The Commentariat -- May 6, 2015

All internal links removed.

Afternoon News

Dana Hedgpeth of the Washington Post: "Baltimore's Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday that she plans to put in place police body cameras by the end of the year and to have the Justice Department review whether the city's police department has a pattern of excessive force..... Also Wednesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan lifted Baltimore's state of emergency, which was imposed April 27 after violence erupted...." The New York Times story, by Stephen Babcock & Richard Perez-Pena, is here.

Fenit Nirappil of the AP: "California water regulators adopted sweeping, unprecedented restrictions Tuesday on how people, governments and businesses can use water amid the state's ongoing drought, hoping to push reluctant residents to deeper conservation."

Jodi Rudoren of the New York Times: "Facing a midnight deadline to form a government or step aside, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was under intense pressure on Wednesday from the conservative Jewish Home party over powerful ministerial posts and contentious policy positions. Mr. Netanyahu, who exulted in what looked like a strong mandate for a fourth term after the March 17 elections, instead was scrambling to form a coalition with the slimmest possible majority in Parliament. Many analysts said such a coalition would be able to do little and would be unlikely to last long."

*****

Dear Paul Ryan, Scott Walker, David Brooks & Other Ignorant Charlatans. Arloc Sherman & Danilo Trisi of the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities: "Previous analysis of Census data showed that safety net programs cut the poverty rate nearly in half. Recently released data from the Urban Institute, which correct for underreporting of key government benefits in the Census survey, reveal an even stronger impact: the safety net reduced the poverty rate from 29.1 percent to 13.8 percent in 2012 and lifted 48 million people above the poverty line, including 12 million children.... Correcting for underreporting reveals that the safety net also did more to reduce deep poverty than previously shown, although 11.2 million Americans remained below half the poverty line." Via Greg Sargent. ...

After a 50-year war on poverty and trillions of dollars spent, we still have the same poverty rates -- 45 million people in poverty. -- Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), on "Face the Nation," May 3

... it seems odd to rely on a measure that does not include some of the most effective anti-poverty programs around, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. (In fact, Ryan has called for expanding the EITC.)... It's a bit slick for Ryan to suggest the war on poverty has been a failure while touting an improvement in an anti-poverty program that is not captured in the statistic he cites. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post

Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker: Republicans carry their "I am not a scientist" meme into the budget, gutting NASA's earth science bill (which includes climate change research), the National Science Foundation's geoscience budget & the Department of Energy's energy research program. "The 'I'm not a scientist' line is basically a declaration of willed ignorance. You might think people entrusted by voters to craft public policy would be embarrassed to acknowledge ... that they have no idea what they're talking about, and don't want to."...

... Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times (May 1): "Living down to our worst expectations, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology voted Thursday to cut deeply into NASA's budget for Earth science, in a clear swipe at the study of climate change."

Sari Horwitz & Adam Goldman of the Washington Post: "The heavily armed gunmen who attacked a cartoon contest near Dallas over the weekend were probably inspired by the Islamic State, according to U.S. officials, who cautioned that they have so far seen no indication that the assailants were directed by the group."

Brendan James of TPM: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is not a linguist. 'Everything that starts with "Al" in the Middle East is bad news,' Graham said at a dinner in Boston on Monday with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to investigative journalist Uri Blau. Graham was referencing the Arabic word for 'the.'" ...

... The It-Was-a-Joke Excuse. Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: "Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop ... said the al-being-bad-news line is a joke that's part of Graham's regular stump speech -- and one that he's told for many years."

Your Louie Gohmert News. Catherine Thompson of TPM: "Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Tuesday demanded that the U.S. military alter a planned training exercise that some conspiracy theorists believe is cover for a possible takeover of the Lone Star state. Gohmert said in a statement that he understands Texans' concerns that the exercise, dubbed 'Jade Helm 15,' may be a precursor for martial law. He directed his criticism specifically at what has been reported to be a map of the training exercise, which labels Texas, among other states, as 'hostile' territory." See today's Beyond the Beltway section for more crazy.

