The Commentariat -- Sept. 15, 2014

Internal links, photo removed.

Steve M. has two excellent post's -- here and here -- comparing Fox "News"'s "reporting" on the reactions of President Obama & British PM David Cameron (Friend of Rupert ) to the beheading of their citizens by ISIS terrorists. ...

... Manu Raju, et al., of the Politico on the extraordinary efforts President Obama, Vice President Biden & Congressional leaders are making to get Congressional authorization to provide support to Syrian rebels. "What prompted the developments, a White House official said, were high-level discussions with Syria's neighbors about 'cooperating and hosting' a program to train and equip the rebels since the president first requested the change in the law back in June. 'We were finally able to secure high-level Saudi commitments to host the program during [national security advisor] Lisa Monaco's meetings on Sunday,' [a White House] official said." ...

... Michael Gordon of the New York Times: "Several Arab countries have offered to carry out airstrikes against militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, senior State Department officials said Sunday. The offer was disclosed by American officials traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry, who is approaching the end of a weeklong trip that was intended to mobilize international support for the campaign against ISIS."

Katie Glueck of Politico: "White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said on Sunday the administration 'didn't threaten' with prosecution the families of two American journalists slain by an extremist group, as the families have alleged. Families of journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley have ... [said] the federal government ... threatened prosecution. 'In terms of what was communicated to the families, in the midst of many, many meetings over the course of this very difficult circumstance, we obviously made clear what the law is,' McDonough said on 'Fox News Sunday.' ... As a father, McDonough said, he personally feels deeply for the families and the 'very difficult circumstances' they are experiencing."

** E. J. Dionne on the Congressional debates preceding the first U.S.-Iraq War. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) "proposes a two-step process involving, first, quick congressional approval of Obama's proposal to train and arm Syrian rebels, and then broader debate about the president's overall policy after the country votes on Nov. 4." CW: Something I forgot: "Without congressional authorization, Bush had already sent 500,000 U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia to prepare for war. He insisted he did not need Congress's approval to put them into action. His request for a resolution was essentially a courtesy. It came just a week before the deadline he had set for Saddam to withdraw from Kuwait -- and, as it happened, just nine days before the war started [on January 17, 1991]. ...

... Here, BTW, is Bush I's Secretary of State James Baker, speaking on "Meet the Press" Sunday:

... Martin Longman of the Washington Monthly on "bedwetter" Sen. Lindsay's Graham's [R-S.C.] claim that Americans "will be killed here at home" if President Obama is allowed to follow his "disingenuous & delusional" plan to degrade ISIS: "There really in no excuse for a 59 year old man to not be housebroken. The idea that we are all going to get killed if the president doesn't immediately send ground troops to Iraq and Syria is the intellectual equivalent of having night terrors about monsters in your closet and under your bed."

Ari Berman of the Nation: "Late Friday afternoon, a panel of Democrat-appointed judges on the Sixth Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction from a Democrat-appointed district court judge striking down Ohio's cuts to early voting. Two hours earlier, however, a trio of Republican-appointed judges on the Seventh Circuit overturned an injunction from a Democratic judge blocking Wisconsin's voter ID law. This is why elections matter. And the courts are increasingly becoming the arbiters of who does and does not get to participate in them." (Emphasis added.) ...

     ... Rick Hasen: The Wisconsin decision "is a big, big mistake for election administration reasons (regardless of how the court ultimately comes out) and I expect now an emergency motion to the Supreme Court, based upon Purcell v. Gonzalez, to stop this change. I think there's a decent chance the Supreme Court could intervene on this, even if the Court ultimately is likely to reject the constitutional and Voting Rights Act challenges to this ruling." (See also Hasen's comments to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, linked in Saturday's Commentariat.) ...

... Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Democrats have reversed the partisan imbalance on the federal appeals courts that long favored conservatives, a little-noticed shift with far-reaching consequences for the law and President Obama's legacy. For the first time in more than a decade, judges appointed by Democratic presidents considerably outnumber judges appointed by Republican presidents. The Democrats' advantage has only grown since late last year when they stripped Republicans of their ability to filibuster the president's nominees.... With control of the Senate at stake in November's midterm elections, the success of Democrats in reshaping the courts is a reminder of the subtle power that the majority party has even in a moribund Congress."

Jonathan Chait takes exception with Thomas Frank's "polemic" against political science (linked here yesterday): "He argues that political science has always run Washington and that political science is the main problem with Washington. Frank is tellingly wrong on all these things, but in one way he is dead-on: He has correctly identified the field of political science as the true enemy of his worldview." ...

... CW: For what it's worth, I think Chait's analysis of reasons for the 1994 election results is off-base, too. What really shifted the balance of power -- and it was a decades-long shift that's still ongoing -- was civil rights legislation & "liberal" court decisions of the 1950s, '60s & '70s. The majority of people are inherently conservative, selfish & miserly. These selfish people are "liberal" only when they belong to a group that the majority has excluded or disadvantaged; i.e., when it's in their self-interest to vote "liberal." And they are tribal. Conservative Roman Catholics voted for Jack Kennedy. Conservative Southerners voted for Jimmy Carter. Once. Barack Obama won in 2008 because of the confluence of extraordinary circumstances: (a) of the financial crisis, & (b) a singularly unappealing Republican opponent (& his Hillbilly sidekick), & (c) the unpopularity of Dubya's actions, not the least of which was starting the Iraq War. Obama won in 2012 because -- voters are conservative: they (fairly narrowly) danced with the one that brung 'em. One might argue that the outlier in this pattern was Bill Clinton (the guy Frank criticizes for moving Democrats to the right), but even that isn't true. Besides pulling down a good deal of the tribal Southern vote, Clinton got a tremendous assist from crazy Ross Perot, who directly appealed to people's selfish tendencies. The sitting president, George H. W. Bush, had two strikes against him.

NEW. Charles Pierce comments, in hilarious fashion, on the contretemps over the remains of Saint-in-Waiting & Dead TeeVee Personality Fulton Sheen.

Isla Bennie of Reuters: "Pope Francis married 20 couples on Sunday, some of whom had already lived together and had children, in the latest sign that the Argentine pontiff wants the Catholic church to be more open and inclusive."

