The Commentariat -- December 5, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon Update:

Sarah Bailey of the Washington Post: "The president of Liberty University[, Jerry Falwell, Jr.,] ... urged students during the school's convocation Friday to get their permits to carry concealed weapons.... 'I've always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in,' he says, the rest of his sentence drowned out by loud applause while he said, 'and killed them.'... Falwell said that when he referred to 'those Muslims,' he was referring to Islamic terrorists, specifically those behind the attacks in Paris and in San Bernardino.... A spokesperson for Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) sent the following statement on Saturday: 'My administration is committed to making Virginia an open and welcoming Commonwealth, while also ensuring the safety of all of our citizens. Mr. Falwell's rash and repugnant comments detract from both of those crucial goals,' McAuliffe said." Read the whole article to get a better idea of what a flaming ass Falwell is.

Never Mind. Nahal Toosi of Politico: "More than half of the House Democrats who voted to restrict the resettlement of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the U.S. appear to be having second thoughts. At least 26 of the 47 Democrats who supported the measure have signed on to a letter urging House Speaker Paul Ryan not to include it in a must-pass omnibus spending bill likely to be voted on in the coming days, according to groups helping arrange the missive."

*****

White House: "In this week's address, the President offered his condolences to the families and community of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting":

** CW: digby, following Richard Engle of NBC News, has by far the most sensible take on the probable motivations of the San Bernardino mass murderers. Engle: "So there is not an indication that this is a sleeper cell, that this someone who was planted by ISIS, that was years in the making. More likely it was someone in the United States, unhappy with the way they were living, unhappy with the way they were seen, became radicalized there and founded, was part of a cell in the United States." digby: "... everyone needs to take a breath and recognize that this is likely no different than all the other mass shootings we've had this year." Read the whole post for the rationale behind their tentative conclusion. ...

     I'd add this: Farook had a good job, & all indications are that his co-workers, who were of various ethnicities, treated him with respect. It's possible of course that he didn't see it that way; he could have spent five years in a state of perpetual resentment for real & perceived slights. Malik seems to have had little contact with Americans. I have no idea how much this couple followed U.S. politics. Maybe they never heard of Donald Trump. But just as Carly Fiorina & all those other anti-Planned Parenthood lying loudmouths almost certainly moved Robert Dear to attack the Colorado Springs clinic, it is quite likely that the party of Trump's virulent anti-Muslim rhetoric -- including Trump's Muslim registry/mosque surveillance musings -- was part of the mix that motivated Farook & Malik. In my view, their easy access to guns & ammo, thanks to Republicans, was a convenient means, but it is likely that right-wing racism & religious intolerance was a contributing motivation. ISIS propaganda was apparently the direct inspiration for this terrorist attack, but Republican rhetoric reinforced & validated that propaganda. I see GOP fingerprints all over the San Bernardino rampage. ...

... Michael Schmidt & Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: "The woman who, with her husband, killed 14 people in San Bernardino pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a Facebook post the day of the attack, officials said Friday, and the F.B.I. announced it was treating the massacre as an act of terrorism.' The investigation so far has developed indications of radicalization by the killers, and of potential inspiration by foreign terrorist organizations,' the F.B.I. director, James Comey, said at a news conference here. But, he said: 'so far we have no indication that these killers are part of an organized larger group, or form part of a cell. There's no indication that they are part of a network.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon with a lede which did not include the FBI's decision to treat the massacre as a terrorist act.) ...

... Eli Saslow & Stephanie McCrummen of the Washington Post provide an account of how the shooting went down, according to survivors who were in the room. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Kevin Sullivan, et al., of the Washington Post: "American Muslims say they are living through an intensely painful moment and feel growing anti-Muslim sentiment after the recent Islamic State attacks in Paris and this week's San Bernardino shootings.... Many Muslims said fear of Islam is being fueled by the heated rhetoric of Republican presidential candidates, particularly businessman Donald Trump, who has called for surveillance of some mosques and requiring Muslims to register with the government.... Research by Pew and CAIR shows that apprehension about Islam has increased sharply with the rise of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, in the past two years, especially since the group's highly publicized beheadings of foreign journalists and aid workers began in August 2014." ...

Ravi Somaiya of the New York Times: "The New York Times is running an editorial on its front page on Saturday, the first time the paper has done so since 1920, calling for greater regulation on guns in the aftermath of a spate of mass shootings." ...

     ... New York Times Editors: "The attention and anger of Americans should also be directed at the elected leaders whose job is to keep us safe but who place a higher premium on the money and political power of an industry dedicated to profiting from the unfettered spread of ever more powerful firearms. It is a moral outrage and a national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed specifically to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency. These are weapons of war, barely modified and deliberately marketed as tools of macho vigilantism and even insurrection.... Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership." ...

... Adam Gopnik of the New Yorker: "Having instructed us that the first of this week's mass shootings was free from any ideological taint at all -- that the Planned Parenthood killings were the work of a lone nut, completely uninfluenced by their rhetoric -- the Republican candidates then ordered us to understand that the next mass shooting was nothing but ideology, that the horrific killings in San Bernardino were, as Ted Cruz instantly insisted, an act of Islamic terrorism that should place us in a 'time of war.'... The collective responsibility that all Americans share is the responsibility of allowing too many people to have too many guns; guns of a kind that no civilian ever needs can be bought in this country by almost anyone who wants one.... Those who put weapons into the hands of anyone who wants them are complicit in what happens when they do.... So there will be ever more mass gun murders, some to be accepted blankly as the cost of liberty, others to become the occasion for surrendering liberty to a militarized state.

... Steve M. Peggy Noonan is the "real" victim of the San Bernardino attack: liberals are picking on her & her confederates. CW: I especially like the advice of NMMNB commenter Lit3Bolt: "If I was any Democratic candidate..., I would continuously hammer all Republicans as soft on crime, soft on terrorism, soft on child safety. The Right wants ISIS radicals to buy guns and slaughter your children. The ads write themselves." ...

... Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "White House press secretary Josh Earnest lashed out at Republicans who 'stood up once again with the NRA [National Rifle Association] and in the face of common sense' to block measures to expand background checks and bar individuals on terrorist watch lists from purchasing firearms." ...

... New York Times Editors: "The evolving situation has forced Republican leaders and presidential candidates to contort themselves: talking tough on terrorism, yet ignoring the fact that the two were armed to the teeth with two .223-caliber assault rifles and two 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistols, and hundreds of rounds, all purchased legally. While the nation suffered through the shock of another bloody massacre, on Thursday every Senate Republican except Mark Kirk of Illinois voted against legislation to prevent people on the F.B.I.'s consolidated terrorist watchlist from purchasing guns or explosives.... Since the Paris attacks, Republicans have been trying to outdo each other in describing how they'd crack down on global terrorism. But when a mass shooting at home calls attention to laws that put guns into the hands of suspected terrorists, they ask for a moment of silence, while taking action that speaks volumes." ...

