The Commentariat -- Dec. 3, 2014
Internal links, photo removed.
Helene Cooper & Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Obama has settled on Ashton B. Carter to be the next defense secretary, senior administration officials said on Tuesday, but is not prepared to announce the move because the White House has not completed its vetting of him. A former deputy defense secretary with a long history at the Pentagon -- though no uniformed military service -- Mr. Carter was on a short list of prospective defense secretaries from the moment that Chuck Hagel announced his resignation, under pressure, on Nov. 24." The Washington Post story, by Craig Whitelock & Missy Ryan, is here.
The Yoho Solution. Ashley Parker & Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "House Republicans on Tuesday ... began coalescing around a two-part plan that would allow a symbolic vote to show their frustration with President Obama's executive action on immigration, before funding the government ahead of a Dec. 11 deadline. The proposal, presented by Speaker John A. Boehner, first calls for House Republicans to vote on a resolution proposed by Representative Ted Yoho, Republican of Florida, that says that the president does not have the power to take the executive action he took last month. The resolution, however, would largely be a way for House Republicans to express their displeasure with the president's immigration action. Mr. Yoho said that his measure would be a largely 'symbolic message' if Senate Democrats do not take up his resolution, which they are unlikely to do." ...
... Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: "Congress abandoned efforts Tuesday to craft an ambitious tax plan that would have raised hopes for bipartisan collaboration when Republicans take over in January, opting for a modest measure that would extend a slew of popular tax breaks for just a few more weeks." CW: This is supposed to be a news story, but Montgomery lets us know she's awfully sad about the failure of bipartisanship: "The development offered a stark reminder that, despite pledges from President Obama and GOP leaders to work together in a reshaped Washington, the same old political divisions hang over the Capitol -- and could be complicated by fresh tensions between moderates and liberals in the bruised Democratic Party...." ...
... Michael McAuliff, et al., of the Huffington Post: Not that any plan Boehner comes up with will pass muster with his Tea Party caucus. ...
... Dana Milbank: "Obama has already won the immigration fight." ...
... Jerry Markon of the Washington Post: "House Republicans clashed with the Obama administration over its recent executive actions on immigration Tuesday, with lawmakers blasting the measures as divisive and illegal but a top administration official defending them as a lawful and necessary first step toward fixing the nation's broken immigration system. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, in the first appearance on Capitol Hill by an administration official to defend Obama's actions, said the administration ordered a thorough legal review to ensure their legality." ...
... Dara Lind of Vox: Yes, Obama flip-flopped on immigration reform, though he won't admit it. In fact, during the years he claimed he "couldn't wave a magic wand" to effect relaxation of immigration laws, he was making a political calculation, not a legal case. "... what he was saying in 2011 was wrong. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, president has a lot of authority to decide who to deport and who not to deport -- and what to do with the latter. That doesn't require a change to the law -- no matter what Obama said in Nevada."
Paul Lewis of the Guardian: "The American sporting establishment was accused on Tuesday of presiding over a 'culture of silence' that has enabled professional athletes to commit domestic violence with impunity. Top executives and counsel from the main football, basketball, hockey and baseball leagues appeared before the Senate commerce committee after a string of controversies involving athletes accused of abusing their partners or children."
Greg Sargent: Mitch McConnell roots for the Supremes to overturn ObamaCare. If they do, McConnell says, "... I would assume that you could have a mulligan here, a major do-over of the whole thing -- that opportunity presented to us by the Supreme Court, as opposed to actually getting the president to sign a full repeal, which is not likely to happen." As law professor Nicholas Bagley told Sargent, "McConnell confirms here that the litigation is politics by other means. It sounds like McConnell is treating the Supreme Court as another political institution." CW: Which it is. ...
... Here's the Wall Street Journal interview of McConnell, by Jeffrey Sparshott. ...
... ** Charles Gaba: "Annnnnd there we go: Mitch McConnell flat-out states the SCOTUS is simply a tool for the GOP." Via Greg Sargent. (Who's Charles Gabe? Here's a clue.) ...
... Joan McCarter of Daily Kos: "There might be one member of that court majority of five who won't be too pleased that McConnell has ripped the veneer off of this case and exposed it for the baldly political stunt it is: Chief Justice John Roberts. He does seem to have some concern for his legacy. He might not want that legacy to include being responsible for taking health insurance away from millions of people and gutting the law that is racking up successes and saving lives." CW: This may be wishful thinking on McCarter's part.
