The Commentariat -- October 13, 2015

Internal links removed.

Jennifer Steinhauer: Influential far-right pundits say Paul Ryan is "too far left." Meaning he opposes shutting down the government until we reinstate the original Constitution, with no Amendments except the Second & Tenth. ...

... Kerry Eleveld of Daily Kos on why Ryan won't be speaker.: he has demands, the Krazee Kaucus has demands, & never the twain shall meet. ...

... Burgess Everett of Politico: "Sen. Tom Cotton [RTP-Ark.] told us in an interview that with all the instability in the House leadership, it's time to turn to the former vice president [Dick Cheney]. 'Look, these are trying times for our nation. It's important to have a steady hand on the helm during times like this. I think experience really counts in a matter like this. I think House leadership experience really matters. And as you know the speaker doesn't have to be a member of the House: So therefore, Vice President Cheney for speaker.' [Seung Min Kim] and I asked if he was serious, and Cotton replied: 'He's a man of the House, he says that himself.'" ...

... CW: Of course I ignored Mark Halperin's latest prognostications, but Ed Kilgore takes on the drama queen. There are two great dramas! But they're like one! The fate of the world lies in Joe Biden's & Paul Ryan's hands! I'll be writing a book about it! (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal court deadline Tuesday will be a pivotal turning point in [Denny Hastert's] felony case, signaling whether the former House speaker will plead guilty to a deal that has been under negotiation since at least late September with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago." CW: Another reminder of what a corrupt gang of hacks & criminals has led the House GOP for generations now. Also, I believe most turning points are pivotal & most pivots are turning points.

Jeremy Diamond & Jake Tapper of CNN: "The attorneys for a former investigator with the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Monday issued a cease-and-desist letter alleging that Republican Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy violated confidentiality terms of a mediation between the parties.... Discussions that are part of the mandatory 30-day mediation between Podliska and the committee are confidential under the Congressional Accountability Act.... Gowdy in a statement on Sunday said that Podliska had 'demanded money from the Committee,' that 'the Committee has refused to pay him....'... When asked about the mediation in his interview with CNN, [former staffer Bradley] Podlaski demurred: 'I can't comment on the mediation process, unfortunately.'"

Laurel Sweet of the Boston Herald: "Former Vietnam POW and U.S. Sen. John McCain tells the Herald he’ll call a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee if 
accused Army deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is allowed to avoid prison -- a potential power play Bergdahl's attorney calls 'unlawful' and 'deeply disturbing.' 'If it comes out that he has no punishment, we're going to have to have a hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee,' said McCain, who chairs the committee. 'And I am not prejudging, OK, but it is well known that in the searches for Bergdahl, after -- we know now -- he deserted, there are allegations that some American soldiers were killed or wounded, or at the very least put their lives in danger, searching for what is clearly a deserter. We need to have a hearing on that.'"

President Obama & writer Marilynne Robinson have a conversation in Iowa.

Adam Goldman of the Washington Post: "Two former CIA prisoners and the family of another detainee who froze to death at a secret prison in Afghanistan have sued the architects of the spy agency's detention and interrogation program. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Spokane, Wash., against James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, a pair of psychologists who earned millions using untested, brutal techniques, such as waterboarding, on CIA prisoners. The suit alleges that the CIA tortured Suleiman Abdullah Salim and Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud at a black site dubbed Salt Pit, exposing them to a regime that the psychologists had developed.... The suit also says that the CIA kidnapped and killed Gul Rahman, an Afghan citizen who died of hypothermia in November 2002 at Salt Pit.... The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the suit on behalf of the other former detainees, said the psychologists conspired with the CIA to torture the three men and committed war crimes."

Maj. Lisa Jaster, during Ranger training. Army photo.Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "On Monday, the Army announced that [Maj. Lisa] Jaster, 37, has become the third woman to ever complete the [Army] Ranger School course. She will join Capt. Kristen Griest, 26, and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, 25, who earned the Ranger tab on Aug. 21. Jaster will join 87 men in receiving the coveted decoration in a ceremony at Fort Benning on Friday."

Brian Fung of the Washington Post: "Twitter announced a series of job cuts Tuesday that will trim its workforce worldwide by 336 employees, or about eight percent, according to a company regulatory filing." CW: Nobody has done more for Twitter than Donald Trump. (See highlighted entry under Presidential Race, for instance.) And yet. And yet. It looks like Trump won't be able to keep his campaign announcement promise that "I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

"Paul Ryan Seems to Be Prioritizing His Family. That's Unusual for a Male Lawmaker." So says the top online headline in this morning's Washington Post. If that doesn't convince you that Paul Ryan is the absolutely sweetest family man in the history of Congress, the editors throw into the story a 2012 shot of the then-GOP veep candidate at a soup kitchen washing dishes with his family. What the Post doesn't tell you is that those dishes were already clean. (Hope that watch he's wearing is waterproof. Oh, no water in the sink. All good.) Res ipsa loquitur.