Paul Krugman: "Clearly, economics as a discipline went badly astray in the years -- actually decades -- leading up to the [2008 economic] crisis. But the failings of economics were greatly aggravated by the sins of economists, who far too often let partisanship or personal self-aggrandizement trump their professionalism. Last but not least, economic policy makers systematically chose to hear only what they wanted to hear. And it is this multilevel failure -- not the inadequacy of economics alone -- that accounts for the terrible performance of Western economies since 2008."

Mike Florio of NBC Sports: "According to multiple [National Football L]eague sources, [Ray] Rice will appeal the indefinite suspension on Monday. The appeal will be handled by the NFLPA and by an outside lawyer retained by Rice."

Martin Longman on Rep. Mark Sanford's Facebook break-up with his fiancée Maria Belen Chapur: "... one does wonder how awful a Republican would have to behave to get kicked out of office in the Palmetto State."

In the interest of fair, both-sides linking, here is the Palin family's version of the infamous Saturday night brawl, according to "a source close to the Palin family," via Scott Conroy of Real Clear Politicis. CW: It sure took a long time for the Palins to come up with their spin on this yarn, which goes like this: a former boyfriend of Willow's started the fight; he tried to get into the Palins' stretch Hummer, & a gang of four men -- including the boyfriend -- attacked Track, who ended up with four cracked ribs. Todd joined the melee & the gang of meanies bloodied him. Sarah, "in full mama grizzly mode," yelled, "Don't you know who he is? He's a vet!" Also, Bristol couldn't have a "mean right hook" because she's left-handed. Definitely need that video. ...

... NEW. Jeanne Devon of the Mudflats weighs in, adding some details & lots of context. Thanks to James S. for the link.

Capitalism Is Awesome. Jessica Roy of New York: "Urban Outfitters, the official clothing store of Outrage Twitter, reached a new low yesterday when shoppers noticed that the site was selling a 'vintage' Kent State sweatshirt, complete with blood spatter. The Ohio university was the site of the 1970 Kent State shooting, when the Ohio National Guard killed four students during a peace protest." Do read on. (CW: Clicking on the link to the e-bay auction page for the sweatshirt doesn't work. Maybe somebody had a change of heart.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

T. Bogg: "America's Most Annoying Neighborhood Kid™, Luke Russert, tried out and made NBC;s Meet the Press team this week.... Friday, Chuck 'Figure It Out For Yourself' Todd emailed his NBC/MSNBC colleagues excitedly announcing that young master Luke would be joining the MTP cast -- which, as I am sure you are aware and will be made aware no matter how much you try to avoid it -- where Luke's father [editors note to nerds: not Darth Vader] used to totally rule. It's just like The Lion King, but with self-important large-headed people instead of adorable cartoon lions and meerkats." ...

... T. Bogg helpfully provides Simba's MTP "audition tape":

Evan McMurry of Mediaite: "In his new guise as a political commentator for CNN, former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney dished out conventional wisdom on State of the Union Sunday morning, which in this case meant diagnosing the Democrats' chances in the upcoming midterms as poor."

Congressional Elections, Etc.

I've studied all the polls and I really believe that we're still in a zone where they're all real close and it depends on who decides to show. And our side's not used to voting in midterms. We gotta get used to it. There's a lot at stake. -- Bill Clinton, in Iowa yesterday

... Greg Sargent on Senate race polling/odds: "The Washington Post and New York Times forecasts have tightened considerably, with the WaPo Election Lab showing the GOP with a 50 percent chance of taking the Senate and the NYT Upshot putting it at 52 percent. FiveThirtyEight gives the GOP a 58 percent chance, but the poll-focused models run by Sam Wang and HuffPollster give Dems roughly the same-sized edge.... CNN will release a poll today that finds the New Hampshire battle between Dem Senator Jeanne Shaheen and GOP challenger Scott Brown is all tied up at 48-48. However, Reid Wilson reports that the DSCC will release a poll showing Shaheen up by 51-43."

Kentucky Democratic nominee Alison Grimes is running against Mitch McConnell AND Barack Obama. It's a good ad:

** Arizona GOP Leader Would Sterilize Poor People. Resigns over Controversy. Yvonne Sanchez of the Arizona Republic: "Former [state] Sen. Russell Pearce, who has recently served as the Arizona Republican Party's first vice chair, resigned his post late Sunday in the wake of criticism from powerful GOP candidates about contraception.... Pearce [spoke on] his talk-radio program on KKNT 960 AM [recently] ... about changes he would make to the state's public assistance programs and was quoted in the Democratic Party's news release as saying: 'You put me in charge of Medicaid, the first thing I'd do is get Norplant, birth-control implants, or tubal ligations.... Then we'll test recipients for drugs and alcohol, and if you want to [reproduce] or use drugs or alcohol, then get a job.' In his [resignation] statement, Pearce wrote that during [the] recent radio show ... he 'shared comments written by someone else and failed to attribute them to the author.' ... Pearce, best known for his role in passing the state's hard-line immigration law Senate Bill 1070, served as Arizona Senate president before he was recalled in 2011." CW: Ah, well. He's just an accidental plagiarist. He's not really into sterilizing the poor; he just promotes the idea. And congrats to GOP candidates for condemning his remarks -- after Democrats highlighted their silence on Pearce's policy proposal/"mistake."

Marc Caputo of the Miami Herald: Fielding criticism about "a cigar-smoking boys-only 'roundtable' he held," Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Fla.), in a tight race against Democrat Gwen Graham, "wondered why the press isn't asking ... Graham about whether she ever attended a ladies-only 'lingerie shower.' ... Paging Dr. Freud." Via Steve Benen.

John Eligon of the New York Times: "Although every statewide elected official in Kansas is a Republican and President Obama lost the state by more than 20 points in the last election, [Gov. Sam] Brownback's proudly conservative policies have turned out to be so divisive and his tax cuts have generated such a drop in state revenue that they have caused even many Republicans to revolt."

Presidential Election

Amy Chozick & Jonathan Martin: Hillary & Bill Clinton go to Tom Harkin's steak fry. CW: Like déjà vu all over again. Pretty depressing. ...

