The Commentariat -- June 10, 2014

Internal links removed.

Josh Hicks of the Washington Post: "The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday shed light on the depth of the VA scheduling scandal and substantiated claims that rank-and-file employees were directed to manipulate records. The agency said more than 57,000 new patients have waited at least 90 days for their first appointments and that about 13 percent of VA schedulers indicated they were told to falsify appointment-request dates to give the impression that wait times were shorter than they really were. The information comes from the agency' s internal audit of 731 VA medical centers, which the VA released Monday." ...

... Thomas Burton of the Wall Street Journal: "The Department of Veterans Affairs stopped sending teams of turnaround experts to underperforming hospitals at the same time a growing number of VA facilities showed consistently high death and complication rates, internal agency records and interviews reveal.... Current and former VA doctors say the lag in scrutiny came at a time of turmoil when top managers of the agency, some of whom since have been ousted, played down the utility of measuring specific medical outcomes." CW: The article is firewalled. To access it, if you're not a WSJ subscriber, copy & paste a portion of the lede sentence into Google or another search engine. ...

... Stacy Kaper of the National Journal: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed Monday to take action imminently on expected reforms to the Veterans Affairs Department. The legislation, which was agreed to in principle last week, is still being drafted by Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Arizona Republican John McCain. But Reid promised Monday to bring the bill to the floor as soon as it's ready." ...

     ... CW Note: Alex Rogers of Time: Sanders & McCain introduced the bill yesterday. I can't find any other stories on the status of the bill.

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Obama signed an executive order on Monday intended to lessen the college loan burden on nearly five million younger Americans by capping repayments at 10 percent of the borrowers' monthly income. Joined by indebted graduates in the East Room of the White House, Mr. Obama said the spiraling cost of higher education had put 'too big a debt load on too many people'":

Ian Lovett of the New York Times profiles the Las Vegas killers, who were antigovernment extremists "along the lines of militia and white supremacists." Here's a key sentence: When the two began shooting up the WalMart, "One man at the checkout area who was carrying a handgun tried to stop Mr. Miller, but did not notice that Ms. Miller was working in concert with her husband; she shot the man dead." CW: This entire episode is about what is wrong with the right wing. ...

... Charles Pierce: "... these two jamokes allegedly marinated themselves in the stew of guns and paranoia that bubbles daily in the conservative media from fringe radio hosts and chain e-mails all the way up to the polite precincts of the National Review Online and the Fox News Channel. That shouldn't surprise us any more. The enabling of dangerous loons and the empowerment by firearms thereof is simply a staple of conservative politics in this country, yet another fetish object, yet another set of conjuring words for the conservative priesthood, which (always) deplores the activity of a few while realizing in its heart of hearts that it has no political future at the moment, no real substantial constituency, without people like this...." Read the whole post. ...

... Paul Waldman in the Washington Post: "... there are some particular features of conservative political rhetoric today that help create an atmosphere in which violence and terrorism can germinate. The most obvious component is the fetishization of firearms and the constant warnings that government will soon be coming to take your guns. But that's only part of it. Just as meaningful is the conspiracy theorizing that became utterly mainstream once Barack Obama took office.... In our recent history, every election of a Democratic president is followed by a rise in conspiracy-obsessed right-wing populism." ...

     ... CW: The difference here is that in the past, few federal officeholders have fully embraced the insanity. Now, there's a large contingent in the House & some in the Senate who are -- or claim to be -- true believers.

... Adam Weinstein of Gawker features some of the Millers' right-wing Facebook remarks & "likes." A commenter notes that Jerad Miller wrote he would rather die than go to a "fema re-education camp." Thank you, Michele Bachmann and Glenn Beck, et al. ...

... BUT if you are a regular reader of Right Wing News, you will already know that these crazed killers were socialists. (They get this insane rationale from the fact that the original Nazi party was officially the Socialist Democratic party [Sozialdemokratische Partei].) So now every super-crazed winger who does bodily harm is a socialist. Just like Obama. This, then, is the way the "respectable people" of Winger World will try to duck responsibility for their anti-government, anti-Obama, gun-worshipping fascism. The capacity for self-delusion is a bottomless pit. Via Rebecca Schoenkopf of Wonkette, via Charles Pierce. ...