Presidential Race

Ed Kilgore: Palin-style victimization, self-pity & resentment have become widespread GOP tactics. "For a while there, she could do no wrong, since every misstep turned into an opportunity for a fresh grievance against the mockery of snooty elitists.... To a dangerous extent the whole party has absorbed some of the poison." Palin's best student: Mike Huckabee. ...

... Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "Mike Huckabee, who excited evangelical voters in his first presidential race in 2008 and retains much of their good will, announced on Tuesday that he will again seek the Republican nomination, despite a crowded field of rivals for his natural base in the party." ...

... Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: Huckabee's "biggest challenge will be trying to break through in a GOP field that is likely to include a dozen or more credible, well-financed contenders. Among them are some young, fresh faces, including Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Rand Paul (Ky.)." ...

... For that reason, Dana Milbank says that Huckabee doesn't have a chance. CW: Nobody except Huck thinks he does, but if he is allowed to debate, his relatively populist message should skewer other GOP candidates. ...

... As Maggie Haberman writes in today's New York Times, "... [Huckabee's] stark language [supporting Social Security & Medicare] signals that the issue could become a politically delicate flash point at coming Republican debates, putting his opponents on the defensive on a bread-and-butter issue." ...

... Roger Simon of Politico says Mike Huckabee has gone from Mr. Nice Guy (2008) to a guy "who will eat nails and spit out tacks." Also, too, Simon notes that Huckabee's poor-mouthing is a tad hypocritical: "He did not mention, however, a New York Times story from last month that revealed that a well-known Iowa political operative had formed a Huckabee super PAC 'with the ability to raise unlimited donations to support the former Arkansas governor.'” So maybe we don't have to worry, a la Milbank & Tumulty, that Poor Huck will come up short. ...

... Which candidates will be invited to the debate is up in the air, as the Republican National Committee, Fox "News" & CNN are all trying to figure out a seating arrangement & the length of the first debates, according to Zeke Miller of Time. ...

... Elena Schneider of Politico: "The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that they will sanction six presidential debates beginning this fall, giving Hillary Clinton's challengers a limited number of chances to confront the former secretary of state on the debate stage." ...

... Amy Chozick of the New York Times: "At a campaign event [in Las Vegas, Nevada], Mrs. Clinton, surrounded by children whose parents faced deportation, called for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.... She also sharply criticized Republican presidential candidates who favor granting legal status for some undocumented immigrants, but oppose citizenship. 'When they talk about "legal status," that is code for "second-class status,"' Mrs. Clinton said." ...

... Slick Willie. Amy Davidson of the New Yorker: "How much money does Bill Clinton need?" Davidson has some suggestions on how Bill should reduce his ethical lapses. CW: My guess is that he won't follow Davidson's prescription.

Congressional Election

Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "The Staten Island district attorney, Daniel M. Donovan Jr., whose office investigated the chokehold death of Eric Garner in a struggle with the police last year, easily won a special election for the House of Representatives on Tuesday, according to unofficial results."

Beyond the Beltway

Jon Swaine & Oliver Laughland of the Guardian: "The Baltimore police lieutenant charged with the manslaughter of Freddie Gray allegedly threatened to kill himself and the husband of his former partner, during incidents that led to him being disciplined and twice having his guns confiscated. Brian Rice, who pursued and arrested Gray after the 25-year-old 'caught his eye' on 12 April, was reportedly given an administrative suspension after being hospitalised for a mental health evaluation when he warned he was preparing to shoot himself in April 2012." ...

... Juliet Linderman of the AP: "One of the Baltimore police officers who arrested Freddie Gray wants the police department and prosecutor to produce a knife that was the reason for the arrest, saying in court papers that it is an illegal weapon. The city's top prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, said Friday in charging the officer and five others that the knife was legal under Maryland law, meaning they had arrested Gray illegally. The motion was filed Monday by attorneys for Officer Edward Nero in Baltimore District Court."