Charles Pierce: Somehow the oligarchy that has taken over the country never comes up on the Sunday showz. CW: It would appear that Pierce did not get up early enough to see Anthony Mason on CBS's "Sunday Morning" kissing the ring on top oligarch Charles Koch, wherein Mason & crew allowed Koch to "come across as avuncular, sincere, and high-minded, a sweet, patriotic old man," according to Akhilleus. (See today's comments.) Somehow, both-sides-do-itism never takes account of us-v.-them. Only "them" gets a hearing. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Eugene Scott of CNN: "Hillary Clinton will be center stage on Tuesday night for the Democratic presidential candidates' first debate, according to the podium order released by CNN, which is hosting the event. The position of the five candidates on the stage at the CNN Facebook Democratic Debate in Las Vegas is based on polls since Aug. 1 and was announced on CNN's 'State of the Union.'" Also, we'll find a podium for you, Joe Biden, if you stop by. ...

... CW: If, like me, you can't watch the debate on the teevee, you can watch it on CNN's livestreaming channel. BUT only if you have access thru a cable or dish. ...

... New York "Times reporters will provide instant analysis and fact-checking during the debate. Coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. Follow along on your phone or computer at nytimes.com, facebook.com/nytpolitics and @NYTPolitics. Follow along during the day." ...

... The Mainstream Party. Greg Sargent: "... broadly speaking, most of the positions that you'll hear from likely Dem nominee Clinton (and some from Sanders, as well) tonight will not threaten to be a liability in the general election.... The two parties' primary processes seem fundamentally different. The GOP primary has resulted in the GOP candidates embracing positions such as huge tax cuts for the rich, defunding Planned Parenthood, and mass deportations/ending birthright citizenship.... These positions probably will be liabilities in the general election. By contrast, many of the positions Dems end up taking during their primary probably won't be liabilities in the general election. We'll see if this basic imbalance is registered in the coverage." ...

... Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "Democrats expect the debate to be substantive and to set the course for an unexpectedly contentious nominating contest. Americans are either going to find a pleasing contrast to the rip-roaring show Republicans have put on -- or they're going to be bored senseless." ...

... Brian Beutler of the New Republic: "It isn't wrong or biased to say that Democrats make comparatively boring television. But that isn't a strike against Democrats, either. It's a reflection of the fact that the Republican Party, unlike the Democratic Party, is dominated by reactionary voters, which makes its candidates prone to saying or doing outrageous things out of a sense of necessity." ...

     ... CW: Debbie should have let Larry Lessig participate in the debate. He's the closest Democrats can come to the Ben Carson genre of candidate. He's not a career politician! He's very accomplished in his field! AND he has a bizarre plan! ...

... Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Over the weekend, some of [CNN]'s reporters revealed cheeky plans to expand the debate, if needed: A clean, bubble-wrapped podium reserved for Vice President Joe Biden, should he decide to enter the race even one minute before the faceoff. If Biden doesn't run, the podium will go unused. That may be the greatest indignity yet visited upon Larry Lessig, the Harvard academic and anti-corruption scholar who announced a crowd-funded presidential bid last month. As of now, he's running. Biden isn't." ...

... ** Bill Curry of Salon discusses the Democratic debates, the first of which will take place this evening.

Joe the Reluctant. Maggie Haberman & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Mr. Biden initially said he would decide by the end of summer [whether or not he would run for president]. Now aides are researching filing deadlines to see if he can keep his options open into November."

At the request of many, and even though I expect it to be a very boring two hours, I will be covering the Democrat debate live on twitter! -- Donald Trump

... Don't count yourself as a political junkie if all you do today is read a few Reality Chex links & tune into the Democratic debate while you're washing your socks following the Donald on Twitter. A real American political junkie would be spending the entire day with Rand Paul, then watching the debate with him.

Daniel Strauss of Politico: "Sen. Bernie Sanders got his second congressional endorsement on Monday, from Rep. Keith Ellison."

Jack Gillum & Stephen Braun of the AP: "The private email server running in Hillary Rodham Clinton's home basement when she was secretary of state was connected to the Internet in ways that made it more vulnerable to hackers, according to data and documents reviewed by The Associated Press.... The findings suggest Clinton's server 'violates the most basic network-perimeter security tenets: Don't expose insecure services to the Internet,' said Justin Harvey, the chief security officer for Fidelis Cybersecurity."

The Unhinged Candidate. CBN: "Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been tied to controversial Mideast Muslim leaders since the time they attended school in Moscow, according to Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson. Carson raised the little known historical fact during his guest appearance on CBN's The 700 Club Friday. Carson said Putin shares a deep historical tie with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, suggesting he became acquainted with them during their college days in Moscow when Putin was a young KGB operative." ...