Jason Millman of the Washington Post: "Wide-ranging efforts to make hospital care safer have resulted in an estimated 50,000 fewer patients dying because of avoidable errors in the past three years, according to a new report presented by government and industry officials on Tuesday.... They pointed to new financial incentives for hospitals to keep patients healthier -- such as a Medicare penalty on providers that experience excessive readmissions -- and a three-year-old public-private initiative, known as the Partnership for Patients, designed to spread best practices for making hospital care safer. Some health insurers in recent years have also stopped paying for hospitals' mistakes." CW: In other words, you have to pay hospitals not to kill their patients. Nice.
Whatever Happened to the Ebola Panic? (Besides November 4). Steve Benen: President Obama is still working on the problem. Now will Republicans provide the emergency funding the president requested? ...
... Here's President Obama speaking just yesterday at the NIH in Bethesda about the fight to eradicate Ebola. The transcript is here.
John McCain is right.
Suzanne Goldenberg of the Guardian: "The corporate lobbying network American Legislative Exchange Council, commonly known as Alec, is planning a new onslaught on a number of environmental protections next year when Republicans take control of Congress and a number of state legislatures. The battle lines of Alec's newest attack on environmental and climate measures will be formally unveiled on Wednesday, when the group begins three days of meetings in Washington DC. Alec, described by its opponents as a corporate bill mill, has suffered an exodus of tech companies from its ranks recently because of its extreme positions -- especially its promotion of climate denial."
Alan Gomez of USA Today: If Republicans continue down the anti-immigration path their heading, they could lose the Hispanic vote for generations. ...
... BUT. Jeffrey Jones of Gallup: "Since the Republican Party's strong showing on Election Day last month, Americans' political allegiances have shifted toward the GOP. Prior to the elections, 43% of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned toward the Democratic Party, while 39% identified as or leaned Republican. Since then, Republicans have opened up a slight advantage, 42% to 41%, representing a net shift of five percentage points in the partisanship gap." ...
... Bernie Sanders is unimpressed. Here he is on the Senate floor (Tuesday) unveiling his "12-step program" to attack inequailty. CW: I love Bernie:
... John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "In many areas, President Obama has already campaigned for versions of the policies that Sanders is putting forward, and few Clintonites would have any trouble endorsing them. The exceptions are his proposals to break up the big banks and move beyond Obamacare to a 'Medicare-for-all' system of health care." ...
... Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast: "Now that [Elizabeth] Warren and centrist Mark Warner are both in the Democrats' Senate leadership ranks, I think the two of them should sit down and hammer out a Warren-Warner Middle-Class Compact that consists of 10 or however many major points that they know they can get everyone from Bernie Sanders to Joe Manchin to agree on (and of course they also need to be confident that Hillary Clinton will agree to most of them). Hmm. Ten points? I guess that eliminates two of Bernie's points: bank breakup & Medicare for all. ...
... Patricia Cohen of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve says that more than 30 percent of Americans report irregular incomes that sabotage efforts to budget and save. Unreliable work hours are cited most often." And of course "unreliable work hours" most affect those at the lower end of the economic scale.
Lara Jakes & John-Thor Dahlburg of the AP: "Nearly a year after the Islamic State overran key cities in western Iraq, diplomats from more than 60 counties and international organizations gathered in Brussels to plot a way forward against what has since become one of the world's worst terror threats. The mostly Sunni Muslim insurgency now stretches across much of northern Iraq and Syria, and has attracted thousands of foreign fighters from around the world, including Europe. Its elusive leadership is flush with financial support from illicit donations and black-market oil sales."
Annals of "Justice," Ctd.
Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker: "Richard Johnson, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Toledo..., has written that an 'officer's uniform has a profound psychological impact on others, and even slight alterations to the style may change how citizens perceive them.' The traditional uniform, he has found, often evokes impressions of safety and competence. Fatigues, SWAT suits, and other military-issue gear associated with the army, by contrast, suggest increased aggression.... The same cues that signal 'army' and 'conflict' to civilians may affect police officers themselves.... Insofar as the donning of military gear signals a more aggressive stance, and may lead police to engage in more aggressive actions, [President] Obama's desire to circumscribe [the] use [of military gear] holds a degree of promise."
