The Commentariat -- July 19, 2015
Defunct videos removed.
Eric Tucker of the AP: "The deadly shootings at military sites in Tennessee illustrate the threat that FBI officials have warned about: violence directed against a vulnerable government target by a lone gunman with apparent terrorist aspirations.... Law enforcement officials describe an ongoing challenge in distinguishing those who merely consume and share messages and those actually motivated to commit violence.... It can be easy for those who read messages, but do not post their own thoughts, to avoid law enforcement scrutiny." ...
... Timothy Williams, et al., of the New York Times: The FBI is still looking for clues to determine Abdulazeez's motivations. Richard Fausset & Manny Fernandez of the Times look into Abdulazeez's family's life. ...
... Greg Jaffe, et al., of the Washington Post gather info about Abdulazeez's "lifestyle." ...
... William Saletan of Slate compares Abdulazeez's attack on a U.S. Marine recruiting center with U.S. drone attacks on similar facilities in Iraq, Syria & Afghanistan. Satetan dubs Abdulazeez's attack"an act of war" by an "enemy combatant" rather than an act of terrorism, which the U.S. code describes "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets."
Thomas Sugrue, in a Washington Post op-ed: "... many of the racial injustices we associate with the South are actually worse in the North. Housing segregation between black and white residents, for instance, is most pervasive above the Mason-Dixon line.... The division between black and white neighborhoods in the North is a result of a poisonous mix of racist public policies and real estate practices that reigned unchecked for decades.... Education remains separate and unequal nearly everywhere in the United States." New York state has the most segregated schools.
Maureen Dowd: "Time to dismiss the Anger Translator. The president is far more energized than a couple years ago.... He clearly enjoys settling into his favorite role -- the man alone in the arena, disdaining the flattering rituals and back-scratching of politics, the dread drinks with Senator McConnell and stupid golf with Speaker Boehner."
Accidents Waiting to Happen. Jeff Donn of the AP: "Five years after the Obama administration promised to move swiftly to permanently plug unused oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico, even more shafts are lingering for longer periods with only temporary sealing, an investigation by The Associated Press shows. It is not clear how many incompletely sealed wells may have leaked -- they generally are not monitored as carefully as active wells -- but they contain fewer barriers to pent-up petroleum and rupture more easily. The threat to the environment increases with time."
Graham Bowley & Sydney Ember of the New York Times: In a four-day deposition taken a decade ago, "Even as [entertainer Bill] Cosby denied he was a sexual predator who assaulted many women, he presented himself in the deposition as an unapologetic, cavalier playboy, someone who used a combination of fame, apparent concern and powerful sedatives in a calculated pursuit of young women -- a profile at odds with the popular image he so long enjoyed, that of father figure and public moralist.... Through it all, his manner was largely one of casual indifference."
Presidential Race
Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "The first gathering of the Democratic presidential candidates played almost according to script here Friday night. Hillary Rodham Clinton stood above the field but did not dominate. Bernie Sanders displayed the passion that has made him such a favorite of the left. And Martin O'Malley's speech got a reception that belied his anemic poll numbers."
S. V. Date of the National Journal: "Black Lives Matter" protesters shut down Bernie Sanders & Martin O'Malley events at the Netroots Nation convention in Phoenix, Arizona. "Netroots declined to criticize the protest." CW: Another lovely example of liberals being as stupid & rude as conservatives.
Jeb! Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "Politically, Jeb Bush wants voters to focus on his first name and his own political record. But when it comes to fundraising, he's still banking on the success of his last name. He hosted wealthy donors, many of whom backed his father and brother's presidential bids, at his parents' coastal estate in Maine this month. And on Friday night, he headlined a raucous dinner hosted by a PAC led in part by his two sons."
Let's honor Marco Rubio as Liar of the Day: He blames President Obama & Harry Reid for failing to pass immigration reform legislation. For some reason, Marco forgot to mention GOP senators' opposition -- the last Senate did eventually pass a bill, with only 14 GOP votes -- & House Republicans, who steadfastly refused even to bring the Senate bill to the floor for a vote (which Democrats would have passed with minimal GOP support).
Alan Rappeport & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump upended a Republican presidential forum [in Ames, Iowa,] Saturday with incendiary comments about Senator John McCain's war record, drawing widespread condemnation.... Asked about Mr. McCain during an event on Saturday sponsored by an Iowa Christian conservative group, Mr. Trump said of Mr. McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam: 'He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured.'" ...
... Josh Feldman of Mediaite: "Donald Trump opened his mouth and let slip forth a word salad in trying to clarify why he attacked John McCain's war hero status." ...
... Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "Trump managed to avoid serving in the Vietnam war because of a series of draft deferments. Asked why he didn't serve, Trump said, 'I had student deferments and ultimately had a medical deferment because of my feet. I had a bone spur.' But Trump said he did not recall which foot was injured and instructed reporters to look up his records. Trump added, 'I was not a big fan of the Vietnam War. I wasn't a protester, but the Vietnam War was a disaster for our country. What did we get out of the Vietnam War other than death? We got nothing.' After meeting with the news media, Trump took to Twitter, where he did not back down from his criticism of McCain." ...
... Adios, Donaldo. Nate Cohn of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump's candidacy probably reached an inflection point on Saturday after he essentially criticized John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam War. Republican campaigns and elites quickly moved to condemn his comments -- a shift that will probably mark the moment when Trump's candidacy went from boom to bust.... His comments were nothing less than an invitation for the rest of the Republican Party to begin their long-awaited offensive. So far, the Republican National Committee, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker have already criticized him for his comments." ...
