The Commentariat -- August 16, 2014
Internal links removed.
SNAFU. Reed Abelson & Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times: "The Obama administration's declared war on health care fraud, costing some $600 million a year..., is not close to defeating the fraudsters.... An array of outside contractors used by the government is poorly managed, rife with conflicts of interest and vulnerable to political winds, according to interviews with current and former government officials, contractors and experts inside and outside of the administration. Authority and responsibilities among the contractors are often unclear and in competition with one another. Private companies -- like insurers and technology companies -- have responsibility for enforcement, often with little government oversight."
Dylan Byers of Politico: "Former Vice President Al Gore and business partner Joel Hyatt have filed a lawsuit against Al Jazeera on charges of fraud and material breaches in their acquisition of Current Media.... Gore and Hyatt, the co-founders of Current Media, say that Al Jazeera has unlawfully refused to turn over tens of millions of dollars currently located in an escrow account. That money is owed to Current Media shareholders per the terms of the $500-million merger agreement made in January 2013, the plaintiffs say. The lawsuit was filed Friday morning by David Boies, attorney for Gore and Hyatt, in the Delaware Court of Chancery. (Boies also represented Gore in the 2000 Florida election recount battle against George W. Bush.)
Paul Waldman argues that if Tuck Chodd is going to save "Press the Meat," he'll have to make it as awful as Tim Russert did. Russert, Waldman notes, "was actually terrible at his job. He was obsequious to the people he was supposedly so 'tough' on, forever distracted by the irrelevant, and one of television's foremost blue-collar poseurs. But what is inarguable, however, is that Russert was hugely successful. He gave the Sunday show viewership exactly what they wanted, which was apparently a relentless insiderdom gripped by the conventional Washington wisdom, wrapped in a gossamer-thin veneer of tough-guy truth-seeking." CW: I have no doubt Friar Tuck there is up to the job. Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid or Chris Hayes could never pull off a Little Tim act.
Kristina Wong of the Hill: "The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee intends to review a Pentagon program that transfers surplus military equipment to police agencies, following the use of controversial police tactics in Ferguson, Mo. 'Before the defense authorization bill comes to the Senate floor, we will review this program to determine if equipment provided by the Defense Department is being used as intended,' Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said in a statement Friday." ...
... digby: "I'm hearing some nonsense that only libertarians have been talking about the militarization of the police. I am not a libertarian. I'm a liberal and a civil libertarian which isn't the same thing. And I've been talking about this for a very long time. So have a lot of other liberals." ...
... Beyond the Beltway
Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "Gov. Rick Perry of Texas was indicted on two felony counts on Friday by a state grand jury examining his handling of a local district attorney's drunken driving arrest and the state financing for a public corruption unit under the lawyer's control." CW: So that's two Republicans governors under indictment. Do I hear a third, Gov. Christie? ...
... Here's the Dallas Morning News story, by Christy Hoppe. ...
... A copy of the indictment, via the Hill, is here. ...
... It All Started with Potato Juice. Christopher Hooks of the Texas Observer writes a very readable account of the backstory.
... Salvador Rizzo of the Star-Ledger: "New Jersey taxpayers have been billed $6.52 million so far this year by Gov. Chris Christie's private attorneys dealing with the aftermath of the George Washington Bridge scandal, according to invoices released today by acting state Attorney General John Hoffman."
Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "Tension between the police and demonstrators infuriated by the shooting death of Michael Brown a week ago was renewed early Saturday, as protesters barricaded a major thoroughfare and police officers in riot gear quickly responded, prompting a standoff. The police, using megaphones, were ordering the demonstrators to abandon their protest. Some demonstrators threw glass bottles toward the authorities, who repeatedly warned that they could make arrests. ...
... Koran Addo & Paul Hampel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch report the sequence of events, which is pretty telling. The rioting & looting -- which took place in the after midnight, following hours of peaceful demonstration -- would seem to have nothing to do with Michael Brown & everything to do with rowdy boys on a Friday-night binge. Some of the protesters attempted to stop the looting by blocking the store entrances. ...
... CW: For what it's worth, I still think the police are making tactical mistakes. They should not be dressed in riot gear & standing in 18th-century-style military formation; they should not be putting up barricades. They should be in uniform, walking along the perimeters of the protest location, which would put them in front of the stores, thus deterring looting. Oh, and they should call up every black cop in Missouri to do the policing. ...
... Jerry Markon, et al., of the Washington Post: "Ferguson police said Officer Darren Wilson had shot the teen during a confrontation after [a convenience store] robbery. They said a description of [Michael] Brown had been broadcast over police radio identifying him as a robbery suspect and released security camera photos of the robbery, showing someone they identified as Brown towering over and allegedly menacing the store clerk. But as more details emerged later in the day, the connection between the robbery and the shooting ... became more tenuous. Although the simultaneous naming of Brown as a suspect and the video's release had suggested that the officer stopped Brown because of the robbery, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson later appeared to reverse himself, saying at a second news conference that their confrontation 'was not related to the robbery' at all.... Asked why police felt compelled to release the robbery photos if they were unconnected to the shooting, Jackson said it was because the media had asked for them. He then abruptly ended the news conference and was hustled away." ...