Anthony McCarthy of the AP: "A lawsuit by a woman who claims Bill Cosby molested her when she was 15 years old has moved allegations of sexual misconduct against the comedian from the court of public opinion into the courthouse. Judy Huth's lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles accuses Cosby of forcing her to perform a sex act on him in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion around 1974. She is the latest woman to accuse the comedian of sex abuse, and is the first one since 2005 to file a lawsuit.... Huth's lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court is the first time a woman has gone public claiming Cosby abused her when she was underage." CW: Good luck proving a case 40 years later.
Keith Alexander of the Washington Post: "A former Democratic congressional aide pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually assaulting two women in 2010. Donny Ray Williams Jr., 37, who served as a staff director for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee, pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse, two misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse and one count of misdemeanor threats." CW: So, after raping two women, get this: "As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors said they would seek a suspended prison term and five years of supervised probation. Williams also would have to register as a sex offender for 10 years." Excellent deal for Williams. For his victims, whatever. Date rape is still not so bad. See also Annals of "Journalism," Ctd., up next.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.
Ravi Somaiya of the New York Times: "An article in Rolling Stone magazine about an alleged gang rape on the campus of the University of Virginia has come under scrutiny for its reporting methods, even as the university and the local police investigate the events the article described." ...
... Rebecca Traister of the New Republic: "But do not forget, as we go about what is sure to be the unpleasant business of turning our suspicions on Erdely -- and in turn, on Jackie -- that the swift shift of focus is central to what's so jacked about systemic inequalities (and our impulse to pretend they don't exist) to begin with." ...
... CW: I just reread a good bit of Erdely's report, and the criticisms seem overblown. Erdely did interview -- or attempt to interview -- a number of people who had previous knowledge of Jackie's claims. Erdely also talked to other women who had similar stories. Even if Jackie herself made up the whole story -- which I find doubtful given the change in her personality & activities which others describe -- the article makes a damning case against a university that is extremely tolerant of date rape. Whether or not this particular gang rape happened is almost beside the point, except of course for Jackie. Traister is right.
Radley Balko of the Washington Post: Shaun Parcells, the "professor" & "forensic pathologist" who "assisted" Dr. Michael Baden in the autopsy of Michael Brown, & who has appeared as an "expert" on numerous news shows & in news stories, is a complete phony. Even after media began noticing Parcells' lack of credentials, CNN & other outlets have continued to rely on his "expertise." The CNN Story, by Elizabeth Cohen & Matthew Stucker, is here. Read 'em both. The part where Parcells lost the guy's brain is pretty good. ...
... Beyond the Beltway
AP: "Police are investigating Michael Brown's stepfather for angry comments made to a Ferguson crowd after a grand jury decided not to indict the police officer who fatally shot his stepson. The St Louis County police spokesman, Brian Schellman, said on Tuesday that police want to talk to Louis Head about his comments as part of a broader investigation into arson, vandalism and looting that followed the 24 November grand jury announcement. Twelve commercial buildings were destroyed by fire."
Christine Ferretti, et al., of the Detroit News: "Power was back on by 5:30 p.m. to hundreds of Detroit buildings including hospitals and municipal buildings that went dark Tuesday morning. The widespread power outage that caused evacuations of buildings throughout downtown is 'another reminder of how much work we still have to do to rebuild the city,; Mayor Mike Duggan said. Duggan, speaking at an afternoon news conference, said DTE is in the early stages of paying for a four-year, $200 million plan to upgrade the city's electrical grid, which has not been modernized in decades. When the transition is complete, DTE will run the system and the city will be out of the power business."
Just the Headline & Subhead Will Do. New York: "European Court Rules Out Boner Tests for Gay Asylum Seekers. Should Use Gaydar Instead."
News Lede
Guardian: "Iran's air force has attacked targets of Islamic State (Isis) in eastern Iraq, the Pentagon has said. Tehran has denied carrying out raids and acting in coordination with the US, which is leading a western-Arab coalition to defeat the jihadi group. News of air strikes in Iraq's Diyala province came from the Pentagon in Washington, which said that it was the first time such operations had taken place since Isis captured the Iraqi city of Mosul in June."