     ... UPDATE: ALSO, they were leftists. "... someone waving around a gun yelling 'this is a revolution' is the very definition of a leftist." CW: This claim is equally absurd. See, for instance, J. J. MacNab's May2014 report on the right-wing Sovereign Movement, which she wrote to help explain the Cliven Bundy standoff with the Bureau of Land Management.

Gregory Korte of USA Today: "Public opposition to the exchange of five Taliban prisoners for captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has less to do with Bergdahl himself and more with how President Obama handled the transfer, according to a new USA TODAY/Pew Research Center poll. The poll shows 43% of Americans say it was wrong for Obama to make the deal, compared with 34% who say it was the right thing to do." Those "Republican strategists" (see Helene Cooper remark below) are doing their jobs, & the "liberal media" have dutifully obliged. ...

... Lauren French & John Bresnahan of Politico: "House Republicans came out of a more than hour-long classified briefing by top national security officials on Monday complaining they'd learned nothing new about the incident that has't already been disclosed in the news media. GOP lawmakers, in particular, were upset that an estimated 80 to 90 executive branch officials in the Pentagon, White House and the intelligence agencies, but no members of Congress were informed beforehand, including the chairs of the House and Senate intelligence panels." CW: For why that might be, see Sen. Saxby Chambliss's comments, highlighted in yesterday's Commentariat.

Stupid Congressman of the Week (So Far). Emily Atkin of Think Progress: Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) argues that humans can't cause climate change because dinosaurs became extinct before people were driving around in cars. CW: As Skeptical Science wrote some while back this argument is, "equivalent to seeing a dead body with a knife sticking out the back, then arguing the death must be natural because people died naturally in the past." Also, Miller in the past has blamed God for climate change. Atkin notes, "Miller's home state of Florida also happens to be one of the places in the United States that is most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change."

Simon Shuster of Time: "Ukraine's new President Petro Poroshenko wants to see Russia punished for what he calls the 'tragedy' that befell his country this year. But even as Russia has annexed one region of Ukraine and encouraged a violent rebellion in two others, Ukraine does not have the option of breaking off ties with the Kremlin, Poroshenko told Time in his first interview since taking office. His government has no choice but to seek 'an understanding' with Russia, he says, even if for no other reason than the hard reality of Ukraine’s geography."

Ron Fournier of the National Journal claims: "In the 18 months since I began writing columns focused on the presidency, virtually every post critical of Obama has originated from conversations with Democrats. Members of Congress, consultants, pollsters, lobbyists, and executives at think tanks, these Democrats are my Obama-whispers. They respect and admire Obama but believe that his presidency has been damaged by his shortcomings as a leader; his inattention to details of governing; his disengagement from the political process and from the public; his unwillingness to learn on the job; and his failure to surround himself with top-shelf advisers who are willing to challenge their boss as well as their own preconceived notions." ...

     ... CW: I'd be surprised if Fournier had any real Democratic contacts. This just sounds like some nobodies griping & Fournier loving it. The "charges" are pretty vague. As for this being some sort of "news," progressives -- myself included -- & some Democratic officials have been criticizing Obama since the transition.

Helene Cooper, who reported last week on the men in Bowe Bergdahl's unit who came to the Times via "a Republican strategist" to accuse Bergdahl of deserting said the men "had clearly been coached." The original report, by Cooper & others, is here. CW: Nice use of the passive voice there, Helene. Whoevah do you supposed coached the men? Let's see. As Rosie Gray & Kate Nocera of BuzzFeed reported last week, the guy hooking up the soldiers with the media was Richard Grenell, a Crazy John Bolton protoge' & former Romney campaign aide.