... Gail Collins: "The San Bernardino murderers were wielding assault rifles, with which they were able to fire an estimated 65-75 bullets in rapid succession. Assault weapons, which seem to be the armament of choice for mass shootings, used to be illegal under a law that expired in 2004. If the law had stayed on the books, how many victims would have survived in San Bernardino, or at the elementary school in Newtown, Conn.? Given the fact that semiautomatic weapons are totally inappropriate for either hunting or home defense, some of us would love to trade them for the possibility of reduced casualties next time somebody decides to go on a rampage." ...

... David Roberts of Vox explains why confederates think they need those guns & ammo & why "reason" & evidence will not dissuade them. ...

... Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Jana Kasperkevic of the Guardian: "Stocks of two major gun-makers surged on Thursday morning, the day after a shooting in San Bernardino, California, left 14 people dead. More than an hour after the stock markets opened, Smith & Wesson stocks were up by 2.62%. Stocks of Sturm, Ruger & Co were up 1.67%. Gunmakers saw their stock rise even as the overall stock market fell on concerns that the Federal Reserve would raise interests later this month." ...

... Tim Egan: "By next week, with the professional football playoff picture starting to take shape, and the holiday festivities in full swing, we'll have this San Bernardino thing figured out. And we'll hope that it doesn't happen again tomorrow. But it will happen tomorrow -- on average, one multiple-victim shooting a day. Every day. It will make sense in the only country where mass killings make sense."

David Herszenhorn of the New York Times: "Senate Republicans have finally fulfilled their long quest to pass legislation repealing President Obama's landmark health care law, and Congress will soon send the measure to the White House, where it might have a chance of being folded into origami or a fleet of paper airplanes, but no possibility of being signed into law."

Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The United States has been eliminating a mid- to high-level Islamic State figure every two days, on average, contributing to President Obama's decision to send a new Special Operations force to Iraq to intensify efforts to locate and kill militant leaders there and in Syria, a senior administration official said Thursday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Here is Norah O'Donnell's full interview of President Obama regarding climate change:

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Scavenger Hunt Edition. Scott Collins & Richard Winton of the Los Angeles Times: "On Friday morning, up to 100 journalists began rummaging around the house formerly occupied by the married couple who carried out a mass shooting on Wednesday in San Bernardino. And as that bizarre scene was playing out live on TV, critics -- on Twitter and elsewhere -- let out a collective yowl.... Reporters at the scene -- including from the Los Angeles Times -- said the couple's landlord used a crowbar to pry open the door of the home.... A mob scene ensued, with reporters and camera crews from CNN and MSNBC -- and a few non-media passersby -- rifling through the townhome.... [The Redlands police] "department stepped in to protect the rights of the dead persons' relatives and insure the property was secure. The scene was then closed." ...

... As Cowichan wrote in yesterday's thread, "... here were these msnbc ghouls rummaging through the detritus of the shooter's home. Revolting!!" ...

... digby: "... MSNBC (among others) gathered outside the apartment of the San Bernardino attackers, helped the landlord pry off the plywood on the door and raced in live to rummage through everything in there. They even showed the license and social security card of the shooter's mother in close-up on live TV. They ... showed pictures of unknown people to the entire country.... This was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen a network broadcast live." ...

... Katherine Krueger of TPM: "After MSNBC treated viewers on Friday to a live look inside the San Bernardino shooters' apartment, the network said they 'regret' showing photos of children and identification cards during the live broadcast."

Presidential Race

Simon Maloy of Salon: "As Trump endures in the polls, I think more and more about the political significance of the child migrant crisis of the summer of 2014.... The House GOP ... passed legislation that would have expedited deportations of children crossing the border, and separate legislation that would have ended the White House's deferred-action program for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.... That ugly display was followed up by a government-funding fight in which Republicans ... threatened to shut down the Department of Homeland Security if Obama didn't roll back his executive orders halting deportations for certain classes of undocumented immigrants. There was no chance of either of these legislative gambits working. They were all about sending a message: deport everyone. And now the party's voters are flocking to a candidate who is the loud, crude embodiment of that message."

For those of who have found Ben Carson's candidacy so incompetent that you wondered about his surgical skills, wonder no more:

... Bob Christie of the AP: "Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson said Friday that this week's mass shooting in Southern California should end the debate over whether Syrian refugees can safely be screened. The retired neurosurgeon told a pro-business group made of lawmakers from across the nation that if it turns out the woman involved was fully vetted by federal officials and cleared to enter the U.S. it should help end the refugee debate. 'Now if that vetting resulted in missing someone who carried out such a horrendous crime that should be the end of the argument right there,' Carson said." ...

     ... CW: If Ole Doc knew anything about our visa process -- which has been much in the news lately -- he would know that, as Rebecca Shabad of CBS News reported yesterday, "Even though there are multiple layers to the vetting process, White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday said the standards to obtain a K-1 visa are 'not as strict' as those faced by refugees entering the U.S."

... Seeing Stars. History According to Doc Ben. CW: Here's an hilarious aside I missed from Carson's scripted speech before the Republican Jewish Coalition: Alex Shepard of the New Republic: "Speaking to the group about Hyam Salomon, Carson said, 'Salomon gave all his funds to save the U.S. Army [during the American Revolution] and, some say, no one knows for sure, that's the reason there's a Star of David on the back of the one dollar bill.'... Salomon was one of the Continental Army's main financiers. But he didn't give all of his money to George Washington and, more importantly, there isn't a Star of David on the one dollar bill." ...

... Jordyn Phelps of ABC News: "There is a conspiracy theory that a design of stars arranged above the eagle on the U.S. seal printed on the bill forms a Jewish star and that this was done as a way to thank Salomon for his generosity. But the Numismatic Bibliomania Society's Wayne Homren says there's no evidence to suggest any truth to support the theory that the stars were intentionally arranged to represent the Jewish star, let alone that it was done in Salomon's name." ...

... Steve Benen: "Apparently, Carson believes that if you look at the back of a dollar bill -- on the right, just above the eagle -- you'll see stars in a shape resembling the Star of David.... Alas, like so many of the Republican candidate's off-the-wall theories, this one is not rooted in reality."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Jane Perlez of the New York Times: China has established its own international bank to finance regional infrastructure projects. "The United States worries that China will use the bank to set the global economic agenda on its own terms, forgoing the environmental protections, human rights, anticorruption measures and other governance standards long promoted by its Western counterparts. American officials point to China's existing record, of loans to unstable governments, construction deals for unnecessary infrastructure, and villagers abruptly uprooted with little compensation."

The Commentariat -- December 4, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon Update:

Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The woman who helped carry out the shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wednesday had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a Facebook posting, according to federal law enforcement officials. There is no evidence the Islamic State directed the woman, Tashfeen Malik, and her husband Syed Rizwan Farook, to launch the attacks, which killed 14 and wounded 21, the officials said. But the Facebook post has led investigators to believe that the couple took inspiration from the group, they said." ...

