The Commentariat -- August 7, 2014
Internal links, defunct videos removed.
Justin Sink of the Hill: "President Obama defended his use of executive action on Wednesday, signaling he's willing to take steps on immigration and tax policy if Congress fails to act. Obama vowed to 'scour our authorities' seeking opportunities to act 'wherever I have the legal authorities to make progress.'" Here's the full presser. The Q&A begins at 7:10 min. in:
Jake Tapper of CNN: "The killing of Maj. Gen. Harold Greene in Afghanistan-- the highest ranking officer to have been killed in that war, and the first time a general has been killed on the battlefield since Vietnam -- has met with many statements mourning his loss, with one notable exception: the commander in chief. Why? A national security source tells CNN that the administration does not like to signal that the particular rank of a casualty merits a different response – every loss of life is equally tragic; every sacrifice is equally heartbreaking."
** Linda Greenhouse: "Listening to politicians talk about abortion, watching state legislatures put up ever more daunting obstacles, reading the opinions of judges who give the states a free pass, it's abundantly clear to me that some constitutional rights are more equal than others.... And then, forcefully to the contrary, came this week's opinion by a federal district judge in Alabama, Myron H. Thompson, who declared unconstitutional the state's Women's Health and Safety Act.... Judge Thomas [made] a profound point: that a right -- any right -- without the infrastructure and the social conditions that enable its exercise is no right at all."
Justin Leavitt in the Washington Post: When it approved Wisconsin's voter ID law, "the Wisconsin Supreme Court blew it." The justices claimed the law enhanced public confidence & prevented voter fraud. Neither is true. "... I've found about 31 different incidents (some of which involve multiple ballots) since 2000, anywhere in the country.... I’d bet that some of the 31 will end up debunked.... In general and primary elections alone, more than 1 billion ballots were cast in that period.... In just four states that have held just a few elections under the harshest ID laws, more than 3,000 votes (in general elections alone) have reportedly been affirmatively rejected for lack of ID. (That doesn’t include voters without ID who didn't show up, or recordkeeping mistakes by officials.)." ...
... David Firestone of the New York Times: "Most Republican politicians know these criminals don't actually exist, but they have found it useful to take advantage of the party base's pervasive fear of outsiders, just as when they shot down immigration reform. In this case, they persuaded the base of the need for voter ID laws to ensure 'ballot integrity,' knowing the real effect would be to reduce Democratic turnout."
Dana Milbank: "... for the country, the disassociation of whiteness and American-ness is to be celebrated.... The tea party movement was a setback because it elevated extreme individualism over collective responsibilities and because it tapped into nativism and further undermined trust in American institutions. Some tea partyers .... But for other conservatives and Republicans -- and, more importantly, for America -- it's not too late." ...
... Charles Blow makes an air-tight case: "Democrats didn't drive a wedge between Republicans and blacks; Republicans drove blacks away." ...
... Driftglass posts this 1946 Encyclopaedia Britannica educational film that has relevance today:
Dr. Marc Stern writes in a Guardian op-ed that in 2005 he resigned his job with the Washington State Department of Corrections rather than procure the "lethal cocktail" of drugs for an execution. "Americans like things to be neat, clean and error-free ... basically, nice.... So death by hanging, firing squad, electrocution and the gas chamber have fallen out of favor because they can be gruesome and don't always go so smoothly.... [But] there is no method of execution that meets our 'needs' as a society -- a method that is 'nice', 'reliable' and that does not require medical professionals to act unethically."
AP: "Bank of America has tentatively agreed to pay between $16bn and $17bn to settle an investigation into its sale of mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis, a source directly familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The deal with the bank, which must still be finalised, would be the largest Justice Department settlement by far arising from the economic meltdown. It follows earlier multibillion-dollar agreements reached in the last year with Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase."
Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "Gov. Rick Perry's recent announcement that he was deploying 1,000 National Guard troops to the border has generated widespread attention. But it was only the latest step in a broader, decade-long strategy by Mr. Perry and other Republican leaders to patch together Texas' own version of the Border Patrol on its 1,200-mile border with Mexico. Mr. Perry and state officials defend the show of force as a costly but necessary effort to stop the smuggling of people and drugs into Texas and to prevent what they call 'criminal aliens' from filling up Texas jails.... But their operations have scores of detractors, including some officials in border communities, who say Mr. Perry and his supporters have no business using taxpayer dollars to put state officers and National Guard soldiers on the front lines of a border the federal government is responsible for safeguarding." Among the officers Perry employs at the border: game wardens & Texas Rangers. "Mr. Perry told a congressional committee that Texas should be reimbursed by the federal government for the half a billion dollars it has spent securing the border dating from the presidency of Mr. Perry&'s predecessor, George W. Bush."