CW: It's true that the Washington Post editorial pages serve as a retirement home for ex-Bush aides & other riffraff. Still, isn't it time to retire George Will? In a column last week he complained that "... capacious definitions of sexual assault that can include not only forcible sexual penetration but also nonconsensual touching," and that universities are encouraging women to make false claims of sexual assault by "mak[ing] victimhood a coveted status that confers privileges."

All Hillary All the Time, Ctd.

Alexandra Jaffe of the Hill: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aggressively defended her handling of the 2012 Benghazi attack and declined to offer any evaluation of what, if anything, she would've done differently. 'No,' Clinton said, when asked by ABC's Diane Sawyer if she 'missed the moment' to prevent the attacks."

Alexandra Jaffe: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is pushing back on former Defense Secretary Robert Gates' assertion that her opposition to the 2007 Iraq troop surge was politically motivated. 'I think he perhaps either missed the context or the meaning because I did oppose the surge,' Clinton told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an interview that will air Monday night. 'The public had given up,' she added. 'This is not politics in electoral, political terms. This is politics in the sense of the American public has to support commitments like this. I opposed the surge.'" ...

... Chris Good of ABC News runs down "21 revealing quotes from the Sawyer interview.

Noam Scheiber of the New Republic describes Hillary & Barack's "marriage of convenience." CW: This is politics as usual, even "normal human relations" as usual, & is the way most reasonable officials negotiate disagreements with members of their own party. (Do you publicly rebuke your spouse or your good friend when s/he says something you disagree with? Probably not.)

Joni Ernst's Husband Is Just as Classy as She Is. Evan McMorris-Santoro of BuzzFeed: "Last year, the husband of Iowa Republican state Sen. Joni Ernst, her party’s nominee for Senate made his opinion known about Hillary Clinton on Facebook. 'Truly more of a hag now than when she was 1st Lady!” Gail Ernst wrote, sharing a Benghazi-related image." The Ernst campaign has criticized her Democratic opponent for "using imagery that ... 'degrades and insults Iowa women.'"

Congressional Races

Cameron Joseph & Alexandra Jaffe of the Hill: "Voters go to the polls on Tuesday in Arkansas, Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia. Tea Party challenges to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) are the marquee contests, and no federal races are on the ballot in North Dakota or the Arkansas runoffs."

Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was once thought to be among the Republican incumbents most vulnerable this year to a Tea Party challenge. But the most pressing question on Tuesday is not whether he will finish first in the party primary, but whether he can avoid a runoff by capturing more than 50 percent of the vote in a seven-person field."

Beyond the Beltway

Laura Vozella & Michael Laris of the Washington Post: "Virginia Republicans snatched control of the state Senate on Monday, immediately ending a budget stalemate by pushing Democrats to agree to pass a spending plan without Medicaid expansion, Gov. Terry McAuliffe's top priority. The power shift forced Senate Democrats to yield after a protracted standoff that had threatened to shut down state government in less than a month, according to several lawmakers with direct knowledge of the deal. Democratic negotiators agreed in a closed-door meeting Monday to pass a budget without expanding health coverage to 400,000 low-income Virginians." ...

... CW: David Firestone of the New York Times is as pissed at the Virginia state senator who quit the senate so Republicans would have the majority they need to stop Medicaid expansion in the state: "Phillip Puckett, resigned today, paving the way for his daughter, Martha Puckett Ketron, to win an appointment as a domestic court judge..., proving yet again that personal ambition and venality often outweigh political principle.... Until earlier this afternoon, it looked as though Mr. Puckett would take a job as deputy director of the state's tobacco commission, which is led by a Republican legislator. But he ultimately walked away from the offer after furious Democrats accused him of accepting a bribe." ...

... Jamelle Bouie in Slate: "Puckett didn't just sell out his Democratic colleagues, he sold out thousands of his constituents -- indifferent to their health and well-being -- for little more than some cheap nepotism. No, the Republicans he helped aren't much better; they would rather wage an ideological crusade against Obama than aid the voters who support them. Still, say what you will about right-wing extremism, at least it's an ethos. And given the choice, I would rather have an opponent with conviction than an ally who couldn't be bothered to care."