... Following are some background stories, more or less in descending chronological order:
... Cavan Sieczkowski of the Huffington Post: "The Ferguson Police Department released a video of a convenience store robbery, following the revelation of the name of the officer who shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown.... In a press conference earlier on Friday, Ferguson police released a report naming Brown as the main suspect in a convenience store robbery where a box of Swisher Sweets cigars valued at $48.99 was stolen and a clerk was allegedly shoved.... Video of the incident allegedly showing Brown, which was released to the public, 'had nothing to do with the stop' and was 'unrelated' to [Officer Darren] Wilson's contact with Brown, Jackson said." Report includes the surveillance video. ...
... Later That Same Day. Molly Hennessey-Fiske, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "Police said Friday that the police officer who shot to death an unarmed 18-year-old did not know the man was a robbery suspect and stopped him because he was walking in the street, a revelation that seemed likely to add to public anger over the death of Michael Brown.... [Ferguson Police Chief Thomas] Jackson said Wilson was not aware that Brown was suspected in a robbery before their encounter. He said [the officer, Darren] Wilson, 28, stopped Brown and another man because they were walking in the middle of the street." ...
... Robert Patrick of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "News that Michael Brown was wanted as a robbery suspect could put a fresh light on his killing by a Ferguson police officer, a use-of-force expert said Friday.... The circumstances faced by Officer Darren Wilson contained both elements, according to a description Friday by Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson. He said Wilson was aware there had been a robbery involving cigars but did not realize when he ordered two young men to stop walking in the street that they were suspects. Wilson made the connection when he noticed cigars in Brown's hand, Jackson said." ...
... Kevin McDermott of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson this morning identified Darren Wilson as the officer who shot and killed an unarmed teenager last Saturday. Wilson is a 6-year veteran of the force. He was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting."
Kimberly Kindy of the Washington Post: "St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley on Friday said he is leading an effort to remove the county prosecutor [Robert McCulloch] from investigating the Michael Brown case because he thinks the prosecutor's personal experiences and recent statements have tainted his ability to act objectively." ...
... CW: Rachel Maddow had a guest on earlier this week who said that McCulloch's office has few black ADAs. The guest, a black attorney, said she applied for a job in McCulloch's office fresh out of law school; when she was offered the job, the hiring attorney asked if she'd mind hearing fellow attorneys regularly use the "N" word.
... The Ferguson Police Department Has a History. Michael Daly of the Daily Beast: "Police in Ferguson, Missouri, once charged a man with destruction of property for bleeding on their uniforms while four of them allegedly beat him.... Henry Davis ... was ... arrested for an outstanding warrant that proved to actually be for another man of the same surname, but a different middle name and Social Security number." Read the whole story. CW P.S.: Henry Davis is black. But you knew that. ...
... Dylan Byers of Politico: "Forty-eight media organizations -- ranging from the Associated Press to Fox News to The New Yorker and the National Press Club -- sent a letter to law enforcement authorities in Ferguson, Mo., on Friday to protest the police's treatment of reporters and ask for greater transparency regarding the death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American who was shot and killed by police." A copy of the letter is here. Oddly, not a word about the tear-gassing of an Al Jazeera reporter & crew.
Congressional Elections
Cathleen Decker of the Los Angeles Times: "Surmounting yet another voting snafu, Hawaii awarded its Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate to appointed incumbent Brian Schatz late Friday, as he defeated Rep. Colleen Hanabusa in an election whose outcome was delayed nearly a week by the impact of Tropical Storm Iselle. A tally of votes released late Friday showed Schatz with 115,401 overall to Hanabusa's 113,632, a difference of less than 1,800 votes or 0.7%."
Mary Ellen Klas of the Tampa Bay Times: "Florida's congressional districts won't change by November and new elections can't be held until next year, the state's top elections officials told a circuit court judge on Friday. Responding to a court order to have a proposal in place by noon today, the Florida Association of Supervisors of Elections, in conjunction with the Florida Secretary of State, concluded that the earliest date they could conduct a special election in the 25 counties affected by the new congressional districts would be in March 17, with a general election to follow on May 26." Via Cameron Joseph of the Hill.
Gail Collins reflects on the Alaska GOP primary, where all the candidates eat salmon at least once a week, & Joe Miller, Sarah Palin's fave, charges that millions of Hispanic thugs will take away your Second Amendment rights.
Jay Newton-Small of Time: "Republican State Sen. Joni Ernst, who is running for Senate and served more than 20 years in the military, said Friday that she was sexually harassed in the military and, given her experience, is backing the removal of cases of sexual assault from the military chain of command, a position that puts her at odds with much of the GOP." CW: This is yet another instance where a Republican (and in this case a fringey right-winger) becomes a liberal on an issue where s/he has some real-world experience.
