The Commentariat -- March 6, 2013
Obama 2.0 Richard Lardner of the AP: "The Senate Intelligence Committee voted Tuesday to approve [John Brennan,] President Barack Obama's pick to lead the CIA, after winning a behind-the-scenes battle with the White House over access to a series of top-secret legal opinions that justify the use of lethal drone strikes against terror suspects, including American citizens." ...
... Greg Miller has the story for the Washington Post. ...
... Adam Serwer of Mother Jones: "Yes, the president does have the authority to use military force against American citizens on US soil — but only in 'an extraordinary circumstance,' Attorney General Eric Holder said in a letter to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday. 'The US Attorney General's refusal to rule out the possibility of drone strikes on American citizens and on American soil is more than frightening,' Paul said Tuesday. 'It is an affront the constitutional due process rights of all Americans.'" ...
... Digby: "This case is something a 5th grader could answer: anyone on American soil is subject to the US Constitution which guarantees them due process." ...
... "The Most Powerful Federal Agency You've Never Heard of." Ben Goad of The Hill: "Time is running out for President Obama to make one of his most influential appointments: a regulatory chief who will serve as the gatekeeper for an avalanche of new rules from federal agencies. With Congress mired in partisanship, Obama is expected to lean heavily on the use of executive power to enact his agenda. At the same time, scores of new rules are now under consideration at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the White House's clearinghouse for federal mandates."
Matt Spetalnick of the AP: "While the death of Venezuela's stridently anti-American President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday raised hopes in Washington for better U.S.-Venezuela relations, the Obama administration reacted cautiously as it weighed the prospects for a diplomatic thaw. President Barack Obama quickly reached out to Venezuelans, expressing an interest in a 'constructive relationship' in the post-Chavez era."
Jackie Calmes & Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "With Republican leaders in Congress forswearing budget negotiations over new revenues, President Obama has begun reaching around them to Republican lawmakers with a history of willingness to cut bipartisan deals. Mr. Obama has invited about a dozen Republican senators out to dinner on Wednesday night, after speaking with several of them by phone in recent days.... And next week, according to those people and others who did not want to be identified, he will make a rare foray to Capitol Hill to meet separately with the Republican and Democratic caucuses in both the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House."
Debbie Wilgoren & Ashley Halsey of the Washington Post: "Schools and many government offices in the Washington area closed for the day on Wednesday as snow began to blanket the region, the first wave of a storm that forecasters said could dump five to 10 inches inside the Capital Beltway and significantly more to the north and west." ...
... Which Is Why This Is So Brilliant.... Ed O'Keefe & Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Bowing to Mother Nature, the House will vote on a plan to continue funding the federal government through the end of the fiscal year on Wednesday -- one day earlier than initially scheduled.... Senior Senate aides noted that the worst portion of the storm is likely to come Wednesday morning and afternoon, making it plausible that the safer decision would be to postpone Wednesday's planned vote on a controversial judicial nomination until Thursday." Who do you think is smarter? -- John Boehner or Harry Reid?
David Espo of the AP: "The Obama administration and congressional Republicans are quietly working in tandem to blunt the impact of short-term spending cuts that kicked in with dire White House warnings a few days ago, with both sides eager to pocket the full savings for deficit reduction as they pivot to a new clash over Medicare." ...
... Meanwhile, the White House Website is prominently featuring President Obama's "Balanced Plan to Avert the Sequester and Reduce the Deficit."
Reuters: "Less than two months into his second term, President Barack Obama's approval rating has dropped and Americans blame him and his fellow Democrats almost as much as his Republican opponents for a fiscal mess." CW: thank you, news media, with special kudos to Bob Woodward & Bill Keller. ...
... AND the public now is in the GOP camp: 61 percent support the sequester, & 60 percent oppose cuts to the military, according to a new ABC News/WashPo poll. CW: The lesson here, IMHO, is that the public goes with the winner; when it looked as if Obama had the high ground, his numbers were up; when Republicans won the sequester battle, their agenda got the nod. It pays to win. ...