Loveday Morris of the Washington Post: "Stranded on a barren mountaintop, thousands of minority Iraqis are faced with a bleak choice: descend and risk slaughter at the hands of the encircled Sunni extremists or sit tight and risk dying of thirst." See also Wednesday's Ledes. ...
... Terrence McCoy of the Washington Post: "The Yazidis are just the latest minority group the Islamic State has targeted in its brutal campaign of religious persecution and killings. While many recent Iraqi conflicts have been framed as clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, this one is different. The Islamic State has declared war against anyone different, anyone unwilling to convert to the its ascetic brand of Islam. It's worse, Iraqi religious leaders say, than Genghis Khan.... Most analysts agree there's not a religious or ethnic minority in northern Iraq -- Shabaks, Turkmens, Yazidis, Christians -- that isn't in danger." ...
... George Packer of the New Yorker has more on the crisis of the Yazidi, the ancient religious minority whom ISIS has driven into the mountains. ...
... Charles Pierce: "Maybe kicking over the hornet's nest for the purposes of draining the swamp on the advice of people who didn't know fk-all what they were doing, or enabling said exercise, has turned out to be not such a good idea after all. There were people who got it right. There were people to whom other people should have listened. The hornets are going to fly free for a very long time." CW: To remind yourself of what a fuck-up (or fk-up) Bush was, take a gander at the second link (by Pierce), which is to a 2004 story by Suzanne Goldenberg of the Guardian.
Alec Luhn & Mark Tran of the Guardian: "Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency whistleblower, has been given permission to stay in Russia for three more years and will be allowed to travel abroad for three-month stints. His Russian lawyer told reporters that Snowden, whose temporary asylum ran out on 1 August, has received a three-year residence permit.... But the former NSA contractor has not been granted political asylum, which would have allowed him to stay in Russia permanently. However, [his lawyer] said Snowden would be able to extend his residency permit for a further three years when it runs out and after five years would be eligible to apply for Russian citizenship, but he did not know if Snowden intended to do so."
David Stout of Time: "A new poll released this week by the Levada Center reports that the Russian President [Vladimir Putin] currently enjoys an approval rating of 87% -- a 4-point jump since a similar survey was completed in May, according to the Moscow Times. Meanwhile in the U.S., where the economy is bouncing back and the White House has largely retreated from militaristic interventions abroad, President Barack Obama's approval rating sagged to 40% this week -- its lowest point to date."
Congressional Races
Sam Hall of the Jackson, Mississippi, Clarion-Ledger: "The Mississippi Republican Party has said they will not hear the challenge from Chris McDaniel because state law would not allow them sufficient time to consider the evidence. In a letter to McDaniel attorney Mitch Tyner, Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Joe Nosef said the candidate should move their challenge to the courts.... Nosef said he consulted with other members of the party's executive committee to see if they had any other ideas, which he said they didn't. Nosef wouldn't say to how many members he spoke. State GOP executive committee member John Parker of Laurel, a McDaniel supporter, was unaware of the decision when contacted Wednesday evening. He said the 52-member committee was apparently not consulted about the decision." CW: I hate to stick up for a buffoon like McDaniel, but I'd say the Mississippi GOP is pretty high on the despotism scale (see educational film above). It seems to me the party has a responsibility to at least hear McDaniel's case. You know, so there's "public confidence" in the electoral process (see Justin Leavitt's post linked above). ...
... Mississippi Looney Toons. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "The endlessly complicated aftermath of Mississippi's Republican Senate primary added a new layer of complexity late Tuesday, with reports that the man who had accused the campaign of Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) of buying votes is now accusing a spokesman for Chris McDaniel, Cochran's opponent, of paying him to lie about the whole thing."
Gail Collins points out that New York & California Congressional races can be silly. But I don't think she can beat the Mississippi after-primary party.
