annually; she took office in January after winning a close election last fall." ...

... MEANWHILE, Davis's lawyer sees the whole thing as the U.S. goosestepping toward the Holocaust. ...

... Noah Feldman of Bloomberg: "It's just fine ... for a public official to say that he or she won't enforce any law that's fundamentally immoral and in contradiction to God's laws. But the only way to keep that promise consistent with the oath of office is for the official to resign when she thinks enforcing the law would be wrong.... Indeed, she must [resign] -- or she'd be living in a position of hypocritical sin.... Under the Constitution, the government can't force you to engage in a religious action or stop you from exercising your freedom of religion. Normally, it shouldn't coerce you to act against your faith. But no one was or is coercing Kim Davis. She's free to serve the public and obey her oath to God to follow the law. And she's free to quit and absolve herself of that oath. The choice is hers." ...

... CW: One of Davis's arguments is that she is following her oath because she is obeying the law as it was at the time she swore the oath. That is ridiculous. It would suggest that public officials are required to enforce only the laws in effect at the time of their swearings-in. In addition, if Davis had no idea the law in regard to same-sex marriage could change while she was in office, it's her own damned fault. She has said, "I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage." As I noted in a comment yesterday, Davis suffers mightily from a lack of imagination. It was common knowledge while Davis was running for office -- thanks in part to Nino Scalia -- that the Court would likely make marriage equality the law of the land. By the time Davis swore her oath, Obergefell was already before the Supreme Court, & there was a better-than 50-50 chance that the Court would uphold Obergefell's petition. Davis knew the risk she was taking that her beliefs would force her to violate her oath. I'd say it was "immoral" for her to run for office, then swear an oath that she knew from the get-go she could not keep. So in addition to breaking the law, encouraging her employees to break the law & being a first-rate bigot, she ran for & accepted a public position under false pretenses. Immoral cow. ...

... Charles Pierce: "Let me explain to you what happens now. The entire political communications apparatus of the wingnut welfare system goes to DefCon 1.... Kim Davis now becomes the latest ornament on the Hang Yourself Cross of Bible-banging victimhood. There will be marches and vigils. There will be a six-figure book deal; my money's on John Fund as Davis's ghost. There may even be one of those movies produced by gullibility trawlers like the one helmed by Rick Santorum. Anybody want to bet me that she doesn't speak at next year's Republican National Convention? You have made a star, Judge Bunning, and the rest of us have to live with her."

Michael Miller of the Washington Post: "Last week, a Tenn. judge refused to grant a straight couple a divorce because the U.S. Supreme Court allowed gay marriage." Thanks to D. C. Clark for the link. The judge -- who is elected -- is using the travails of this couple -- who reportedly presented valid & customary reasons to divorce -- for his own ideological purposes. The state judicial bar should sanction him for dereliction of duty in failure to follow established state law.

AP: "The white man accused of killing nine black churchgoers during a Bible study will face the death penalty, according to court documents filed Thursday. The documents said prosecutors would pursue the death penalty against Dylann Roof, 21, because more than two people were killed, and that others' lives were put at risk." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mookie's Misfire. Henry Curtis of the Orlando Sentinel: "Spike's Tactical [in Apopka, Florida] is marketing an assault rifle it claims was 'designed to never be used by Muslim terrorists.' The AR-15 assault rifle is laser-etched on one side with a Knights Templar Long Cross -- a symbol of the Christian Crusades to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslims -- and Psalm 144:1 on the other side: 'Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.' The company's spokesman, former Navy SEAL Ben 'Mookie' Thomas said he came up with the idea and believes no devout Muslim would touch such a weapon.... 'Is it designed for Christian terrorists?' asked Hasan Shibly, executive director of CAIR-FL, who said out of 205 mass killings so far this year in the U.S. only one involved a Muslim." CW: Sorry, Mookie. I think Hasan just pointed out a teensy flaw in your anti-terrorism plan. But nice try.

Way Beyond

Nicholas Watt of the Guardian: British Prime Minister David Cameron has bowed to overwhelming domestic and international pressure and announced that Britain will accept thousands more Syrian refugees." ...

