The Commentariat -- Nov. 29, 2015
Internal links removed.
CW: My postings will probably be rather sketchy over the next couple of days, but I'm hoping to be back in the saddle by early Tuesday.
Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "Colorado Springs, Colo., Mayor John Suthers said in an interview Sunday [on ABC's 'This Week'] that the fatal shooting spree at a Planned Parenthood clinic in his town appears to be an act of domestic terrorism." CW: That's a fairly gutsy admission for a Republican. (Suthers is a former Colorado attorney general & U.S. attorney who headed up the state's anti-terrorism unit after 9/11.) Maybe he didn't get the memo that he was just supposed to talk about the guy's mental illness & too bad the Planned Parenthood ladies weren't all armed with pretty pearl-handled pistols to shoot the killer. ...
... Alleged Colorado Gunman Cites Republican Talking Points,
Sources Say ...
... ** Pete Williams & Andrew Blankstein of NBC News: "In one statement, made after the suspect was taken in for questioning, Dear said 'no more baby parts' in reference to Planned Parenthood, two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case told NBC News. But the sources stressed that Dear said many things to law enforcement and the extent to which the 'baby parts' remark played into any decision to target the Planned Parenthood office was not yet clear. He also mentioned President Barack Obama in statements." CW: (A neighbor of Dear's has said, according to several reports, Dear approached him with anti-Obama literature. CW: What we need now is for national news outlets to print headlines like the one above. But of course they won't. ...
... AP: "Attorney General Loretta Lynch is calling the shootings in Colorado Springs a crime against women receiving health care services at Planned Parenthood." ...
... ** Valerie Tarico: "On November 27, a mass shooting left three dead and nine wounded at a Planned Parenthood clinic just miles from the headquarters of the Religious Right flagship, Focus on the Family. Was the shooting exactly what conservative Christian presidential candidates and members of congress wanted? Maybe, maybe not. But it is what they asked for. Republican members of the Religious Right incited violence as predictably as if they had issued a call for Christian abortion foes to take up arms. Inciting violence this way is called stochastic terrorism: 'Stochastic terrorism is the use of mass communications to incite random actors to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable. In short, remote-control murder by lone wolf.'” Thanks to asa watcher for the link. Also see commentary in yesterday's Comments thread. ...
... The Ultimate Inequality. Peter Holley of the Washington Post: Another white (alleged) murderer emerges alive after a shootout with police, while police gun down innocent black people like 12-year-old Tamir Rice & John Crawford III (shot by police in a WalMart while not pointing a toy gun at anybody). ...
... Emily Atkin of Think Progress: "Approximately 10 hours after a gunman went on a shooting rampage at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, only two presidential candidates have issued statements expressing support for either the three victims or the women’s health organization. Of the 17 candidates, only former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have put out public statements in response to the massacre, which lasted approximately five hours and resulted in the deaths of one police officer and two civilians." Meanwhile, at 8 pm ET Friday, hours into the siege, Marco Rubio sent a tweet that read, "Stay warm this winter with our new cold-weather bundle. Shop now and save!"In an update, Atkin notes that Ted Cruz sent out a "prayers" tweet Saturday morning. Meanwhile, at 8 pm ET, Marco Rubio sent a tweet that reads, "Stay warm this winter with our new cold-weather bundle. Shop now and save!" ...
... Yeah BUT, at least one Republican spoke out. Daniel Politi of Slate: "While police officers were still engaging with the shooter at the Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs on Friday, one Republican lawmaker apparently thought the best thing to do was criticize the organization during an interview on CNN. 'We saw these barbaric videos, and that was something that many of us have a legitimate concern about,' Rep. Adam Kinzinger [Illinois] said. He was, of course, referring to the widely discredited videos that claim to show Planned Parenthood executives profiting from harvesting fetal tissue. Kinzinger also criticized Planned Parenthood for issuing a statement on the incident that broadly criticized 'extremists' and 'a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism.'" He also demanded an apology from Planned Parenthood if it turned out the shooter was not targeting the organization. "Many were quick to blast not only Kinzinger but also CNN for inviting a known Planned Parenthood critic while police were still trying to apprehend the gunman." ...
... Kevin Sullivan, et al., of the Washington Post: Robert Lewis "Dear, 57, the man in custody in connection with Friday’s shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, appears to have been a malcontent who drifted from place to place. In the past couple of years, in addition to [a] shack [in Black Mountain, North Carolina], he also lived in a mobile home in another town in North Carolina and a camper in Colorado, which he shared with a woman who moved with him from the East Coast.... He had a history of run-ins with neighbors and police, including arrests for cruelty to animals and being a 'peeping Tom.' He was not convicted in either case." ...
... Kevin Mitchell of the Denver Post has more on Dear's background. The New York Times story, by Julie Turkewitz & Benjamin Mueller, is here. The Times story also has reactions from residents who were in the vicinity of the shooting & stand-off. ...
... Josiah Hesse & Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "On Saturday, Colorado Springs mayor John Suthers told reporters authorities were not ready to discuss a possible motive for the shooting, but said people could make 'inferences from where it took place'.” ...