... Au Contraire, Greg Sargent argues, "Things suddenly change when you bring up specific government programs. Also, the poll doesn't offer respondents the option of choosing a mix between new revenues and cuts -- a position that has majority support in other polls -- which means it doesn't test the basic dispute at the center of the crisis." ...
... Steve Kornacki of Salon: "... we're probably stuck with the sequester for the rest of this fiscal year -- and maybe well beyond that. It's an outcome almost no one saw coming a year ago, and one made all the more remarkable by the fact that the most recent election seemed to represent a rebuke of the GOP and its embrace of Tea Party fiscal values."
Jake Sherman & Jonathan Allen of Politico: "Rep. Paul Ryan's budget is now expected to exempt seniors 55 years old and above from his Medicare overhaul -- despite his personal preference to raise that age to 56 -- according to several GOP sources familiar with his plans." CW: I love the way these Politico boys frame this story as one in which Ryan is looking for ways to "save Medicare." CW: Are they that stupid or are they on the take? Ryan had a change of heart (okay, inappropriate metaphor; that lying weasel has no heart) ...
... BECAUSE... Molly Hooper of The Hill: "House Republican centrists [were] furious that GOP leaders [were] considering abandoning their pledge not to change Medicare retirement benefits for people 55 years and older. According to several sources, a handful of centrist GOP lawmakers attending a recent Tuesday Group luncheon erupted when Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) broke the news." ...
... Bernie Becker of The Hill: "The new House GOP spending bill directs the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail six days a week, against the wishes of the nation's postmaster general.... Congress has used the appropriations process to force USPS, which has lost billions of dollars in recent years, to continue Saturday delivery for roughly three decades."
... Jonathan Cohn of The New Republic: "... misleading GOP claims about Obama's behavior is only half the story. The Republicans are also mischaracterizing their own behavior. With this new budget, Ryan doesn't appear to be offering new concessions. On the contrary, it looks like he's making new demands."
** "Lipstick on an Elephant." Frank Rich on the GOP resuscitation plan, which of course involves stealing elections. "... real Republican leaders don't want any reinvention that ventures much beyond forced smiles; retooled, focus-group-tested language (in English and Spanish); and blather about 'the kids.'"
Alex Pareene of Salon: "According to a working paper from two political scientists who interviewed 2,000 state legislative candidates last year, politicians all think Americans are more conservative than they actually are. Unsurprisingly, Republicans think voters are way more right-wing than they actually are.... Elected Republicans are more conservative than their constituents, but they think their constituents are basically all psycho Freepers."
Noam Scheiber of The New Republic on "The Boehnerian Way." Insightful, funny, maddening. Bear in mind, Boehner has to deal with this guy (and a lot more like him) ...
... Congrats to Louie Gohmert (RTP-Texas) for winning the title Sequester Jester of the Week. In response to a White House announcement "that it would halt public tours due to the sequester cuts," Gohmert proposed the following Amendment to the Continuing Resolution:
At the end of division C (before the short title), insert the following: SEC. ll. None of the funds made available by a division of this Act may be used to transport the President to or from a golf course until public tours of the White House resume. ...
... George Condon of the National Journal: Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who's been out of jail for awhile, has written a book "packed with insider criticisms of some of Washington's biggest names of the past two decades. The targets for the longtime GOP officeholder are almost all fellow Republicans, including current House Speaker John Boehner; former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; the assistant attorney general who prosecuted him; Republican strategist Karl Rove; former President George W. Bush; former Vice President Dick Cheney; former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay; and Sen. John McCain." He accuses Boehner of doublecrossing him bigtime, & calls him "a chain-smoking, relentless wine drinker who was more interested in the high life -- golf, women, cigarettes, fun, and alcohol."