 

... Rick Lyman & Alison Smale of the New York Times: "With thousands of migrants pouring out of Afghanistan and the Middle East, the business of smuggling them across the Balkans into the European Union has grown even larger than the illicit trade in drugs and weapons, law enforcement officials said. In Greece alone, there are 200 such smuggling rings, said Col. Gerald Tatzgern, head of the Austrian police service fighting human trafficking." ...

... Ishan Tharoor of the Washington Post: "As Amnesty International recently pointed out, the 'six Gulf countries -- Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain -- have offered zero resettlement places to Syrian refugees.' This claim was echoed by Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.... That's ... shocking..., given these countries' relative proximity to Syria, as well as the incredible resources at their disposal. As Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi, a Dubai-based political commentator, observes, these countries include some of the Arab world's largest military budgets, its highest standards of living.... Moreover, these countries aren't totally innocent bystanders. To varying degrees, elements within Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the U.A.E. and Kuwait have invested in the Syrian conflict, playing a conspicuous role in funding and arming a constellation of rebel and Islamist factions fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad." ...

... Anne Barnard of the New York Times: "It was never any secret that a rising tide of Syrian refugees would sooner or later burst the seams of the Middle East and head for Europe. Yet little was done in Western capitals to stop or mitigate the slow-motion disaster that was befalling Syrian civilians and sending them on the run."

News Lede

New York Times: "The American economy added 173,000 jobs in August, a bit less than expected, making it less likely that the Federal Reserve will feel comfortable enough to make its long-awaited move to raise interest rates when policy makers meet this month."

 

Reader Comments (21)

Here's someone I had never heard of and I think he is a dangerous guy.

http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/his-town/

He is the ambassador from the UAE and is great friends with Joe Scarborough, Bret Baier (Fox), and movers and shakers among the Republican Right. He thinks Iran should be bombed and seeks to undermine Obama. The article describes him as influential among a 'certain segment' in Washington. That segment is the Republican Right and includes journalists, congresspeople, think tanks, and philanthropic organizations.

His name is Yousef al-Otaiba.

You may not have heard of him but I think you might want to know about him.

September 3, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterHaley Simon

Nepotism is old stuff in the clerk's office. Kim's mom ran the office for years while Kim worked for her. When Kim's mom retired, Kim ran and got the job.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/us/kentucky-clerk-a-local-fixture-suddenly-becomes-a-national-symbol.html?_r=0

I've seen posts on less than reputable sites that say that the office has often employed many family members.

September 3, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterHaley Simon

Am I missing something here re: Kim of God. The silence emanating from Christian clergy who minister to sane Christians (I assume there are some) is deafening.

September 3, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterDavid Feldman

@Haley Simon: Thanks. I find it embarrassing that hillbillies act so much like hillbillies. I don't like to stereotype people, but I guess I can't help it if they're going to play so perfectly to type.

Marie

September 3, 2015 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

David,

The silence you mention is pretty much everlasting. Christian ministers and priests who are not insane assholes seem to fear repurcussions from the criminal elements from other Christianist denominations. Frankly, I'd have a lot more respect for Cheistianity if at least a few leaders came out and lowered the boom on the frauds and haters and vicious panderers who paint the entire religion in such black tones. Funny how Christians are always ripping Muslims for not criticizing their most extreme elements but they never say boo about their own psychos .

September 3, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Here's a listing of the fourteen senators who signed Durbin's letter to Obama re: the refugee problem. This site called "Refugee Resettlement Watch appears to be anti-Muslim.

https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/14-us-senators-tell-obama-bring-more-syrians-to-america-65000-is-a-good-number/

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Just when you think it can't get any sillier:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/04/tenn-judge-refuses-to-grant-straight-couple-a-divorce-because-of-gay-marriage/

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterD.C.Clark

What Cruz is advocating it seems is letting Christian values/beliefs trump the laws of the land. Wow! Would that be true of Muslim values/beliefs also? My poor head is sore from scratching wondering how in hell this man who has a law degree and clerked for Rehnquist can spout this garbage. Some time ago I mentioned Cruz's fondness for Jesse Helms––"We need a hundred of Jesse Helms in the Senate"––when I heard that I said, Whhaaat?