AP: "U.S. Sen. Harry Reid has sold his home in Searchlight and several mining claims to a gold mining company."

News Ledes

AP: "Israel's parliament on Tuesday chose Reuven Rivlin, a veteran nationalist politician and supporter of the Jewish settlement movement, as the country's next president, putting a man opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state into the ceremonial but influential post."

New York Times: "Martha Hyer, an Oscar-nominated movie actress who starred alongside Humphrey Bogart, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine in the 1950s and 1960s, died on May 31 at her home in Santa Fe, N.M. She was 89."

Washington Post: "Five American troops were killed in southern Afghanistan in a rare friendly fire airstrike that struck a team of Afghan and U.S. troops conducting a security operation ahead of Saturday's presidential runoff vote, U.S. and Afghan officials familiar with the incident said Tuesday."

It's Their Money

Yesterday in a Comment, contributor Ken W. wrote,

Collecting signatures for Washington State's counter to Citizens United, our own initiative, I-1329, I met a young man, I'd guess about 23, who wanted to set me straight. He described himself as a libertarian, told me that everyone had the right to spend his money the way he wished, that the word liberal was purloined from the good, right-thinking people of his own persuasion and said that the current Democrats were in fact Communists. Signature gathering is not a time to engage.

While I agree that a signature-gatherer doesn't have time to argue with every loon who disagrees with his purpose, there are often short, nonconfrontational answers to the usual right-wing bullshit.

So let's address the young man's main objection to Ken's effort: that "everyone has the right to spend his money the way he wishes."

Short response:

(1). To get the little fucker on your side, you agree with him. Up to a point. "Well, yes, you're right. At least for most people."

(2) Appeal to his self-interest & vanity. "But don't you think the government should treat you as well as it treats super-rich people? In a democracy, you're as good as they are. But you sure as hell are not getting equal treatment today."

(3) Wrap up. "That isn't fair. It violates the bedrock principles of American democracy. And it violates your rights as an American." (Whip out tiny American flag & wave it vigorously.)

Longer response:

Explain that the rich are not just buying access to politicians with their campaign contributions.  They're buying the politicians themselves. They're buying the people who write the laws that govern us all. The politicians who get big contributions from the rich are passing the laws those rich contributors want them to pass. They're passing laws that specifically benefit the rich -- at the expense of the rest of us. The rich are making themselves richer -- and they're making you poorer.

"Think about it," you say. "Suppose you write a check to your favorite candidate -- for whatever you can afford -- say, $100. Do you think your $100 would buy you a law that specifically profited you? Of course not. But that's what happens when rich people get to corrupt the system by financing politicians. They get special favors -- big favors that hurt the rest of us. That's why I'm supporting this initiative -- that's why everyone who believes he too should get a fair shake will want to support it. This initiative isn't Democratic with a big 'D.' It's Democratic with a small 'd.' It's American." (Flag.)

If he gives you the line about how we're not really "created equal," again you can agree. Up to a point. "Sure, you & I might not be able to buy all the Rolls & Rolexes the rich can. And that's all right. Maybe we didn't inherit as much as they did. We didn't make as much money as they did, however they made it. But there's a big difference between some people having more to spend & some people getting a better shake from the government. We expect people to have unequal wealth. That's cool. But we all deserve equal protection under the law. It's in the Constitution. And we won't get it as long as the rich are writing the laws, as they can & do today. It's not fair. It's anti-American. (Flag.)

This is all pretty simplistic, but not any more simplistic than that stupid kid's stupid "political philosophy." I find that most people who preach the stock right-wing talking points '-- i. e., "it's their money" -- have never thought past the Fox-supplied talking points.

A few days ago a young man told me that he thought everyone who "gets welfare" should have to pass a drug test. I said that "sounded sensible," but it wasn't always that easy. "Are you going to deny food or medical care to the children of a mother who flunks the pee test?" Uh, well, no. Sometimes that's all it takes. I have these little Setting Strangers Straight sessions quite often without noticeably pissing off the other party.

The Commentariat -- June 9, 2014

Photos & related text removed.