Erik Schelzig of the AP: "Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, a 40-year veteran of Tennessee politics, is facing a challenge Thursday from two tea party-styled candidates who have tried to cast him as out of touch with the state's increasingly conservative electorate." ...
... Jay Newton-Small of Time: "Also on the Tennessee ballot is embattled Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a Republican sophomore from the Chattanooga suburbs. DesJarlais, a Tea Partier and pro-life doctor, came under fire recently after it was revealed in decade-old divorce papers that he had eight affairs, once threatened his wife with a gun during an argument and encouraged a pregnant mistress, who also happened to be a patient, to get an abortion. On top of that, DesJarlais was fined $500 by the Tennessee medical board for inappropriate relations with a patient last year,* but he has since doubled down, calling the scandal 'old news.' ... Finally, white Jewish Democrat Steve Cohen is hoping for a fourth term representing a majority black district in Memphis. Cohen has drawn African American challengers every cycle, and this cycle is no different. Thursday, he faces wealthy attorney Ricky Wilkins." ...
* Make that two patients.
Presidential Race
Driftglass has some photos of "Rand Paul running away from things." Scroll down or click on the links in the linked post for more pix. Warning: There's a slight possibility that a few of these are Photoshopped. ...
Update. Akhilleus: "The Gospel According to Aqua Buddha Boy":
... ALSO, via Brian Beutler:
... CW: I see there's a #RanPaul hashtag.
Rand Paul. The first deserter in the War on Whites. -- @LOLGOP
Beyond the Beltway
Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "Businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr. was Maureen McDonnell's 'favorite playmate' and went on 'play dates' with her, a longtime aide to the former first lady of Virginia told government investigators, according to testimony and records from the interviews. Mary-Shea Sutherland also testified that McDonnell complained of financial difficulties. Sutherland said she had personally lent the first lady money to buy shoes for her husband's inauguration because one of the McDonnells' accounts 'was maxed out.' She went on to lend her boss $6,000, she said, after the first lady said she needed the money to 'cover a stock purchase' she had made." The Post's liveblog of Wednesday's testimony is here. ...
... UPDATE. The Post's liveblog for today is here.
Jill Palermo of InsideNoVa: "Bob FitzSimmonds, Prince William County Circuit Court deputy clerk, will resign from his position as treasurer for the Republican Party of Virginia. FitzSimmonds, 62, has been under fire during the last two weeks for a set of controversial comments he made in response to President Barack Obama's Facebook post July 29 wishing American Muslims a happy Eid al-Fitr, the last day of the Muslim holy month Ramadan, and thanking them for their 'contributions to the very fabric of our nation.' FitzSimmonds questioned what contributions Muslims have made to the country, prompting several officials in his own party to accuse him of ethnic bigotry and call for his resignation. In one comment, FitzSimmonds wrote on his Facebook page: 'Exactly what part of our nation's fabric was woven by Muslims? ... What about Sikhs, Animists and Jainists? Should we be thanking them too?'"
News Ledes
** Washington Post: "Aircraft under the U.S. Central Command, escorted by fighter jets, dropped 'critical meals and water for thousands of Iraqis' who have been stranded on a mountaintop, surrounded by Islamist forces, for five days after fleeing the western town of Sinjar toward the relatively peaceful Kurdish region, a senior Defense official said." ...
... ** AP: "President Barack Obama has approved airdrops of humanitarian supplies to thousands of religious minorities in Iraq who are under siege from Islamic militants, but he was still weighing whether to combine that assistance with U.S. airstrikes, officials said Thursday night. Airstrikes were under consideration in part out of concern that U.S. military trainers stationed in Iraq's north were threatened by the Islamic State group, the officials said. The Islamic State fighters have made gains toward the Kurdish capital city of Irbil." ...
... ** New York Times: "Airstrikes on towns in northern Iraq seized by Islamist militants began late Thursday in what Kurdish and Iraqi officials called the first stage of an American-led intervention to blunt the militants' advance and provide emergency aid to tens of thousands of refugees. Kurdish and Iraqi officials attributed the bombing campaign to American forces. But the Pentagon firmly denied that American forces had begun a bombing campaign. Pentagon officials said it was possible that allies of the United States, either the Iraqi or Turkish militaries, had conducted the bombing." ...