I find this man dangerous and disruptive.

On another matter, but related: How I'd love to have Kim Davis, after divorcing her fourth husband, try and get a marriage license for a fifth, encounter a town clerk who says, "Whoa, Nelly, not on my watch, cuz I believe in one man and one woman forever and ever. Sorry.

Tit for tat...

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

@P.D.Pepe: Thanks. All Democrats. Funny how Democrats so often have to try to mitigate problems brought about -- in part, in this case -- by horrifying Republican international policy.

Marie

September 4, 2015 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Just wondering.

Cory Booker is a pretty cagey character. So he jumps on the bandwagon just as it's ready to depart, in other words, when the president really doesn't need him. Where was he before this when his support could have made a difference? Keeping his options open? If he had some other concerns, I never heard about it.

Yeah, I know he's a politician, and he gauges things in political terms to ensure maximum protection for his own ass, like a lot of others do. But he came out pretending he wasn't like a lot of others.

I am put in mind of Dr. Johnson's letter to Lord Chesterfield.

I like this guy less and less all the time.

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Akhilleus: Booker's vote is still important. I have a feeling (I made this up -- no evidence) some of the senators who announced their votes this week did so in order to give deference to retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski, allowing her to be the deciding vote. So Booker might have been holding off to allow Mikulski to take the limelight. (Yeah, not like Booker, but it seems possible.)

Besides, Booker's vote could matter. The Senate is only four short of sustaining a filibuster of the GOP "disapproval" resolution. Vote-counters disagree on whether the four needed votes are there (thanks, Chuck Schumer!), but if so, Booker's will matter.

Marie

September 4, 2015 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Trumpy the Trumpet's bumbling response to wingnut Hugh Hewitt's spot quiz about an Iranian military group was not on a par with The Decider's monumental failure at a similar quiz during his 2000 campaign, but it was right up there with "Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan".

And certainly his supporters don't care. They're still pissed at Katie Couric for asking Dumbass Palin if she reads anything besides misspelled winger screeds written in crayon. His supporters don't care because they don't know either and they certainly don't want to vote for anyone smarter than they are, dammit. Anyone who can even spell Quds is suspect in their squinty eyes.

And for Jeb(!) to jump on Trump for not knowing who the Quds are is more than a tad disingenuous. When his brother, Doofus the First, was getting ready to blow up the middle east, he didn't have a clue about the differences between Sunnis and Shiites, an extremely important distinction. Didn't even know they existed. And likely Jeb didn't either.

When did stupidity become sexy?

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Marie,

Good point about Mikulski. Still, there's just something that rubs me the wrong way about the guy. And if Democrats wanted to do it in some kind of orderly fashion, they sure took their damned time about it.

And I realize the 41 votes are important, but the president only needed 37 to make the thing solid (with a veto, if necessary) so being 39 is nice but...and his "support" could have come with more than just the boilerplate "best of a a bunch of bad options".

I dunno. He irks me is all.

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Ha-ha! Just saw that Rick Perry quote about a broken clock being right once a day!

Haaaaaa!

Man, oh man. You can't make this stuff up.

How did someone that stupid ever get elected to anything?

C'mon Rick, give us another. How 'bout... "A bird in the hand gathers no moss".

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Akhilleus: Thanks for noticing. I really did laugh out loud when I read it & was disappointed to think maybe nobody else found it funny -- and perfect coda for Perry's ill-fated presidential hopes.

Marie

September 4, 2015 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

I suspect we can all mark the beginning of civilization's end. Different beginnings and different ends, of course, for each of us, and sometimes even my good friends, though they should have known better, got it flat wrong.

(One of those friends, now deceased, who supported the Vietnam debacle, always claimed the end began when Jane Fonda, around the time of her Hanoi visit, appeared on the cover of Time magazine.)

My memories are from the same era, but for me it was election of Ronald Reagan as Governor of California. Why?, oh why?, I said at the time. That election, his embracing of the extant and loony California Superintendent of Public Instruction, one Max Rafferty who confused patriotism with thought, and of course his later ascension to the Presidency cast a pall over my view of our country's future that is still very much with me.