... Roger Simon of Politico: "'Hello, Iowa!' says Hillary Clinton, who has not set foot in Iowa for six years and eight months, and in fact, until quite recently has loathed the place. She cautiously enunciates each word from her prepared text, even the jokes. She is careful, modulated, meticulous. She is Hillary."CW: It seems that Roger saw a different show from the one Amy & Jonathan were watching. The NYT reporters characterize Bill Clinton as dominating the event; Simon sez just the opposite. But then that might be expected, given that ...

NEW. There were more than a hundred reporters, camera-people, a human centipede of boom microphones waiting by a chain link fence, waiting for Hillary Clinton to grill a steak. Yes, Hillary Clinton and dead meat. The conventional wisdom at the moment is that the Democratic presidential field for 2016 is pretty much the same thing. -- Charles Pierce (Read the whole post.)

... Benjamin Bell of ABC News: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may be headlining Sen. Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry today, but the longtime progressive senator indicated that shouldn't be taken as an endorsement should she decide to run for president in 2016. Harkin, who is retiring after 30 years in the Senate and was hosting his last annual Steak Fry today, said progressives should raise questions about Clinton's foreign policy and economic positions."

Arit John of the Atlantic: "During a talk with the New Hampshire chapter of Generation Opportunity (a millennial-focused group best known for using a creepy Uncle Sam mascot to convince people not to enroll in Obamacare) a young man asked [Sen. Rand] Paul if he would repeal any executive orders. 'I think the first executive order that I would issue would be to repeal all previous executive orders,' Paul said, according to Breitbart.... [This left] "the impression that ... Paul ... would want to repeal all executive orders as president, probably because he said that he would repeal all executive orders if he was president. But as a Paul aide told The Huffington Post, the senator didn't mean to be taken at his word." ...

... Steve Benen: "By one account, Paul's vow to repeal all previous executive orders was met with 'booming cheers' from his conservative audience." ...

... CW Translation/Explanation of Paul's, Aide's Remarks: Paul was addressing a fringe group in the first state to hold a presidential primary. Naturally, he told the wackos what they wanted to hear. It isn't lying. It's retail politics. ...

... Benen, Ctd.: "It's worth noting that executive orders have been issued to advance some worthy causes over the years. The Emancipation Proclamation, for example, was one of Lincoln's executive orders. Truman ended racial discrimination in the military through an executive order. Ford banned political assassinations through an executive order."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Glenn Greenwald & Ryan Gallagher of the Intercept: "The New Zealand spy agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), worked in 2012 and 2013 to implement a mass metadata surveillance system even as top government officials publicly insisted no such program was being planned and would not be legally permitted. Documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden show that the government worked in secret to exploit a new internet surveillance law enacted in the wake of revelations of illegal domestic spying to initiate a new metadata collection program that appeared designed to collect information about the communications of New Zealanders. Those actions are in direct conflict with the assurances given to the public by Prime Minister John Key..., who said the law was merely designed to fix 'an ambiguous legal framework.'..." ...

... Edward Snowden, in the Intercept: "... any statement that mass surveillance is not performed in New Zealand, or that the internet communications are not comprehensively intercepted and monitored, or that this is not intentionally and actively abetted by the GCSB, is categorically false." ...

... Philip Dorling of the Sydney Morning Herald: "The latest disclosures from top secret documents leaked by Mr Snowden come in the context of the final stages of New Zealand's election campaign where New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has been under pressure to explain the extent of GCSB's surveillance activities. On Sunday Mr Key stridently attacked US journalist Glen[n] Greenwald." ...

... Adam Bennett of the New Zealand Herald: "Snowden ... appeared by video link before a capacity crowd at the Kim Dotcom organised Moment of Truth event at Auckland Town Hall this evening.... Visiting US journalist Glen[n] Greenwald who has made the same claims and who introduced Snowden to the audience of about 1700.... Snowden began his talk with the claim the NSA had a facility in Auckland and went on to expand on his article in which he said: 'If you live in New Zealand, you are being watched.' ... Information about New Zealand communications was available [to the NSA] simply by clicking on a check box in [NSA] software [called XKEYSTROKE]. This evening to huge cheers he told the audience that if political leaders were 'going to use check boxes against us... election time is when we get to check boxes about them.''' ...

... CW: So now Eddie is explicitly working to bring down the government of a U.S. ally. Okay. ...

... Key & Dotcom have a history.

Nicholas Watt, et al., of the Guardian: The Queen [of England & Scotland! & Other Places] made a rare intervention on the political stage when she expressed the hope that voters will 'think very carefully about the future' before the Scottish independence referendum on Thursday. As [British PM] David Cameron prepares to issue a warning in Scotland that a vote for independence will lead to a permanent split from the UK, campaigners for the union welcomed the Queen's remarks.... The comments by the Queen came as she left Crathie Kirk near her Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire after the Sunday morning service. The Queen told a well-wisher: 'Well, I hope people will think very carefully about the future.'" ...

... Telegraph: "Most polls show a small lead for No, but opinion has shifted sharply in the past month, and twice in the past fortnight pollsters have put Yes ahead."

The Commentariat -- Sept. 14, 2014

Internal links removed.

The World According to Chicken Little. Igor Volsky of Think Progress: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) blasted President Barack Obama's plan to defeat ISIS during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, calling the commander-in-chief 'disingenuous and delusional' and warning that Americans will be 'killed here at home' unless he sends ground troops into Iraq and Syria to defeat the terrorist threat."

Peter Baker of the New York Times on President Obama's private remarks re: the steps leading up to his speech to the nation on his plans to "destroy" ISIS. ...

... Rebecca Kaplan of CBS News: "Secretary of State John Kerry backtracked on the language he had used to describe the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, also known as ISIL), saying in an interview on CBS' 'Face the Nation' Sunday that, 'we are at war' with the group." See yesterday's Commentariat for context. Seems "war" is the new White House buzzword.

Raya Jalabi of the Guardian: "Islamic State (Isis) militants have released a video showing the apparent beheading of a British hostage, David Haines. Site, an intelligence group, which was the first to report US journalist Steven Sotloff's beheading last month, confirmed the video's release. In the video, entitled A Message to the Allies of America, a masked man is shown carrying out the beheading of Haines, whose life had earlier been threatened in a video showing the murder of ... Sotloff." ...