Catherine Thompson of TPM runs down the set of conspiracy theories swirling around what is a routine military exercise. CW: Liberals really must stop arguing that confederates are stuck in the mud because they lack imagination. ...

By Jan Sorensen for Daily Kos.... Jan Sorensen: "Fears are so widespread that Wal-Mart literally just issued a statement denying involvement in a U.S. military invasion of Texas."

Kate Irby of the Bradenton (Florida) Herald: "After only 15 minutes of deliberation, a jury Monday found a couple guilty of having sex on Bradenton Beach. The convictions carry maximum prison sentences of 15 years." Prosecutors are seeking the maximum penalty against Jose Caballero because he "spent almost eight years in prison for a cocaine-trafficking conviction.... Caballero and [Elissa] Alvarez will now have to register as sex offenders." The defense attorney "said the judge would have no discretion" to reduce the sentence. ...

... CW: Okay, it's in bad taste to have sex in a public place, but 15 years? That's not only a stupid waste of taxpayer money, it's far more morally reprehensible than the crime itself. In addition, I'll bet most people have been "guilty" of this particular crime. Why, here's a list of 15 celebrities who reportedly had sex in various public places. Somehow, they managed to avoid jail time.

Way Beyond

A Tar Sands Eruption. Ian Austen of the New York Times: "With an economy dominated by the oil industry and a conservative, free-market political tradition, Alberta has long been cast as the Texas of Canada. But on Tuesday night, not only did the province's voters put the Progressive Conservative Party out of power after 43 years, they elected a government from the far left of Canada's mainstream political spectrum.... The defeat of the Conservatives followed a budget crisis brought on by declining oil prices. Six months ago, the party brought in Jim Prentice, a former member of [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper's federal cabinet, to replace a leader who had been accused of profligate personal spending."

Griff Witte of the Washington Post: "... in the final days of an unexpectedly tight contest with Labor Party leader Ed Miliband, [Britain's Prime Minister David] Cameron has been letting it rip.... Polls suggest the Tories are likely to win more seats than Labor but may not have the support needed from smaller parties to form a government in a year when the British electorate has fractured as never before." ...

... Alex Massie & Rebecca Hendin in Politico Magazine: "On Thursday, British voters will go to the polls to elect a new prime minister. Most Americans don't have a clue that a British election is underway, much less who the candidates are or what they represent. Thankfully, illustrator Rebecca Hendin, an American living in Britain, and Alex Massie, a British writer, have created a handy guide to the current crop of British candidates, translating the British election into convenient American terms." CW: Yes indeedy, cartoons are the appropriate means to explain things to us ignorant Americans. Thanks, Politico!

News Ledes

New York Times: "Jim Wright, a driven Texas Democrat who rose to the pinnacle of congressional power before ethics charges forced his resignation as speaker of the House in 1989, died on Wednesday in Fort Worth. He was 92." Wright's Washington Post obituary is here.

Reuters: "The return of passenger ferry services between the United States and Cuba took a major step forward on Tuesday when the Treasury Department issued licenses to at least two U.S. companies."

Guardian: "The Germanwings co-pilot who deliberately crashed a plane in the French Alps in March, killing all 150 people on board, put the aircraft into a descent on the previous flight, according to the German newspaper Bild."

The Commentariat -- May 5, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

If you're reading Reality Chex only for news & commentary published elsewhere, you're missing the best part: Reality Chex commentary. Yesterday's thread provides a typical example, from the profound, to the informational, to the silly -- "Akhilleus: Freeedom has 3 eee's" -- it's all great stuff (not Great Stuff, although, like the product, Reality Chex commenters do fill in the gaps, albeit not with synthetics & empty airspace). -- Constant Weader

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "In the aftermath of racially charged unrest in places like Baltimore, Ferguson, Mo., and New York, Mr. Obama came to the Bronx on Monday for the announcement of a new nonprofit organization that is being spun off from his White House initiative called My Brother's Keeper. Staked by more than $80 million in commitments from corporations and other donors, the new group, My Brother's Keeper Alliance, will in effect provide the nucleus for Mr. Obama's post-presidency, which will begin in January 2017":

... AP: "President Barack Obama is envisioning a future of playing dominoes with retiree David Letterman. Obama joked about their quieter futures during his eighth Late Show appearance Monday, saying Americans have grown up with the veteran comedian."