... ** ABC News: "The United States is sending cargo planes to drop pallets of humanitarian aid and supplies to stranded Iraqi citizens threatened by the militant Islamic group ISIS, U.S. officials said today. The airdrop mission has begun, officials told ABC News. The emergency effort is being deployed to help a group of 40,000 Yazidis, a group of ethnic Kurds, who fled villages in northern Iraq under threat from ISIS." ...
... New York Times: "President Obama is considering airstrikes or airdrops of food and medicine to address a humanitarian crisis among as many as 40,000 members of religious minorities in Iraq, who have been dying of heat and thirst on a mountaintop where they took shelter after death threats from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, administration officials said on Thursday." ...
... New York Times: "Sunni militants captured the Mosul dam, the largest in Iraq, on Thursday as their advances in the country's north created an onslaught of refugees and set off fearful rumors in Erbil, the Kurdish regional capital."
Guardian: "Argentina has asked the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague to take action against the United States over an alleged breach of its sovereignty as it defaulted on its debt. Argentina defaulted last week after losing a long legal battle with hedge funds that rejected the terms of debt restructurings in 2005 and 2010. A statement issued by the ICJ, the United Nation's highest court for disputes between nations, said Argentina's request had been sent to the US government. It added that no action will be taken in the proceedings "unless and until" Washington accepts the court's jurisdiction."
New York Times: "A court on Thursday found the two most senior surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime, which brutalized Cambodia during the 1970s, guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced them to life in prison."
BBC News: "Thousands of Christians are reported to be fleeing after Islamic militants seized the minority's biggest town in Iraq. The Islamic State (IS) group captured Qaraqosh in Nineveh province overnight after the withdrawal of Kurdish forces."
New York Times: "Russia announced on Thursday that it was banning the import of a wide range of food and agricultural products from Europe and the United States, among others, responding to Western-imposed sanctions and raising the level of confrontation between the West and Moscow over the future of Ukraine."
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Reader Comments (12)
Interesting Mark Morford colunm today (Wednesday)--satire, journalism, and much else. http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/08/05/fierce-comics-at-the-end-of-the-world/
Driftglass, as always, keeps a weather eye out for the charlatans and fools. But one picture of Rand Paul running away from things was missing.
Li'l Randy running away from himself.
And amidst all the glee prompted by this inspirational public figure's many displays of courage and truthfulness, I have yet to see any reference to his motto, captured here in film for all time.
The Gospel According to Aqua Buddha Boy.
Thoughts about Republican candidates for 2016.
I know, I know, it's still a ways off and we're all still getting over the last trip to the Twilight Zone, but as a public service, I thought I'd give it a shot and do a quick review of the possible possibles. So, in no particular order, we have...
Chris Christie
The Bridge of Damocles still hangs over this guy, a bully, a braggart, and a liar. When it falls, so will he.
Rand Paul
A liar, a coward, a back tracker, and a smug, humorless little shit. But if your eyes are failing, he'll happily stick a sharp object into them. Don't worry. He's self-certified.
Ted Cruz
Kills the government but wants to run it. Into the ground. Stops all government business in its tracks while admiring himself in the mirror, then blames it on Democrats. I read an interview with Cruz's college roommate who said that his positions now are exactly the same as they were when he was 18. I don't know about you, but I've learned one or two or things since I was 18. Anyone who hasn't has no business running a dry cleaning operation, never mind a country.
Marco Rubio
Thinks the earth is 5,000 years old, but doesn't know exactly. Neither do I, exactly, but I'm pretty sure it's more than 5,000. This means Rubio is either an imbecile, a liar, or both. Presidential material?
Paul Ryan
Quarter-smart, three quarters sociopath, and a grinning fool. Oh, and a liar.
Scott Walker
Has never run an honest election in his life. The perfect Republican candidate. That is, if he's not in prison by the time the primaries begin. Just a wee bit of a problem.
Rick Perry
His last turn on the presidential dance floor ended in a pratfall. Something about three government agencies he was going to close. It was his big plan, his ticket to the White House, but the paper it was written on was eaten by his dog so he couldn't remember all three. Oops. Changes since then? New glasses, new haircut; but now he's spending your money to bring National Guard troops to the border where they will....do nothing. Hey, it's all about how it looks. President Perry? New glasses won't do the trick, Rick. You're still a dick.