... Steve Benen: "The trouble is, it's little known because it's not a historical fact. There's literally no evidence to suggest Khamenei ever studied in the former Soviet Union. And since he and Abbas are several years older than Putin, the timeline doesn't even make sense.... 'In a follow-up interview, Dr. Carson would not disclose his sources, but told CBN News he learned about the ties between the three leaders from advisors across the government, including the CIA.'... Not to put too fine a point on this, but we're delving deep into crackpot waters at this point. An unhinged presidential candidate, citing clandestine sources that probably do not exist, is now describing a decades-old relationship between foreign leaders that also does not appear to exist. All of this comes on the heels of increasingly alarming claims that Carson appears to have invented out of whole cloth." ...

... AND he's been making this claim quite a lot lately. Louis Jacobson of PolitiFact checked it out: "This is one of the more bizarre claims we've heard so far in the 2016 presidential campaign, and that's saying something." In an update, PolitiFact went after Carson's "sources"; i.e., his CBN claim that he "learned about the ties between the three leaders from advisors across the government, including the CIA." This clashes with the earlier suggestion by Carson's press staff to PolitiFact that the evidence for the claim could be found by 'Googling.'" CW: Maybe the CIA contacts him through secret signs that pop up on his iPad. ...

... CW: Most surprising part: Carson did not reveal the little known historical fact that Obama was in the same Moscow classroom with Putin, Khamenei & Abbas. Guess he's saving that for later. ...

... Benen asks, "Is there a point at which the political world has a conversation about whether Carson is grounded enough to be seen as a credible candidate for public office? Is it fair to say we've reached that point now?" ...

... Apparently Not. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "For a long time, Ben Carson's campaign team feared that his habit of inflammatory remarks would sink his presidential hopes. They sent him to media training in Texas. The candidate pledged to police his words. But ever since Mr. Carson said on Sept. 20 that he did not think a Muslim should be president, then refused to retract the statement amid a furious reaction, his campaign has watched grass-roots support grow and donations pour in [[ and advisers have backtracked, deciding, in the words of one, to 'let Carson be Carson.'" CW: "Inflammatory remarks"? How about batshit crazy? ...

... At least Gene Robinson gets it right: "The craziest thing about the Republican presidential contest isn't that Donald Trump is in the lead. It's that Dr. Ben Carson -- who truly seems to have lost his mind -- is in second place and gaining fast. Trump may be a blowhard, but Carson has proved himself to be a crackpot of the first order. Of all the GOP contenders, he's the scariest."

Tierney Sneed of TPM: "After a relatively staid speech about some of Donald Trump's favorite subjects -- dissing President Obama, boycotting Oreos and building ice rinks -- the GOP frontrunner's appearance at the centrist No Labels convention went predictably off the rails when the floor was opened up for questions.... Attendees grilled Trump about the Tea Party and on whether he was a friend to women. Trump also asked a questioner wearing a Harvard shirt who asked about South Korea if he was South Korean. The young man was born in Texas." You can watch Trump insulting audience members here.

Jonathan Cohn of the Huffington Post: "Jeb Bush on Tuesday will introduce a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But 'replace' may not be quite the right word.... Jeb's Obamacare Repeal-And-Replace Plan Is More Repeal Than Replace. Conservatives will love it. But careful if you actually get sick."

When Bullies Collide. "Chris Christie Fully Prepared to Start WWIII." Caroline Bankoff of New York: "In an MSNBC interview in which he referred to President Obama as 'this weakling in the White House,' Christie imagined himself taking a hard line with President Vladimir Putin (or just plain old 'Vladimir,' as Christie seems to call him). 'My first phone call would be to Vladimir, and I'd say, "Listen, we're enforcing this no-fly zone. And I mean we're enforcing it against anyone, including you,'" he said. 'So don't try me. Don't try me. Because I'll do it.'" CW: Chris will be as tough on Vlad as he is on kindergarten teachers.

Beyond the Beltway

Erik Eckholm of the New York Times: A Milwaukee civil suit puts a gun store owner on trial for allowing an obviously illegal sale of a gun used a month later to seriously wound two police officers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Welcome Back, Poacher. Norimitsu Onishi of the New York Times: "Just this summer, Zimbabwe was pressing to extradite an American dentist involved in the hunt that killed a lion known as Cecil, with the environment minister denouncing him as a 'foreign poacher' who had absconded home. On Monday, it changed course, saying not only that the dentist would not be charged but that he was welcome to return."

Sarah's mother took the photo. "'I know the face that I'm giving my mom was the "Really, mom? Right now you're taking a picture?"' she said.

... Your Feel-Good Story of the Day. Char Adams of People: "Sarah Ray, a paramedic from Tennessee, went well above the call of duty when she rushed to respond to a car crash on her wedding day.... Just minutes after she tied the knot with her husband, Paul, on Oct. 3, Ray received a call that her grandparents and father got into a car accident on their way to her reception. So, the bride and groom, both paramedics, sprung into action.

News Ledes

Washington Post: "The Taliban announced Tuesday that it is withdrawing from the key northern Afghan city of Kunduz, the site of its first significant military gain since the militants were driven from power in late 2001."