Lara Jakes of the AP: "Ten years and $60 billion in American taxpayer funds later, Iraq is still so unstable and broken that even its leaders question whether U.S. efforts to rebuild the war-torn nation were worth the cost. In his final report to Congress, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen's conclusion was all too clear: Since the invasion a decade ago this month, the U.S. has spent too much money in Iraq for too few results. The reconstruction effort 'grew to a size much larger than was ever anticipated,' Bowen told The Associated Press in a preview of his last audit of U.S. funds spent in Iraq, to be released Wednesday." ...
... Charles Pierce, commenting on the report: "George W. Bush should spend the rest of his days dogged by regiments of wounded veterans. Richard Cheney should be afflicted at all hours by the howls of widows and of mothers who have lost sons and daughters. Colin Powell -- and his pal, MSNBC star Lawrence Wilkerson -- should shut the hell up about how sorry they are and go off to a monastery somewhere to do penance for what they didn't have the balls to try and stop." ...
... Maureen Dowd gets a preview of a Showtime feature, "The World According to Dick Cheney." "The guy makes Al Haig look like a shrinking violet."
Tom Hamburger & Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post: "Some of the gun lobby's strongest allies are breaking with the National Rifle Association to support proposals that would expand background checks for private firearm sales.... The trade group for the nation's leading firearm manufacturers said it will not actively oppose the expansion of background checks, which are designed to prevent guns from reaching criminals or the seriously mentally ill."
Peter Wallsten & David Nakamura of the Washington Post notice Jeb (Not His Real Name) Bush is running for president.
What's the Matter with Sandra Day O'Connor? Here's the link to Terry Gross's interview of Justice O'Connor said. CW: I haven't listened to it, but the commenters to the NPR page here all agree with Reality Chex contributor Haley S. -- O'Connor was one "cranky old lady ... a painful performance." You might say she was Out of Order, the title of the book she's not-so-successfully pushing.
As contributor MAG wrote, Bill Keller's "response" to criticisms of his column is totally lame.
Roger Ailes, in his new book, excerpted in Vanity Fair: "Newt's a prick," & Obama is a lazy, B-ball-playin' Nee-gro. "He said so himself." Via Jillian Rayfield of Salon.
Rhonda Schwarz & Brian Ross of ABC News explain why they didn't carry the Bob Menendez-and-underaged-prostitutes story when it was presented to them & the Daily Caller in the week before the November election. ...
... As Erik Wemple of the Washington Post writes, "The ABC News story [linked above] isn't a game changer; it's a game ender." Case closed.
This Day in History. Scott Bomboy of the National Constitution Center: "On March 6, 1857, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the Dred Scott case, which had a direct impact on the coming of the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln's presidency four years later."
Local News
Lizette Alvarez of the New York Times portrays America's Worst Governor Rick Scott (RTP-Fla.) as a changed man with whom only the Tea Party is unhappy. CW: I would portray him as a con man.
Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa: "Seven Republicans in the Iowa House are pushing a bill to prohibit parents of minor children from getting a 'no fault' divorce and the proposal could be debated in a House committee this week.... Rachel Scott of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence told lawmakers the changes proposed often make homes a more dangerous place.... All 50 states now have 'no-fault' laws allowing couples to divorce without citing evidence of wrong-doing from either spouse." Apparently one of the bill's sponsors, Tedd Gasbag Gassman, sees it as a way to embarrass his recently-divorced daughter & son-in-law, leaving the couple's 16-year-old daughter no choice but to become a slut. ...
... Oops! I see Kaili Joy Gray of Daily Kos already picked up on the slut thing. ...
... Steve M. of No More Mister Nice Blog: "I guess this is coming from that remade GOP I've heard so much about."
News Ledes
New York Times: "Insurgent fighters from Syria seized a group of United Nations troops on patrol in the disputed Golan Heights region between Syria and Israel on Wednesday and threatened to treat them as prisoners of war, an abrupt escalation in the Syrian conflict that entangled international peacekeepers for the first time."
