The Commentariat -- May 21, 2016
Peter Hermann, et al., of the Washington Post: "A uniformed Secret Service officer shot and critically wounded a man who brandished a gun outside the White House Friday afternoon, authorities said.... In [a] statement, the agency said the man refused numerous orders to drop the weapon and was shot. Two law enforcement officials said he was shot once in the chest and rushed to a hospital in critical condition. Authorities said a firearm was recovered.... The shooting ... prompted a massive police response near the executive mansion, where hundreds of tourists and bystanders were milling about. The Secret Service placed the White House on lockdown and rushed to secure Vice President Biden 'within the complex.'..." -- CW ...
... The New York Times story, by Julie Davis & Michael Schmidt, is here.
Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "Major changes to nutrition labels on food packages became final on Friday, with calorie counts now shown in large type and portion sizes that reflect how much Americans actually eat. It was the first significant redrawing of the nutrition information on food labels since the federal government started requiring them in the early 1990s." Michelle Obama announced the final rule. -- CW
Presidential Race
Hillary Clinton, in a Washington Post op-ed: "In every state in the country, child care for two kids now costs more than the average rent." Clinton proposes a series of measures to ease the burdens on working parents. ...
... CW PS: If you're interested in knowing Donald Drumpf's childcare plan, here it is in a nutshell: "It's not expensive for a company to do it. You need one person or two people, and you need some blocks and you need some swings and some toys."
Amie Parnes of the Hill: "In public, Hillary Clinton's aides and allies have kept their anger checked, decrying the rowdy outbursts at Nevada's state convention last weekend but saying they believe [Bernie] Sanders will ultimately do the right thing by helping to unite the Democratic Party. Behind the scenes, however, they are seething that statements by the Vermont senator are just making matters worse by further alienating his supporters from Clinton.... The continued combat on the left is also complicating Clinton's efforts to fully turn her attention to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who is reveling in the Democratic feuding. 'This is the worst-case scenario and the one people feared the most,' said one Clinton ally and former Clinton aide." -- CW ...
... Here's Sahil Kapur of Bloomberg on the same topic in a post titled, "Sanders, Defiant on the Stump, Quietly Reassures Democrats on Unity." -- CW ...
... Jonathan Chait: "... it is at least possible that Sanders is getting carried away in a messianic fervor that he will not walk away from readily. A recent New York Times story described numerous Sanders staffers as 'disheartened' by the campaigns 'near-obsession with perceived conspiracies on the part of Mrs. Clinton's allies.'... Sanders has a longstanding habit of attributing any disagreement with his policies as the result of corruption...." -- CW ...
... Mark Hensch of the Hill: "Bernie Sanders's supporters have secured permits for four demonstrations near July's Democratic National Convention, according to a new report. The events will rally support for Sanders's message while Democrats select their presidential nominee in Philadelphia, according to The Wall Street Journal." -- CW
Sahil Kapur: "Hillary Clinton believes a 2008 Supreme Court ruling that is the linchpin of an individual's right to own a gun was 'wrongly decided,' her policy adviser told Bloomberg Politics on Friday. 'Clinton believes Heller was wrongly decided in that cities and states should have the power to craft common sense laws to keep their residents safe, like safe storage laws to prevent toddlers from accessing guns,' Maya Harris, a policy adviser to Clinton, said in an e-mailed statement." ...
... Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump called on Friday for an end to gun-free zones in the United States and accused Hillary Clinton of seeking to let violent criminals out of prison, putting law-abiding citizens at risk, as he accepted the endorsement of the National Rifle Association at its annual convention.... 'Crooked Hillary Clinton is the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate ever to run for office,' he said at the N.R.A.'s convention here. 'She wants to abolish the Second Amendment. She wants to take away your guns.' Although Mrs. Clinton has called for tightening restrictions on guns, she has not called for overturning the Second Amendment." -- CW ...
... Here's Trump's subtle way of reminding you that Hillary Clinton doesn't have a penis; ergo, she doesn't have the "equipment" to be president:
... Hunter of Daily Kos: "But perhaps the bigger news of the day was Trump's insistence, during the speech, that as president he would 'get rid of' gun-free zones: boom, blam, done. This always goes down very well, even at the National Rifle Association's leadership forum, which is itself a ... gun-free zone. And Trump's own properties are 'gun-free zones' as well, because even racist ex-butlers aren't stupid enough to want yahoos with loaded rifles tromping through the lobby." CW: In case you haven't noticed, it turns out there is no #RealDonaldTrump. Every fucking thing he says is phony. ...
... CW: After reading Gail Collins' column about Deadeye Donald, you may want to switch your vote to Trump. Not only is he going to Make America Great Again, he will keep us safe by personally shooting all the terrorists just as they are about to attack. Donald's system seems a lot more efficient than all that Homeland Security stuff. Also, too, why waste money on Secret Service agents when Deadeye can foil every assassination attempt with one shot? For a guy who says he doesn't drink, Donald sure sounds like the drunk at the end of the bar. ...
... One thing is clear: your choice in November will be between a candidate who believes in sensible gun legislation & one who thinks citizen-on-citizen shootouts are the sensible means to keep the peace. So please don't go all Ralph Nader & tell us there's no difference between the major-party candidates. (See also the candidates' competing childcare plans -- if you can call urging private companies to buy "some swings & some toys" a "plan.")
** Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "The last time information from Donald Trump's income-tax returns was made public, the bottom line was striking: He had paid the federal government $0 in income taxes. The disclosure, in a 1981 report by New Jersey gambling regulators, revealed that the wealthy Manhattan investor had for at least two years in the late 1970s taken advantage of a tax-code provision popular with developers that allowed him to report negative income. Today ... Trump regularly denounces corporate executives for using loopholes and 'false deductions['] to 'get away with murder' when it comes to avoiding taxes.... Trump's personal taxes are a mystery. He has refused to release any recent returns, meaning the public cannot see how much money he makes, how much he gives to charity and how aggressively he uses deductions, shelters and other tactics to shrink his tax bill." -- CW
Unemployed Former High Executioner Looking for Work. Jeremy Diamond of CNN: "Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who once called Donald Trump 'a cancer on conservatism,' said Friday he would be willing to serve as the presumptive Republican nominee's vice president." -- CW
Jayne Mayer of the New Yorker: "Amateurish spies like James O'Keefe III attempt to sway the 2016 campaign." CW: "Amateurish?" Your 12-year-old would be more polished spy than O'Keefe. In the LOL "sting of myself" Mayer highlights, O'Keefe "forgot to hang up the phone" & revealed in a recorded voicemail to a George Soros-funded organization a part of his inchoate, hairbrained plot to infiltrate the Soros operation. O'Keefe would be hilarious if he weren't occasionally dangerous. He provides plenty of material for budding screenwriters in the vein of "Get Smart" meets "Dumb & Dumber."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. He Was For It Before He Was Against It. Aaron Rupar of Think Progress: Joe Scarborough praises Call-in Guy D. Drumpf for being "consistent" on Libya even though Trump has done a 180 on Libya. "Later in the show, however, Scarborough attempted to correct the record...," but only after the Clinton campaign "reminded" Scarborough of Trump's urging the U.S. to "... immediately go into Libya, knock this guy [Gaddafi] out very quickly, very surgically...." -- CW
Beyond the Beltway
OK. OK Governor Not Completely Stupid. Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed a controversial bill Friday that would have made it a felony for doctors to perform abortions, saying she felt the bill was too vague and unable to withstand a legal challenge. Fallin's decision came a day after lawmakers in the state approved the unprecedented bill, well before a deadline for her to sign the measure, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature." - CW
Ultimate "Today in Responsible Gun Ownership" Story. Maxine Bernstein of the Oregonian: "Portland Police Chief Larry O'Dea is under state investigation for accidentally shooting a friend in the back during an eastern Oregon hunting trip last month. O'Dea was on vacation April 21 in Harney County when he fired his .22-caliber rifle, striking a friend once in the lower left side of his back, according to police and Harney County dispatch records. O'Dea on Friday called it a 'negligent discharge.' He was off-duty at the time. Retired Portland police Sgt. Steve Buchtel, a former head of firearms training at the Police Bureau, was with O'Dea and called 911 at 4:37 p.m. that day." -- CW
Michael Schmidt: Georgia sheriff's deputies repeatedly Tasered a man, handcuffed in the back seat of a car, until he died. The man's family had called 911 for medical assistance after his behavior became erratic & violent. The Times has video footage, obtained from the offiders' bodycams. -- CW
Way Beyond
William Booth of the Washington Post: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attempts to remake his governing coalition have set heads spinning -- dumping his well-regarded defense minister to possibly bring aboard a polarizing maverick with few friends in Washington. Definitely out: Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who resigned his post on Friday. On the way to the door, Yaalon blasted Netanyahu, saying he has lost confidence in the prime minister's decision-making and morals. Maybe in: Avigdor Lieberman. He's a former foreign minister and current leader of an ultranationalist political party built around the 1 million Russian-speaking immigrants to Israel." -- CW ...
... Lieberman's In. Juan Cole: "Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu bolstered his majority and rid himself of a troublesome voice of conscience Thursday by appointing the extremist Avigdor Lieberman minister of defense. This move strengthened Netanyahu's hand politically, removing a critic in the form of Moshe Yaalon, the previous minister of defense. But it also sent a signal to Israel's officer corps, which has been showing distinct unease at Netanyahu's march of the country into Mussolini territory." -- CW
News Ledes
Washington Post: "The U.S. military has conducted an air strike against Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, the Pentagon said on Saturday. In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said that the attack on Mansour took place on Saturday 'in a remote area of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.' A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity..., said that President Obama had authorized the operation.... The official said that Mansour, who emerged as the Taliban leader in 2015, was 'likely killed.'"
AP: "A small fire shut down a generating tower Thursday at the world's largest solar power plant, leaving the sprawling facility on the California-Nevada border operating at only a third of its capacity, authorities said. Firefighters had to climb some 300 feet up a boiler tower at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California after fire was reported on an upper level around 9:30 a.m., fire officials said. The plant works by using mirrors to focus sunlight on boilers at the top of three 459-foot towers.... But some misaligned mirrors instead focused sunbeams on a different level..., causing electrical cables to catch fire, San Bernardino County, California fire Capt. Mike McClintock said."
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Reader Comments (6)
...and channeling his inner Dick Cheney "we'll be welcomed as liberators..." Trump's "quickly, and surgically..." 2011 remark that CW noted above, was followed by ""...After it’s all done, we’ll go to the protesters who end up running the country, they’re going to end up liking us a lot better than if we don’t do it."
Let's see...surgery didn't work so well in Iraq! Libya, not so much. Next country scheduled for pre-op, Syria maybe?
It's past due for someone in media to create an ongoing graphic posted prominently online with the ever-changing postures of Trump on every subject, who by this time has worn out more than a dozen pairs of flip-flops. Include, please...the list and date of all those that Trump has insulted, later sorta semi-apologized to, then re-insulted ...and especially highlight those saintly forgiver/hypocrites (McCain) who end up saying they'll still support the nominee!
Yeh! Trump's an A.H., but he's our A.H.
Trump fully displayed the right wing politics of fear at the NRA convention, with "Hillary will take away your guns" and "Hillary will free violent felons". Considering the audience I'm surprised he didn't call for nationwide open carry and nationwide stand your ground laws, or did I miss something?
BobbyLee,
Sure. Open carry except at the NRA and Republican National conventions. Why? Because the wrong people might get shot, that's why! But kindergartens, establishments where liquor flows freely, airports, college classrooms, and Taco Bells are all great places for unhinged Confederate loonies with loaded weapons and a chip on their shoulders.
Not to prompt a dispute over the meaning of "ultimate" in reference to responsible gun ownership, but this one should at least be in the running.
http://time.com/4342861/teen-dad-shoots-stepson-texas
According to what I'm guessing would be the NRA's analysis, the problem was that because the three year old was not also armed the poor kid didn't stand a chance.
Ken, I'm going with Marie's concept of "ultimate", given that all the parties were professionally trained law enforcement folks, and one of them in the party was the Portland police gun training (and therefore safety) guy.
The saving grace was that the weapon was a .22, still not a wound to sneeze at.
This one was not a tragedy, like so many others, and these guys will be the subject of jokes from fellow cops for the rest of their lives, which could still be long ones.
Point taken, Patrick.
The often lethal combination of too many guns and too little judgment offers so many choices, from tragic, as you say, to mildly amusing, I have trouble sorting it all out.