New York Times: "Four attacks by Palestinians in Jerusalem and a city 40 miles away killed three Israeli Jews and wounded at least a dozen others in two hours on Tuesday morning, the police said, the most intense eruption so far in two weeks of escalating violence that has alarmed Israel and flummoxed its security forces.... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel called an emergency meeting of top security officials and ministers for Tuesday afternoon. A police spokeswoman said the steps to be considered included a complete closing of Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods...." ...

... CW News Flash: Flummoxed? Really? When you repress people, they're usually not happy about it. The solution you-all have come up with -- repress them some more -- seems to have flaw.

New York Times: "A 15-month inquiry into the disintegration of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in the skies over eastern Ukraine has concluded that the aircraft was most likely attacked from the ground by a Russian-made missile, Dutch air accident investigators said on Tuesday."

Washington Post: "The battle over the relocation of a United States Marine Corps base on the Japanese island of Okinawa escalated Tuesday when Okinawa's governor revoked a permit for the new construction site. The central government in Tokyo vowed to fight the governor's decision, but Tuesday's action marked the latest in a series of complications that has bedeviled the U.S. military's efforts to build a new base on Okinawa."

The Commentariat -- October 12, 2015

Defunct video removed.

Afternoon Update:

Erik Eckholm of the New York Times: A Milwaukee civil suit puts a gun store owner on trial for allowing an obviously illegal sale of a gun used a month later to seriously wound two police officers.

CW: Of course I ignored Mark Halperin's latest prognostications, but Ed Kilgore takes on the drama queen. There are two great dramas! But they're like one! The fate of the world lies in Joe Biden's & Paul Ryan's hands!

Charles Pierce: Somehow the oligarchy that has taken over the country never comes up on the Sunday showz. CW: It would appear that Pierce did not get up early enough to see Anthony Mason on CBS's "Sunday Morning" kissing the ring on top oligarch Charles Koch, wherein Mason & crew allowed Koch to "come across as avuncular, sincere, and high-minded, a sweet, patriotic old man," according to Akhilleus. (See today's comments.) Somehow, both-sides-do-itism never takes account of us-v.-them. Only "them" gets a hearing.

*****

Might wanna move those indigenous Americans closer to the center of the frame.

AP: "As the US observes Columbus Day on Monday, it will also be Indigenous Peoples Day in at least nine cities, including Albuquerque; Portland, Oregon; St Paul, Minnesota; and Olympia, Washington." ...

... Alex Johnson of NBC News: "California became the first state to ban schools from using the 'Redskins' team name or mascot Sunday, a move the National Congress of American Indians said should be a "shining example" for the rest of the country. The law, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed Sunday morning, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2017. It's believed to affect only four public schools using the mascot, which many Indian groups and activists find offensive...." ...

... Becky Little of the National Geographic: "Christopher Columbus and his holiday are controversial today largely because of the way he and subsequent European explorers and settlers treated Native Americans. For years, there have been campaigns to celebrate an Indigenous Peoples' Day. But in the late 19th and early 20th century, many people ... argued that the real credit for discovering North America should go to [Leif] Erikson, whom they believed arrived 500 years before Columbus.." (CW: Last Friday, October 9, was Leif Erikson Day, in case you missed it, as I did.)

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Obama on Sunday called Hillary Rodham Clinton's use of a private email server 'a mistake,' but said it had not endangered national security and had been 'ginned-up' into a political attack by Republicans eager to keep her from being president. Mr. Obama made the comments during an interview on CBS's '60 Minutes' program in which he also defended his policy in Syria during a lengthy, contentious exchange with Steve Kroft, a veteran correspondent.... The president said Mrs. Clinton 'could have handled the original decision better' and might have been quicker to disclose work-related emails that had been kept on a private server outside government control." ...

... Bradford Richardson of the Hill: "President Obama is refusing to say whom he will support in the 2016 presidential election, but that's not stopping him from pouring accolades on Vice President Biden, who is considering jumping into the race. 'I think Joe will go down as one of the finest vice presidents in history, and one of the more consequential,' Obama said in an interview on '60 Minutes' on Sunday. 'I think he has done great work.'... Obama said he did not know Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton used a private email server while serving as his secretary of State, but said it was 'not a situation in which America's national security was endangered.'" ...

... Video of the interview is here.

Eric Lipton, et al., of the New York Times: "When the House select committee investigating the 2012 attacks on American government outposts in Benghazi, Libya, was created, Democrats immediately criticized it as a partisan effort to damage the political fortunes of Hillary Rodham Clinton.... Now, 17 months later -- longer than the Watergate investigation lasted -- interviews with current and former committee staff members as well as internal committee documents reviewed by The New York Times show the extent to which the focus of the committee's work has shifted from the circumstances surrounding the Benghazi attack to the politically charged issue of Mrs. Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state." CW: Emphasis added. Coming from the Land of He-Said/She-Said, this is a pretty bold statement. ...