Peter Baker & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "President Obama plans on Tuesday to name Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., a former top commander in Afghanistan who now serves as commandant of the Marine Corps, to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to officials briefed on the selection." The Senate must confirm his nomination. ...

... The Washington Post story, by Missy Ryan & Dan Lamothe, is here.

Seth Borenstein of the AP: "The Obama Administration's hotly debated plan to reduce heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the nation's power plants will save about 3,500 lives a year by cutting back on other types of pollution as well, a new independent study concludes. A study from Harvard and Syracuse University calculates the decline in heart attacks and lung disease when soot and smog are reduced -- an anticipated byproduct of the president's proposed power plant rule, which aims to fight global warming by limiting carbon dioxide emissions." CW: Who cares if the EPA plan is saving thousands of people's lives? It's a jobs killer! Also, too, university studies are just liberal elite bunk trumped up to defeat the sacred Republican policy bible.

Peter Sullivan of the Hill: "A pilot program created under ObamaCare to change Medicare's payment system saved almost $400 million and will be expanded, the administration announced Monday. The pilot program, called Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations, is part of an effort to shift Medicare to paying for quality instead of quantity of care." See also Steve Benen on Chuck Todd's interview of John Boehner under Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. below. ...

... Looks like Boehner was at least partially right about one thing. American College of Emergency Physicians: "Three-quarters of emergency physicians report that emergency visits are going up, according to a new poll. This represents a significant increase from just one year ago when less than half reported increases."

** Alexandra Stevenson of the New York Times: "The top 25 hedge fund managers reaped $11.62 billion in compensation in 2014.... That collective payday came even as hedge funds, once high-octane money makers, returned on average low-single digits. In comparison, the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500-stock index posted a gain of 13.68 percent last year when reinvested dividends were included.... For investors, 2014 was the sixth consecutive year that hedge funds have fallen short of stock market performance, returning only 3 percent on average...." ...

... CW: AND, as NYT commenter R. Law writes, "It's pitiful that these people are also taxed at the low low low carried interest rate, and that GOP'ers are clamoring to make sure they never have to pay any estate taxes either."

Manny Fernandez, et al., of the New York Times make an effort to profile Elton Simpson, 30, and Nadir Hamid Soofi, 34, who were shot dead by an off-duty traffic officer who was working security for "a gathering that showcased artwork and cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad." ...

... AP: "The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a weekend attack at a centre near Dallas, Texas, exhibiting cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.... The statement did not provide details and it was unclear whether the group was opportunistically claiming the attack as its own. It is the first time that Isis, which frequently calls for attacks against the west, has claimed responsibility for one in the United States." ...

... Dean Obeidallah of the Daily Beast: "Anti-Muslim advocate Pam Geller has the absolute right to draw any cartoon she wants of the Prophet Muhammad. That was not just the response from Muslim-American leaders I spoke to after news broke Sunday night of a shooting outside a Garland, Texas, event that Geller had organized -- offering $10,000 for people to draw images of Muhammad -- but before that event as well.... American Muslims deeply value freedom of expression.... We [Muslims] are used to Geller, a person who has been denounced by both the Anti-Defamation league and the Southern Poverty Law Center for her anti-Muslim hate.... Geller is so over-the-top in her rabid hatred of Muslims that she has become a punchline in our community." ...

... Cops Need More Weapons of War! Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) criticized Hillary Clinton for her recent comments on criminal justice reform in light of the Sunday night shooting at a Texas event holding a contest to draw the Prophet Mohammed. 'When people like Hillary Clinton say that police should not have weapons of war, the fact is, we are at war; we are at war with Islamist terrorism, and we have to have all weapons and all resources available,' he said Monday morning on Fox News's 'Fox and Friends.'" CW: Spoken like a true IRA gunrunner, which he was.