Politico: "The number of anti-government groups in the United States is at an all-time high and has increased 800 percent since President Barack Obama took office, according to a Southern Poverty Law Center report. The SPLC identified 1,360 so-called patriot groups on the 'radical right' in 2012, compared with only 149 in 2008."
AP: "Airline passengers will be able to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes beginning next month under a policy change announced Tuesday by the head of the Transportation Security Administration. The new policy conforms U.S. security standards to international standards, and allows TSA to concentrate its energies on more serious safety threats, the agency said in a statement."
ABC News: "George Zimmerman's attorneys stunned court observers today by deciding to skip a 'Stand Your Ground' hearing slated for April that might have led to a dismissal of the charges in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin."
AP: "A senior U.S. envoy says Iran is committed to 'deception, defiance and delay' in how it deals with international concerns about its nuclear program. The hard-hitting comments by Joseph Macmanus to the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency reflect U.S. frustration over Iran's expanding uranium enrichment program and stalled attempts by the U.N.'s nuclear agency to probe suspicions that Tehran might have tried to develop nuclear weapons in secret."
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Reader Comments (22)
Finally read Keller's comment on the commenters. My reaction?
"Mr. Keller: Your comments on the comments your column provoked are two times interesting.
First and most obvious, the point of your blog post, one made many times before: yes, bullying behavior seems to be invited by the internet's relative anonymity. It's safe to shout in a room so large and ad hominem attacks demand little courage, when there is little chance you will ever meet your victim. Fortunately, most NYTimes readers eschew that kind of faux argument and make their points reasonably and well. I'm grateful to them and to the Times for creating and maintaining such a fine forum.
Second and more interesting, though, is your choice to philosophize about the internet's effect on the sound and sense of argument. Why that instead of dealing with the (many) substantive objections to and criticisms of what you wrote in your original column? Almost looks as if you wished to duck the issues and instead fashioned a "response" that counterpunched at something that wasn't even there.
I think the Times' fine readers deserved more."
Occupy wins in a rural town/county in north central PA!
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130305_Jury_acquits_Occupy_protesters.html
Maggy
In America, many people who call themselves Catholics are divorced or countenance the divorce of others. According to The Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05054c.htm), "In Christian marriage, which implies the restoration, by Christ himself, of marriage to its original indissolubility, there can never be an absolute divorce, at least after the marriage has been consummated."
So, what the Iowa legislature is attempting is less constrictive than Catholic canon law!
One catch, though: Few Catholics really care about what their Church teaches in this area, and laws passed in Rome can't cause you to be prosecuted in Ames.
Also remember: All of this is coming from the FREEDOM party.
Re: "The twits on Twitter make me bitter" Mr. Keller forgets short and to the point sometimes has all the nuance needed. And he calls himself a newspaper man. Asswipe.
CW: This comment has been removed as it didn't make sense. If the commenter would like to try again, have at it.
Kate Madison's béte Noire, Ken Cuccinelli––love the sound of his last name, like a delicious pasta dish with lots of beans and cheese––was interviewed by PBS New's Judy Woodruff who let this guy sputter his stuff without once challenging him on his fabrications. He, like Sandra is hawking a book: "The Last Line of Defense," which is about the role of the Federal Government. He, by the way, is running for Governor––lord, help us! Here is a taste in which he laments the over arching reach of the big bad government:
"This has been a growing process. And we have reached a point in this particular administration where it's happening faster and more brazenly than in my lifetime and your lifetime ever before across the administration. But it isn't new. And we point out in the book Republicans have done this, other Democrats have done this."
He mutters on about the mistakes the founders made in giving judges life time roles, giving the executive too much power and how he thinks Roberts made the decision re: upholding the health care mandate because, well, he was concerned how the American populace would view him, and what a terrible mistake! He then talks about climate change which he admits is probably a reality, but to do anything about it, especially in his coal mining state, will be too expensive and will hurt all those poor people––coal miner's daughters and such––then he cites bogus statistics to show how all those merican peoples are on the Republican side re: his views and here Judy should have jumped in, but didn't. Anyway, the bottom line is simple: Reward the rich, starve the poor, and let the good times roll and above all get rid of that darn old Federal Government and let states be states and do what they want. This guy didn't write that book alone, I'm pretty sure of that because he comes off as an amiable dunce who is full of those beans in that tasty pasta dish I referred to earlier. The vaginal probe was not part of the conversation, I'm sorry to report.
@PD Pepe: I find it odd that a television personality -- Woodruff -- is a dead tree. Maybe it's the "Wood" in "Woodruff." Anyway, she is, was & ever shall be less useful than an actual dead tree. Anyone who calls her a journalist is an ironist or satirist, whether intentional or not. She makes Gregory & Snuffolopoulos look like fucking muckrakers.
Marie
The Reuters poll linked above tracing the president's declining approval rating emphasizes the point I was making yesterday about the damage done by perfidious dolts who hose down the public with their "opinions" about who is to blame for this or that and who is at fault and who needs to blah, blah, blah.
These chumps, the Bill Kellers, the Brokaws, the Fuzzy Gregrories, Bob Woodwards, etc., do a huge disservice to the country but either don't look at it that way or don't really give a shit as long as they come off looking superior, above it all, and, of course, non-partisan, which means having to tap out the "Everyone's to Blame" trope.
And even though these idiots are regularly administered strong doses of intellectual ipecac by writers who can spell "integrity" (thanks, Marie), it is their bleating that the public hears, and since the current round of puking from the MSM vomitorium proclaims, in between expelled chunks of indigestible cant, that "Democrats and Obama are to blame as much as Republicans" it's no wonder the president's approval numbers are slipping.
Others in the MSM contributing to the spread of such ill-considered, witless opinions are such as Judy Woodruff (see PD's comment above) who allow imbeciles and ideologues to babble on at length without the tiniest hint of challenge in their mien or on their lips. Stamp these people "Worse than Useless".
The bottom line is that the nation suffers from a kind of political pleurisy after inhaling the pestilential vapors vented by these sorry, self-serving toads.
Is it just me or does anyone else think that Louie Gomert looks and acts like the crazy uncle who has never been right since falling off a ladder and hitting his head when he was 12? The one who wanders unshaven around the grocery store with his fly down accosting strangers about the exorbitant price of peanut butter.
arrgggh...Gohmert not Gomert. That was the other crazy uncle.
@Akhilleus. Gohmert reminds me of the one who, when he has his fly open, pulls out his little thing to show to the nieces & nephews & tells them to slather it with peanut butter. He is not allowed in the homes of his relatives. Gomert, he's the one in the grocery store. You were right the first time.
Marie
P.S. That Louie Gohmert is one of our representatives here on earth is likely the reason so many turn to religion, hoping they will get a better class of rep. in the next life.
Re: journalists
Many thanks to the commenters on RC, and of course to Marie for providing this forum. Everyone's viewpoints help me to better understand current events, and I've come to rely on RC as a source for trustworthy news and opinions.
In today's comments there are criticisms of Woodward, Gregory etc. I would appreciate recommendations from RC readers on teevee journalists you do respect and trust. I don't watch many teevee news programs - just can't stand them anymore. I do regularly watch Rachel Maddow, Bill Moyers and PBS.
Gearing up for another snowstorm here. Although, red-winged blackbirds are back, a sure sign of spring.
Julie,
This is a short off the cuff list which contains very few television journalists. Not because there aren't any good ones, but because television has become slave to sound bite journalism. Even excellent reporters get little time to tell their stories. There isn't much in the way of opportunity for long form journalism outside the standard 2:00 minute packages. Roundtable shows are nothing more than scream fests or circle jerk or both.
So although I do watch television news, if you really want to dig, you need to read. Television news, the way it's practiced by the vast majority of "journalists" is too much like fast food: processed past the point of recognition, prettily packaged, far too many empty calories, and whipped up according to recondite corporate formulas.