... Jake Tapper's interview of Bradley Podliska, the Benghaazi! investigator whom the committee fired, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), "the chairman of the House committee on Benghazi, struck back Sunday morning at a fired staffer who is accusing the panel of engaging in a partisan probe to tarnish Hillary Rodham Clinton, with the lawmaker saying that the claims appear newly manufactured and that the staffer himself appeared obsessed with the presidential candidate. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Paul Waldman: "Could this be the time when Benghazi finally turned from a liability to an asset for Hillary Clinton? If so, it'll be because the issue has now become less about what the select committee Republicans set up to investigate the matter has found, and more about the committee itself."

** Paul Krugman: "What makes [Paul] Ryan so special [to Republicans]? The answer, basically, is that he's the best con man they've got. His success in hoodwinking the news media and self-proclaimed centrists in general is the basis of his stature within his party. Unfortunately, at least from his point of view, it would be hard to sustain the con game from the speaker's chair.... The truth is that his budget proposals have always been a ludicrous mess of magic asterisks: assertions that trillions will be saved through spending cuts to be specified later, that trillions more will be raised by closing unnamed tax loopholes.... crazies have taken over the Republican Party, but the media don't want to recognize this reality. The combination of these two facts has created an opportunity, indeed a need, for political con men. And Mr. Ryan has risen to the challenge." CW: Tell us what you really think, Krugman.

Brian Beutler of the New Republic: "If one Republican were willing to make the sacrifice, or Boehner were willing to stick it out for the remainder of his elected term, the Freedom Caucus would be neutered. Instead, the Freedom Caucus is empowered to play whack-a-mole with various pretenders to the speakership, and can hold out until a candidate emerges who will make insane promises to them, and then attempt to deliver. Crises at every turn. Everyone loses, except them -- and perhaps the press, which is understandably reveling in this story."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is opening the door to changing the filibuster in response to growing pressure from Republicans angered that Democrats have blocked legislation from reaching the White House. McConnell has appointed a special task force to explore changes to the filibuster rule and other procedural hurdles -- including whether to eliminate filibusters on motions to proceed to legislation. That's a tactic the minority often uses to shut down a bill before amendments can be considered."

Mike Lillis of the Hill: "The United States will 'make condolence payments' to the families of those killed last week in an errant strike on a trauma hospital in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced Saturday. A Defense Department spokesman said it's 'important to address the consequences of the tragic incident' which killed 22 people at the facility in Kunduz, which was run by the international aid group Doctors Without Borders." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Steve Ohlemacher of the AP: "For just the third time in 40 years, millions of Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees can expect no increase in benefits next year, unwelcome news for more than one-fifth of the nation's population. They can blame low gas prices. By law, the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is based on a government measure of inflation, which is being dragged down by lower prices at the pump."

Matthew Teague of the Guardian reports on "the 1,000th mass shooting in the United States since the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre almost three years ago." It happened in the small town of Inglis, Florida, last week, just after a gunman in Oregon killed nine people at Umpqua Community College.

Charles Blow discusses the march on Washington that took place Saturday & was organized by Louis Farrakhan.

David Hoffman of the Washington Post: "President Richard Nixon believed that years of aerial bombing in Southeast Asia to pressure North Vietnam achieved 'zilch' even as he publicly declared it was effective and ordered more bombing while running for reelection in 1972, according to a handwritten note from Nixon disclosed in a new book by Bob Woodward.... Nixon's private assessment was correct, Woodward writes: The bombing was not working, but Nixon defended and intensified it in order to advance his reelection prospects. The claim that the bombing was militarily effective 'was a lie, and here Nixon made clear that he knew it,' Woodward writes." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Fire Debbie! Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said she was disinvited from the first Democratic presidential primary debate in Nevada after she appeared on television and called for more face-offs.... 'When I first came to Washington, one of the things that I was disappointed about was there's a lot of immaturity and petty gamesmanship that goes on, and it kind of reminds me of how high school teenagers act,' Ms. Gabbard said in a telephone interview on Sunday night.... 'It's very dangerous when we have people in positions of leadership who use their power to try to quiet those who disagree with them,' she added. 'When I signed up to be vice chair of the D.N.C., no one told me I would be relinquishing my freedom of speech and checking it at the door.'"

Plato Predicted Trump & Carson. Jason Stanley in the New York Times: "In Book VIII of 'The Republic,' Plato is clear-eyed about these perils for democracy. He worries that a 'towering despot' will inevitably rise in any democracy to exploit its freedoms and seize power by fomenting fear of some group and representing himself as the protector of the people against that fear. It is for this reason that Plato declares democracy the most likely system to end in tyranny. Plato's prediction is most dramatically exhibited by Weimar Germany.... The fragmentation of equal respect is a clear alarm for the United States. We must heed it by categorically rejecting politicians who seek to gain office by exploiting the mistaken belief that democratic values are weaknesses." ...