... Steve M.: Trump has given "all his pants-wetting Republican opponents a golden opportunity. Now they can sanctimoniously attack Trump for besmirching the honor of a great American who suffered torture at the hands of brutal communists -- and they don't have to say a word about every other obnoxious thing Trump has said recently." ...
... Colbert King of the Washington Post: "That a decorated Vietnam War veteran would be sarcastically put down by a loudmouth celebrity presidential wannabe who never wore the uniform, but escaped military service with a series of draft deferments, is one of the most disgusting turns of events in national politics."
CW: Mike Huckabee, the Christian Family Values candidate, seems to have had some trouble directing his own sons' values, as Ophelia M. pointed out yesterday. Here's Huck's boy John Mark in an unreleased film. Johnny-Boy posted the clip on YouTube, but took it down for some odd reason, maybe around the time his daddy criticized President & Michelle Obama for allowing their daughters to listen to Beyoncé recordings:
... Worse. Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: Huck's younger son David "was fired as a Boy Scout counselor at age 17 for allegedly hanging a stray dog from a tree after it wandered into the camp where he worked." The full story (linked second here) by the Huffington Post is screw-loose depraved. CW: Repubicans -- George W. Bush (blowing up frogs), Paul Ryan (catfish noodling). Mitt Romney (dog on the roof of the car) -- seem to find animal cruelty amusing, "exhilarating," or at least acceptable. David Huckabee seems to have the right stuff to run for POTUS or VPOTUS on the GOP ticket.
Beyond the Beltway
Jeremy Borden of the Washington Post: "The Loyal White Knights of the KKK, which calls itself the largest chapter in the United States, held a rally in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday afternoon to protest the removal of the [Confederate] flag.... The New Black Panther Party showed up earlier in the day to protest, on the north side of the statehouse. Members encouraged the hundreds who came to keep things peaceful, while also encouraging African Americans to take ownership of their problems and fight back when necessary. When Klansmen arrived later, the groups clashed intermittently."
News Ledes
AP: "A Kuwait-born man who shot and killed five service members in Tennessee suffered from depression since his early teen years and also fought drug and alcohol abuse, spending time in Jordan last year to help him clean himself up, a family spokesman said Sunday. The representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid unwanted publicity, said relatives of 24-year-old Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez believe those personal struggles are at the heart of last week's killings at a pair of military sites in Chattanooga."
Washington Post: "Former president George H.W. Bush has been discharged from a Maine hospital following a recent fall."
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Reader Comments (6)
"Name That Narcissist." The Times has an amusing quiz whose point is to determine whether a quote is from Silvio Berlusconi or Donald Trump. Turns out it ain't easy! They seem like brothers from another mother.
From this morning's WaPo:
"Sean Spicer, the RNC’s chief strategist and communications director, said in a statement. 'There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably.'”
Really Sean? Did John Kerry serve honorably? Did Al Gore? Is there no longer a place in the Party for those who denigrated their service?
Borowitz report:
Trump Says He Heroically Avoided Capture in Vietnam by Staying in U.S.
http://links.newyorker.mkt4334.com/ctt?kn=2&ms=NzkxNTA0MQS2&r=MjczNzc0ODkyMDQS1&b=0&j=NzIyMzg5MzE3S0&mt=1&rt=0
In addition to the scurrilous attacks on Gore and especially John Kerry made by flag waving chicken hawks who disappeared like fog in a hot sun when it was their turn to fight, we would be remiss not to recall the atrocious attacks on a veteran who "wasn't captured" and who sacrificed both legs and an arm, former Army Captain Max Cleland who was targeted by Bush--a deserter-- and Cheney--who had "other priorities"--, two more chicken hawks, and replaced as senator from Georgia by another GOP coward, the execrable Saxby Chambliss.
As the election grew near, Chambliss, Cheney and Bush all questioned Cleland's patriotism, calling him a friend to Sadddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. Cell and lost because of those attacks.
I don't recall A jot of Republican outrage over such underhanded, mendacious, and despicable tactics on a decorated veteran.
Confederate hypocrisy makes even hardened political observers blanch.
Contrast the nano second between Trump attention seeking in re McCain and the GOP outrage train with its gutless mumbling following the murders in South Carolina.
@Akhilleus: I am pleased to report that Jeb! is very upset by Trump's attack on McCain. He (or a staffer) wrote in a tweet, "Enough with the slanderous attacks. @SenJohnMcCain and all our veterans - particularly POWs have earned our respect and admiration."
Jeb! was not too upset, that I can recall, when his own brother Dubya! made even more slanderous attacks against McCain in 2000, encouraging rumors around South Carolina that McCain had fathered an illegitimate black child.
And as to what Republicans stood up for Max Cleland -- John McCain did. In 2002, he said, "I'd never seen anything like that ad. Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to the picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield -- it's worse than disgraceful. It's reprehensible."
But I guess McCain doesn't carry a grudge (ha ha). In 2008, the next time that piece of dirt Saxby Chambliss ran for the Senate, McCain was there to campaign for him.
BTW, when Max Cleland went to Crawford, Texas in 2004, to highlight the Swiftboat ads against Kerry & ask Dubya to stand up to the lies, Dubya wouldn't even see him. Bob Herbert wrote a great column about it. As Cleland pointed out, "Keep in mind, this president [Dubya] has gone after three Vietnam veterans [McCain, Gore & Kerry] in four years. That's got to stop.''
And Jeb! was right happy to send a glowing letter of support to "Swifties" for their heroic efforts to smear Kerry.
So, Republicans, if you're shocked that Trump would speak in such a way about McCain & think you'd better vote for that nice, circumspect Jeb!, think again.
Marie