The Commentariat -- March 1, 2012
NEW. My column in today's New York Times eXaminer looks at some sloppy reporting in the Times on Mitt Romney's latest flip-flop. (Or, at least I think it's the latest. He may be flip-flopping this morning, as I write.) The column also speaks to a larger question: why so much sloppy reporting? The NYTX front page is here. You can contribute here.
** "Nobody Goes to Jail." Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone: "AIG, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Most of these firms were directly involved in elaborate fraud and theft.... Federal regulators and prosecutors have let the banks and finance companies ... get off with carefully orchestrated settlements — whitewash jobs that involve the firms paying pathetically small fines.... To add insult to injury, the people who actually committed the crimes almost never pay the fines themselves; banks caught defrauding their shareholders often use shareholder money to foot the tab of justice.... The justice system ... has actually evolved into a highly effective mechanism for protecting financial criminals." Taibbi explains why, and the government -- from President Obama on down -- has dirty hands.
They turned a bunch of oregano into high-grade weed and they sold it all around the world. -- Matt Taibbi, explaining how Wall Street bankers turned high-risk mortgages into triple-A-rated securities ...
... Nick Pinto of the Village Voice: 'Occupy Wall Street protesters held their biggest march so far this year today as part of a nationwide 'Shut Down the Corporations' day of action. Several hundred occupiers gathered in Bryant Park this morning before marching east on 42nd Street to the global headquarters of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, targeted because the company is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council. When the marchers returned to Bryant Park, Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi delivered a lecture explaining the origins of the mortgage crisis and the role played by Bank of America." ...
... ** NEW. Susan Antilla of Bloomberg News reports on the efforts of Occupy the SEC, "a media-savvy collection of legal, banking and activist members who come off as sane and authoritative. This is not the way the Occupy bashers’ 'welfare-bum hippies' propaganda script was supposed to play out." The group has "filed a 325-page comment letter to financial regulators, outlining their concerns about loopholes in the 'Let’s Try to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis' proposal known as the Volcker rule." There aim was to identify all the places where bankers would bulldoze the rule.
Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "President Obama’s re-election campaign is accusing the Koch brothers-funded conservative group Americans for Prosperity of faking its grassroots support. The claim, in a new letter from campaign manager Jim Messina, is part of a growing back-and-forth between the Obama team and the billionaire Koch brothers. 'You argue that Americans for Prosperity is a grassroots organization of everyday citizens,” Messina wrote in the letter..., 'But its emphasis on rolling hack environmental protections and blocking a clean energy economy appears to be nothing more than an effort to promote the corporate interests of your employers and others who lavishly, and secretly, fund its operations.'” ...
... Greg Sargent adds background & political context.
Adam Serwer of Mother Jones: "The White House issued a presidential policy directive Tuesday evening that allows the president to largely disregard a provision in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act, which mandates military custody for non-American terrorism suspects captured on American soil." Charlie Savage of the New York Times has a story here. Tommy Vietor of the National Security Council explains the policy on the White House site. ...
... In a Senate committee hearing, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) addresses the issue of military detention of American citizens. Listen to the end, where he lambasts Bush torture-memo writer Steven Bradbury who was called to testify:
Labor Unions -- "Architects of Democracy." Richard D. Kahlenberg & Moshe Z. Marvit, in a New York Times op-ed: "It’s time to add the right to organize a labor union, without employer discrimination, to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, because that right is as fundamental as freedom from discrimination in employment and education."
Amy Goodnough of the New York Times: "Senator Olympia J. Snowe’s surprise announcement that she will retire set off frantic political calculations throughout Maine on Wednesday, with former governors, members of the state’s Congressional delegation and many others hurriedly weighing runs for office that they had previously ruled out.... By day’s end, Representatives Michael H. Michaud and Chellie Pingree and former Gov. John Baldacci, all Democrats, had picked up nominating petitions from the secretary of state’s office, an initial step toward running. And a number of other prominent Mainers, including former Gov. Angus King, an independent, and the president of the State Senate, Kevin L. Raye, a Republican, said they were seriously considering runs for Ms. Snowe’s seat." ...
... Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times on why Sen. Snowe decided to retire and on the impact of the loss of another so-called moderate voice: "... people familiar with her thinking say the re-emergence of such hot-button social issues [as contraceptive care] helped nudge her to the exit.... For Republicans, those are often social issues like abortion, gay marriage and contraception. But the rise of a new strain of fiscal conservatism has also led to moralistic portrayals of votes on spending and the debt limit. And when issues are framed around morality, compromise becomes very difficult."