You know, I understand the concern that's been raised by a lot of citizens about Jade Helm. It's a question I'm getting a lot. And I think part of the reason is, we have seen for six years a federal government disrespecting the liberty of the citizens, and that produces fear. When you see a federal government that is attacking our free speech rights, our religious liberty rights, our Second Amendment rights, that produces distrust as to government. -- Neophyte Sen. & Professional Fearmonger Ted Cruz, who thinks he should be the POTUS

Paul Krugman: "... in certain circles, the big thing has been the right-wing belief that operation Jade Helm 15, a military training exercise in Texas, is a cover for Obama to seize control of the state and force its citizens to accept universal health care at gunpoint. No, really -- and this is being taken seriously both by Ted Cruz and by the governor, who has ordered the National Guard to keep a watch on the feds and their possibly nefarious activities.... You should think of the panic over the attack of the Obamacare black helicopters as being part of a continuum that runs through inflation truthers like Niall Ferguson and Amity Shlaes, who insist that the government is cooking the economic books, to QE conspiracy theorists like (sadly) John Taylor and Paul Ryan declaring that Bernanke only did it to bail out Obama, to the more general prevalence of inflation derp, the insistence that Weimar is just around the corner despite six or more years of failed predictions. There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear (although I have some ideas I'll flesh out soon.) But it's quite remarkable, and pretty scary." ...

... James Rosen of McClatchy News: "The Pentagon has a message for Texas: chill. Defense officials Monday dismissed as 'wild speculation' an Internet-fueled claim that a massive summertime exercise called Jade Helm 15 for special operations commandos is a covert operation by President Barack Obama to take over Texas. That claim was given legitimacy by Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott's order last week for the Texas State Guard to monitor the exercises.... The Texas State Guard said Monday it would follow Abbot's order." ...

... Freeedom! Ahiza Garcia of TPM: "Actor Chuck Norris, who has become a prominent conservative activist, published a column on the conspiracy theory website WND that told readers not to trust what the federal government has been saying about a military training exercise known as Jade Helm 15." ...

... Steve M.: Norris's nutty conspiracy theories -- he has a lot of them -- do not make "Norris so fringy that high-level right-wing politicians would no longer consort with him. Hardly anything is too fringy on the right." ...

... CW: To me the most revelatory part of Norris's crazy is learning that a tinfoil hat fits neatly under the brim of a Texas Ranger's Stetson Diamond Jim.

** Lincoln Caplan has a terrific essay in the American Prospect on the "Junior Justice," Elena Kagan. Caplan focuses on Kagan's written opinions, which exhibit both excellent prose & reasoning. The American public is her intended audience.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "Fox News erroneously reported that Baltimore police shot a man Monday in the same neighborhood where unrest broke out last week -- a mistake quickly corrected by the news network. The midafternoon report by correspondent Mike Tobin, which also found its way onto Foxnews.com, was potentially dangerous, given the elevated tensions in Baltimore's Sandtown section.... Tobin's report caused about 30 minutes of unease in Baltimore before Fox anchor Shepard Smith went on-air to correct the story and apologize for the incorrect information. His apology followed a statement from Baltimore police that there had been no shooting."

CW: Steve Benen faults John Boehner for not getting his facts right on ObamaCare. Because Benen works for NBC, he doesn't fault Chuck Todd for letting Boehner get away with making up stuff. You can watch the interview here. The Q&A Benen discusses begins at about 5 min. in. Chuck is supposed to be a policy wonk, but it's clear he does nothing but ask prepared questions & is unable or unwilling to make Boehner -- or any Republican -- back up his claims.

Presidential Race

David Lerman of Bloomberg: "'We are not aware of any evidence that actions taken by Secretary Clinton were influenced by donations to the Clinton Foundation or speech or honoraria of former President Clinton,' [State Department] spokesman, Jeff Rathke, told reporters on Monday in Washington. 'Over the course of Secretary Clinton's tenure, the State Department received requests to review dozens of entities each year, primarily for proposed speeches' by former President Bill Clinton, and 'we are aware of no evidence that there was undue influence.'" ...

... Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Undocumented immigrants must have a chance for full citizenship under overhaul of the immigration system, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton will demand Tuesday." ...

... Erica Werner of the AP: "Hillary Rodham Clinton is willing to testify once on Capitol Hill later this month about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, and her email practices during her tenure as secretary of state, her attorney told lawmakers in a letter Monday. Lawyer David Kendall said the Democratic presidential candidate would appear for only one session the week of May 18 or later, not twice as requested by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C...." Worth remembering, the former acting CIA chief David Morrell argues that "Republicans, in their eagerness to politicize the killing of the American ambassador to Libya, repeatedly distorted the agency's analysis of events" (also linked yesterday).

Bill Press in the Hill: "Win or lose, [Bernie Sanders] will have a profound, positive impact on the Democratic race for president in 2016." ...

... Bill Curry in Salon: "Of Bernie Sanders’ first 20 races, many were just as hard as this one. Some were truly impossible; in his first four he finished in single digits. Yet each campaign helped build a movement that would eventually transform Vermont into the enlightened place it is today. You can't get more serious than that. Wouldn't it be great to put America on a path like the one Vermont took?" Thanks to Janice for the link. See also her commentary in today's thread.

The Freeedom to Be Stuck in a Low-Paying Job. Alice Ollstein of Think Progress: "In a recent interview with Radio Iowa, [Scott] Walker said he would champion a federal version of the controversial 'right-to-work' law he signed earlier this year. 'As much as I think the federal government should get out of most of what it's in right now, I think establishing fundamental freedoms for the American people is a legitimate thing and that would be something that would provide that opportunity in the other half of America to people who don't have those opportunities today,' he said.... Several studies have also found that 'right-to-work' laws result in lower wages and a lower likelihood of health care and pensions for all workers, both union and non-union." ...

... Warning: Not to be read after a meal. Patrick Healy & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "For Republicans who are disappointed that [Paul] Ryan has decided not to run for president in 2016, [Scott] Walker is offering himself as the next big thing (if not the next best thing) to come out of southern Wisconsin: a kindred spirit who talks politics and trades prayers with Mr. Ryan in phone calls and frequent text messages."

Dana Milbank: "Ben Carson, who formally announced his run for the presidency Monday, is a brilliant surgeon, gifted storyteller and charismatic speaker. But modesty is not among his talents. The retired Johns Hopkins professor's launch video, nearly five minutes long, positions the aspiring Republican presidential nominee right alongside Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.... Carson's version of the truth and his irrepressible ego are going to make 2016 a whole lot more entertaining."

Beyond the Beltway

Wesley Lowery of the Washington Post: "The City of Cleveland has asked the family of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy shot and killed while he played with a toy gun in a Westside park in November, to halt their civil lawsuit until the official investigation has concluded.... In a court filing dated Monday, Rice's family said they cannot agree to hold off on their lawsuit until the investigation is complete in part because they are worried that crucial evidence could be lost.... Rice's mother, the motion goes on to state, has moved into a homeless shelter."

News Lede

AP: "John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has made an unannounced and unprecedented trip to Somalia in a show of solidarity with a government trying to defeat al-Qaida-allied militants and end decades of war."

The Commentariat -- May 4, 2015

All internal links removed.

Lousy artwork via New York mag.Paul Krugman: "... much though by no means all of the horror one sees in Baltimore and many other places is really about class, about the devastating effects of extreme and rising inequality." Here I'll pause to mention that my fatuous colleague David Brooks is a liar and/or an ignoramus: "And it's also disheartening to see commentators still purveying another debunked myth, that we've spent vast sums fighting poverty to no avail (because of values, you see.) In reality, federal spending on means-tested programs other than Medicaid has fluctuated between 1 and 2 percent of G.D.P. for decades, going up in recessions and down in recoveries.... The poor don't need lectures on morality, they need more resources -- which we can afford to provide -- and better economic opportunities.... Baltimore, and America, don't have to be as unjust as they are." ...