... Eli Saslow & Stephanie McCrummen of the Washington Post provide an account of how the shooting went down, according to survivors who were in the room.

Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The United States has been eliminating a mid- to high-level Islamic State figure every two days, on average, contributing to President Obama's decision to send a new Special Operations force to Iraq to intensify efforts to locate and kill militant leaders there and in Syria, a senior administration official said Thursday."

*****

The theme of today's Commentariat, as it is on many a day, is "Republicans Are Endangering Your Health & Safety." -- Constant Weader

Paul Krugman: "We're looking at a [Republican] party that has turned its back on science at a time when doing so puts the very future of civilization at risk. That's the truth, and it needs to be faced head-on[, especially by both-sider journalists]. ...

... Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker: "The best that can be hoped for during the next week in Paris is that the rest of the world ignores the U.S.'s Republican leaders. Would that we had that luxury here at home.... Congressional Republicans rail against the federal government; then, with their own antics, confirm their worst criticisms. (Who, nowadays, would make the case that Americans should have faith in Washington?)" ...

... The GOP Then & Now. Joby Warrick of the Washington Post: "... formerly classified documents from the Bush [I] and Reagan administrations obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and released on Wednesday by the National Security Archive ... portray senior officials in the two Republican administrations pressing for an aggressive response to international environmental issues of the day -- including, during Bush's term, climate change.... The assertive posture contrasts with the positions taken this week by leading Republican presidential contenders, several of whom publicly mocked [President] Obama's efforts to secure an international climate treaty in Paris. The GOP-controlled House voted Tuesday to block the administration's signature regulation to cut greenhouse-gas pollution from U.S. power plants."

** Matthew Rosenberg & Dave Philipps of the New York Times: "In a historic transformation of the American military, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said on Thursday that the Pentagon will open all combat jobs to women. 'There will be no exceptions,' Mr. Carter said at a news conference." ...

... So far Republicans aren't screaming, but they are warning that the move may mean young women have to register for the draft. CW: I don't see why.

Ian Lovett, et al., of the New York Times: "The married couple who police say killed 14 people at a social services center had built more than a dozen pipe bombs and stockpiled thousands of rounds of ammunition, officials said Thursday, and they fired as many as 150 bullets at victims and police officers in a rampage that shattered a quiet day and ended in their own deaths. The F.B.I. is treating the shooting as a potential terrorist act, though they are far from concluding that it was, two law enforcement officials said Thursday. The suspects' extensive arsenal, their recent Middle East travels and evidence that one had been in touch with people with Islamist extremist views, both in the United States and abroad, all contributed to the decision to refocus the investigation." (Also linked yesterday, with a different lede." ...

... Ben Mathis-Lilly & Elliot Hannon of Slate, 7:35 pm ET: "After notifying the families, the San Bernardino County coroner's office released the names of the 14 victims killed on Wednesday." ...

... The Los Angeles Times has biographical information on some of the victims. ...

... Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the Washington Post: "The story of the shooters doesn't fit with the profiles of hundreds of others who have killed large numbers of fellow human beings. To start with, one of the two shooters was a woman -- Farook's wife of less than two years, Tashfeen Malik, 27 -- exceedingly rare for such cases." ...

... Joan Walsh, now of the Nation: "Our prolonged gun control stalemate reflects the far-right's deep distrust of democracy, and it's worsened by a party that panders to that paranoid base. Increasingly this right-wing fringe believes it's going to need its guns to overthrow an illegitimate government -- especially the one run by gun-grabbing Barack Obama.... a large but poorly organized majority of Americans support sensible gun-control laws. But they don't get what they want, because one of our two major parties panders to its lunatic fringe." ...

... CW: Walsh portrays distrust of democracy as "the real reason we can't have gun control." I don't think that's right. The real reason is the lede sentence in Elizabeth Bruenig's brief post, linked below. ...

... Scott Martelle of the Los Angeles Times: "The law of the land, regrettably, is that the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution protects an individual's right to own a gun. But not a blanket right to own any kind of gun, and the San Bernardino killings showed yet again the kind of fast, massive carnage that comes with firing military-style weapons with magazines of cartridges at defenseless victims. That such guns can be sold legally to civilians is an atrocious idea, and renewing the federal assault weapons ban that lapsed in 2004would be a good place to start attacking the problem." ...

... CW: Yes, why not an assault weapons ban? Oh, here's why:

... Elizabeth Bruenig of the New Republic: "For gun executives, mass shootings equal profits." ...

... Joshua Holland of the Nation: "Perhaps the most frightening thing we know about gun violence comes from a study conducted by researchers at Duke, Harvard, and Columbia that was published earlier this year in the journal Behavioral Sciences and the Law. It found that almost one in 10 Americans who have access to guns are also prone to impulsive outbursts of rage.... The researchers also found that those who own many firearms are significantly more likely to exhibit signs of uncontrollable anger than people who own just one.... Very few among that group had been diagnosed with the kinds of mental illness that would be unearthed in a standard background check...." ...

... Max Ehrenfreund of the Washington Post: "Premeditated mass shootings in public places are happening more often, some researchers say.... In general, though, fewer Americans are dying as a result of gun violence -- a shift that began about two decades ago.... This decline in gun violence is part of an overall decline in violent crime." ...

... Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "The Senate on Thursday passed legislation repealing the core pillars of ObamaCare, taking a major step toward sending such a bill to the president's desk for the first time.... The measure passed 52 to 47 after the Senate voted to significantly strengthen the bill originally passed by the House and brought straight to the floor by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The House will need to approve the amended legislation before it can be sent to the White House.... Democrats were ... unable to block the GOP measure, which was brought to the floor under budget reconciliation rules that prevented a filibuster." ...

... Kelsey Snell & Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Thursday voted down two gun control proposals put forward by Democrats in response to this week's deadly shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., in a series of votes that highlighted the intractable party divide over how to respond to gun violence. The Senate rejected a measure from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to expand background checks for guns purchased online and at gun shows on a 48 to 50 vote and an amendment from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to prevent people on the terror watch list from purchasing firearms on a 45 to 54 vote.... Still, it remains the closest the Senate has come to a consensus on gun control and will likely remain a big part of the debate." ...

... CW: Well, of course, GOP senators voted against these measures: the proposals are horridly restrictive & unfair, & the amendments' sponsors are both left-wing radicals. ...

... Reena Flores of CBS News: Speaker "Paul Ryan pushes mental health bill after San Bernardino shooting.... The House speaker touted legislation introduced by Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pennsylvania, that would revamp the country's mental health systems." ...

... Christi Parsons & Michael Memoli of the Los Angeles Times: "White House officials are seeking a way to use executive authority to close the so-called gun show loophole that allows thousands of people to buy firearms each year without a background check, but complicated legal issues have slowed the process.... One option for Obama is to set a threshold for the number of guns a person would be allowed to sell without obtaining a license."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The Senate on Thursday rejected an amendment to the ObamaCare repeal bill that would have allowed federal funding for Planned Parenthood. The measure sponsored by three Senate Republicans would have stripped language from the bill blocking federal funds for Planned Parenthood. It fell short by 3 votes, 48-52." CW Translation: Senate Republicans (and Joe Manchin [D-W.Va.]) voted to block funding for Planned Parenthood.