It is true, as the CW says, that Egan's portrait of Reagan simplifies him unutterably. Simple as the portrait is, though, its stark contrast with the far more simple-minded notions of today's Republicans is still more than sufficient to make Egan's point. More sufficient and more frightening.

But Marie makes a larger point: The Smiley Face of Idiocy that for me will ever memorialize the Reagan Era is when our civilization took its plunge into the darkness. Reagan managed to put a pretty face on the forces of greed, anti-intellectualism and white resentment which before him had lived in their dark caves where they belonged.

Since Reagan, they are out in the open, brazenly warring with those who promote thought, tolerance and social responsibility.

You don't even have to squint or look sideways to read the message on the t-shirt: I'm an idiot and I'm proud of it.

Yes, Marie, Reagan did open the gates to the barbarians and I will never forget or forgive.

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

I'm giving up trying to parse Kim Davis' woefully deficient attempts at logic. She treats rationality as if it's Play-Doh that can be molded into whatever shape is most fun and convenient during Confederate playtime.

It's simple. She swore to carry out her duties. She's not. She's been given far more chances to make it right than most would have been given (because religion). Now she's in contempt of court. She's not being illegally hounded by Obama and the federal government. She's not being persecuted. She refusing to obey the law and she's suffering the consequences, same as any of us would.

But she's not the same, is she? No. She's a Bible Beater. And in this country, that means you should get special treatment.

Her idiotic lawyer, in addition to the outrageous contention that Davis is just like Jews who were being hauled off to the showers, is screaming that she is being treated like a criminal. Well, what happens when you're in contempt of court, Mr. Lawyer Who Should Know This Shit, is they cuff you, process you, give you an orange jumpsuit, and put you in a cell until you wake the fuck up. This has happened to plenty of people (reporters, for instance) who have a much stronger case to make in terms of moral and ethical legitimacy than Kim Davis. So here again, what is demanded is that she be treated differently.

Laws don't apply to Confederates. Anyone who tries to make it so is a tyrannical hater of 'merica and Jesus.

What she wants is to be paid for not doing her job. Sound like a moocher to you? But a moocher banging on a Bible, so there.

Christ, these people!

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Speaking of quizzes, here's one for you all (y'all? yawl? youall?).

Show of hands class, how many think Trumpy's Pledge to the Goobers to be a nice boy and not third party the crap out of the GOP will mean anything if he decides that's the way to go?

Yup. What I thought.

So Reince Priebus (what a tongue twister. he must have gotten beaten up every day at Confederate School with a name like that) went hat in hand to visit the Great Man at his solid gold ziggurat in midtown Manhattan to ask Trumpy to please, please, please, pretty please, don't fuck us over.

Trumpy laid it on pretty thick but I could tell by his tongue firmly in cheek bullshit about pledging to the "Republican Party and the conservative principles for which it stands" that his only valid pledges are to himself.

Anyway, nice try Reince (do his friends call him that? I bet they call him "Bob" or maybe just "Dick"). And as your buddy Scottie Walker is wont to say "Molotov" with that pledge thing.

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

By the by, love the "Welcome Inspector A-Hole" graphic.

Been there. Done that. Said that too. Only without the finesse.

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

On the brighter side (all conceivable puns intended).

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/news/rebecca_goldstein_to_receive_national_humanities_medal_from_president_obama/

The Center for Inquiry is an organization to which I have belonged for many years. It's a 'Candle in the Darkness' of ignorance, superstition and fear. That the POTUS is awarding such a prominent member should drive the wingnuts even more batshit than their norm. Assuming they notice, and are capable of understanding.

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterD.C.Clark

Very disappointed to see my other Senator, Cardin, come out against the Iran deal. Emailed his office to say so. Always liked Babs (Mikulski) best. She's been a great friend to us at NASA Goddard. Thought she would have made a great Senate Leader. WAY bigger balls than Harry Reid. Of course that's a low pole (all conceivable double entendres intended).

September 4, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterD.C.Clark
Comments for this entry have been disabled. Additional comments may not be added to this entry at this time.