     ... Why, Jonathan Chait sees a Brooks connection, too! "Tune in next week to see if the world's longest argument nobody will admit is taking place continues."

... David Leonhardt, et al., of the New York Times: "Based on the earnings records of millions of families that moved with children, it finds that poor children who grow up in some cities and towns have sharply better odds of escaping poverty than similar poor children elsewhere. The feelings heard across Baltimore's recent protests -- of being trapped in poverty -- seem to be backed up by the new data [from a large study]. Among the nation's 100 largest counties, the one where children face the worst odds of escaping poverty is the city of Baltimore, the study found. ...

... ** Nicholas Kristof: "Just the annual bonuses for just the sliver of Americans who work just in finance just in New York City dwarfed the combined year-round earnings of all Americans earning the federal minimum wage.... The roots of inequality are complex and, to some extent, reflect global forces, but they also reflect our policy choices.... We as a nation have chosen to prioritize tax shelters over minimum wages, subsidies for private jets over robust services for children to break the cycle of poverty."

Jelani Cobb of the New Yorker: "With the exception of the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., every major riot by the black community of an American city since the Second World War has been ignited by a single issue: police tactics.

"The Milwaukee Experiment." Jeff Toobin writes an excellent piece for the New Yorker on our racist "justice" system & presents evidence that prosecutors, who wield tremendous power, are just as responsible for racially disparate prosecutions as are the police. Also, too, judges & legislators -- including our little friend Scott Walker. Just one more reason Scottie would be a horrible POTUS. But as the reform prosecutor John Chisholm of Milwaukee acknowledges: "poverty, hopelessness, lack of education, drug addiction, and the easy availability of guns" are beyond the control of prosecutors. See Krugman. "Where we're at" can be laid at the feet of knee-jerk "law & order" advocates like Walker.

Alan Blinder, et al., of the New York Times: "In a pair of gestures on Sunday that suggested that [Baltimore] ... was staggering toward normalcy, the National Guard began to pull its troops from Baltimore, and the mayor lifted a curfew that, after several days of relative calm, had come under mounting criticism."

Yastreblyansky whacks both David Brooks & "Monsignor Ross Douthat, Apostolic Nuncio to 42nd Street. Brooks addressing the fattened ex-liberal looking for reasons to hate teachers, Douthat addressing the movement conservative looking for ways to sound less like an illiterate yahoo.... The right's pseudo-intellectual critique of public sector unions is illustrated only by the police (and to a lesser extent the staffs of correctional institutions), because they're the only ones eagerly supported by conservative politicians and placated by terrorized liberal ones afraid of being stigmatized as pro-criminal. Teachers, health inspectors, tax assessors, even firefighters don't get this kind of backing from anybody.... It's the conservatism that makes the police forces abusive, and nothing less." ...

...Boyz Will Be Boyz. Steve M.: "Let's look at a few other institutions where we utterly lack the national will to regulated or deter misconduct. Think of Wall Street.... Look at rape in the military, or among college athletes.... All the institutions I've just named have something in common with the police: They're overwhelmingly male cultures that represent what conservatives consider the best of traditional masculinity. (And you could add that they're cultures believed to be antithetical to liberalism, which makes them even more admirable to conservatives.) We're reluctant to hold the bad actors in these cultures responsible for their crimes because we think they're real men, and only wussy metrosexual liberals are unmoved by their real maleness."

Heather of Crooks & Liars: Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel blames teachers' unions for Baltimore's problems. (Also, thanks, Chuck Todd, for your excellent "both sides equality.") CW: Yeah, teachers, unions. I knew police brutality & raging poverty was their fault.

David Sanger of the New York Times: Michael Morrell, "the former deputy director of the C.I.A., asserts in a forthcoming book that Republicans, in their eagerness to politicize the killing of the American ambassador to Libya, repeatedly distorted the agency's analysis of events. But he also argues that the C.I.A. should get out of the business of providing 'talking points' for administration officials in national security events that quickly become partisan, as happened after the Benghazi attack in 2012.