... The Colorado Springs Gazette: "Robert Lewis Dear ... is in jail on a no-bond hold. Dear’s first court appearance scheduled for Monday at 1:30...."
Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "... on Sunday night [President Obama] arrives in Paris, hoping to make climate policy the signature environmental achievement of his, and perhaps any, presidency.... In Paris, Mr. Obama will join more than 120 world leaders to kick off two weeks of negotiations aimed at forging a new climate change accord that would, for the first time, commit almost every country on Earth to lowering its greenhouse gas pollution. All year, Mr. Obama’s negotiators have worked behind the scenes to fashion a Paris deal.... During the course of the Paris talks, Republicans in Congress are planning a series of votes to fight Mr. Obama’s climate agenda. More than half the states are suing the administration on the legality of his climate plan. And all the Republican presidential candidates have said that they would undo the regulations if elected."
Katie Williams of the Hill: "President Obama and his daughters on Saturday visited an independent Washington bookstore as the first family marked Small Business Saturday...."
Presidential Race
Abby Phillip of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton will unveil the largest plank of her economic agenda in the coming weeks, proposing hundreds of billions of dollars in spending, primarily on infrastructure projects, according to campaign aides."
Politico: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's campaign for the Republican nomination gained some traction late Saturday with an endorsement from New Hampshire's Union Leader, traditionally the most respected newspaper voice in the first-in-the-nation primary state.... The Union Leader endorsed Newt Gingrich in 2012, and John McCain in 2008."
The New, "Diplomatic Donald." Reuters: "... Donald Trump on Saturday reframed his claim that he saw Muslims in Jersey City, New Jersey, cheering the attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001 by asserting the sentiment was shared worldwide. 'Worldwide, the Muslims were absolutely going wild,' the real estate mogul said at a campaign rally in Sarasota, Florida.... 'I would never mock a person that has a disability,' Trump told the cheering crowd.... [He] urged his audience to be polite to a heckler who briefly brought the Sarasota event to a halt. 'Be nice to the person. Don’t hurt the person,' he instructed the crowd, which cheered him loudly when he told security personnel to escort the heckler from the room. 'Do you see how diplomatic I’ve become?'... In the past five days, he dropped 12 points from 43 percent to 31 percent [in a Reuters/Ipsos], although he continues to hold a wide lead over his competitors.”
CarsonCare! Doc Ben's Excellent Plan. Isaac Arnsdorf & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Long before he considered a presidential bid..., [Ben Carson] envisioned building [a charity] into an endowment that would generate enough interest income to cover uninsured patients expenses for neurological surgeries and other medical costs. He even pitched the idea to a congressional subcommittee in 2006.... But ... the national fund did not materialize, and over nine years of operation, Angels of the OR [Operating Room] generated less than $150,000 for patient care.... Angels of the OR spent $1.03 million during its life span, and at least 53 percent of its funds went to salaries and fundraising costs, according to Politico’s review of its records.... Experts in nonprofit management ... said Angels of the OR never developed a sound business plan and spent much of its early income on fundraising and personnel rather than patients." CW: So another Ben Carson scam.
Beyond the Beltway
Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times: "... a small group of rich [people] — not just from Chicago, but also from New York City and Los Angeles, southern Florida and Texas — have poured tens of millions of dollars into the state [of Illinois], a concentration of political money without precedent in Illinois history. Their wealth has forcefully shifted the state’s balance of power. Last year, the families helped elect as governor Bruce Rauner..., who estimates his own fortune at more than $500 million. Now they are rallying behind Mr. Rauner’s agenda: to cut spending and overhaul the state’s pension system, impose term limits and weaken public employee unions.... The families remaking Illinois are among a small group around the country who have channeled their extraordinary wealth into political power, taking advantage of regulatory, legal and cultural shifts that have carved new paths for infusing money into campaigns. Economic winners in an age of rising inequality, operating largely out of public view, they are reshaping government with fortunes so large as to defy the ordinary financial scale of politics."
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Reader Comments (12)
Even with NPD, how does he do it? I and probably a million or more saw him mock the disabled reporter but he didn't do it! Oh wait, if he apologized that would mean he made a mistake. He has no problem making an obvious lie, rather than a admit he made a mistake. I mean he is incapable of making a mistake. Serious sick. When will our semi real media do real reporting?
And on another matter, anyone have an idea why Colorado won't release the names of the two dead victims until after the autopsy? I do have an idea but I don't want to look delusional.
@Marvin,
I think you're probably wondering the cause of the "civilian's" demise. Was it the Dear shooter or the militarized force in blue?
The usual reason for withholding victims names is "pending notification of next of kin." In this case it's probably to determine the type and source of ammunition.
Let's hope this doesn't turn into another whitewash or conspiracy. The unfortunate victims deserve better than being collateral damage.
@Marvin Schwalb & @Unwashed: Of course I have no more idea than you do (& likely less), but if I were a family member of a victim & we lived in Conservo-rado (Colorado Springs is notoriously RED), I might not want it to be known, for a number of reasons, that a relative was a Planned Parenthood patient. I'm guessing some family members might have requested a delay in releasing the names until the news of this latest atrocity moves off the front pages. The public does have a right to know but not necessarily right this minute.