     ... CW Translation: Ben Carson says Hitler can happen here. It's happening, Dr. Ben, & you're the guy. ...

... CW: The fact that the party of demagoguery has turned the Second Amendment on its head -- now it's a "right" to take up arms against the government, instead of for the government, as it was originally conceived -- is an important element in this dynamic. Don't kid yourselves; the Five Supremes are actively interpreting us right out of any semblance of democracy. It ain't just the ironically-named Citizens United.

The Ponzi Candidates. Helaine Olen in Slate: Both Donald Trump & Ben Carson have "a history of entanglements with companies that have been rightly criticized for hawking get-rich-quick schemes to the broke and desperate. The business model, which is perfectly legal, is called multilevel marketing." Why don't the other candidates highlight these nefarious associations? Because they're collecting campaign cash from the same "perfectly legal" crooks.

Still Crazy. Patrick Temple-West of Politico: "Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson said on Sunday he wasn't exaggerating when he suggested limiting access to guns in the U.S. could hinder Americans' ability to topple a government authority like the Nazis.... Appearing Sunday on CBS's 'Face the Nation,' Carson said the history of the Nazis' rise to power could repeat in the U.S. if access to guns were to be limited." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

The Gun Lobby's interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American People by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies - the militia - would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires. --Chief Justice Warren Burger, The Right to Bear Arms, Parade Magazine, January 14, 1990

Beyond the Beltway

Erica Hellerstein of Think Progress: "An attorney for [Tamir] Rice's family called the reports [which called the killing of Rice "reasonable"] a 'charade' and blasted the prosecutor's office for 'releasing supposed "expert reports" in an effort to absolve the officers involved in Tamir's death of responsibility.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "... a pair of outside reports released Saturday concluded that [Cleveland police officer Tim Loehmann] was 'reasonable' in deciding to shoot Tamir [Rice], who was carrying a replica gun that looked much like the real thing. Though the investigation will continue, and a grand jury will ultimately decide on charges, some believe that those reports, which were commissioned and released by the prosecutor's office in Cuyahoga County, signal that an indictment is unlikely.... Craig B. Futterman, a clinical professor of law at the University of Chicago, criticized the reports' 'laser focus' on the shooting itself and said the reviewers should have placed more weight on the events leading up to the shots. 'There's strong evidence to believe, in the aggregate, the actions were unreasonable,' said Professor Futterman, who founded the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project at the university."

Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "For 15 minutes, a man shot by an off-duty officer [in Houston, Texas,] lay bleeding from two gunshots in his abdomen as the responding officers stood by without providing first aid. At one point, as the victim, a 53-year-old black man, raised his head, an officer used his foot to keep the man's face on the pavement, according to a dashboard camera video supplied to The New York Times recently by the man's relatives."

David Ferguson of the Raw Story: "Police in Charleston, South Carolina declined to press any charges against a Waffle House customer who shot and killed a man who was reportedly trying to rob the restaurant.... North Charleston Police spokeswoman Lt. Angela Johnson told Channel 5 that the customer had a valid permit to carry a pistol.... The Post and Dispatch quoted an officer at the scene as saying, 'It says something about firearms ... for good people with firearms being in the right hands.'"

News Ledes

New York Times: "Prof. Angus Deaton, a British economist, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science on Monday for improving the accuracy of basic economic gauges, including measures of income, poverty and consumption."

Washington Post: "Breaking news: Iranian state television says jailed Washinton Post reporter Jason Rezaian has been convicted." ...

... Statement from Martin Baron, executive editor of the Post. ...

     ... New York Times Update: "Iran appeared to be moving on Monday to position Mr. Rezaian's case as part of a broader effort to get the release of Iranians detained in the United States."

The Commentariat -- October 11, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon Update:

Mike Lillis of the Hill: "The United States will 'make condolence payments' to the families of those killed last week in an errant strike on a trauma hospital in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced Saturday. A Defense Department spokesman said it's 'important to address the consequences of the tragic incident' which killed 22 people at the facility in Kunduz, which was run by the international aid group Doctors Without Borders."

Jake Tapper's interview of Bradley Podliska, the Behghaazi! investigator whom the committee fired, is here. (See link to related NYT story below.) ...

... Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), "the chairman of the House committee on Benghazi, struck back Sunday morning at a fired staffer who is accusing the panel of engaging in a partisan probe to tarnish Hillary Rodham Clinton, with the lawmaker saying that the claims appear newly manufactured and that the staffer himself appeared obsessed with the presidential candidate.

David Hoffman of the Washington Post: "President Richard Nixon believed that years of aerial bombing in Southeast Asia to pressure North Vietnam achieved 'zilch' even as he publicly declared it was effective and ordered more bombing while running for reelection in 1972, according to a handwritten note from Nixon disclosed in a new book by Bob Woodward.... Nixon's private assessment was correct, Woodward writes: The bombing was not working, but Nixon defended and intensified it in order to advance his reelection prospects. The claim that the bombing was militarily effective 'was a lie, and here Nixon made clear that he knew it,' Woodward writes."