... Rowena Mason of the Guardian: "Britain stands ready to take 'whatever steps are necessary' to help an international push to destroy the 'evil' extremist group that murdered British aid worker David Haines, [British PM] David Cameron has said. In an emotional statement in Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee to discuss the killing, the prime minister hailed Haines as a 'British hero' and vowed to 'hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice no matter how long it takes'." ...

... The New York Times story, by Rukmini Callimachi &Kimiko de Freytax-Tamura, is here. It has been updated. ...

... Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The White House believes that Congress's 2002 authorization of the Iraq war -- and not just the 2001 authorization to fight Al Qaeda -- provides a legal justification for President Obama's air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the Obama administration said Friday. The White House has not issued a formal analysis of its legal thinking, but the disclosure adds to an evolving public understanding of its theory about the basis for the strikes against ISIS." ...

... Michael Gordon & David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times: "Secretary of State John Kerry received broad assurances but no public commitments from Egypt on Saturday as he continued his tour of the Middle East to try to assemble a coalition behind an American campaign against [ISIS].... In Baghdad, meanwhile, the new prime minister ... said Saturday that he had ordered the Iraqi security forces to stop 'the indiscriminate shelling' of civilian communities under the control of the militants. Together, the professions of good intentions in Baghdad and Cairo underscored the long road ahead for the Obama administration...." ...

... David Sanger & Julie Davis of the New York Times: "The Obama administration is struggling to cut off the millions of dollars in oil revenue that has made the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria one of the wealthiest terror groups in history, but so far has been unable to persuade Turkey, the NATO ally where much of the oil is traded on the black market, to crack down on an extensive sales network." ...

... Ken Dilanian of the AP: "Islamic State militants, who once relied on wealthy Persian Gulf donors for money, have become a self-sustaining financial juggernaut, earning more than $3 million a day from oil smuggling, human trafficking, theft and extortion, according to U.S. intelligence officials and private experts."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.
Rise of the Know-It-Alls

NEW. Ezra Klein, Chief Know-It-All: "Perhaps the single best thing that's happened to political journalism in the time I've been doing it is the rise of political science." CW Note: Any article that contains the phrase "the late, great David Broder," unless appearing in an ironical context, is probably bollocks. ...

... NEW. Thomas Frank, Chief Rebuttal Witness, in Salon: "Not only does Washington routinely fill the No. 1 spot on those 'most educated cities' articles, but the town positively seethes with academic experts. Indeed, it is the only city I know of that actually boasts a sizable population of fake experts, handing out free-market wisdom to passers-by from their subsidized seats at Cato and Heritage. The characteristic failing of D.C. isn't that it ignores these herds of experts, it's that it attends to them with a gaping credulity that they do not deserve." Thanks to James S. for the link.

Marie's Sports Report

NEW. CW: TMZ -- and nobody else -- reports that the Carolina Panthers have "deactivated" defensive end Greg Hardy, who is appealing his misdemeanor conviction for physically assaulting & threatening to kill a woman. See links in yesterday's Commentariat .

** Kent Babb & Adam Goldman of the Washington Post: The NFL, "America’s most popular sports league..., generat[es] about $10 billion in annual revenue, and behind the scenes is an intricate and largely secretive three-layered security force -- mainly comprised of former federal agents -- in charge of staying in front of the league's problems. Its emphases are swiftness and thoroughness, its tentacles reaching into states even without an NFL team, its code mostly one of silence. And while its agents can help keep bad actors from ever getting to the league by vetting them beforehand, they are equally if not more valuable in funnelling information back to the league office once problems occur to help make sure NFL leaders are not caught off guard." ...

... CW: AND TMZ, a celebrity-watcher outfit, breached this wall. This report further illuminates how farcical is the NFL's "internal investigation" -- many in the NFL security team are ex-FBI agents, some of them high-ranking. The NFL chose former FBI director Robert Mueller -- who would have worked directly with these top FBI grads -- to "investigate" them. (Mueller already was known to have deep ties to the NFL & Ravens management. This just adds another layer to the cover-up.) ...

... A War Game for a Warring Nation. Mark Edmundson in the Los Angeles Times: "Football is a warlike game and we are now a warlike nation. Our love for football is a love, however self-aware, of ourselves as a fighting and (we hope) victorious people.... The rise of football over baseball is about a change in America's self-image.... Plato fears that we become what we behold." ...

... Jonathan Zimmerman in a Los Angeles Times op-ed: "For the last century, schools and colleges have tried to modify the [football] game so fewer people get hurt. And it hasn't worked." ...

... CW: There are, obviously, direct connections among (1) playing a war game from the time you're 11; (2) regularly getting your brains bashed, (3) the trappings of celebrity that come with the game (even at the high-school level), (4) the remuneration -- or potential remuneration for playing the game well; (5) the value of a player to his team's bottom line, & (6) domestic violence. Every "institution of learning" that has a football team is molding young sociopaths, some percentage of whom -- because of football-related brain damage -- really cannot control themselves. Most Americans, myself included, contribute or have contributed to perpetuating this ring of violence. ...

... Maureen Dowd: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had a model in his father Charles of a profile in courage. He has no excuse for his own slimy behavior.

God News

Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "Since [Roman Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen's] death in 1979, his remains have been sealed in a white marble crypt at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, the city where he spent much of his life. And though the Peoria diocese says it was promised the remains, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, who considers Archbishop Sheen something of a personal hero, has refused to part with them, citing the wishes of the archbishop and his family. Now the dispute over Archbishop Sheen's corpse has brought a halt to his rise to sainthood, just as he appeared close to beatification, the final stage before canonization. Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, Peoria's leader, announced this month that the process had been suspended because New York would not release the body."

Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God. -- Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the fully armed; because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. -- Pat Robertson 9:2014

"So Help Me, God." Stephen Losey of the Air Force Times: "An atheist airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada has until November to change his mind and swear a reenlistment oath to God, the Air Force said. The unnamed airman was denied reenlistment Aug. 25 for refusing to take an oath that concludes with the phrase 'so help me God,' the American Humanist Association said in a Sept. 2 letter to the inspectors general for the Air Force and Creech." ...

... Air Force Finds Constitution Irrelevant. Steve Benen: "In the Army and Navy, Americans have the discretion to omit [the words "so help me God." The Air Force, however, has a different 'interpretation' of Pentagon regulations.... It's worth noting that the U.S. Constitution -- the one the military supports and defends, and which trumps Defense Department regulations and forms -- says quite explicitly that 'no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.' To date, the Air Force has found this unpersuasive." ...