Right Wing World
Gabriella Schwarz of CNN: "Armed with a new delegate count, a Rick Santorum adviser on Wednesday painted Tuesday's contests as a 'disaster' for Mitt Romney. John Brabender said the campaign's count proves Santorum and Romney are tied in delegates won, which he said means the state should be classified as a split-decision instead of a win for Romney, who captured the popular vote."
Ed Kilgore of the Washington Monthly: "As they awaited the final results from Michigan, probably the single biggest topic of conversation in the chattering classes last night was the shocking news from the exit polls that Rick Santorum had lost Michigan Catholics to Mitt Romney by a 44-37 margin. Immediately there was speculation that Rick’s visceral dissing of JFK’s church-state relations speech might have contributed significantly to this result, or had perhaps cost him Michigan altogether." But guess what? Santorum never had the "Catholic vote."
Charles Blow: "In one statement [Mitt Romney] was able to label the Republican base as easily excitable, enamored of 'incendiary comments,' and thirsty for 'outrageous things' to be said about President Obama. I couldn’t have put it better myself."
... BUT. Amanda Marcotte of Slate: "... satire can't hold a candle to the real thing these days. The events of the past month have unleashed a tsunami of social conservative discourse on what they think the sexy sex is all about.... From Rick Santorum blaming contraception for teen pregnancy during Republican debate (in fact, widespread contraception use has cut the teen pregnancy rate in half since the 1950s) to David Albo complaining that Democrats highlighting his hostility to female sexuality is keeping him from getting laid to Rush Limbaugh suggesting birth control users and mothers are mutually exclusive groups, the past month has been a real education in how very little many conservative men know about sex, much less women's bodies." Marcotte especially enjoys this post by Craig Bannister of right-wing CNS News, which is indistinguishable in tone from the Funny or Die experts. ...
... AND. You really should read what Rush Limbaugh said about Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown Law student whom Darrell Issa refused to allow to testify before his committee. I won't publish it here. Steve Benen: "If recent history is any guide, Republican officeholders are loath to disagree with the radio host publicly, and it'll be interesting to see if GOP lawmakers or candidates make any kind of exception here." ...
... Alex Seitz-Wald of Think Progress has the audio. ...
... CW: The local station that carries Limbaugh in Fort Myers, Florida -- as nearly as I can tell -- is owned by the same outfit that owns the CBS affiliate. I've written to them to confirm & told them that if true, I won't be listening to or watching any of their stations again. Once I verify who carries Limbaugh, I'll check to see who some of their biggest local advertisers are & let them know I'm boycotting their products. Limbaugh's remarks about Fluke are worse than his racist remarks about Obama. Fluke is a private citizen, not a politician. While I was at it, I wrote to my Congressman, Connie Mack (RTP), who is running for the Senate & asked him if he supported Limbaugh and his remarks. I do believe I'll press Mack on this. ...
... Update. Mike Lillis of The Hill: "House Democrats went after Rush Limbaugh Wednesday for his attacks on a university student who recently testified before Congress on women's reproductive health.... 'Limbaugh's attacks, the Democrats said, 'are outside the circle of civilized discussion and … unmask the strong disrespect for women held by some in this country. We call upon the Republican leaders in the House to condemn these vicious attacks on Ms. Fluke, which are in response to her testimony to the Congress,' they added."
John Adams of the Great Falls (Montana) Tribune: "Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull on Wednesday admitted to sending a racially charged email about President Barack Obama from his courthouse chambers. Cebull, of Billings, was nominated by former President George W. Bush...." Read the whole story.
Steve Benen on John Boehner: "... looking back over the last several decades, we haven't seen a House Speaker this ineffectual in generations."
Local News
Public Policy Polling: "Democratic prospects for recalling Scott Walker are looking like even money right now, an improvement for the party since PPP's last poll in October when Walker led most of his potential opponents."
Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "A federal three-judge panel in San Antonio on Tuesday issued the last remaining sets of Texas political maps that had been at the center of a redistricting dispute, appearing to end uncertainty over the state’s long-delayed primary elections."
