The Commentariat -- January 1, 2014
Robert Pear & Amy Goodnough of the New York Times: "Millions of Americans will begin receiving health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday after years of contention and a rollout hobbled by delays and technical problems. The decisively new moment in the effort to overhaul the country's health care system will test the law's central premise: that extending coverage to far more Americans will improve the nation's health and help many avoid crippling medical bills." ...
Graphic by the Washington Post.... Sandhya Somashekhar & Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "Medicaid embarks on a massive transformation Wednesday -- from a safety-net program for the most vulnerable to a broad-based one that finds itself at the front lines of the continuing political and ideological battle over the Affordable Care Act. Already the nation’s largest health-care program, Medicaid is being expanded and reshaped by the law to cover a wider array of people.... President Obama and many Democratic lawmakers initially resisted the dramatic Medicaid expansion that became part of the Affordable Care Act. But it turned out to be significantly less expensive than providing federal subsidies to lower-income people to buy private health insurance through the state and federal exchanges." ...
... Marc Levy of the AP on Republican states' refusal to accept the Medicaid expansion: "About 5 million people will be without health care [in 2014] that they would have gotten simply if they lived somewhere else in America.... More than one-fifth of them live in Texas alone, Kaiser's analysis found." ...
... ** Michael Moore, in a marvelous New York Times op-ed: "I believe Obamacare's rocky start -- clueless planning, a lousy website, insurance companies raising rates, and the president's telling people they could keep their coverage when, in fact, not all could -- is a result of one fatal flaw: The Affordable Care Act is a pro-insurance-industry plan implemented by a president who knew in his heart that a single-payer, Medicare-for-all model was the true way to go. When right-wing critics 'expose' the fact that President Obama endorsed a single-payer system before 2004, they're actually telling the truth." ...
... AP: "Only hours before the law was to take effect, Supreme Court justice [Sonia Sotomayor] on Tuesday blocked implementation of part of President Barack Obama's health care law that would have forced some religion-affiliated organizations to provide health insurance for employees that includes birth control coverage.... Sotomayor acted on a request from an organization of Catholic nuns in Denver, the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged. Its request for an emergency stay had been denied earlier in the day by a federal appeals court.... Justice Sotomayor is giving the government until Friday morning to respond to her decision." ...
... Update: The New York Times story is here.
Susan Stellin of the New York Times: "The government's right to search travelers' electronic devices at the border was upheld in a ruling released by a federal judge on Tuesday, which dismissed a lawsuit challenging this policy.... Even if the plaintiffs did have standing [which he ruled they did not], Judge [Edward] Korman [of the Eastern District of New York] found that they would lose on the merits of the case, ruling that the government does not need reasonable suspicion to examine or confiscate a traveler's laptop, cellphone or other device at the border."
Josh Israel of Think Progress: "Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, in his annual Year-End Report on the State of the Federal Judiciary, blasted the 2011 Budget Control Act's automatic 'sequestration' federal spending cuts and warned that the cuts to the federal court system;s budget 'pose a genuine threat to public safety.' Roberts, appointed to the Supreme Court in 2005 by President George W. Bush, listed 'adequate funding for the Judiciary' as the 'single most important issue facing the courts' and offered a Dickensian look at the federal judiciary past, present, and future." Chief Justice Roberts' report is here. Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link to Israel's post.
Maureen O'Connor, Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, in an Akron Legal News op-ed: "The U.S. Supreme Court is now one of the last major institutions of Western civilization that has not entered the 21st century technologically. I join with those in a growing movement calling on the justices to change that [and allow cameras in the courtroom during oral arguments].
Jonathan Chait of New York: "The position of Democrats in Washington, backed by a growing mountain of economic research, is that macroeconomic and humanitarian considerations alike both argue for an extension of unemployment benefits. The position of Republicans in Washington is rather strange -- less a moral or economic argument than an expression of indifference.... What they lack is any legislative response to the economic crisis. They just want to get back to normal, and since normality has not arrived, they'd just as soon pretend it has."
The Party of Dodos. Dana Milbank: "As the country overall becomes more racially diverse and more secular, Republicans are resolutely white and increasingly devout. If current trends persist, it will be only a couple of decades before they join the dodo and the saber-toothed tiger."
Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker writes "a short history of metadata collection and the Obama Administration's response to it, as told by an assortment of the most important documents."
Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post: "U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and at least one other Education Department official urged New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and his team not to choose Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr as the city's next schools chancellor, according to several people knowledgeable about the selection process. It was an unusual move by the nation's top education official and came in the wake of Starr's vocal criticism of some of the Obama administration's school reform policies." CW: I hope an educator will comment on this. IMHO, Arne Duncan is a preening phony whose "ideas" come right out of Jeb Bush's school-privatization playbook; it's hardly surprising he's a vindictive weasel, too. But I could be wrong.