Here then, in no particular order, is a quick list. Some of these people are radio people a few are TV but the rest are print people who occasionally show up on the box to bewilder the poltroons.
Hendrik Hertzberg
Jane Mayer
Chris Hedges
Jim Fallows
Martha Raddatz
Garry Wills
Frank Rich
Joan Walsh
Amanda Marcotte
Charlie Pierce
Steve Coll
Robert Fisk
Linda Greenhouse
Nina Totenberg
Lewis Lapham
Krugman (of course)
As I say, I'll probably recall more after some additional thought.
Another problem with TV news, aside from the short format sound bite thing, is the amount of money involved. Now that all the majors are owned by conglomerates, ABC-Disney, NBC-Comcast, CBS-Viacom, Fox-anti-American pigs, there is pressure to be "balanced" (not in the Fox way, however), which gets us where we are now with the "everyone does it" crap.
This isn't to say that the Atlantic, The New Yorker, Harpers, NYRB, or the New York Times aren't in it for the money. They are. It's just that the visibility is much lower so writers, I'm guessing, can get away with a better brand of reportage.
Anyway, if I do come up with other television reporters deserving of inclusion, I'll append them to this list.
Allocating electoral vote according to the national popular vote is a long slog. But it seems to be making some progress.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2013/03/policast_legisl.shtml
@ Julie. Adding to the Akhilleus list - try Melissa Harris Perry and Chris Hayes on MSNBC on weekends. Fewer of the usual suspects on panels and more in depth discussions. For perspective on international views and how they impact the US, try Fareed Zakaria GPS (Global Public Square) Sun. a.m. on CNN. He is well prepared, intelligent and respectful of guests. He gets some great interviews with Arab, Chinese, Singapore, Israeli, etc officials. I dare you not to have some aha moments. Last Sunday he interviewed the Ambassador of Iran and he has interviewed the premier of China. He gets at the meat of the issues without rancor.
Finally, my personal favorite pundit /commentator who is used on most of the MSNBC shows is Joy Ann Reid. She is wicked smart, articulate and dead on. I only hope she can replace some of the deadwood on that network soon.
I would add Greg Palast to the list of reporters.
Oops. And Matt Taibbi.
Will somebody please answer an obvious question? Since the existing US Senate rules undoubtedly include provisions for changing those rules, what provisions now in force control any immediate effort to reduce or eliminate the power of a minority of Senators to block/frustrate Senate action? Thank you. I’m astonished that nobody has provided this information yet. Best,
Keith Howard
Marie-- As a general rule, you and I share the same cranks and crochets, but we part company on the Terry Gross interview of Sandra Day O'Connor. You wrote that you hadn't heard it, so I urge you listen when you get a chance and listen also to the TB interview with Jeffrey Toobin on Thursday's show.
I thought TB was completely out of line asking SDO to answer "from a woman's perspective...," "As a woman and a mother." And trying repeatedly to draw SDO to discuss Roe v Wade and abortion, both issues the court is working on in this session. That's what made the Justice cranky. Even Jeffrey Toobin on the Thursday show defended O'Connor despite the fact that he was there to talk about his New Yorker profile of Justice Ginsburg.
As for HALEY S, she should have read more of the comments than just the one critical of the cranky old lady.
Waltwis,
Thank you for your advice that I read more of the comments before offering my opinion. Such advice is pretty unhelpful since I didn't know Toobin gave an interview on which Thursday and I don't know who TB is. As it happened, my opinion was my own ( as a cranky old lady myself) and not based on other comments that I had read. I listened again, and I stand by them. The Justice may not have liked Terry's questions, but Terry was not being agressive and it would have been easy to (more graciously) decline the topic.
Did you think the SDO response of "only people like you" was somewhat surprising?
@Keith Howard. Response in March 7 Comments.
Marie
@Waltwis. Response in March 7 comments.