News Ledes
New York Times: "The Senate on Thursday killed a Republican effort to let employers and health insurance companies deny coverage for contraceptives and other services to which they have religious or moral objections. The vote was 51 to 48. In effect, the Senate upheld President Obama’s birth control policy. The policy guarantees that women have access to insurance coverage for contraceptives at no charge, through an employer’s health plan or directly from an insurance company. The vote generally followed party lines." Olympia Snowe (Maine) was the only Republican to vote against the amendment. Three Democrats: Bob Casey (Penn), Joe Manchin (WVa) & Ben Nelson (Neb) voted with Republicans.
Washington Post: "President Obama reiterated his call for Congress to repeal federal subsidies to the oil industry Thursday, escalating a political skirmish with Republicans over rising gasoline prices amid evidence that much of the public remains uncertain about who is to blame."
Yahoo! News: "Sam LaHood, the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and six other U.S. pro-democracy group workers flew out of Cairo Thursday after Egypt lifted a travel ban that had barred them from leaving the country for over a month, democracy groups and Egyptian media reports said. A U.S. military plane waiting at Cairo airport since Wednesday was transporting the seven Americans and other foreign NGO workers to Cyprus." The New York Times story is here.
Washington Post: This morning "Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told Congress that the country is adding jobs across industries and that unemployment is dropping at a surprisingly fast rate. This latest evidence suggests that the so-far-anemic economic recovery is gradually accelerating and, with each passing month, could be growing more durable — good news for a workforce that still faces a historically high jobless rate and for a president who is looking to keep his own job in November."
New York Times: "Andrew Breitbart, a conservative blogger and activist who became well-known for publishing undercover videos and revealing photographs aimed at liberals and Democrats, died Thursday morning. He was 43. Lt. Larry Dietz, watch commander for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, confirmed Mr. Breitbart’s death on Thursday. He said that the U.C.L.A. Medical Center reported that Mr. Breitbart died just after midnight. He would not provide any cause or further information." Los Angeles Times: "Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart collapsed while walking near his Brentwood home, his father-in-law said. Sources told The Times that Breitbart was rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center about midnight, where he was pronounced dead of natural causes. No further details were available."
Reuters: "Two NATO soldiers were shot dead on Thursday by two Afghans, including a man believed to be a soldier, NATO said, an attack that is likely to raise further questions about the future of the country's struggling security forces."
ABC News: "Mitt Romney has won Wyoming's presidential caucus vote, a series of county straw polls that took place over the last three weeks. With 39 percent, Romney finished ahead of Rick Santorum (32 percent), Ron Paul (21 percent) and Newt Gingrich (8 percent). The Wyoming GOP released the final results Wednesday night. Like Iowa's presidential caucus vote, Wyoming's is not binding and will in no way affect the state's 29 delegates. Wyoming's caucuses, however, took place over the better part of a month."
Reuters: "Most Syrian rebels pulled out of the besieged Baba Amro district of Homs on Thursday after a 26-day siege by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, activists in contact with the fighters said.... Syrian forces again shelled Baba Amro earlier in the day, despite world alarm at the plight of civilians trapped there." The New York Times story is here.
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Reader Comments (7)
Marie: Lots of luck with Connie Mack. He is a typical Florida politician and you will have to spend some time educating him. Please keep us up to date on your dealing with this lesser breed.
@Carlyle. Connie Mack's real name is Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV. His great-grandfather, the baseball guy, informally shortened his name to Connie Mack, as did CMs II & II. A while ago, Connie Mack IV further shortened his name to Connie Mack, dropping the "IV." I've shortened it a bit more: I just call him CoMa.
What Limbaugh said about Ms. Fluke was unbelievable and unforgiveable. He not only showed this lovely young woman who was only trying to participate in the democratic process complete disrespect, he showed a shocking lack of knowledge of the subject of birth control. He seemed to equate the fact that one takes the pill daily with having a lot of sex (not that it is his business how often a woman has sex). It is troubling that mainstream Republicans never seem to challenge this man even on his facts.
It is appalling that anyone who isn't certifiable listens to Limbaugh.
News flash:
Andrew Breitbart is dead.
He died in Los Angeles around midnight. Just before his death he was speaking to a fan who asked him about all the scurrilous accusations made about his work, how he fabricated stories, targeted liberals and progressives and others who did not agree with his far-right, radical worldview in which it's considered perfectly okay to lie as long as it promotes right-wing ideology, and how he worked hard to remove all context from quotes and video clips in order to smear innocent people.
Reportedly Breitbart's last words were "If everything I've said while attacking liberals isn't the complete truth, and if I'm not in the vanguard of ethical and moral journalists, may I be struck dead on the spot."
The lightning bolt, powerful enough to cause Breitbart's demise did not even scathe his fan.
So okay, it's an unfortunate thing for his wife and kids, but it's also unfortunate for anyone who believes that there should be some kind of standards in journalism. Breitbart, whose only standard was to cause consternation, pain, and suffering to those he considered enemies--not just people with a different point of view, people who needed to be punished for not agreeing with him--served as a bellwether for how not to do it. Along with creeps like Matt Drudge and the horde of Fox News pretenders and radio slime like Limbaugh, Breitbart was one of the poster boys for propaganda. A daily reminder of how words, facts, images, and sounds can be repurposed to say anything the editor wishes.
It's no surprise that this perennial liar and propagandist has been lauded by the right, especially by Rick Santorum and Rick Perry (both beacons of veracity) and, of course, by his colleagues in sliminess at Fox.
I don't want to appear flip about the death of anyone but I think this moment does offer a chance to consider ways we think about the work of people like Breitbart and how he is treated by so many in the mainstream press as an actual journalist worthy of respect and attention.
So, if I may, I'd like to offer a small digression into a whimsical but ultimately important discussion taking place in some philosophical circles these days:
What to do about the Zombies?
Here is part of a discussion raised by Rose Woodhouse on the League of Ordinary Gentlemen site on The Permissibility of Killing Zombies. This is a reaction by Kyle Cupp:
"I’m glad to see Rose Woodhouse giving philosophers a good name by discussing the permissibility of killing zombies. It’s an important question, not because zombies might actually exist, but precisely because they represent what our ethical theories typically frame as non-existent and therefore ignore or exclude. When zombies meander hungrily within our ethical horizons, even if only in our imagination, our ethical thought is faced with its own limitations. I imagine Derrida would have liked zombie narratives for just this reason.
My favorite zombie moment may be from a Halloween episode of The Simpsons. Zombies have overrun the city of Springfield. The Simpson clan, led by a shotgun-armed homer, flee their house. As they approach their car, their neighbor and Homer’s nemesis Flanders appears and, if memory serves, says something about nibbling Homer’s ear. Homer blows him away. “Dad, you killed Zombie Flanders!” Bart says, astonished. “He was a zombie?” Homer asks.
The scene is funny because in the real world of The Simpsons, Homer despises Ned Flanders and is obsessively resentful of Flanders’ success, life, and happiness. He wouldn’t kill Flanders, not in any normal circumstance, but then a zombie apocalypse ain’t normal. It’s a disaster that’s not part of “the plan,” as the Joker in The Dark Knight would say, and so people panic and forsake their morals to an extent they wouldn’t when faced with a horror that at least makes sense in light of history or normalcy. Wars, poverty, Republicans–these evils happen and are expected, and ethics can chart discernible courses in view of them. Zombies don’t happen, except when they do and all hell breaks loose. Then we find out how limited and frail our ethical systems really are."
So what does this have to do with Breitbart, Drudge, Fox, et al?
Just this. Treating these people as if they are actual journalists because they surround themselves with the trappings of the same does us all a disservice. I'm certainly not advocating for the murder of these fakers, merely pointing out that as practitioners of Zombie Journalism (they are here to pull your heart out and eat it then turn you into one of them), they should not, never, no how, under no circumstances, ever be treated as anything other than Zombies. No respectable seat at the table of journalism roundtables discussing world and national events on a seeming par with people like Paul Krugman.
We need to assign these zombies to a different category. Hopefully somewhere where they can't easily infect the rest of us.
Oh, and I must clear up any misunderstanding about my earlier post that purported to describe the circumstances of the demise of Andrew Breitbart.
It's a complete fiction. All except the part about his death. The last word business seemed too good to pass up as a fictionalized account of the last moments of one of the more radical fiction writers.
I think that women and the Democrats need to take a page from the Republican playbook and rebrand the contraceptive issue. Why are we using terms like "contraceptives" or "birth control"? Why aren't we calling the pill "hormone therapy"? Contraceptives such as condoms or IUDS can still be called birth control, since they really don't have any other useful purpose, but pills which are swallowed in order to regulate estrogen levels shouldn't be any different than what we call the pills we give women during menopause: HRT. Does Limbaugh and his ilk think that the pills are used like condoms? One pill is good for one sexual encounter?
And boy, I would really like to hear a reporter ask Santorum if sex is only for procreation, does that mean he's never had sex with his wife since his last child was born? How old is that child?