Erica Hellerstein of Think Progress: "An attorney for [Tamir] Rice's family called the reports [which called the killing of Rice "reasonable"] a 'charade' and blasted the prosecutor's office for 'releasing supposed "expert reports" in an effort to absolve the officers involved in Tamir's death of responsibility.'z' See related NYT report linked below under Beyond the Beltway.

Still Crazy. Patrick Temple-West of Politico: "...Ben Carson said on Sunday he wasn't exaggerating when he suggested limiting access to guns in the U.S. could hinder Americans' ability to topple a government authority like the Nazis.... Appearing Sunday on CBS's 'Face the Nation,' Carson said the history of the Nazis' rise to power could repeat in the U.S. if access to guns were to be limited." ...

The Gun Lobby's interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American People by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies - the militia - would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires. -- Chief Justice Warren Burger, The Right to Bear Arms, Parade Magazine, January 14, 1990

*****

Nicole Perlroth & David Sanger of the New York Times: "The Obama administration has backed down in its bitter dispute with Silicon Valley over the encryption of data on iPhones and other digital devices, concluding that it is not possible to give American law enforcement and intelligence agencies access to that information without also creating an opening that China, Russia, cybercriminals and terrorists could exploit. With its decision, which angered the F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies, the administration essentially agreed with Apple, Google, Microsoft and a group of the nation's top cryptographers and computer scientists that millions of Americans would be vulnerable to hacking if technology firms and smartphone manufacturers were required to provide the government with 'back doors,' or access to their source code and encryption keys."

David Nakamura & Hamil Harris of the Washington Post: "Thousands of black men, women and children gathered on the [National] Mall on Saturday to demand justice at a time of growing anger and fraying tensions in African American communities across the nation over the killings of young black men by police. By noon Saturday, the crowds had swelled just beyond the stage at the west front of the Capitol, with onlookers watching on several jumbo screens set up on the lawn. Some people sat on lawn chairs and others on blankets to listen to the speakers, including Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, which sponsored the 'Justice or Else' rally."

Noam Scheiber, et al., of the New York Times: "Bradley Podliska, "a former investigator for the Republicans on the House Select Committee on Benghazi, plans to file a complaint in federal court next month alleging that he was fired unlawfully in part because his superiors opposed his efforts to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic mission in the Libyan city. Instead, they focused primarily on the role of the State Department and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, he said.... The committee firmly disputed Major Podliska's allegations, saying Saturday that he had been 'terminated for cause.' In a statement, the committee cited Major Podliska's 'repeated efforts, of his own volition, to develop and direct committee resources to a PowerPoint "hit piece" on members of the Obama administration, including Secretary Clinton, that bore no relationship whatsoever to the committee's current investigative tone, focus or investigative plan.'... Major Podliska, a lifelong Republican, holds a doctorate in political science from Texas A & M University and spent more than 15 years working at a federal defense agency, as an intelligence analyst for much of that time." ...

... Jake Tapper of CNN has interviewed Podliska. The interview is to air during "State of the Union" at 9 am ET.

Paul Krugman: "... the [White House] is telling me that the [TPP] agreement just reached is significantly different from what we were hearing before, and the angry reaction of industry and Republicans seems to confirm that. What I know so far: pharma is mad because the extension of property rights in biologics is much shorter than it wanted, tobacco is mad because it has been carved out of the dispute settlement deal, and Rs in general are mad because the labor protection stuff is stronger than expected. All of these are good things from my point of view."

Andrew O'Hehir of Salon: "The fanatics of the Satanic Suicide Caucus [a/k/a Freeedom Caucus] and their supporters do not want the current Republican leadership to govern anything, or even try to. They have devoured the old Republican Party ... from within, like an alien parasite. When they repeat its catchphrases about fiscal responsibility and social order in their metallic parasite voices, what they really mean is fiscal holocaust, social anarchy and class war against poor women, black people and immigrants. They dream of conquest, but whatever they can't conquer -- starting with their own political party -- they will happily destroy." CW: Excellent personification of the old GOP in O'Hehir's Mrs. Supinger. ...

... Sophia Tesfaye of Salon: "While calls for [Paul] Ryan to jump into the speaker’s race may be mounting, they are hardly deep enough to be emanating from the right-wing base, which seems to be working up its machine to lay claim to its third 'establishment' victim in two weeks."

William Saletan of Slate dissects the latest House Planned Parenthood "show trial." ...