... Brad Knickerbocker of the Christian Science Monitor: "The US Air Force has gotten itself into a bureaucratic, legal, and public relations snarl over what would seem to be a simple thing: Four words included in its reenlistment oath."

When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.... -- Leviticus 19:33-34

... Strangers in the Land of the South: David Wren of the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Sun News: "Reginald Wayne Miller, the president of Cathedral Bible College, was arrested Thursday on accusations that he forces foreign students at his school to work long hours for low wages and then threatens to revoke their student visas if they complain or fail to comply with his demands. Via Steve Benen.

Congressional Races

NEW. Rick Hasen: "A three judge panel of the Sixth Circuit has just issued this order denying Ohio's request to put on hold a district court order requiring Ohio to restore early voting days (including 'Golden Week') which the Republican legislature tried to cut.... All the judges in the Sixth Circuit today were Democrat-appointed."

Martin Longman of the Washington Monthly on Bill Maher's choice of targeting John Kline (RTP-Minn.) in his "Let's Flip a District" gag: "John Kline has a reputation as a moderate but he votes with the teabaggers all the time. All the Democrats need is for his constituents to become aware of how radical his recent voting record really is and they toss him out in favor of Some Dude." See yesterday's Commentariat for context.

Southern Gothic, Ctd.
A Week in Paris

Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: Rep. Mark Sanford's (R-S.C.) former fiancee, Maria Belen Chapur said she had asked him to make their break public, but that Mr. Sanford did not warn her before announcing it on Facebook on Friday, catching her off guard. 'I learned it from the press today,' she said Saturday."

News Ledes

AP: "North Korea's Supreme Court on Sunday sentenced a 24-year-old American man to six years of hard labor for entering the country illegally and trying to commit espionage. At a trial that lasted about 90 minutes, the court said Matthew Miller, of Bakersfield, California, tore up his tourist visa at Pyongyang's airport upon arrival on April 10 and admitted to having the "wild ambition" of experiencing prison life so that he could secretly investigate North Korea's human rights situation."

The Commentariat -- Sept. 13, 2014

Internal links, defunct video removed.

White House: "In this week’s address, President Obama reiterated his comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group ISIL":

Justin Sink of the Hill: "The United States is at war with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), the White House and Pentagon said Friday, a day after Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly declined to use that phrase. 'In the same way that we are at war with Al Qaeda and its affiliates around the globe, we are at war with ISIL,' White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at the White House. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby echoed that sentiment, telling reporters that while the effort was 'not the Iraq war,' they should 'make no mistake, we know we are at war with ISIL.'" ...

... Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News: "The parents of murdered journalist Steven Sotloff were told by a White House counterterrorism official at a meeting last May that they could face criminal prosecution if they paid ransom to try to free their son, a spokesman for the family told Yahoo News Friday night.... The Sotloff family issued their statement after Diane Foley, the mother of murdered journalist James Foley, told ABC News that her family took statements by the White House counterterrorism official about legal bars to paying ransom as a 'threat, and it was appalling. ... We were horrified he would say that. He just told us we would be prosecuted.'" ...

... Brian Ross, et al., of ABC News: "The mother of slain American journalist James Foley said she wasn't necessarily surprised that the U.S. government threatened her family with prosecution should they raise money to pay her son's ransom, but she was astounded by how such a devastating message was delivered. 'I was surprised there was so little compassion,' Diane Foley told ABC News today of the three separate warnings she said U.S. officials gave the family about the illegality of paying ransom to the terror group ISIS.... Earlier this week five current and former officials with direct knowledge of the Foley case confirmed the alleged threats were made.... Diane Foley told ABC News earlier this week that warnings over the summer came primarily from a highly decorated military officer serving on the White House's National Security Council staff." ...

... digby: "Threatening the family of an abducted journalist with criminal charges for terrorism is indeed appalling. But the fact that everyone, including the president, is using the execution of these prisoners as a rationale for military action  means that this policy has major ramifications we have not fully examined." ...

... Bruce Ackerman, in a New York Times op-ed: "PRESIDENT OBAMA's declaration of war against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria marks a decisive break in the American constitutional tradition. Nothing attempted by his predecessor, George W. Bush, remotely compares in imperial hubris.... The 2001 authorization for the use of military force does not apply here. That resolution -- scaled back from what Mr. Bush initially wanted -- extended only to nations and organizations that 'planned, authorized, committed or aided' the 9/11 attacks.... Not only was ISIS created long after 2001, but Al Qaeda publicly disavowed it earlier this year. It is Al Qaeda's competitor, not its affiliate." ...

     ... CW Note: Ackerman is a highly-respected Constitutional scholar. He has been writing about executive overreach for a long time. Here he is in the American Prospect in March 2009, urging the new President to take steps to force future presidents to follow "the rule of law." At that time, barely two months into the Obama presidency, Ackerman asserted that, "Barack Obama is no George W. Bush -- he will indeed cut back substantially on unilateral assertions of power. The big question is whether he will take effective steps to prevent the next president from reversing course yet again...." CW: So that hasn't worked out. ...

     ... CW Update: OR, it's worth throwing into the mix that following President Obama's address to the nation, both Boehner & Reid vowed to bring up authorization bills. So perhaps (she said, being generous to the President), Obama has used hubris to bully the Congress into doing something.

... New York Times Editors: "By avoiding responsibility, [members of Congress] allow President Obama free rein to set a dangerous precedent that will last well past this particular military campaign. Mr. Obama, who has spent much of his presidency seeking to wean the United States off a perpetual state of war, is now putting forward unjustifiable interpretations of the executive branch's authority to use military force without explicit approval from Congress." ...

... Steve M.: "I understand that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force drawn up right after the 9/11 attacks doesn't really apply to a group that didn't exist in 2001, and that's in conflict with Al Qaeda. I understand that what the president plans to do will take ongoing military action past the deadline imposed by the 1973 War Powers Act. But America is a failed state now, so I have to confess that I'm struggling to care.... If Republicans in Congress resist voting (see that Jack Kingston quote) and resist working with president, then we have a non-functioning government, and that's the real constitutional crisis." ...

... CW: Both Ackerman & Steve M. are right. Never before in my lifetime have we had a Congress whose explicit goal was to keep the government from functioning. That effort began in a secret meeting led by Eric Cantor in December 2008 and at a dinner on January 20, 2009, the night of President Obama's inauguration. Once a conspiracy of top Republican elected officials, including Mitch McConnell was prime participant, the cat has been out of the bag so long that McConnell & other Republican MoCs are now touting it as legitimate strategy. ...

... Kevin Drum poses a question it would be nice to see one of those crack Sunday show hosts ask John McCain/Lindsay Graham/Generic Republican Hawk the next time one appears on the teevee (which would be tomorrow): "Republicans seem to universally hold the following two opinions about Iraq and ISIS:1. President Obama is to blame for the military success of ISIS because he declined to keep a residual force in Iraq after 2011. 2. In the fight against ISIS, we certainly don't want to send in combat troops. No no no.... But if we don't want boots on the ground in the fight against ISIS, what exactly would [a "residual force"] have done? Hang around Baghdad to buck up the morale of the Iraqi forces that came fleeing back after encountering ISIS forces? Conduct ever more 'training'? Or what? Can someone tell me just what everyone thinks this magical residual force would have accomplished?"

Ali Watkins of McClatchy News: "Tensions between the CIA and its congressional overseers erupted anew this week when CIA Director John Brennan refused to tell lawmakers who authorized intrusions into computers used by the Senate Intelligence Committee to compile a damning report on the spy agency's interrogation program. The confrontation, which took place during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, came as the sides continue to spar over the report's public release.... After the meeting, several senators were so incensed at Brennan that they confirmed the row and all but accused the nation's top spy of defying Congress." Read the whole story. Brennan is defying Democratic senators, & they're willing to go on the record, closed-door meeting notwithstanding. CW: This is something President Obama can mitigate. He should do so. Today.

Burgess Everett of Politico: "Senate Republicans unanimously rejected a constitutional amendment sought by Democrats that would allow Congress to regulate campaign finance reform. The measure failed to clear a 60-vote threshold on Thursday afternoon, 54-42.... 'Senate Democrats want a government that works for all Americans -- not just the richest few. Today, Senate Republicans clearly showed that they would rather sideline hardworking families in order to protect the Koch brothers and other radical interests that are working to fix our elections and buy our democracy,' [Majority Leader Harry] Reid said after the vote."

Mark Stern of Slate: "On Wednesday, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted 13-12 to continue to deny equal benefits to gay veterans who live in states without gay marriage. Currently, all active servicemembers and their same-sex spouses receive equal benefits -- no matter where they live -- under an order from the Department of Defense. But a statutory quirk instructs the Department of Veterans Affairs to look to veterans' state of residency to determine their marital status." ....

     ... Because ... States' Rights! Stern, Ctd.: "Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Florida, explained that 'deference to the state is not motivated by hostility, it is motivated by adherence to the Constitution.' ... Miller's notion of 'deference to the state' is ... so utterly inane, so completely and totally wrong about the structure of the U.S. government, that it reads more like a giveaway question on a seventh-grade true/false civics quiz than a statement by an ostensibly educated congressman." CW: Just makes me want to sing "Dixie" & the version of "Swanee River" -- Florida's state song -- we used to sing as children. (The Negro-dialect version was retired in 2008, tho I think it was commonly bowdlerized long before that.) ...

... BUT. Federal Judge Understands Federalism. Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "A federal judge has ordered Arizona to recognize one same-sex marriage, determining Friday that the state must formally acknowledge that Fred McQuire and George Martinez were married.... [Judge John Sedwick's] ruling is very limited, focusing only on this one couple, but it also touches on the larger issues involving same-sex marriage, noting that arguments suggesting Arizona's ban does not discriminate 'lacks merit.'" (You can read the complete ruling here.)" CW: Sedwick is Bush I appointee.

CW: Forgot to link this yesterday. of Jonathan Topaz of Politico: "Sen. Ted Cruz walked off the stage and left an event hosted by a Christian organization mid-speech after being booed on Wednesday night following comments praising Israel. The Texas Republican senator and tea party icon was a keynote speaker at a Washington summit hosted by In Defense of Christians, a group that focuses on persecuted Christian and minority communities in the Middle East." ...

... Jonathan Topaz: "The president of the Christian organization who hosted Sen. Ted Cruz at its summit has partially blamed the senator for walking off the stage after being heckled and booed by some in the crowd during his speech. In Defense of Christians President Toufic Baaklini, in a statement released Thursday evening, said that while the hecklers were out of line, Cruz's actions were 'unfortunate.' ... [Baaklini] contested the characterization used by some outlets that the Texas Republican was 'booed off stage,' suggesting the group of hecklers was 'small' and that there were more audience members shouting them down.... Republican Rep. Charlie Dent struck a harsher tone in criticizing Cruz on Thursday. '... what Senator Cruz did was outrageous and incendiary," the Pennsylvania congressman told The Washington Post. 'He showed a true lack of sensitivity for the people he was speaking to, especially the religious leaders who were there. It was a political speech, inappropriate and, overall, an uncomfortable moment.'" ...

... Robert Costa of the Washington Post has more on Dent's comments....

... CW: In the reporting, I haven't seen any evidence that the hecklers "hate Jews," as Cruz claimed before walking off the stage. While it isn't polite to boo a speaker (I might not be able to contain myself either if Cruz was the speaker), it's pretty damned easy to deplore Israel's actions against Gazans & other Palestinians without in any way, shape or form "hating Jews." Cruz's assumptions, as far as I can tell, are unsupported conjecture. I suppose Cruz is just posturing, but if he really can't tell the difference between opposing a government's policy & hating its citizens, then he's remarkably stupid. Does Ted Cruz, who opposes practically every U.S. policy, hate Americans? Maybe so. On the other hand, he may just be a thin-skinned crybaby. Good luck, President Cruz.

Beyond the Beltway

** Dana Milbank Indicts the Prosecutor: "It's a good bet the grand jurors won't charge [Darren Wilson for shooting dead Michael Brown], because all signs indicate that the St. Louis County prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, doesn't want them to.... McCulloch's office has declined so far to recommend any charges to the grand jury.... A grand jury is less likely to deliver an indictment -- even a much deserved one -- if a prosecutor doesn't ask for it.... [In response to a request by the Post's Wesley Lowery,] McCulloch's office ultimately came up with only one case over 23 years that The Post could verify of the prosecution of a white officer for using inappropriate force against a black victim, and it wasn't a shooting." Read the whole post. On an empty stomach.

Federal Appellate Panel Okays Wisconsin Voter Suppression Law. Patrick Marley & Jason Stein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "A federal appeals panel reinstated Wisconsin's voter ID law Friday, acting with unusual speed eight weeks before the Nov. 4 election and just hours after hearing arguments on the subject. The move by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for the state to immediately implement the law, though it does not stop the ongoing appeal over whether the measure is constitutional. State officials responded by saying they planned to have the requirement in place this fall. 'The state of Wisconsin may, if it wishes (and if it is appropriate under rules of state law), enforce the photo ID requirement in this November's elections,' the judges wrote in an unsigned two-page order. The appellate court indicated it was satisfied by changes imposed on the law by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a separate decision this summer.... Some 300,000 people in Wisconsin do not have IDs...." All three judges on the panel -- the ruling was unanimous -- are Republican appointees. Thanks to Nadd2 for the lead. ...

... Even though the (U.S.) Supreme Court could well agree that Wisconsin's voter ID law is legal, there's a real chance that the (U.S. Supreme) Court could reverse today's 7th Circuit order. The Supreme Court has said that courts should not make changes in the run-up to elections, which can cause voter and election official confusion. The 7th Circuit did not even mention this rule in its order today. -- Rick Hasen, election law expert

... Journal Sentinel Editors: "This has always been a law in search of a problem. The kind of fraud that voter ID can catch has been rare, and the chilling effect the law will have on the votes of some groups -- minorities, older people and students -- far outweighs any benefits. Beyond that, the timing issue is critical. Coming less than two months before the November election, the ruling threatens to make balloting difficult for voters and election officials." Thanks to Victoria D. for the link.

Marie's Sports Report

Ken Belson of the New York Times: "The National Football League, which for years disputed evidence that its players had a high rate of severe brain damage, has stated in federal court documents that it expects nearly a third of retired players to develop long-term cognitive problems and that the conditions are likely to emerge at 'notably younger ages' than in the general population. The findings are a result of data prepared by actuaries hired by the league and provided to the United States District Court judge presiding over the settlement between the N.F.L. and 5,000 former players who sued the league, alleging that it had hidden the dangers of concussions from them."

WCCO Minneapolis: "A warrant was issued Friday for the arrest of Vikings running back Adrian Peterson after a grand jury in Texas indicted him for reckless or negligent injury to a child. Peterson will not play in Sunday's game at TCF Bank Stadium against the New England Patriots. On Friday afternoon, the Vikings said Peterson had been deactivated. That's different from a suspension, as Peterson will be still be paid as officials investigate." ...

... Here are some details from TMZ. ...

... Update. The New York Times story, by Steve Eder & Pat Borzi, is here. ...

... Paul Campos in Lawyers, Guns & Money: "For those who don’t follow the sport, Peterson is the best running back in the league, and a much bigger star than Ray Rice." ...

... Sean Gregory of Time details the harrowing, life-threatening experience of the victim of another pro-player's domestic abuse. A female judge convicted Greg Hardy, who plays for the Carolina Panthers, of a misdemeanor. She "sentenced him to 18 months probation; a 60-day jail sentence was suspended." Hardy is appealing. "The world hasn't seen this incident on tape. Hardy played in Carolina's first game. He didn't practice on Wednesday for what the team said were 'personal reasons' -- he met with his attorney. But Hardy returned to practice Thursday and as of right now, he is slated to play on Sunday, as the Panthers host the Detroit Lions.... On Wednesday night..., Panthers owner Jerry Richardson received a humanitarian honor in Charlotte: The Echo Award Against Indifference." ...

... CW: You read what that woman endured & tell me if you think Hardy is guilty of a minor infraction & should have got off with a suspended sentence. There is one judge who thinks severe domestic violence is not such a terrible thing. Oh, & after reading the Charlotte Observer report linked below, we find she also doesn't care too much if the defendant commits perjury. ...

... Joseph Person & Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer have more. "Hardy ... has not been disciplined by the NFL or the team."

Lifestyles of the Ludicrous

Oh, My Stars. Our Lady of the North Is Actually a Cat-fighting, Foul-mouthed Harridan. Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post relates the details of the Palin brawl, via Amanda Coyne, who "recounts what happened through the eyewitness account of Eric Thompson." Thompson, who was the designated driver for a group, was not drinking, so his account is not colored by the substances which apparently encouraged the Palin clan. Money quote from Coyne's account: "... Sarah got involved and began to scream profanities at everyone. One source, who didn't want to be named, said that she was 'nearly crawling on top of people,' trying to get into the scrum." CW: Yes, millions of Americans decided that this model of probity should be one aged heartbeat away from the presidency. And yes, thanks again, John McCain, for another demonstration of your excellent judgment. ...

... Coyne's full account is here. ...

... Tina Nguyen of Mediaite: "Thompson ... was fired [Friday] for talking to the media." CW: Thompson's employer was McKenna Brothers Paving. Korey Klingenmeyer, the owner of the house where the party was held, also works for McKenna Brothers. In fact, according to Coyne, the party was to celebrate the birthdays of "twins Matt and Marc McKenna," who own McKenna Brothers. Apparently omerta is part of the Alaskan chivalric code. ...

... At the end of her report on the "Palin Fight Club," Ahiza Garcia of TPM demonstrates how Sarah Palin has avoided all mention of the melee. ...

... CW: Former Half- Gov. Palin also appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox "News" show Thursday night to bash President Obama. Hannity, of course, did not ask her about the Saturday night brawl, even though it was all over the "liberal media." When Martha Stewart was involved in a stock scandal -- for which she was later jailed -- she appeared on her regular CBS morning show homemaking segment only to be confronted by host Jane Clayson about the stock deal. Martha, who mumbled something about the "ridiculousness" of the charges against her, famously replied, "I'd rather focus on my salad," and kept on chopping cabbage. But then CBS "News" occasionally covers news, whereas Fox "News" focuses on their shredded Obama salad & keeps on chopping. ...

... Update. The New York Times has a story on the brawl, in muted Grey Lady-style. On the byline are Amanda Coyne & Lizette Alvarez (Alvarez often reports Florida news for the Times).

The Trials of Mark. Sahil Kapur of TPM: "South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford took the liberty of airing his legal troubles with his ex-wife in excruciating detail on Friday afternoon. In a 2,343 word Facebook post, the Republican congressman wrote about several lawsuits and child custody disputes with his ex-wife Jenny Sanford, whom he left for an Argentinian woman he was cheating with while he was governor. He revealed in the post that the woman, Maria Belen Chapur, is no longer his fiancé[e]."

... CW: No one knows the troubles Mark's seen. (Well, okay, some of the troubles, which he blubbered out in an extraordinary presser after his "Appalachian Trails" scam flopped.) So he's going to tell you. In excruciating detail. Here's how Mark begins his Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me post, and truth be told, this is where I quit reading, but I'm pretty sure there's going to be some more Jesus & God stuff further along, wherein I'm pretty sure we're going to find out Jesus & God are on Mark's side, & Jezebel Jenny, his mean former wife, will have to answer to them:

More than anything, I am struck by two truths. One, it seems that history well documents that those who work to avoid conflict at all costs wind up being those destined in many instances to find much conflict. Peace at all costs rarely brings it. On the other hand, Jesus was incredibly clear in the book of Luke that we are to turn the other cheek at offenses and that if someone took our shirt, we were to offer our coat as well.

... Ed O'Keefe & Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "Shortly before posting his message online, Sanford also filed a motion requesting a gag order against his ex-wife, Jenny Sanford, that will be heard by a judge on Monday." CW: Here again, I suspect we'll find that Jesus gave Mark the idea he should muzzle the missus. And thou shalt go before the judge of thy land & pray that he shall silence thy former wife for her wickedness. ...

... Also, do read A. O. Scott's piece in this week's NYT Magazine, linked under Infotainment.

Rene Stutzman of the Orlando Sentinel: "A driver called Lake Mary[, Florida,] police earlier this week, accusing former Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman of threatening to shoot him during a road-rage incident. Zimmerman, 30, was not arrested. Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell said the man, 35-year-old Matthew Apperson of Winter Springs, did not want to press charges, so there would be no arrest." Read the whole story.

Congressional Races

Gail Collins: Today's Senate candidates are often reluctant debaters. Indeed, political debates these days are not going to be of the calibre of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. After all, the most famous debate in New York gubernatorial history in one in which candidates included "a woman whose claim to fame was running a prostitution ring and the nominee of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party."

Alexandra Jaffe of the Hill: "A group helmed by a major donor and policy adviser to Democratic Senate candidate Michel[l]e Nunn is under investigation by the Georgia secretary of State for alleged voter fraud. Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) said in a memo ... that his office has 'received numerous complaints about voter applications submitted by the New Georgia Project,' an organization launched to register and turn out voters to the polls. 'Preliminary investigation has revealed significant illegal activities, including forged voter registration applications, forged signatures on releases, and applications with false or inaccurate information,' Kemp wrote in the memo." CW: Might be true; might be voter suppression as usual. ...

... Jamelle Bouie has an excellent post on this. Here's a key factor: Stacey Abrams, the Democratic leader of the Georgia house, "notes, Georgia law 'requires that we turn in all application forms we collect, regardless of concerns over validity.' It's the job of the secretary of state, she says, to determine the status of the applications. 'We do not get to make the decisions about whether or not a form is valid or not.' ... But there is an aggressive subpoena that, Abrams says, 'essentially demands every document we have ever produced.' She calls it a 'fishing expedition' meant to 'suppress our efforts.' A spokesperson for the New Georgia Project, the Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church, was a little more explicit. 'I see this move by the secretary of state as the latest effort in voter suppression in the state of Georgia,' he said." CW: So, voter suppression as usual.

Where's Terri? Laura Berman of the Detroit News: Michigan's GOP U.S. Senate candidate "Terri Lynn Land [is] ... gambling you won't notice her near total disappearance from the campaign trail. While both Land and her opponent, U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, are bombarding the airwaves with commercials, it's Land who's trying to stay out of sight.... [A] Mackinac Island policy conference last May -- included both Senate candidates, who appeared separately.... That was also Land's last media confrontation, when she was visibly overwhelmed by a crush of microphones, and lambasted by the media for failing to understand 'net neutrality.'... In November, voters will decide whether such cynicism can also be a clever way for an insecure, under-prepared candidate to win."

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Comedian Bill Maher announced Friday night that he will personally target Republican Rep. John Kline (Minn.) for defeat in the November election -- the culmination of his longstanding 'Flip a District' contest in which the HBO host allowed his viewers to pick which Republican he would attempt to unseat." Blake explains why Maher "picked the wrong guy.... If Maher somehow pulled ... off [an upset], it would be a true testament to the ability of one man to 'flip a district.' But don't hold your breath."

Josh Feldman of Mediaite: "Maher will be traveling to Kline's district to do stand-up, and he explained why this congressman -- whom you probably never heard of -- is his big target: because he's 'the living embodiment of legislation for hire.' He called Kline a 'silent threat' who doesn't say 'kooky things' but votes with the people who do:

News Ledes

New York Times: "The president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has implored President Obama for help in managing her country's rapidly expanding Ebola crisis and has warned that without American assistance the disease could send Liberia into the civil chaos that enveloped the country for two decades."

Guardian: "The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, wants to destroy Ukraine as an independent country and resurrect the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk has said. Yatseniuk told a conference of European politicians his country was 'in a stage of war' with Russia, as renewed clashes broke out between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian rebels in the east and Moscow sent a second convoy of trucks into Ukraine without Kiev's consent. Continuous rocketfire could be heard overnight in the eastern city of Donetsk."

New York Times: "The doctor who performed an endoscopy on Joan Rivers before she went into cardiac arrest has stepped down as medical director of the Manhattan clinic where she was treated and he is no longer doing procedures there, the clinic announced on Friday.... The doctor who performed the endoscopy, Lawrence B. Cohen, a prominent gastroenterologist, had brought an ear, nose and throat specialist into the operating room to examine Ms. Rivers, even though that doctor was not authorized to practice medicine there, according to people briefed on the matter."