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Reader Comments (25)
Daily Kos: “At Copenhagen climate talks, Jim Inhofe said Barbra Streisand was behind global warming ‘hoax’.” Damn! I knew it! Women’s Lib is behind global warming. Someone tell David Brooks, quick—it’s fodder for his next call-in.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/02/1348799/-At-Copenhagen-climate-talks-Jim-Inhofe-said-Barbra-Streisand-was-behind-global-warming-hoax
In reference to P.D. Pepe's post yesterday, Jon Stewart had a good piece on the pig cruelty/ Christie situation, which the post made me recall. Also my promise to myself not to eat/serve pork that hasn't been humanely raised:
http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/12/gov-christie-wants-lock-pregant-pigs-and-throw-away-key
@Victoria D. writes, "Also my promise to myself not to eat/serve pork that hasn't been humanely raised."
Good luck with that. About a decade ago Florida voters changed the state constitution to require more humane treatment of pigs (not just sows, as I recall). So I went to my local Publix (the biggest grocery chain in Florida) & told the butcher I'd like me some Florida pork. "No way to tell, Lady," sez he.
If you've figured out a way to separate the decently-treated from the abused, please share. I don't eat much meat, but when I do, I'd rather pay more for the meat of better-treated animals. (As far as the quality of the meat goes, I promise you free-range pork is far tastier than mass-produced pork.)
Marie
Marie: The last place to begin looking for organically raised pork is at the largest grocer in town. Try the internet or a small butcher shop or a small slaughter house (small is good, large is bad when food hunting) or a small rural weekly paper. I've found free-range beef/pork/lamb/chickens/etc everywhere from the bald prairie to a wet coast island. They are out there but how in God's name are you ever going to find the time to hunt them down?
Gawd!
Okay. They have to pay off big donors or something. But is it so hard to at least prep them or have them make a quick roundtrip, or SOMETHING? Isn't Hungary in eastern Europe? Hasn't that area been sorta noteworthy lately?
We're doomed.
I have a much simpler solution, she said self-righteously: Just don't eat pigs--no matter how they are raised. Some friends here keep pot-bellied pigs as pets, and they are smart and delightful. If you really got to know them, you would not ever again partake of eating pig. The crazy little girl pig--who likes to sleep in the fireplace--is named Madison. Hmmm....guess that tells my tale/tail!
As for Chris Christie, he could be put on a spit outdoors and barbecued for about a week. All that flesh would probably roast much better than that of a sweet pig. Although the aftertaste would be quite bitter.
We buy almost all of our meat and eggs directly from farmers. It's more expensive than what is in the supermarkets, but the animals are raised in better conditions and without growth hormones or antibiotics, and perhaps just as important, the farmers are getting a fair price for their very hard labor. Most farms have multiple freezers full of different cuts (including nitrite-free bacon, hot dogs, and sausages) so it's a lot like shopping in a supermarket, except you're getting to know the person who raised the food. And as Marie says, the meat is far tastier than mass produced products.
As for sourcing the meat, in the northeast, a place to start is the Northeast Organic Farmers Association (nofa.org), which has state chapters with links to farms. In Maine, it's mofga.org. . . . In other areas of the country, you might start with localharvest.org. Or go to farmers markets or a local food co-op, and see what's available there.
I realize that we're privileged to be able to shop this way. It's our hope that by supporting local/regional small farms and sustainable agriculture, we help create demand for healthy food and fair labor - (consider, too, the immigrant labor in the fields and slaughterhouses of the industrial food system). Perhaps it's only a drop in the bucket, but there's always the hope that the drops will add up to change.
Regarding Louis Head: The police should investigate his incendiary remarks right after they investigate every white nut job who has publicly spoken or written in favor of violence against the President and/or his family. As much as I disapprove of what Mr. Head yelled, there is no law against acting like a jerk in this country, especially under such trying circumstances.
That being said, those who loot and burn need to be corralled for the good of their community. Licensing people to do violence because violence has been done to them is why we apparently can't get a grip on Israel.
@Janice: Thanks. I did a little Web-sleuthing & found several farms more-or-less within my area that sell pastured pork. Years ago when I tried this, one had to buy at least half-a-hog, but now farms are selling meat "by the piece," as it were, so I will definitely do my meat-shopping at these farms.