Scott Wong & Sarah Ferris of the Hill: "Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday he plans to roll out a long-awaited replacement plan for ObamaCare in 2016, lifting healthcare reform to the top of the House GOP's agenda in a presidential election year. 'There are many things to do, but most urgent is to repeal and replace ObamaCare,' Ryan said. 'We think this problem is so urgent that, next year, we are going to unveil a plan to replace every word of ObamaCare.'" CW: He also promised a pony to every little girl whose parents weren't lolling in the hammock of complacency.

Politico: "The Senate passed the biggest transportation infrastructure bill in a decade Thursday, sending to the White House a $305 billion five-year package that keeps federal money flowing to highway, transit and rail projects -- and reopens the controversial Export-Import Bank. After years of public pleas from the construction industry, a forceful lobbying blitz backed by Big Business and labor groups, and billions of dollars in bailouts, the Senate easily passed the bipartisan bill on a 83-16 vote just hours after the House approved the measure." ...

... Keith Laing & Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "The House overwhelmingly approved a five-year, $305 billion highway bill Thursday, advancing the first long-term national transportation spending package in a decade and cementing an early legislative achievement in the Speaker Paul Ryan era. The 359 -- 65 vote comes one day before federal infrastructure funding runs out, and sets up a likely Senate vote to pass the measure before Friday's deadline. All dissenting votes were cast by Republican lawmakers. The White House has said that President Obama is planning to sign the bill."

Eric Levitz of New York: "Here's a quick rundown of the [House Committee] report's five most embarrassing revelations [about the Secret Service]. The agency let a fake congressman meet with President Obama.... They let a random Czech guy chill at George H.W. Bush's House.... Via email, agents discuss foreign trips like frat brothers planning spring break. Their current director [Joseph Clancy] misled Congress about the agency's incompetence. People hate working for the Secret Service."

Justin Salhani of Think Progress: "Anti-Muslim rhetoric, recently on display as lawmakers discuss the issue of resettling Syrian refugees, began on the fringes of the far-right and has infiltrated mainstream politics, according to a new report released by the National Security Network.... As the report points out, anti-Muslim rhetoric is becoming increasingly prominent among Republican presidential candidates." (Here's the Wikipedia page on the National Security Network, which appears to be pretty mainstream moderate-left.) ...

... John Stanton of BuzzFeed: "Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Thursday warned that the Justice Department could take aggressive action against people whose anti-Muslim rhetoric 'edges towards violence' and told the Muslim community that 'we stand with you in this.' Speaking at Muslim Advocate's 10th anniversary dinner, Lynch said since the terrorist attacks in Paris last month, she is increasingly concerned with the 'incredibly disturbing rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric ... that fear is my greatest fear.'"

Presidential Race

Amy Chozick of the New York Times: "Hillary Clinton on Thursday called for gun control measures and reiterated President Obama's statement that terrorism had not been ruled out as a motive in the mass shooting the day before that left 14 people dead." ...

... Noah Bierman & Evan Halper of the Los Angeles Times: "After the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, Democrats forcefully demanded a tightening of the country's gun laws.... Republicans talked of an entirely separate policy failure, drawing on news reports that the massacre may have been spurred by religious extremists.... But it was Donald Trump who ramped up the rhetoric further than all the others. As his remarks turned to San Bernardino, Trump said [President] Obama's refusal to use the term 'radical Islamic terrorism' indicates that 'there is something going on with him that we don't know about.' The ominous comment echoed Trump's history of questioning Obama's birthplace and airing of false claims that the president practices Islam." ...

... CW: Yo, Donald, partly for the same reason government agencies don't use the term "radical Christian extremism." ...

... Daniel Strauss of Politico: "A day after the shooting massacre in California, Republican presidential contenders were utterly unapologetic about their opposition to new gun-control laws." Ted Cruz, for instance, is appearing an event this week to "unveil his 'National 2nd Amendment Coalition'" at a "shooting range ... that defines its corporate purpose as, 'to glorify God in all we do and to be a positive influence to all who come in contact with CrossRoads Shooting Sports LLC.'" Rand Paul chose the moment to introduce a bill that "would remove existing restrictive firearm ownership laws in the District of Columbia...."

"Yuge Lead." Nick Gass of Politico: "Donald Trump is the top choice of more than one out of every three Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters, according to the results of a new CNN/ORC poll released Friday. And it's not even close -- at 36 percent, Trump's closest competitor for the GOP presidential nomination is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, at 16 percent." ...

... Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump said Thursday that he is unexcited about the upcoming primary debate and irritated by CNN's coverage of his campaign, but confirmed that he will appear at the network's GOP forum scheduled for Dec. 15 in Las Vegas.... [Trump]'s decision comes after days of hedging and complaints over his lack of compensation for being a ratings boon for media hosts of GOP primary debates. Over the weekend at a rally in Macon, Ga., he suggested that CNN should pay $5 million for him to appear." ...

... The Weakling. Kevin Drum: "There you have it, ladies and gentlemen: your master negotiator at work. The guy who'd get Mexico to pay for a wall. The guy who'd squeeze Iran like a grape. The guy who'd save us from the wily Chinese.... But when it comes to pressing CNN for a bit of chump change, he ... can't even get a face-saving little tidbit out of it. CNN told him to get lost, and he promptly folded. He was bluffing the whole time and everyone knew it." ...

... Ben Jacobs of the Guardian: "Republican presidential candidates were supposed to competing for the endorsement of mega-donor Sheldon Adelson on Thursday. Instead..., in front of the crowd of influential GOP powerbrokers and donors who are members of the [Republican Jewish Coalition], bizarre moments repeatedly popped up as the two frontrunners in the race, Donald Trump and Ben Carson, both demonstrated their lack of knowledge of foreign policy in startling and astonishing ways.... Trump told borderline antisemitic jokes and ... repeatedly referenced stereotypes of Jewish business acumen and wealth in his speech." ...

You're not going to support me even though you know I'm the best thing that could happen to Israel. I know why you&'re not going to support me -- because I don't want your money. You want to control your own politician. -- Donald Trump, to the Republican Jewish Coalition ...

... Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump drew a few rare boos toward the end of his appearance at Thursday's Republican Jewish Coalition candidate forum, after refusing to say that Jerusalem should be the undivided and recognized capital of Israel." ...

... CW: See? Sometimes Donald Trump is right. Also, he is apparently the only GOP presidential candidate who refuses to kiss Adelson's Golden Ass.

Extreme Chick Peas? Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Ben Carson, whose presidential campaign has been stymied with questions about his depth on foreign policy, addressed one of the most influential Republican Jewish organizations on Thursday but probably left few there with much confidence that his knowledge is growing. He repeatedly mispronounced the name of the extremist group Hamas, saying something that sounded more like hummus." CW: Listen to the video -- I don't think Carson's pronunciation was quite as bad as Peters makes out, & he did get the pronunciation right in the last iteration on the tape. He read his whole address, so it's possible the author, whoever s/he may be, occasionally included diacritical marks. His reading, to be sure, appears to be akin to that of a schoolboy, forced to stand in class & read his textbook for the first time. ...

... Nonetheless, Tad Friend tweets, "Ben Carson not just concerned about Hummus terror threat, but about dire situation in Baba Ghanoush and Tabouli."

If you want a really good friend, find somebody who is Jewish. -- John Kasich, on what his mother told him when he was a child

Because stereotyping people is okay, if you do it in a good way. -- Constant Weader

... MEANWHILE, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), whose "poll numbers hovering near 1 percent," continues to make sense on some issues. Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "During a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition forum in Washington, Mr. Graham laid into his rivals for alienating women and minorities. He took particular issue with Senator Ted Cruz...."

If somebody is a suspected terrorist on a watch list, they can be indicted at any time, and once you're indicted, you cannot own a firearm. This is a red herring to suggest that we should have background checks for those on the terror watch list. Why aren't these people prosecuted? -- Carly Fiorina on why gun-control legislation is unnecessary

Not sure here if Fiorina doesn't understand Constitutional presumption of innocence, doesn't understand that you have to be suspecting of having actually committed a crime to be indicted & prosecuted for one, doesn't understand the meaning of the word "watch," and/or doesn't understand the concept of time, as in before-and-after. Anyway, a nice reminder of the intellectual & moral depravity of the GOP candidates. As if you needed one. -- Constant Weader

Beyond the Beltway

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "Donald L. Blankenship, a titan of the nation's coal industry whose approach to business was scrutinized and scorned after 29 workers were killed at the Upper Big Branch mine in 2010, was convicted Thursday of a federal charge of conspiring to violate mine safety standards, part of a case that emerged after the accident, the deadliest in mining in the United States in decades. The verdict reached by a federal jury [in West Virginia] made Mr. Blankenship, 65, the most prominent American coal executive ever to be convicted of a charge connected to the deaths of miners. He had been accused of conspiring to violate mine safety regulations, as well as of deceiving investors and regulators; prosecutors secured a conviction on only one of the three charges. Mr. Blankenship was acquitted of making false statements and securities fraud. He faces a maximum of one year in prison on the misdemeanor conspiracy charge." ...

... Evan Osnos of the New Yorker: "The most lasting legacy may reside in the trial itself: the portrait, revealed in internal memos and recordings, of a toothless regulatory system and a corporate culture that exposes the men and women of Appalachia to extraordinary risk."

Rebecca Ruiz, et al., of the New York Times: "The investigation into corruption and bribery in soccer that in May rocked FIFA, the sport's multibillion-dollar governing body, metastasized on Thursday when United States officials unsealed a new indictment that alleged an even more extensive network of criminal behavior across dozens of countries and involved some of the most powerful people in international soccer. Sixteen new defendants were identfied, with charges including wire fraud, money laundering and racketeering, aimed almost entirely at individuals from Central and South America."

Lindsay Toler of St. Louis Magazine: "A new bill from State Rep. Stacey Newman [D] attempts to tackle Missouri&'s gun violence problem by applying the restrictions placed on women seeking abortion services to all prospective firearm purchasers, such as a requirement that anyone buying a gun first watch a 30-minute video on fatal firearm injuries. 'Since Missouri holds the rank as one of the strictest abortion regulation states in the country, it is logical we borrow similar restrictions to lower our horrific gun violence rates,' Newman said in a statement." Her bill is, of course, doomed in Missouri's GOP-led legislature. ...

... Anna Merlan of Jezebel has more on the provisions of Newman's proposed bill. Among other things, the bill certainly points out how preposterous Missouri's abortion laws are.

Channeling Nino. Jonathan Oosting of MLive: "Michigan officials should 'reclaim this state's sovereignty by not recognizing or enforcing' the U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave same-sex couples the right to marry, according to a resolution set to be introduced in the state House.... 'The Supreme Court is not a Legislature,' [Rep. Tom] Hooker [R] said. 'Courts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgement of legislative bodies or elected and passed laws.'... Other speakers included Sen. Patrick Colbeck, R-Canton, who is expected to introduce a similar resolution in the upper chamber.... The non-binding resolution, if adopted, would do little to change policy in Michigan, where Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette have both said the state must recognize and enforce the Supreme Court ruling, which is the law of the land."

He Was Just Daydreaming about Killing & Eating Women. John Riley of New York Newsday: "A Manhattan federal appeals court Thursday affirmed a trial judge's decision overturning the conviction of so-called 'cannibal cop' Gilberto Valle for conspiring to kidnap and eat women, concluding that federal prosecutors, the FBI and a jury had mistaken twisted fantasies for reality." CW: Now where does Valle go to get his reputation back? Ah, well, an uplifting holiday story, all the same.

News Lede

New York Times: "The American economy created 211,000 jobs in November, the government reported Friday, a robust showing that all but guarantees policy makers at the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade when they meet this month. The unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent, unchanged from October."

The Commentariat -- December 3, 2015

Internal links removed.

Ian Lovett, et al., of the New York Times: "Investigators on Thursday hunted for a motive in the backgrounds of a husband and wife suspected in a shooting rampage that left 14 dead and 17 others wounded here, while federal agents traced the origins of the four guns recovered from the suspects, all of them bought legally, and officers combed through a sprawling set of crime scenes for evidence." ...

... James Queally, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "As authorities continued to comb through the home of the husband and wife responsible for a mass shooting at a San Bernardino holiday party, investigators and legislators from California to Washington, D.C., tried to understand what motivated the shooters. Speaking at the White House on Thursday morning, President Obama said the FBI was now leading the probe into the attack at the Inland Regional Center, which left 14 people dead and 17 wounded":

... CW: In today's thread, contributor D.C. Clark offers a useful differentiation between terrorist acts & other acts of violence. ...

... New York Times liveblog, 12:57 pm ET: "San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said there were 21 people injured in the attack, updating the previous tally of 17. And he said that investigators found 12 pipe bombs at the home of the suspects, searched after the killings." ...

... New York Times, liveblog, linked above, 12:44 pm ET: "The F.B.I. is treating its probe into the San Bernardino massacre as a counterterrorism investigation, two law enforcement officials said Thursday.... The F.B.I. has also uncovered evidence that Mr. Farook was in touch with people domestically and abroad who have Muslim extremist views, according to law enforcement officials. Mr. Farook had contact with them over several years, the officials said." ...