Marie
A kiss of death endorsement?????
Chris Christie Gets Coveted NH Union-Leader Endorsement
" After the paper endorsed Newt Gingrich in the 2012 primary, ...(.he) ultimately finished 4th in the primary. The paper endorsed John McCain in 2008." Not seeing a win-win, yet!
Also..."The paper supported Pete Dupont in 1988, Pat Buchanan in 1992 and 1996, and Steve Forbes in 2000 — none of whom went on to win the GOP nomination. But they picked a winner when they chose Ronald Reagan in 1980."
Well, whoopee on the latter!
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/chris-christie-gets-coveted-nh-union-leader-endorsement-n470756
Marie, we are on the same track on this, I was wondering if any of the victims were pregnant.
Remember that "democracy with a small d," the expression that emphasized the paramount role of the people in our experiment in self-government?
Each day that small d vision seems a little more precious and out of touch.
Like today in this NYTimes article about the rapidly developing oligarchic lineaments of Illinois government:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/30/us/politics/illinois-campaign-money
Guess all our problems can be laid at the feet of Planned Parenthood and public sector unions.
Who knew?
Last night I watched "The Jinx," the excellent documentary about Robert Durst and thought what a great character for someone like Patricia Highsmith. Then this morning saw the Frank Rich piece that Marie posted on Infotainment and as a reprieve from shootings, and bad politics I gave it a go. What a wonderful in- depth look at Highsmith and the new film, "Carol" based on her story, "The Price of Salt." I discovered Highsmith after watching "Strangers on a Train" (one of Hitchcock's best) based on one of her stories. I found the theme so intriguing that I had to find out who wrote the script. Rich's piece covers much about how our culture dealt with homosexuality back in Highsmith's time (she was a lesbian) and the following sentence referring to Todd Haynes, the director of "Carol" and his other very good film, "Far from Heaven" that is being referred to here.
. "Haynes is a gay man, but his greatest empathy was reserved for Moore’s[Jullianne Moore] trapped wife. As he has said, the closeted husband, “a white man in hiding,” still had more freedom to maneuver and get what he wanted than either a black man or a white woman in America before the dawn of the modern civil-rights and feminist movements".
Read it if you have time––it's good and it's Frank Rich at his best.
And once more I will post this because it speaks so well to what we have going in this country at this time: ( from 2011)
** David Rothkopf of Foreign Policy: "... no society that holds itself up as
an example to the world should, as the United States does, brazenly shrug
off what are clearly deep national character flaws when it comes to our love
of guns or our celebration of hate politics. Tragedies like that which
unfolded in Arizona[ let us count the ways] this weekend not only wound the victims, but also
America's ability to lead and to advance our interests and values
worldwide.... We are not talking about the aberrant behavior of a lone
gunman here. Instead we should see that what we are discussing are grossly
uncivilized aspects of American society, aspects of ourselves that we ought
to change not because we fall below international norms, but because we fall
so short of doing what is right, moral, or sensible."
A suggestion: Let's round up all of our gun crazed domestic terrorists and deport them to Syria. Then bring an equal number of Syrian refugees here.
https://youtu.be/QkjD3D5FgmE
Thank you, PD Pepe, for the superb Rothkopf quote. ( I believe his surname translates to "red head": Wonder if he is/was one. :) )
RE: Highsmith ("The Talented Mr. Ripley"!), the November 30th New Yorker has a piece, by Margaret Talbot, titled " Forbidden Love - The Passions Behind Patricia Highsmith's "The Price of Salt" ", which might also be of interest to you.
(I'm a great admirer of Todd Haynes' work.)
Cheers -
@Marvin ...interesting, isn't it. At this point we know one officer and 'two civilians' have been killed. BUT, I have yet to see, to read the gender of the two civilians, much less where they were killed? The parking lot? inside Planned Parenthood?
What? Nobody know these answers. C'mon!
Is someone trying to work up a self-serving PR announcement?
MAG, my hypothesis is that these confederates from Colorado are trying to make the truth go away, because the truth is they are responsible for these deaths. I can't believe that two guys happened to get shot dead and there is no info. 'We don't know his motive' is a lie.
Planned Parenthood just sent me this email message.
To those who go to unimaginable extremes to close our doors:
We deplore your violence.
We reject your threats.
We fight your legislation to limit reproductive rights and health care in every corner of our country.
We believe your actions and words hurt women — whether by making it impossible to seek health care or by creating a climate of disrespect and hostility that fosters extremist violence.
We demand an end to the incendiary rhetoric from anti-abortion activists and lawmakers that demonizes Planned Parenthood doctors and patients. The smear campaign and false accusations that motivated the attack in Colorado Springs must stop.
We aren't going anywhere. Planned Parenthood has been here for nearly 100 years, and we will keep being here as long as women, men, and young people need health care with dignity.
To those who go to shocking extremes to close our doors, know this:
These doors stay open.