News Ledes
AP: "The European Union offered Friday to take charge of Gaza's border crossings and work to prevent illegal arms flows, insisting on a durable truce and saying a return to the status quo before the latest war 'is not an option.' As EU foreign ministers held an urgent meeting in Brussels about global conflicts, Hamas negotiators met with the Islamic militant group's leadership in Qatar to discuss a proposal for a long-term truce with Israel. An official said the group was inclined to accept the Egyptian-mediated offer."
Guardian: "The US confirmed on Saturday evening that its planes and drones had carried out air strikes against Islamic State (Isis) fighters in the area around Iraq's crucial Mosul dam."
AFP: "Jihadists carried out a 'massacre' in the northern Iraqi village of Kocho, killing dozens of people, most of them members of the Yazidi religious minority, officials said on Saturday. Jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group are carrying out attacks against minorities in Iraq's Nineveh province, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee.... Harim Kamal Agha, a senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party in Dohuk province, which borders Nineveh, put the death toll at 81 and said the militants had taken women to prisons they control." ...
... New York Times Update: "The gunmen had surrounded the village for more than a week, refusing to let residents leave and saying they had limited time to save themselves by converting to Islam. When that time ran out, fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria stormed in, killing the men and rounding up the women and children, a survivor and Iraqi officials said Saturday."
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Reader Comments (8)
A bad week for ambitious white Repub Govs. First the two "good-hair" guyz: Robert McDonnell and Rick Perry. And ongoing: Chris Christie and his psychopathic brigade. Don't think we'll be seeing them on the ballot in 2016--unless there is a seismic change in public opinion.
And a Dem is pretty sad, too. Jay Nixon, I am told, planned to be on Hillary's VP shortlist--no word on whether he has even talked to her.
Ah the little tragedies of life. They do tend to catch up with us--particulary if one is a White, Male, Arrogant Egomanic with tunnel vision and political ambitions.
I would like to spank Hillary for dissing Obama's foreign policy "vision." She of the "never met a war she didn't like" is going after Barry who says we "should not do stupid shit." I like his vision bettah!
Heard Our Mr Brooks yesterday on MPR as usual getting it wrong, like almost all of the MSM: The root problem in Ferguson, and police departments in many (most?) towns, is not their mix of ancestries and ethnicities, but that they do not screen out thugs from their incoming officers, nor do they immediately fire those that would otherwise slip in but then reveal themselves. New Orleans, Albuquerque and Oakland are poster children for the problem. Three of my HS classmates became cops. One was a nice guy-became a LA state trooper, the other two had been the (only) class bullies - became town cops. Years ago I was stopped by a cop in St. Louis for doing a California stop at an intersection. Didn't issue a ticket but screamed and threatened in language that in the 70's would not have been allowed on the teevee. He was black, but so what? He was a bully and should never have been hired. The one comment by Brooks that rang true: people given petty power (I like that term) often take it to heart and abuse it. Why can't we get the abusers out of the law enforcement business? Zero tolerance anyone? Write your mayor and city council.
A Vox (satirical ) take on Ferguson:
http://www.vox.com/2014/8/15/6005587/ferguson-satire-another-country-ru
More seriously (or maybe not) than the satire above, I see an interesting contrast between the militarized police forces we have mounted to keep ordinary citizens under control--public order at any cost-- and our relative inattention to the blatant criminal activity of tax cheats, polluters and Medicare defrauders.
We toss billions at domestic security forces while defunding the IRS, the EPA and other government regulatory agencies. Furthermore, as a purported cost-saving measure, we have farmed out more and more government responsibilities to private contractors who themselves have little oversight or, apparently, little incentive to do their jobs well.
In the case of Medicare fraud, it seems that all the ineffective private contractors we've hired to root out and protect the taxpayers from fraud constitute the biggest fraud of all.
Maybe the solution to the Ferguson and Medicare SNAFUS has been under our noses for years: Turn the Ferguson storm-troopers loose on the Medicare fraudsters (a little tear gas and a few rubber bullets wouldn't hurt) and pry the private fraudster contractors out of their offices and cubbies and have them mix with the Ferguson marchers, interviewing them about their concerns and taking detailed I-pad notes.
We do live in an upside down world, methinks.
Here's a worthwhile read about the true ancestors of the Tea Party and the use of nullification to resist the will of the majority.
http://weeklysift.com/2014/08/11/not-a-tea-party-a-confederate-party/
I surely hope the old, arrogant white men with tunnel vision sitting on their golden perches of the supreme court are reading the news these days and perhaps reconsidering their rosy views of race in America. Racism is clearly alive and well, whether it´s the empty voting booth, the filled prison cells, or the absent presence at the dinner table. All it takes is a critical perspective but things seems so much easier when you just paper over all those inconvenient stains of life.
I just checked out the Fraternal Order of Police website: in sum they see the world as us against them. In their case there are 300,000 of them, FOP members, and 300 million citizens. I bet there is some great reporting that could be done at the FOP annual convention, i.e. a little stealth video camera work that could add vital context to the statements of its director who quite clearly has it in for Obama.
@ JackMahoney Good comment from you about polling and responses from the under-educated, unaware & unconscious on today's Gail Collin's feature.