Sorry, @Kate. I don't disagree with you at all. BUT. Other than fish, shellfish & fowl, I probably eat meat no more often than once a month, but I also will likely continue to do so.
Marie
The editorial in today's Newark Star Ledger essentially prays for Jeb Bush to run for POTUS. Besides pointing out the Chris Christie's horrible performance as governor, they kind of like Bush because he seems to be the only candidate that might be sane.
You bet John McCain is right. Poor guy––he goes through this every time he has to confirm ambassador positions. I find all this very uncomfortable––bundle money for a president and you get a shot at being an ambassador ( some place sunny, please, maybe Belize? and a country where peace and serenity reigns). Obama 's picks have been not only piss poor but laughable–-notice Ms Bold and Beautiful had trouble pronouncing "strategic." But let's recall this is nothing new––two presidents that picked lots of lacklusters with bundles were Reagan and Ford.
There was a time when ambassadors were picked from foreign policy wonks (and still are on depending on the country). Our ambassador to Germany in the thirties was William E. Dodd; his passport read: Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the U.S. to Germany.
When Dodd made a speech to top German officials that spoke to the growing tensions in the county it was hailed by many in Germany, but not by the American State Dept. who felt Dodd overstepped––do not criticize your host country. Two days after that speech Hitler announced Germany was withdrawing from the League of Nations and from a major disarmament conference in Geneva (vote by Germans--yes!) As time went on and Dodd could see what was happening he found the deepest irony:
"At a time when hundreds of men have been put to death without trial or any sort of evidence of quilt and when populations literally trembles with fear, animals have rights (no gestation cages here!) guaranteed them which men and women cannot think of expecting. One might easily wish he were a horse."
Dodd was asked to leave post. Once back in the U.S. he makes countless speeches warning of what was to come.
You may think the country you are going to will be a piece of cake––but then you never know when trouble comes a knocking. A person who knows soap operas might be prepared for all sorts of twists and turns, but I betcha it ain't the same in REAL political handholding. AT least learn how to pronounce certain words that might just come in handy.
Re: sources for meat
Another option, albeit not the best, is to buy meat at Whole Foods. They have a 5 step rating system for meat products. A one rating denoting pasture raised. I hope they are telling us the truth!
I've been shopping at health food stores for 35 years, long before Whole Foods, and I worked in a family owned store in NYC for 2 years. The demand for healthy foods has grown dramatically as evidenced by Whole Foods. I do miss Bread and Circus, the store bought out by Whole Foods. Hopefully the demand for healthy and sustainably grown foods continues to grow and will benefit small farms. My grandfather, a dairy farmer, made a decent living back in the day. Don't know if he could do so now.
I do worry about the ever growing human population "chomping" down forests to produce food.
@Jack Mahoney writes, "As much as I disapprove of what Mr. Head yelled, there is no law against acting like a jerk in this country, especially under such trying circumstances."
Actually, there are laws against inciting riots, & tho news items I've read on Head's remarks don't say so, that must be what police are "investigating."
I don't expect ordinary people to bow to the angels of their better natures, but those who do are far more successful in realizing their objectives than are people who succumb to raw emotion/hate & violence. The grand jury's decision was expected; ergo, I wouldn't be surprised if Head's reaction was premeditated. In any event, it was flagrantly irresponsible. That is apparently the kind of guy he is.
As I've written before, I don't think Michael Brown had much of a chance in life. A mentoring figure -- say, a policeman -- could have intervened to give Brown some better grounding that his parents did. Instead, the "mentoring figure" turned out to be Darren Wilson. Until "I learned that policemen are my friends" turns from irony to actuality, this nation will remain a violent, dysfunctional one.
Marie
Haley,
I suppose Obama sending a soap opera producer to Hungary as ambassador is not a lot different than The Decider sending 20 year old Christian fundamentalists who worked as Bush campaign coordinators to rebuild Iraq, or appointing a guy to run FEMA whose major primary experience was checking on judges of horse shows, or appointing a complete psychopath as ambassador to the UN....
Well, okay, it is a bit different. But not much.