Joanna Rothkopf of Salon rounds up some of the worst confederate reactions to the attack on the anti-Muslim group meeting in Garland, Texas. See today's News Ledes.

Presidential Race

Adrian Carrasquillo of BuzzFeed: Hillary "Clinton's first 2016 foray into proving her immigration bonafides to activists will begin on Tuesday at a roundtable event at Rancho High School in Las Vegas, [Nevada,] where she is expected to affirm her support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, say she supports the president's executive actions, and call out the Republican field for their shortcomings on the issue, sources familiar with the event told BuzzFeed News." ...

... Tom Hamburger, et al., of the Washington Post: Frank "Giustra, 57, a Vancouver, B.C.-based mogul whose eclectic business interests include founding Lionsgate Entertainment and investing in gold mines and an olive oil company, has come to symbolize a relatively new butsubstantial category of Clinton backers: foreign donors who are not legally eligible to contribute to U.S. political candidates but grew close to the Clintons through the charity.... Giustra's donations [to the Clinton Foundation], and others from his friends in the international mining business, are becoming a factor in Hillary Clinton's campaign." ...

... Jaime Fuller of New York: "Bill Clinton, who is currently traveling in Africa, did an interview with NBC News to defend the Clinton Foundation, saying his organization had never done anything 'knowingly inappropriate.' He said Hillary told him, 'No one has ever tried to influence me by helping you.' The former president also defended his hefty speaking fees, saying, 'People like to hear me speak,' and 'I gotta pay our bills.'" CW: Because we buy millions & millions of dollars of pretty things. Okay then. ...

... The interview, with Cynthia McFadden, is here.

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley said Sunday that he will announce his presidential campaign in riot-scarred Baltimore if he moves forward with a White House bid.... The tenure of O'Malley, who served as Baltimore's mayor between 1999 and 2007, has come under intense scrutiny since rioting broke out after the funeral of Freddie Gray...."

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Carly Fiorina [will be] announcing her long-shot bid for the Republican nomination Monday morning and former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas set to announce his own on Tuesday. Ben Carson announced his bid on Sunday night." ...

... CW: Well, Carson accidentally announced his candidacy last night. ...

... Robert Samuels of the Washington Post: "For many young African Americans who grew up seeing Carson as the embodiment of black achievement -- a poor inner-city boy who became one of the world's most accomplished neurosurgeons -- his emergence as a conservative hero and unabashed critic of the United States' first black president has been jarring. Carson has been a black icon since 1987, when he became the first person to successfully separate twins conjoined at the backs of their heads. He was a rare and much-desired role model...."

News Ledes

CBS New York: "An NYPD officer died Monday, two days after being shot in the head while sitting in an unmarked squad car in Queens. Officer Brian Moore, 25, was in a medically induced coma after undergoing surgery shortly after the incident in Queens Village.... He was removed from life support at 11:15 a.m. Monday, sources said."

New York Times: "Dave Goldberg, the chief executive of SurveyMonkey and husband of Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, died of head trauma Friday night after he collapsed at the gym at a private resort in Mexico, according to a Mexican government official."

New York Times: "Two gunmen were killed after they opened fire Sunday evening outside an event hosted by an anti-Islam group in Garland, Tex., featuring cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, local officials said. According to the authorities, the two assailants shot a security guard and were, in turn, shot and killed by police officers. Officials did not name the gunmen or assign a motive for the attack. A spokeswoman for the F.B.I. in Dallas said the agency was providing investigative and bomb technician assistance to the Garland police." ...

     ... CW: Expect Fox "News" to handle this in their usual professional manner. ...

     ... ABC News: "One of the suspects in the shooting in Garland, Texas, late Sunday has been identified as Elton Simpson, an Arizona man who was previously the subject of a terror investigation, according to a senior FBI official." Simpson's roommate is believed to be the other shooter. Simpson was on the no-fly list.