Try to Explain Away This One, Wingers (assuming initial reports are somewhat accurate). Brian Nordli, et al., of the Las Vegas Sun News: "Hours after a man and woman killed two police officers at an east Las Vegas pizza restaurant and then gunned down another victim at a nearby Wal-Mart before killing themselves, a picture of the shooters began to emerge. Residents at an apartment complex where it appeared the two lived together said they had a reputation for spouting racist, anti-government views, bragging about their gun collection and boasting that they'd spent time at Cliven Bundy's ranch during a recent standoff there between armed militia members and federal government agents.... 'They were handing out white-power propaganda and were talking about doing the next Columbine, [Brandon] Moore[, a resident of the complex,] said."

It would have been offensive and incomprehensible to consciously leave an American behind, no matter what. -- Secretary of State John Kerry ...

... Brian Knowlton of the New York Times: "Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday that he felt confident the five Taliban detainees freed in a swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl posed little risk to Americans, adding that Qatari officials were not the only ones monitoring them -- and that while the five might be able to return to the battlefield, 'they also have the ability to get killed doing that.' Mr. Kerry, in some of his first public remarks on the exchange, struck a decidedly tough tone, dismissing as 'baloney' the suggestion that terrorists would have new incentive to kidnap Americans. He also hinted, without offering details, that the United States had the means to monitor the Taliban members...." ...

... Shashank Bengali & Hashmat Baktash of the Los Angeles Times: "... not all [the Taliban exchanged for Bergdahl] were hard-core militants. Three held political positions in the Taliban government that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and were considered relative moderates. A fourth was a mid-level police official, experts say. The fifth, however..., Mohammed Fazl, was chief of staff of the Taliban army and is accused of commanding forces that massacred hundreds of civilians in the final years of Taliban rule before the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.... 'Fazl is the only one of the five to face accusations of explicit war crimes and they are, indeed, extremely serious,' Kate Clark of the Afghanistan Analysts Network,a Kabul-based research group, wrote in a commentary published Wednesday." Also, John McCain doesn't know WTF he's talking about. ...

... Something McCain Didn't Consider. Jeremy Herb of Politico: "Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, the former chief of the U.S. Central Command, said on Sunday the prisoner swap for Army Sgt. Bowe Berdgahl will give the U.S. military more freedom to carry out missions against the Taliban and Haqqani Network. Appearing on CNN's 'State of the Union,' Mattis said U.S. commanders in Afghanistan always lived with the concern that Bergdahl would be killed in retaliation for a U.S. offensive against the Taliban." More military missions. That should thrill McCain.

New York Times: Waaah, Waaah, Waaah. CW: These critics might have a point if they hadn't spent the last several years making an agreement more difficult. ...

... Greg Sargent lets Sen. Chambliss explain why the Obama administration accidentally forgot to notify Congress of the impending prisoner swap:

It's kind of puzzling as to why they did not let us know in advance that this was going to happen. -- Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), yesterday

Chambliss said he 'absolutely' would have raised 'holy Hell' publicly had he gotten wind of the proposed released of five Taliban officials in a prisoner swap. -- Chambliss, last week

Puzzle solved. -- Constant Weader

[President Obama] broke the law, but I believe that the law itself is unconstitutional. Article II [of the Constitution] makes him the commander in chief of the armed forces. These people were in the custody of the armed forces. -- Former Bush II Attorney General Michael Mukasey, on "Fox 'News' Sunday"

... Zachary Warmbrodt of Politico: "A law requiring the president to notify Congress 30 days before freeing detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is unconstitutional, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Sunday.... Mukasey, who served in the George W. Bush administration, has been critical of the deal, calling it 'ghastly,' and in the interview that aired Sunday said the military should 'act swiftly' to investigate Bergdahl's actions after he left his base in Afghanistan." ...