Sure, most ambassadorial positions appear to be window dressing, but in many countries, they serve important functions not the least of which is representing the United States. Obama has had problems with his ambassadors in the past. I seem to recall his ambassador to the Philippines, Harry Thomas, commenting that a large percentage of the tourism business in that country was related to sex for hire. Very diplomatic, Harry. But at least that guy had some prior experience and a set of reasonable qualifications.
What does it say to the people of Hungary that we think enough about them to send them a producer of "The Bold and The Beautiful"? "Hey, Hungarians, we realize you guys have played a major role in the history of western civilization and were a keystone country during the cold war, but things seem cool now, so here ya go. We thought of sending Seth MacFarlane, but didn't know how many "Family Guy" fans you have over there in....what country are you again?"
I seem to recall a scene in a late Bogart movie, I think it was "Deadline USA" in which he plays a hard nosed big city newspaper editor battling crime and corruption. In one scene a young reporter approaches him and asks about the possibility of an assignment as a foreign correspondent in some country or other (I forget now), it being such a glamorous posting and all. Bogart doesn't immediately tell the kid to beat it, but he does ask him some questions:
"What do you know about the current political situation in that country? Are you familiar with the country's history, customs, culture, its religion, its many sects and populations? Are you knowledgeable about its economic base, about its internal political opinions of the US, of Europe, of Asia? Do you speak at least one of that country's major languages? No? Then come see me when you have good answers to all those questions."
And those were just the basic qualifications for a guy walking around asking questions. Not the ambassador from the United States of America.
Maybe Boxer is right. Maybe Colleen Bell will be a crackerjack ambassador. But listening to the bullshit answers to McCain's questions. I doubt it.
Better luck next time, Hungary. If a Republican wins in '16, you may get Chuck Norris.
And speaking of Europe....
The Boner Test? Seriously? Hey, maybe we can send Marcus Bachmann over there to act as Ambassador for Boners. I think he'd do a stand up job.
But that gives me another idea. Can we institute our own test in this country? The Boehner Test. We administer this to everyone running for public office. Ask them a series of questions and if their answers are silly, soporific, and devoid of content or ideas, we'll know this person has just gotten a Boehner.
No good?
Okay. Never mind....
Marvin--do you have a link? I'd like to read it, but the site is a bit hard to navigate. Thanks.
Republicans: The Law and Order Party. Rule of Law. Founders of Democracy....and all that happy horseshit.
Yet every week we see another round of examples of the essential lawlessness of the GOP, their antipathy towards rule of law and American democracy.
Yesterday, without a lot of fuss, Li'l Randy announced that he was running for the senate again in 2016. He also wants to run for president. The problem? Kentucky has a LAW that says you can't run for both.
No matter. His people are looking for ways around that law. Law? What law? If it impacts a Republican's ambitions, fuck the law.
Ted Yohoho-and-a-bottle-of-rum is not happy with the recent executive action on immigration. Boo hoo, YooHoo. The law says the president can do this. Republican presidents have exercised this right, under law. But plenty of wingers don't believe this law applies to a black Democrat. Yoho's "symbolic" gesture is nothing less than the boiling over of unmitigated rage on the right towards a black president.
Mitch McConnell wants to kill the ACA. The public likes it. It's legal. It passed muster (partially) with a right-wing Supreme Court. It was voted on and passed.
No matter. Mitch subscribes to the theory of most haters of all things Obama. It doesn't matter whether it's legal or not. It doesn't matter if it was put in place democratically. They are gonna kill it. Besides, as Mitchy says, Obama's name is attached to it. It's his. It HAS to go. The benefits to millions of Americans don't matter. Fuck them.
Law is what they say it is. We're not heading to Banana Republic Land, we're pretty much there now.
And one last thing about Republican rage. Go to the link Marie provides on McConnell's opinion of the Supreme Court as nothing more than a tool for the GOP. (I don't think this is quite accurate. The Supreme Court is in thrall to far-right wing ideology. They serve that ideology, much as Republican pols do. They simply have many of the same goals, which is great for anti-American, anti-Democratic pieces of shit like McConnell.)
Scroll down to the box with the quote from AEI "scholar" Michael Grieve. I don't think I've ever heard language like this from a scholar...maybe a some overblown mafia thug in a bad Hollywood movie, but this language is very revealing of the mindset of these people:
"This bastard [the ACA] has to be killed as a matter of political hygiene."