Rick Santorum
Express donkey cart back to the middle ages. He was a holier-than-thou asshole four years ago. He's an asshole today. He'll be an asshole in 2016.
Mike Huckabee
God told him to run because we're all heathens going to hell. Again. Funny how all these people who have been told by god to do something never amount to shit. You'd think if he was serious, god would give them a hand, no?
Bobby Jindal.
God told him to do something too. He just can't remember what. Maybe Perry's dog is to blame.
Jeb Bush
Oh-kaaay. Bush number one: small war, medium recession. Bush number two: enormous war, shocking economic disaster. Bush number three: will he try to out-douche one and two? Can we afford to find out?
So, what do we have, then?
A bully, a coward, a narcissist, a liar, a sociopath, a chiseler, a con man, an asshole, two religious nutballs, and maybe the Anti-Christ.
This is the best they can do?
But of course. Since the GOP remodeled itself, anyone with a brain, with morals, with scruples, and with an appreciation for the world the rest of us live in have all been driven out. The only ones left are bullies, liars, sociopaths, narcissists, con men, kooks, and cowards.
Could they offer up a more baleful collection of shady characters? Dick Tracy's Gallery of Villains didn't feature as many creeps.
Then again, they may give the Rat another shot...Maybe he's rounded off the number of moochers to 45% by now.
Akhilleus, you set such a high standard it's hard to say for sure, but this time in your summary of potential Republican Presidential candidates, you might have outdone yourself. Thanks. I'm still smiling.
Akhilleus, you left out my all time favorite: Crazy Eyes Bachmann.
That would make Marcus first lady!
Akhilleus, I wish I could laugh but I'm too depressed with what OUR side has to offer. (And though I like her a lot, Warren is not the answer. I remember her campaign for Senate. She is a lousy campaigner.)
FYI AK: when you type "Santorum" into Google the first entry is "Campaign for "santorum" neologism..."; the story of frothy lube is alive and well for Santorum the modern member of the Inquisition.
I'd still like to shake Dan Savage's hand for that perfect encapsulation.
http://missoulian.com/news/local/walsh-cancels-campaign-appearances-ponders-future-of-senate-race/article_04933d82-1d73-11e4-8603-0019bb2963f4.html. The fate of John Walsh's senate campaign is still up for grabs. My take is Schweitzer hasn't cashed in enough on the private sector yet to rescue a D for the seat. What many forget is that 2 term governor Marc Racicot is now milking the private sector and as a former "best friend" of George W. Shrub he is well positioned to funnel big money to Republican Steve Daines. It's looking grim in the Big Sky.
Ken,
Thanks. I can't take credit for all of it. I mean, look at the material I have to work with. I could never make up stuff like this. It wouldn't sound remotely believable. But disbelief is routinely sent packing when you're talkin' conservatives, baby.
I'm reminded of a movie from the early 90's, "Soapdish", in which the off camera lives of the cast of a TV soap opera far outstrips the most outlandish inventions of the writers. In one scene, involving a long lost daughter finding out who her parents are (all cast members) and a sleazy producer sleeping with the femme fatale of the cast who turns out to be a transsexual, the head writer, played by Whoopi Goldberg, watching in amazement says "I wish I could write shit like this!"
So, it's like that writing about Republicans. It practically writes itself.
Forrest,
I thought of Bachmann, but I was hoping she and La Palin might end up being the topping on the GOP crazy cake. Maybe Marcus can pop out in a tutu.
Haley,
True, that. But at least Democrats aren't fielding anyone truly insane or anyone who doesn't mind being thought of as insane.
Although I might be tempted to vote for Vermin Supreme (a real guy) this time around.
I'm not jumping up and down about Hillary, but like that last Clinton for president, I may have to shake my head and fill in the little block next to her name.
I'm not happy about very much connected to 2016. Nate Silver has finally gotten some conservatives to listen to him now that he's predicting that the troglodytes will take the senate and rule congress completely. I'm considering kidnapping the guy and spiriting him off to some desert island for the duration just so's he doesn't give the begrudgers any more good news to celebrate.
Just thinking about the coming chaos makes me want to reach for the John Jameson's.
Citizen,
Ya gotta love the internet. Once it's out there, you ain't pullin' it back into the boat.
Especially if it's something as nasty as santorum.
AK, spot on about Silver. I'd pay to have him silenced for a couple of months.