... Jack Dolan, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: [Mass murder suspect] Syed "Farook had traveled to Saudi Arabia and returned with a new wife he met online. The couple had a baby and appeared to be 'living the American dream,' said Patrick Baccari, a fellow inspector who shared a cubicle with Farook." CW: I suspected, early on, when President Obama "For those who are concerned about terrorism, some may be aware of the fact that we have a no-fly list where people can't get on planes, but those same people that we don't allow to fly could go into stores in the United States and buy a firearm and there's nothing we could do to stop them," that the shooter would be IDed as someone on a terrorist watch list. We still don't know that's the case, but I'd sure watch a guy who suddenly became a very religious Muslim & traveled to Saudi Arabia. I shudder to think where the party of Trump will take this. ...

... Julie Turkewitz & Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times examine what's known about the actions of Farook & Malik. ...

... L.A. Times liveblog, 7:45 am PT: "The female suspect in the deadly shooting rampage allegedly carried out with her husband was Pakistani, a federal source confirmed." ...

... L.A. Times liveblog, 7:01 am PT: "... Democrats will try to force the Senate to vote Thursday on legislation to stem gun violence. The specific measures are still being considered, but they would be proposed as amendments to a GOP package to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Passage of any effort to limit access to firearms appears unlikely...."

... L.A. Times liveblog, linked above, 10:19 pm ET, Wednesday: "The male and female suspects who died in a gun battle with police Wednesday after.noon were Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tafsheen Malik, 27, San Bernardino's police chief announced. Farook was born in the U.S. and worked as a county employee, and Malik's nationality was not yet known, Chief Jarrod Burguan said."

... L.A. Times liveblog, 6:47 pm: "Two law enforcement sources identified one of the suspects in the San Bernardino shooting as Syed Farook. According to public records, a Syed R. Farook worked as an environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County. It's unclear whether that is the same person connected to the attack. The shooting occurred at an event for the county's public health department." ...

... L.A. Times liveblog, 6:09 pm PT: "The lead gunman connected to the mass shooting in San Bernardino is believed to be a U.S. citizen, according to a federal law enforcement source speaking on condition of anonymity. The source added that links to international terrorism are still on the table, however, as the assailants could have been encouraged by a foreign terror group." ...

... L.A. Times liveblog, 5:56 pm PT: "Two people, a man and a woman, are dead after a confrontation with police.  A third person seen running away from the scene has been detained, but it's not clear if he is connected to the shootings. Both deceased suspects were inside a dark SUV that was the subject of a police pursuit after officers arrived to investigate a home in Redlands. The suspects in the SUV were dressed in 'assault-style clothing' and were armed with assault rifles and handguns, officials said." ...

... LA.Times liveblog. 4:19 pm PT: two suspects are in custody. "At least one suspect is down and there may be another at large after a police pursuit and shootout, said San Bernardino Sheriff spokeswoman Sgt. Vicki Cervantes." ...

... L.A. Times liveblog, 3:52 pm ET: "According to a federal law enforcement official, authorities believe that one man angrily left the event that county employees were holding Wednesday morning at the Inland Regional Center.The man, they believe, returned with 'one or two' others and opened fire."

... Adam Nagourney, et al., of the New York Times: "Hours after as many as three gunmen stormed a service center for people with disabilities ... on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 17 others, the police engaged in a shootout in nearby surburban neighborhood, that officials said left one suspect dead, one likely wounded in an S.U.V. and a third suspect on the run.... ... Witnesses described a wild scene as the police closed in on the vehicle, with hundreds of shots being fired. Dozens of police officers rushed to the scene, many with their guns drawn, as the people in the vehicle battled the police. When the guns fell silent, the police swarmed out into the neighborhood and hunted for one person believed to be on the run." The story has been updated repeatedly. ...

... Richard Serrano, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "As many as three assailants attacked a gathering inside a San Bernardino office building Wednesday morning, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 14 others, according to law enforcement officials. The shooters, who carried long guns and wore masks and camouflage clothing, may have opened fire on a holiday party being held by county employees, federal law enforcement sources and a witness told the Los Angeles Times. The shooting took place in a large conference room on the grounds of the Inland Regional Center, which serves people with developmental disabilities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties." CW: This story has been updated. ...

... The L.A. Times is liveblogging events here & currently has live KTLA coverage embedded in the liveblog. KTLA currently (6:15 pm ET) has a helicopter reporter covering what they say is police approaching a suspect who may be "down." This apparently follows a "shootout." The number of injured has been raised to 17. KTLA is now saying the subject is definitely down. The SUV involved in the shootout is riddled with bulletholes & all the tires are shot out. ...

... Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "'We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world,' said [President] Obama, who expressed his sympathies to the victims, in a CBS News interview with Norah O'Donnell that was taped as information about the situation was developing. 'And there's some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently'":

... Elizabeth Bruenig of the New Republic posts presidential candidates' Twitter reactions to the San Bernardino massacre: "... that's prayers, luck, and blessings from Republicans, and gun policy prescriptions from Democrats."

Your 'thoughts' should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your 'prayers' should be for forgiveness if you do nothing -- again. -- Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) (Via Greg Sargent)

... With Gun Violence Increasing, Americans Want More Guns. Mona Chalabi of the Guardian: "In 2014, 336 mass shootings were recorded by a Reddit community which tracks all incidents where four or more individuals are injured (including the shooter). That number has already been surpassed this year. In the 334 days since 1 January, there have been 351 mass shootings in the country -- that total doesn't include [Wednesday's] shooting [in San Bernardino]. The number of victims has also risen. In 2014, 383 people were killed in mass shootings and 1,239 were injured. So far this year, 447 individuals have been killed and 1,292 injured.... The interval between shootings is falling.... Despite the rise in the number of mass shootings, public opinion about gun control has shifted over that period away from controlling gun ownership according to Pew Research Center.... When Pew has conducted surveys immediately before and after shootings, they have found that violence has little effect on public opinion about gun control." ...

... Sharon LaFraniere, et al., of the New York Times: "More than one a day. That is how often, on average, shootings that left four or more people injured or dead occurred in the United States this year, according to compilations of episodes derived from news reports.... Ted Alcorn, the research director for Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization that advocates gun control, said the shootings with multiple victims were just a small subset of everyday gun violence in America. 'You have 14 people dead in California, and that's a horrible tragedy,' he said. 'But likely 88 other people died today from gun violence in the United States.' In a recent report, the Congressional Research Service found a slight uptick in shootings in which four or more victims died." ...

... German Lopez of Vox: "With 14 people dead, the San Bernardino shooting would count as a mass shooting under any definition. But whether these types of shootings are more common today depends on which definition you use for mass shootings.... America has six times as many firearm homicides as Canada and 15 times as many as Germany, according to UN data compiled by the Guardian's Simon Rogers. In fact, no other developed country comes close to the levels of gun violence that America has...." ...

... Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "On Wednesday morning, a group of doctors in white coats arrived on Capitol Hill to deliver a petition to Congress. Signed by more than 2,000 physicians around the country, it pleads with lawmakers to lift a restriction that for nearly two decades has essentially blocked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from conducting research on gun violence. Joined by a handful of Democratic lawmakers, the doctors spoke about the need to view gun violence as a public health epidemic and research ways to solve it -- as the country would with any disease causing the deaths of thousands of Americans each year.... Hours later, another mass shooting began to unfold in San Bernardino, Calif." ...

... Here's a statement from Doctors for America. ...

... Delphine D'Amora of Mother Jones has more on the Congressional gag order. "A Mother Jones investigation published this summer found that gun violence costs the United States a staggering $229 billion every year."

... Gun TV. Joanna Walters of the Guardian: "A new home shopping channel will launch in the US early in 2016. It will be called, simply, Gun TV.... Gun TV's specialty will be exactly that: guns. It will also sell ammunition, accessories such as concealed-carry holsters and clothing, such as hunting jackets.... The channel's logo shows a bullet whizzing through the words Gun TV, which are depicted in shining silver. The tagline: 'Live shopping. Fully loaded'." CW: Folks, make sure your cable provider carries Gun TV! This is a marketing innovation the country really needs right now. What a shame the channel won't be up in time for Christmas.

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "... when [Republicans'] intensely inflammatory and deliberately shocking language coincides with not one but six actual attacks on Planned Parenthood clinics -- and a massive upsurge in threats of violence -- it's sort of absurd to suggest that there is no conceivable connection. Oh, and there is this as well. What they are saying is a lie.... There is no factual or empirical basis from which to believe that Planned Parenthood sells fetal parts for money.... One side is lying about Planned Parenthood and declining to admit the truth about the consequences of violent, graphic rhetoric. The other side is pointing out that the lies about Planned Parenthood are lies and that words have consequences. There is no equivalency here."

Alan Fram of the AP: "Republicans pushed legislation toward Senate approval Thursday that would demolish President Barack Obama's signature health care law and halt Planned Parenthood's federal money, setting up a veto fight the GOP knows it will lose but thinks will delight conservative voters in next year's elections." See also L.A. Times liveblog above, at 7:01 am PT today. ...

... Wait, Wait! There's More! Dana Milbank: "... like Captain Ahab and the white whale, congressional Republicans continue their quest to repeal the law. On Wednesday, House Republicans announced that they were joining yet another legal challenge to Obamacare, and Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), commander of this latest judicial Pequod, called reporters to a Capitol meeting room and declared that the very survival of the nation was at stake.

Mike Lillis & Scott Wong of the Hill: "Citing dozens of 'poison-pill' riders, House Democrats have rejected the Republicans' initial year-end government funding bill and plan to respond with their own alternative package. GOP leaders had delivered the sweeping spending proposal to the Democrats on Tuesday evening as Congress scrambles to fund the government and prevent a shutdown ahead of a looming Dec. 11 deadline."

Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "In a critical report to be released publicly Thursday, House investigators describe the ... [Secret Service] as an 'agency in crisis' that has failed to fix many of the deeply ingrained problems exposed last year amid a string of humiliating security lapses, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Washington Post.... [A] staffing decline, which includes the uniformed-officer division that guards the White House, is 'perhaps the greatest threat' to the Secret Service, the report says. Among other factors, the report points to past budget cuts and 'systemic mismanagement' by the agency.... The committee's probe uncovered a number of previously unreported breaches...."

GOP Senate Campaign Committee Ready to Clone Trump. Robert Costa & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "In a seven-page confidential memo [dated September 22] that imagines Trump as the party's presidential nominee, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee urges candidates to adopt many of Trump's tactics, issues and approaches -- right down to adjusting the way they dress and how they use Twitter. In the memo on 'the Trump phenomenon,' NRSC Executive Director Ward Baker said Republicans should embrace Trump's tough talk about China and 'grab onto the best elements of [his] anti-Washington populist agenda.' Above all, they should appeal to voters as genuine and beyond the influence of special interests.... Still, Baker sees limits to being like Trump. He writes that it is prudent for Senate candidates to craft their own political brands distinct from Trump's and to distance themselves by quickly condemning his more controversial comments, such as 'wacky things about women.'" The memo is here. ...

... CW: Every time I think Republicans can't get worse, they prove me wrong. ...

... Greg Sargent on the Senate memo: "... the mere possibility that [Donald Trump] might win the nomination requires GOP establishment figures to evade acknowledging the true sources of his appeal."

You've picked the wrong people. I don't understand how you could do this. You've picked the wrong people! -- Former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) to President Obama, on his nominations of Tim Geithner & Larry Summers, ca. late 2008 ...

... ** David Dayen, in the New Republic, offers a provocative & compelling take on the rise of the angry right: "The right-wing surge after the financial crisis was predictable. So was its endurance when it interacted with the realities of American politics. But Democrats had a moment after 2008 to restructure the financial system, not just rebuild it. Failure to do so wasn't just bad policy; it hurt at the voting booth." Read the whole post. CW: This is very much what most liberals were saying in 2009 & 2010, as the Obama administration's foolish, bank-friendly response to the financial crisis was rolling out, but Dayen adds some empirical research to back us up. Worth noting: this makes Hillary Clinton the worst possible Democratic candidate for 2016. Expect to see ads depicting her bronco-riding the Wall Street bull a la Slim Pickens in "Dr. Strangelove."

** Judge Richard Posner & Eric Segall, in a New York Times op-ed, expose the judicial philosophy of Justice Antonin Scalia. "The logic of his position is that the Supreme Court should get out of the business of enforcing the Constitution altogether, for enforcing it overrides legislation, which is the product of elected officials, and hence of democracy.... Justice Scalia seems to want to turn the Constitution upside down when it comes to government and religion; his political ideal verges on majoritarian theocracy."

Tierney Sneed of TPM: "Alabama now faces a federal lawsuit over its voter ID law after closing 30 or so driver's licenses offices, many of them in areas with high African-American populations. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund is bringing the suit on behalf of Greater Birmingham Ministries and the Alabama NAACP. It was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Alabama."

Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: "Janet L. Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, said on Wednesday that economic conditions were ripe for the Fed to start raising its benchmark interest rate this month, a move that appears all but inevitable barring a sharp change in the economic weather."

Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "The Chinese government recently arrested a handful of hackers it says were connected to the breach of Office of Personnel Management's database this year, a mammoth break-in that exposed the records of more than 22 million current and former federal employees. The arrests took place shortly before a state visit in September by President Xi Jinping, and U.S. officials say they appear to have been carried out in an effort to lessen tensions with Washington."

Griff Witte & Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Britain on Wednesday night opted to join a U.S.-led bombing campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria, with Parliament endorsing a push by Prime Minister David Cameron following a raucous debate marked by accusations that revived the ghosts of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war."

Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: "The Islamic State claims to be more than a militant group, selling itself as a government for the world's Muslims that provides a range of services in the territory it controls. But that statehood project is now in distress, perhaps more so than at any other time since the Islamic State began seizing territory in Iraq and Syria, according to a range of interviews with people who have recently fled.... As its smuggling and oil businesses have faltered, the Islamic State has fallen back on ever-increasing taxes and tolls imposed on its squeezed citizens."