... CW: When I was young, I learned to associate show trials with the most repressive, horrifying dictatorships. They were unconscionable miscarriages of justice that could never happen in the Land of the Free. Ha! I realized later that even then, we had conducted plenty of show trials in the U.S., especially in the South, & honorable Americans were their victims. Today, show trials are a feature of Capitol Hill. Once again, the House conducted such a show trial with the accused in abstentia. (Planned Parenthood was not invited to the hearing.) The most exercised members of these House judges "represent" districts so gerrymandered that they would have to dance with Claire Richards to be removed from office. That is, they're just like members of the Soviet Union's Politburo. "Hitler can happen here," Dr. Ben? Looks like Stalin already is.

Matt Apuzzo, et al., of the New York Times: "Last fall, federal agents raided the home and office of Robin L. Raphel in search of proof that she, a seasoned member of America's diplomatic corps, was spying for Pakistan. But officials now say the spying investigation has all but fizzled, leaving the Justice Department to decide whether to prosecute Ms. Raphel for the far less serious charge of keeping classified information in her home.... If the Justice Department declines to file spying charges, as several officials said they expected, it will be the latest example of American law enforcement agencies bringing an espionage investigation into the public eye, only to see it dissipate under further scrutiny.... Over the years, the stories of American officials mishandling classified information have at times seemed as peculiar as they were serious."

Elias Isquith on how one of Mitt Romney's billionaire backers tried to shut down Mother Jones, & why this tactic against a free press will work more & more effectively in the United States of Plutocrats. If you can't buy 'em, sue 'em. More on the Anthony Kennedy Show linked under Presidential Race.

CW: At the end of yesterday's Comments thread, there's an interesting discussion on gun safety legislation: Haley S. wrote, "I think I know a good way to stand a chance of passing some gun control laws. Pictures. Pictures of dead victims taken at the crime scene. And yes, I mean Sandy Hook. Most certainly Sandy Hook. I think we'd have new gun control laws in a NY minute."

The Washington Post has a long account of the attack on the Kunduz Médecins Sans Frontières hospital, although the U.S. military has refused to release details.

Presidential Race

Nicholas Confessore, et al., of the New York Times: "Just 158 families, along with companies they own or control, contributed $176 million in the first phase of the [presidential] campaign, a New York Times investigation found. Not since before Watergate have so few people and businesses provided so much early money in a campaign, most of it through channels legalized by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision five years ago.... They are overwhelmingly white, rich, older and male, in a nation that is being remade by the young, by women, and by black and brown voters.... And in an economy that has minted billionaires in a dizzying array of industries, most made their fortunes in just two: finance and energy."

Daniel Strauss of Politico: "Hillary Clinton sat down with Black Lives Matter activists Friday for a policy-centered discussion of criminal justice in the African American community.... The meeting, at the National Council of Negro Women in Washington D.C., comes as Clinton plans to roll out more of her criminal justice reform platform in the next few weeks, according to the Clinton aide with knowledge of what was discussed at the meeting."

Beyond the Beltway

Motor Voter. Alice Ollstein of Think Progress: "On Saturday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that will allow the state to automatically register millions of residents to vote, using their DMV records. Starting in 2016, every eligible California citizen who goes to a DMV office to get a driver's license or renew one will be instantly registered to vote, unless he or she chooses to opt out." ...

... Patrick McGreevy of the Los Angeles Times: "Brown also signed a bill that permits county elections officials to offer conditional voter registration and provisional voting at satellite offices during the 14 days immediately preceding Election Day.... Another bill signed by the governor will make voting more convenient by allowing voters who use vote-by-mail ballots to drop them off at secure boxes to be located throughout the community before election day." ...

... CW: California voters can also register to vote online. ...

... The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has a helpful Website that tells voters in every state how they can register & when they must do so.

Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "Two outside investigators looking into the death of Tamir Rice have concluded that a Cleveland police officer, Tim Loehmann, acted reasonably in deciding last year to shoot when he confronted the 12-year-old boy carrying what turned out to be a replica gun. Those opinions, reached separately by a Colorado prosecutor and a former F.B.I. supervisory special agent, were released Saturday night by the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Timothy J. McGinty, whose office will ultimately present evidence in the case to a grand jury to decide on possible criminal charges."

News Ledes

Reuters: "Eight senior figures from Islamic State were killed in an air strike while meeting in a town in western Iraq, but the group's reclusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi did not appear to be among them, residents of the town and hospital sources said. Iraq said on Sunday its air force had hit the meeting and had also struck a convoy that was carrying Baghdadi to attend it. It said Baghdadi had been driven away from the convoy in an unknown condition.... The United States military declined to comment on the Iraqi military's report."

Washington Post: "Iranian judiciary spokesman said a verdict has been reached in the espionage case of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, but he gave no details on the judge's decision or a potential sentence."

CNN: "The U.S. military officer in charge of last month's hearing for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has recommended he not do any jail time, Bergdahl's legal team says. In a memorandum dated Friday, the legal team said it agreed with Lt. Col. Mark Visger's conclusion that their client face 'nonjudicial punishment.' The recommendation, which hasn't been announced publicly by the U.S. military, is a significant development for Bergdahl, who in March was charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy."