The Commentariat -- May 26, 2013
David Shribman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in a New York Times op-ed: "Fifty years ago, on Memorial Day in 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson gave a speech in Gettysburg, Pa., that foreshadowed profound changes that would be achieved in only 13 months and that mark us still." CW: I discovered this speech about 5 years ago; it was remarkable, not just because Johnson was the leading politician of the "Solid South," but also because the President whom Johnson served was not nearly so advanced, at least in his public statements. Here's the full text.
Ethan Bronner, et al., of the New York Times: "The emerging details of [leak] cases show just how wide a net the Obama administration has cast in its investigations into disclosures of government secrets, querying hundreds of officials across the federal government and even some of their foreign counterparts."
Maureen Dowd doesn't let down Robert Gibbs, who complained last week that she always writes the same column. Today's column: "... Obama is trying to escape the shadow of the Bush presidency just as W. is trying to escape the shadow of the Bush presidency." Dowd tours Dubya's library: "You could fill an entire other library with what's not in W.'s."
Everybody's favorite whiney professor, Jonathan Turley, in a Washington Post op-ed: "Our carefully constructed system of checks and balances is being negated by the rise of a fourth branch, an administrative state of sprawling departments and agencies that govern with increasing autonomy and decreasing transparency.... The vast majority of 'laws' governing the United States are not passed by Congress but are issued as regulations, crafted largely by thousands of unnamed, unreachable bureaucrats." Turley suggests Republicans are right to block Richard Cordray's confirmation because he's to head up yet another agency with too much power.
AP: "The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday the bridge collapse in Washington state is a wake-up call for the nation. 'This is a really significant event and we need to learn from it, not just in Washington but around the country,' Debbie Hersman said after taking a boat ride on the Skagit River below the dramatic scene where a truck bumped against the steel framework, collapsing the bridge and sending two vehicles and three people falling into the chilly water." ...
... Mike Baker & Joan Lowy of the AP: "Thousands of bridges around the U.S. may be one freak accident or mistake away from collapse, even if the spans are deemed structurally sound. The crossings are kept standing by engineering design, not supported with brute strength or redundant protections like their more modern counterparts. Bridge regulators call the more risky spans 'fracture critical,' meaning that if a single, vital component of the bridge is compromised, it can crumple."
Conor Humphries of Reuters: "The Irish government is examining options to close a loophole in its tax system that has allowed multinational companies to significantly reduce taxes they pay on profits, the Sunday Business Post newspaper reported. Ireland has been criticized by British and U.S. legislators in recent weeks for the fact that multinationals like Apple and Google reduced their global tax bills by channeling profits through Irish subsidiaries."
Phil Stewart of Reuters: "Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called sexual assault a 'scourge' on Saturday as he addressed graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where a sergeant stands accused of videotaping female cadets in the showers."
Laura Bassett of the Huffington Post: "An all-male panel of House lawmakers considered a bill on Thursday that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy across the United States, without exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother."
If enough people were praying He would've intervened, you could pray, Jesus stilled the storm, you can still storms. -- Pat Robertson, on the Oklahoma tornado
... if your community is ravaged by a natural disaster, it's your fault. That [Robertson] chose not to blame the tornado on gay people is, however, a sign of progress. -- Steve Benen
The Lord Does Not Want You to Have Health Insurance. I think before [President Obama's] second term is over, we're going to see a miracle before our eyes; I believe God is going to answer our prayers and we'll be freed from the yoke of Obamacare. -- Michele Bachmann (also via Benen)
Benen also points to this exchange between theologian Wolf Blitzer & a tornado survivor. God bless that woman!
The Good News for Atheists! Citing scripture, Pope Francis says atheists can be redeemed through good works. CW: For what it's worth, I think Francis's interpretation of the passage in Mark is correct. It's an argument I've made before. It's only the Gospel of John -- naturally a favorite of fervent Christians -- that claims belief in Jesus is the only path to salvation. ...
... Rachel Donadio of the New York Times: "Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio..., has changed the tone of the papacy, lifting morale and bringing a new sense of enthusiasm to the Roman Catholic Church and to the Vatican itself, Vatican officials and the faithful say."
Local News
Craig Wolff of the New Jersey Star-Ledger: Rutgers University is trying to fix its image as a school that allows coaches to intimidate basketball players by hiring a new athletic director, Julie Hermann, who -- according to many of her former players at the University of Tennessee -- has a history of intimidating basketball players. Also, Hermann is apparently very good at blocking unpleasant memories. CW: personally, I don't think I would forget attending a wedding in which I was a bridesmaid, especially if video of that wedding was the basis of a successful lawsuit against me:
... Hermann also said she can't remember a letter all 15 of her players at Tennessee wrote to her in which they accused her of calling them "whores, alcoholics and learning disabled." CW: Either she has a really bad memory or she's a serial liar.
At Least One GOP Governor Is Serious about Expanding Medicaid. Mary Jo Pitzl of the Arizona Republic: "Gov. Jan Brewer sent five bills to the scrap heap Thursday in a pointed gesture intended to prod lawmakers into a deal on the budget and her plan to expand Medicaid. The five vetoes, follow-through on Brewer's promise to block legislation until her top priorities move forward, capped a tense day that saw some lawmakers receive threats over their support for the plan to provide health care for more of the state's poor."
Fort Myers News-Press: "Former GOP Reps. Connie Mack IV of Florida and Mary Bono Mack of California are divorcing, only months after losing congressional races." CW: So much for those traditional family values that caused CoMa to contract an advanced state of hyper-homophobia.
Sean Whaley of the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "A constitutional amendment that would let voters decide whether to legalize gay marriage passed the final hurdle of the 2013 legislative session Thursday but still has a long way to go. Senate Joint Resolution 13 passed the Assembly on a 27-14 vote, bringing the process to get it to the ballot in 2016 to an end for this year. All the no votes were Republicans. Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, R-Las Vegas, voted with Democrats. The proposed amendment must pass again in identical form in the 2015 legislative session before it can go to the ballot. Gov. Brian Sandoval's signature is not required." Thanks to Jeanne B.
Illinois Gets Real. Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress: "Illinois public schools will be required to include medically accurate information about birth control in their sex ed classes under a measure that the state legislature passed this week. HB 2675, which Gov. Pat Quinn (D) is expected to sign into law, will prohibit health classes from teaching abstinence-only curricula. Illinois' current law requires sex ed classes to emphasize abstinence as 'the expected norm,' and stipulates that 'course material and instruction shall stress that pupils should abstain from sexual intercourse until they are ready for marriage.'" Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link.
News Ledes
New York Times: "A Connecticut man who was shot and killed by the local police at the start of the Memorial Day weekend was identified Sunday by state authorities as a 75-year-old Army veteran and founder of a military museum in Danbury." The Danbury News-Times story is here.
AP: "Two women died after being swept away by floodwaters after weekend rains deluged numerous roads in San Antonio, forcing more than 235 rescues by emergency workers who aided stranded motorists and homeowners at times using inflatable boats."
AP: "Officials reacted with outrage Sunday to an audacious attack by about 200 suspected Maoist rebels who set off a roadside bomb and opened fire on a convoy carrying Indian ruling Congress party leaders and members in an eastern state, killing at least 24 people and wounding 37 others."
New York Times: "The leader of the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah decisively committed his followers on Saturday to an all-out battle in Syria to defeat the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad. He said the organization, founded to defend Lebanon and fight Israel, was entering 'a completely new phase,' sending troops abroad to protect its interests." ...
... AP: "A pair of rockets slammed into a car dealership and a residential building in strongholds of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia in southern Beirut on Sunday, wounding four people and raising fears that Syria's civil war is increasingly spreading into Lebanon. Lebanon's sectarian divide mirrors that of Syria, and Lebanese armed factions have taken sides in their neighbor's civil war."
Al Jazeera: "Brazil has said it plans to cancel or restructure $900m worth of debt in 12 African countries as part of a broader strategy to boost ties with the continent. Brazilian officials said on Saturday that President Dilma Rousseff, visiting Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to mark the African Union's 50th anniversary, was set to announce a new development agency alongside the cancellation that will offer assistance to African countries."
Al Jazeera: "Protests against seed giant Monsanto have been held across the US and in dozens of other countries. 'March Against Monsanto' organisers said they were calling attention to the dangers posed by genetically modified food and the companies that produce it. Protests were being held in more than 250 cities on Saturday."
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Reader Comments (10)
I may be overly optimistic, but I think, contra-Turley, that blocking Cordray's confirmation may be suicidal.
I want to thank Akhilleus for giving the link to the Broadway show, "The Man Who Came to Dinner" with Nathan Lane. Since it was a rainy day I spent this Saturday morning between doing the washing and watching this marvelous show which I found hilarious and touching and beautifully done. I had no idea one could access this on the tube––I know––I gotta get with the program. I would have loved to have played the Jean Smart part––such a juicy role and I thought Lane was terrific and looked a lot like Wolcott.
So I visited the front page of the following newspaper websites: NYT, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal,The Atlantic, Salon, Esquire, USA Today and Faux News.
I couldn't find a single mention of the GLOBAL "March Against Monsanto" that took place today in over 250 cities throughout the world. Corporate censorship or just not enough room on the page what with all the poonany crybaby bullshit to cover? I did find a short article in the L.A. Times but it basically held to the California angle talking about the defeat of Prop. 37. That makes one major U.S. newspaper covering a global event involving thousands of people protesting a highly controversial issue that certainly has not had the serious conversation it deserves.
Monsanto/Dupont/Cargill's tentacles stretch long and wide, suffocating institutions like universities, government agencies, and the press hops in bed as well.
So in case you had no idea this global protest was happening because your news provider is afraid of Monsanto's lashings, the Huffington Post took the time out of its day to do its job and cover today's news, and the article is quite informative to boot.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/25/march-against-monsanto-gmo-protest_n_3336627.html#slide=2185205
Correction: Make that two million people worldwide according to the AP.
Have pity on Mary Bono Mack. She just never could get ovah Sonny, what with his having been Mayor of Palm Springs and having a street named after him, and all like that. Even if he DID crash into a tree (while high) and die on a steep downhill ski slope. Connie Mack just did not have his panache--or whatevah! Plus I am guessing he will nevah have a street in Florida named after him.
safari––after reading the article you linked found this one from Mark Bittman of the Times, April of this year. Once again Congress has their dirty little paws all over regulations supporting corporations instead of looking after the environment and its inhabitants.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/why-do-g-m-o-s-need-protection/
Perhaps someone can enlighten me.
If a reporter goes to a govt employee's office, and the govt employee gives the reporter the government owned computer in the office to him or her. that's theft by taking--clearly an illegal act. But if the same govt employee gives the reporter classified information the reporter's not supposed to have, that's journalism. What's the difference?
@Barbarossa: at first blush, an interesting philosophical question. However, I think you base it on a false premise: that the government has some information that a journalist "is not supposed to have."
The Fourth Estate is called the Fourth Estate for a reason: it is presumed to be a critical component of society, particularly true in a democracy where the "princes of the state" -- i.e., the citizens -- rely on information to make judgments about the government.
In my opinion, the government has no information that journalists are not supposed to have. There are certain societal presumptions -- which can & do change -- about what information journalists should share with the public. The obvious instances where mores have changed were journalists' agreements not to reveal the extent of FDR's physical incapacity or anything about JFK's many paramours. Today, neither would be a secret.
If Michael Isikoff gets hold of my Social Security number & tax returns, there is no public interest in publishing them, so he won't. If he had found out that Navy Seals were about to raid Osama bin Laden's compound, he would surely have kept that secret, although he might have tried to negotiate some kind of exclusive or some other deal in exchange for his silence. But information about private individuals & secrets in the national interest aside, generally there is no information that a journalist should not (a) try to get & (b) if it's of interest, publish.
So where you compare stealing a piece of physical property to obtaining (& publishing) information, you're comparing apples & oranges. It's a false equivalency. Journalists can be prosecuted for stealing government pencils, but not for ferreting out government secrets. It's in the Constitooshun.
Marie
Good one, Marie. I would add the Uncle Gov has rubber stamped a ton of shit "TOP SECRET" simply to keep embarrassing fuck-ups from coming to light... can't site instances, but as a one-time perpetrator, oh yeah.
@Marie: Thanks. I was just curious.
@James Singer: Maybe some TOP SECRET docs are that type, but not all. What it boils down to is a journalist's ethics. Marie gives some good examples. She also mentioned previously that James Rosen was just trolling for classified information., which didn't look very ethical.