Presidential Race

Dan Merica of CNN: "Hillary Clinton supports an independent investigation into the Chicago Police Department, her campaign spokesman said Wednesday, days after the department released video of the Laquan McDonald's shooting death at the hands of police.... This lines Clinton up against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a longtime Clinton aide who worked for former President Bill Clinton in the White House. Emanuel, who is facing calls for his resignation, said Wednesday he was against a federal inquiry." Clinton is not calling for Emanuel to step down.

Upside-Down World. Peter Stone of the Guardian: "A conservative group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers and their wealthy allies boasts a scorecard on its website that rates the presidential candidates based on their opposition to policies meant to tackle climate change.... Texas senator Ted Cruz scored the highest rating on the American Energy Alliance site, which labelled him a 'hero' due in part to his opposition to regulation and taxes. Cruz was followed on the scorecard by four other Republican candidates -- Florida senator Marco Rubio, ex-Florida governor Jeb Bush, ex-Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Kentucky senator Rand Paul, who were named as 'defenders'."

Ed Kilgore, who now works for New York magazine: "You may still be able to find pundits who will dismiss everything that's happened up until now as meaningless (tell that to Scott Walker and Bobby Jindal!), and confidently predict big TV ad money will determine the nomination by and by. But the desultory impact of the very real money spent so far on very real campaign ads suggests the only 'shock and awe' in sight is in the minds of donors who realize they are pouring a lot of money down a lot of ratholes." ...

Ben Schreckinger of Politico: Donald "Trump once said that all presidential candidates should release their medical records. But so far in the 2016 race, he had declined to release his, and a campaign spokeswoman had not responded to multiple requests for comment about the candidate's health records stretching back to October. On Thursday, three hours after this article was published, the billionaire businessman relented, tweeting that he'll release his records within the next two weeks. 'As a presidential candidate, I have instructed my long-time doctor to issue, within two weeks, a full medical report-it will show perfection,' Trump said in the tweet." ...

... Eric Levitz of New York: "On Wednesday, [Donald] Trump joined eminent conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for a discussion of New Jersey's jihadist Muslims, the imminent threat of a one-world government, his own 'George Washington-level' greatness, and other true things that the lamestream media is afraid to report on. Here's a quick rundown of all the things we learned...: Donald Trump grew up with 'nothing.'... Trump was the only major U.S. figure to oppose the Iraq War.... If we don't drastically increase surveillance, we won't have a country anymore.... If Trump isn't elected, we probably won't have a country anymore.... President Obama is afraid to talk about radical Muslim ... stuff.... Trump won't drop out, even if the globalists try to kill him." ...

... BUT Jonathan Chait argues that "a nominated Trump would be a different figure.... Republicans who currently have a strong incentive to tear him down would instead have a strong incentive to rally around their nominee and salvage his standing. A nominated Trump would bring onboard some Establishment advisers currently working for his rivals. Conservatives who insisted during the primary they could never support him would see in their nominee a different, more sober and thoughtful figure than the demagogue they had lambasted months before. And because Republicans would now be rallying around him, Trump would enjoy far more latitude for his wild claims. Fear of partisan bias would then dissuade the media from labeling Trump's lies as lies."

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "... after weeks of carnage inflicted by terrorists in France, Mali and Lebanon, doubts about [Ben] Carson's knowledge of the world have reversed his momentum.... Tied with Mr. Trump in early November, Mr. Carson's support was down seven percentage points, leaving him essentially tied for second place with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Support for Mr. Trump, who continues to lead, grew to 27 percent from 24 percent last month." ...

... David Catanese of US News: "Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson beat back questions about the loss of a top fundraiser and categorized the shootings in San Bernardino, California, as a 'hate crime' during a testy news conference [in Wellford, South Carolina,] Wednesday.... The Wall Street Journal reported that one of Carson's top fundraisers had left his campaign over a dispute over the direction of its leadership.... Carson shrugged off the loss during a question-and-answer session with reporters. 'People come and go when they feel that things aren't being run the way they want them to be run,' he said."

CW: I try to avoid mentioning one particular fake presidential candidate, but Tim Murphy of Mother Jones provides another useful reminder of what a scam artist Mike Hucksterbee is. But then Jesus came up with some mighty fakey miracle cures, so I guess it's all okay.

Beyond the Beltway

AP: "Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan [D] has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the Chicago Police Department's practices violate federal and constitutional law. Madigan said Tuesday that the 'shocking death' of Laquan McDonald, a black 17-year-old who was fatally shot by white police officer in 2014, raises serious questions about the use of lawful and excessive force. She says trust in the police department is 'broken.'"

How Do You Spell "Hypocrite"? T-E-X-A-S  R-E-P-U-B-L-I-C-A-N-S. ...

     "The Reddest State Goes Green." Taylor Hill of Take Part: "... ranching and farming operations across West Texas are changing a century-old way of life to adapt to the new reality of climate change, even if, in their unwillingness to talk about global warming, they see their actions as a pragmatic response to a new business reality. So a state that once spawned oil billionaires like T. Boone Pickens now mints wind barons like, yes, T. Boone Pickens, and rock-ribbed conservative cities are ditching dirty coal for wind and solar energy. Texas may be home to some of the nation's most vociferous climate skeptics -- hello, Ted Cruz -- but Texans are already fighting climate change, even if they won't admit it. Survival, it turns out, trumps denial." Via Nancy Le Tourneau of the Washington Monthly. ...

     ... MEANWHILE. KVUE Austin, Texas: "Gov. Greg Abbott comes home to Texas Wednesday following a three day trip to Cuba that focused on travel, trade and exports. Abbott met with Cuban officials Tuesday, stressing that he wants close economic ties between Texas and Cuba regardless of whether the U.S. embargo is lifted, according to KVUE's partners at the Austin American-Statesman."

... BUT climate change is a liberal hoax & President Obama is a Castro-loving commie.

Way Beyond

Greg Botelho of CNN: "ISIS released video Wednesday showing the beheading of a man it claims joined the terrorist group but was in fact a Russian spy, as well as a message chastising Russian President Vladimir Putin and threatening his country's citizens."

Guardian: "Britain has carried out its first airstrikes in Syria, hours after MPs voted overwhelmingly to authorise military action. Four RAF Tornado jets were seen taking off from the Akrotiri base in Cyprus early on Thursday morning and the Ministry of Defence later confirmed they had carried out the "first offensive operation over Syria and have conducted strikes'."

AP: "Oscar Pistorius was convicted of murder on Thursday by a South African appeals court that described the once-glittering story of the double-amputee Olympian and Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend he killed in his home in 2013, as 'a human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.' The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned a lower court's conviction against Pistorius on the less serious charge of manslaughter, adding another twist to a case that riveted people around the world...."