Local News
Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "Bill de Blasio was sworn in as the 109th mayor of New York City early Wednesday, at two minutes past the stroke of midnight. The oath of office was administered by Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York, in a brief ceremony inside the front yard of the mayor's rowhouse in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where Mr. de Blasio stood with his family...." CW: President Bill Clinton will administer the oath to de Blasio in a ceremony later today:
... Michael Grynbaum: "The elevation of an assertive, tax-the-rich liberal to the nation’s most prominent municipal office has fanned hopes that hot-button causes like universal prekindergarten and low-wage worker benefits -- versions of which have been passed in smaller cities -- could be aided by the imprimatur of being proved workable in New York." ...
... Benjamin Wallace-Wells in New York: "Often it feels like [New York C]ity really has only two classes: those who believe they can afford the space they need to live in and those who believe they can't. The city has gotten steadily wealthier throughout the past generation, but over the last decade the change has been exceptional.... A program of the scope that [incoming Mayor Bill] De Blasio has begun to sketch out -- a symbolic remaking of the city under the banner of affordability -- is at least as vast an undertaking as Bloomberg's or Giuliani's and arguably more complicated."...
... Andy Borowitz: "As the curtain comes down on the Michael Bloomberg era, the three-term mayor of New York received fulsome praise last night from his most appreciative constituency: the people who can still afford to live there." ...
... CW: Wallace-Wells reminds us of this: "The mayor of New York is the chief executive of a city that is bigger than Israel or Switzerland; the government directly under his control is larger than that of 43 separate states, and the economy under his supervision is roughly the size of Canada's."
Soumya Karlamangla of the Los Angeles Times: "Amid controversy, a gay couple are set to be married on a float Wednesday at the 125th Rose Parade.... The AIDS Healthcare Foundation float, titled 'Living the Dream: Love Is the Best Protection,' was created to celebrate victories in 2013 for the same-sex marriage movement.... Foundation spokesman Ged Kenslea said the organization supports legally sanctioning same-sex marriage because it encourages more stable relationships as well as behavior that will prevent the spread of HIV." ...
... Brooke Adams of the Salt Lake Tribune: "The state of Utah asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon to put same-sex marriages in Utah on hold while it appeals a lower court ruling in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, saying each marriage that occurs is 'an affront' to the state's and the public's interest 'in being able to define marriage through ordinary democratic channels.'"
Wingers Explode in Outrage, Ctd.
CW: I found this segment mildly offensive:
... because I don't think the race of a loved one/family member is remarkable. But I'm looking at it from the perspective of a white person. I get why Harris-Perry highlighted the photo -- she often discusses racial issues on her show. Besides, in a country imbued with racism, can't black people talk about racial issues? Although she made the mistake of introducing the race of Mitt Romney's grandson into a discussion that was supposed to be comedic, the comedians' responses to her request for a photo caption were not offensive -- they made fun of Republicans, not of the family nor of the child. ...
... BUT of course, wingers exploded in outrage. Their mock outrage was offensive, and if not overtly racist, at least white-centric. That is, their assumption is that white people have a degree of free speech rights that black people don't; also, it's okay to verbally attack minorities, but not okay to make fun of white conservatives. Harris-Perry later apologized in a series of tweets & a blogpost. Few on the right are capable of such reflection, self-criticism & public apology. P.S. Tweeting is not the best way to say "I'm sorry."
Political Bloopers -- 2013 Edition
News Ledes
Epoch Times: "Boujemaa Razgui, a flute virtuoso who lives in New York City, says customs officials at JFK Airport destroyed 11 of his instruments. Razgui, a Canadian citizen with a green card employment permit, was arriving from his home in Marrakech, Morocco. He said his baggage was opened by officials who said that his instruments were 'agricultural products' and 'had to be destroyed.'"
AP: "A billowing fire engulfed a three-story building near downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, sending 13 people to hospitals with injuries ranging from burns to trauma associated with falls. Officials said six of those injuries were critical, but no fatalities were reported. An explosion was reported about 8:15 a.m., and within minutes a fire raged through the building...." ...
... Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Fourteen people were injured, six critically, early Wednesday morning after an explosion caused a major fire at a grocery store and apartment building in the bustling Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in south Minneapolis. Minneapolis Fire Chief John Fruetel said they do not know yet if all the residents are accounted for. Some made it out on their own into the subzero temperatures, but others had to be rescued with ladders." Family members say three people are unaccounted for.
AP: "The nation's first recreational pot industry opened in Colorado on Wednesday, kicking off a marijuana experiment that will be watched closely around the world. Already, it is attracting people from across the country."
AFP: "Pope Francis on Wednesday called for greater [justice and] solidarity in the world in his first New Year blessing as pontiff in front of crowds of pilgrims on St Peter's Square."
AP: "A poll suggests majorities of both Israelis and Palestinians support the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but remain suspicious of the other side. The survey was released Wednesday, hours before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's return to the region. Kerry is trying to forge agreement on the outlines of a peace deal, but gaps remain."
AP: "Iran and Western negotiators on Tuesday reported they were nearing an understanding on the details of implementing the landmark interim nuclear accord reached between Tehran and world powers in November."
AFP: "President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called Russia's deadliest bombings in three years an 'abomination' as he inspected the site of twin suicide strikes that killed 34 and raised alarm over security at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. The Kremlin chief laid a thick bouquet of red roses on a heap of stuffed toys and flowers assembled at one of the blast locations and exchanged commiserations with bandaged survivors at a hospital in the shell-shocked southern city of Volgograd."
AFP: "Egypt has accused detained journalists from the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera television network of belonging to a 'terrorist' group, saying they had ties with the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood, the prosecution said Tuesday.... Prosecutors had earlier ordered the detention of three journalists with Al-Jazeera's English channel, including Australian Peter Greste, after their arrest on Sunday in a Cairo hotel."
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Reader Comments (8)
Here's the latest from my brother in Wisconsin. Nothing like getting something like this on the first day of the New Year:
"Something to ponder...
During the 3-1/2 years of World War II that started with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and ended with the surrender of Germany and Japan in 1945, the U.S. produced 22 aircraft carriers, 8 battleships, 48 cruisers, 349 destroyers, 420 destroyer escorts, 203 submarines, 34 million tons of merchant ships, 100,000 fighter aircraft, 98,000 bombers, 24,000 transport aircraft, 58,000 training aircraft, 93,000 tanks, 257,000 artillery pieces, 105,000 mortars, 3,000,000 machine guns, and 2,500,000 military trucks.
We put 16.1 million men in uniform in the various armed services, invaded Africa, invaded Sicily and Italy, won the battle for the Atlantic, planned and executed D-Day, marched across the Pacific and Europe, developed the atomic bomb and ultimately conquered Japan and Germany.
It's worth noting, that during almost the exact amount of time, the Obama administration couldn't build a functioning web site."
My Response: Yeah, WWII is exactly like a web site. It's worth noting that whoever put this thing together either had much too much to drink or is just plain stoooopid! Happy New Year.
Sotomayor's blocking of the implementations of the contraceptive part of the ACA for those Catholic entities is troubling. She was persuaded by the Little Sisters for the Home of the Aged? Good grief! Am I right in being totally flummoxed about this move? On another level it's really very funny––all those sisters of small statue getting their habits twisted over birth control.
@PD Pepe: It would be lovely to think that justices could overcome their upbringing, but of course one of the reasons we want diversity on the Court is that, in fact, they don't always do so. This New York Times post, from January 2013, likely helps explain Sotomayor's decision yesterday.
Marie
Thomas Edsall has a piece on "The UnLobbyist" in the NYTimes today. Reminded me of James Singer's Wikipedia comment the other day on Vallely and how quickly CW caught the 'revision' to the (ahem) bio. There is an interesting excerpt from Edsall's piece with the remarks by Rogers that characterize such images and ideas are being controlled and monitored beyond old-fashioned lobbying techniques. It's PR, baby!! Old rules don't apply.
"....(Ed) Rogers noted in an interview that the Internet is changing the nature of lobbying. Now “it’s essential to manage the Google hole, what’s Google got about you, you have to inject content, enhance the good and dilute the bad.” The same assertive approach, Rogers argues, applies to YouTube videos and Wikipedia entries."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/opinion/edsall-the-unlobbyists.html?pagewanted=2&hp&rref=opinion
MAG: I haven't read the Edsall piece, but should. But this first: I also posted the Wiki quote to Facebook and added a note that the quote had been "edited" to turn it into a rightwing paean to a fascist. To my surprise, someone I don't know, followed up my comment with a message that they had just gone into Wiki and changed it back. I conclude, then, that it's not all organized PR at work--there seem to be freelancers, probably on both sides, helping the cause.
@PD Pepe: Didn't you know General Eisenhower used Google Earth to plan DDay?
I thought conservatives prided themselves on debating skills. Arguments like the one you quoted won't win any points. You're right. Whoever wrote that is stoopid. Unfortunately, the are a lot of equally stoopid people who will believe this bunch of crap.
@James Singer: You should probably go to your Wiki page and
expand or correct on the entries for you. Just a thought.
And if Marie has a year end contest for worst governor of any state
in the USA, I have a doozie, douzie, whatever, and he's one of those
Ricks(R-Michigan) having to do with guns, concealed, carrying, at
churches, bars, banks, and nursing homes (??WTF??).
This is a shade off topic, but I can't let it slip by without notice. It's the blurb on the LA Times piece about the same sex couple's marriage on the Rose Parade float:
"The first same-sex wedding in the history of the parade went off without a hitch despite threats of protests."
http://www.latimes.com/#ixzz2pC2GOGC2