Bastard, hygiene? There's a lot of additional highly violent language about murder and stabbings and stranglings (lynchings?), but the subtext reveals something far deeper and more elemental than a simple political disagreement. The ACA is the work of a dirty, unhygienic bastard. It's filthy. It is, in a phrase, nothing a person believing in the superiority of the white race would have anything to do with.
The rage behind all the Obama hatred is racial, although they'll never admit this. This isn't a surprise. It just bears keeping it in mind, to never forget the essential irrationality and mindlessness of it all so that the next time Chuck Todd pontificates about both sides and gives Republicans the benefit of the doubt on their hatred of the ACA, it's clear that, either he's on their side, or he's a fucking idiot. And that he and all the other chin-stroking buttheads are not very big fans of democracy or the rule of law either.
And BINGO! Just like that, wingnuts supply additional affirmation of their fundamental anti-Americanism.
The knuckleheads on Fox and Fiends have another brilliant idea to keep blah people from voting, but in their genius, they may actually keep as many wingnuts from the polls as well (that is, if laws were enforced equally for white and black voters which we know is not the case...)
So anyway, their big idea? Poll questions! A kind of revived literacy test, which Congress already said is illegal, but never mind....Yes! Ask those lazy moochers questions about American history and civics. That oughta do it.
Here's a sampling. We'll make it easy on the wingers. Make it yes or no.
Paul Revere rode to warn the British. Yes or no?
Ooops, Sarah Palin, you got this wrong. You can't vote.
The Vice President tells the senate what to do. Yes or no?
Buzzer.....wrong again Sarah. Didn't we already tell you to take your grizzly ass home?
Black troops willingly lined up to die for the confederacy and two black battalions served under Stonewall Jackson. Yes or no?
Sorry, all you textbook writers, the people who wrote a history textbook for Virginia fourth graders, none of you can vote.
John Quincy Adams was one of the founding fathers. Yes or no?
Sorry Michele Bachmann. Maybe you'll do better with the Boner Test.
Ronald Reagan never raised taxes. Yes or no?
Ohh.......you're all wrong. Let's see now.....it looks like 27 million teabaggers are now ineligible to vote.
And like that...
But that would only happen, as I say, if the law was applied equally. I can easily picture some 'bagger jamoke not having a clue as to what the 14th amendment covers but being allowed to vote anyway.
In addition to hoisting the flag of anti-democracy, the Fox imbeciles again expose their antipathy for laws (the Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated poll taxes and literacy questions--which they'd love to resurrect as poll questions) that let non-whites do anything but shine shoes and sing songs.
But, hey, keep up the good work, fiends. Heckuva job. I'd love to hear Brian Kilmeade and Elizabeth Hasselbeck give a drop of the hat recapitulation (an accurate one...not a Fox one) of the events leading up to the Revolution beginning with the Stamp Act (I was gonna say the Currency Act, but I'll give them a break).
Losers.
Forgot the link to Fox idiocy as noted above:
Let's reinstitute an illegal form of voter suppression!
Nadd2: Link to Newark Star Ledger article on Jeb Bush is:
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/12/jeb_bush_could_
help_nj_by_challenging_christie_editorial.html
Why can't I look on the bright side like Akhilleus? Chuck Norris, indeed. Coffee all over the screen.
Yesterday as I read and re-read parts of Thomas Edsell's piece in the NYTimes about Chuck Schumer's recent remarks about the wrong-headed focus on creating the ACA...I thought it was the most out-of-touch article by Edsell.
Then, I spotted Krugman's blog post ("Return of Hocus Focus Pocus") from today and find that many, many of the usual commenters shared pretty much the same amazement at Edsell's views as well. http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/return-of-focus-hocus-pocus/
It feels as though Edsell woke up from some kind of Rip van Winkle sleep without the awareness of the history and what transpired. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/opinion/is-obamacare-destroying-the-democratic-party.html
Bad news from New York. Here we go again.
The bad news: Strangler Cop Walks: So even when we have a video of the strangling; even if we have the coroner ruling it as a homicide; even if...my god, here we go again––injustice rules. What's happening here????
NPR just reported this:
"Shortly after the grand jury decision became public, a law enforcement source confirmed to NPR's Carrie Johnson that the U.S. Justice Department has opened a federal probe into Garner's death."
Don't have a link; sorry.