... Andy Sullivan, et al., of Reuters: "... accounts by two Taliban sources as well as several U.S. officials and fellow soldiers raise doubt over media reports that [Bergdahl] had sought to join the Taliban, and over suggestions that the deaths later that year of six soldiers in his battalion were related to the search for him.... A Reuters reconstruction of his disappearance indicates that at the time when Bergdahl's six comrades in the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment were killed in August and September 2009, his fallen comrades were on other missions like securing the Afghan elections and, according to one U.S. military official, the period of intensive ground searches had already ended."

... Trial by Fox "News." Elias Isquith of Salon: "While speaking with former Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked if executing Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl should be 'at least on the table' once the former POW returns home." ...

We as a nation, instead of politicizing something like this, we as a nation, should look at it and say: Okay, [it's a] complex problem, how do we handle this in a way that brings us together? Because it actually makes us look weaker to our allies, it makes us look confused to our foes, and if we were very united on something like this and we just said: 'America doesn't leave its people but we do have a high standard,' then I think we'd come out better. -- Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Ret.

... Phil Stewart & Doina Chiacu of Reuters: "U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl ... [is] struggling emotionally and ha[s] not yet called his parents." ...

     ... CW: I hope the medics aren't letting that poor messed-up kid watch Fox "News."

Jonathan Chait: "Obama Promised to Do 4 Big Things As President. Now He's Done Them All."

** Paul Krugman: "What makes rational action on climate so hard is [not vested economic interest but] -- a toxic mix of ideology and anti-intellectualism."

Larry Summers in the Washington Post: "If American society is to become more just and inclusive, it will be necessary to craft policies that address the rapidly increasing share of income going to the rich. But it is crucial to recognize that measures to support the rest of the population in other ways are at least equally important."

Charles Blow: "One Gallup report issued last week found that 42 percent of Americans believe 'God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago.' ... How does America remain a world leader in an increasingly technological, science-based world, when so many of our citizens -- and even our leaders, including Republicans who might run for president -- deny basic science?" ...

     ... CW Answer: it doesn't. Part of the solution should come from the point of origin of the problem. Ministers & priests should regularly devote sermons to explaining to their dimwitted congregations that Bible stories are STORIES.

Thomas Frank in Salon on the ever-spiraling cost of college tuition. Frank explains the cost rise in socioeconomic terms, & he blames the Reagan philosophy for starting the cost trend. But Frank doesn't suggest a solution. CW: I'm still unclear on who gets the money, though apparently too many college administrators do. (He doesn't mention that college presidents & other top administrators are wa-a-a-y overpaid.)

All Hillary All the Time, Ctd.

Chris Good of ABC News: Hillary Clinton talked to Diane Sawyer & said stuff that won't surprise you. You can watch Sawyer's Clinton special at 9 pm ET today (Monday), if you don't like surprises. Also, she'll be speaking live with Robin Roberts on ABC's "Good Morning, America" on Tuesday, so if you hate surprises in the morning, tune in. ...

... Zeke Miller has more on Clinton's book tour schedule. ...

... Other Presidential Election News

John Reynolds of the Texas Tribune: "U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz easily won the presidential preference straw poll held at the Texas GOP's state convention Saturday, crushing outgoing Gov. Rick Perry and several other early contenders for the 2016 nomination." ...

... BUT. Jay Newton-Small of Time: Big money & Washington Republicans don't like Ted Cruz.

Senate Races

Nate Silver is still predicting Republicans will take the Senate.

Beyond the Beltway

Democrat for Sale, Purchase Pending. Laura Vozzella of the Washington Post: "Republicans appear to have outmaneuvered Gov. Terry McAuliffe in a state budget standoff by persuading a Democratic senator to resign his seat, at least temporarily giving the GOP control of the chamber and possibly dooming the governor's push to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Phillip P. Puckett (D-Russell) will announce his resignation Monday, effective immediately, paving the way to appoint his daughter to a judgeship and Puckett to the job of deputy director of the state tobacco commission, three people familiar with the plan said Sunday." ...

     ... CW: I'm sure Puckett will make a great tobacco commissioner, because he obviously doesn't give a flying fuck how many people get sick & die in service of his self-interest. Politicans quit their so-called public service jobs all the time to get better gigs for themselves, but this is beyond outrageous.