The Commentariat -- April 8, 2016

Afternoon Update:

The Party of Fear. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Vulnerable Republican incumbents are increasingly raising fears about Guantánamo Bay detainees, following a campaign strategy used by Scott Brown before his surprise victory in a Massachusetts special election for a Senate seat six years ago." ...

... CW: Never mind that we learned only yesterday that "Far more convicted terrorists are being held in federal prisons in the United States than in Guantanamo Bay." Reason seldom factors in to any Republican talking point.

*****

Juliet Eilperin & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "President Obama returned Thursday to the institution where he forged his academic expertise in constitutional law -- the University of Chicago Law School -- to make the case that confirming his current nominee for the Supreme Court is the best way for the nation to uphold its founding principles." -- CW:

... Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "On Tuesday, [Sen. Chuck] Grassley [RCrotchety-Iowa] gave a speech that went after the Supreme Court as a purely political institution, pantsing the entire high court, and Chief Justice John Roberts by name, on the floor of the United States Senate. In so doing, he not only damaged the Senate's relationship with the court in a way he may not be able to repair, but also exposed his own hypocrisy as chairman of a judiciary committee tasked with ensuring that the court can function.... What is really being said here is that there is only one way to interpret the Constitution and that is in the way that 'advances conservative policy.'" -- CW ...

... Pat Rynard of the Daily Beast wonders if Chuck Grassley (R-Indolence) can be shamed into doing his job. "Some of the pressure at the events [in Iowa] came from activists from NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) and Progress Iowa, the state's main progressive advocacy group. NARAL even had one of their Iowa members dress up as Ben Franklin at each event to remind Grassley about constitutional duties." -- Akhilleus ...

     ... Akhilleus: The mistake these people make is thinking that Confederates like Grassley give a hoot about the Founders or the Constitution. Just because they say they do don't make it so. When asked by a constituent about why he's not doing his job, Grassley replied "We know that over half of the Senate is going to not go along with that this year, so I'd rather spend our time on things we can do in a bipartisan way". Forget that silliness about bipartisanship. This is the answer of a follower, not a leader. And besides, if Ben Franklin can't get him to do his job, what good is he?

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "The Panama Papers' detailed revelations of a massive international tax-haven scheme have snowballed this week into a fierce debate among Democrats over President Obama's trade policies with the tiny Central American nation and again laid bare sharp divisions within the party over such agreements. Trade critics lambasted the administration as failing to heed their prior warnings and win sufficient financial reforms from Panama before signing a landmark free-trade deal in 2011, missing a chance to disrupt the elaborate financial arrangements disclosed in a massive leak of private data last weekend." -- CW

...The "Panama Butterfly Effect" - Juan Cole of Informed Comment: "The revelation in the leaked Panama Papers that Mossack Fonseca and Swiss bank HSBC serviced the companies of corrupt Syrian billionaire Rami Makhlouf (first cousin of dictator Bashar al-Assad) long after the US imposed sanctions on him is a reminder of why Syrians revolted against the regime in 2011 in the first place." -- LT note: The Butterfly Effect - the scientific theory that a single occurence, no matter how small, can change the course of the universe forever.

Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State John F. Kerry touched down in Baghdad Friday to show support for a government in political and economic turmoil even as it readies a long-awaited military campaign to wrest territory back from Islamic militants." -- CW

Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "The Senate passed several provisions to bolster security throughout the nation's transportation system Thursday, the first legislative response to the attacks on the airport and train station in Belgium last month. The measures, which are expected to pass as early as next week, are attached to a large-scale bill to reauthorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration." -- CW ...

... Mike DeBonis: "If you're seeking relief from sardine-can conditions on airline flights, don't expect any help from Congress. The Senate voted down an amendment Thursday that would have ended any further reductions of airplane seat sizes. The amendment failed on a 54-to-42 vote, with most Democrats supporting the amendment by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and most Republicans opposed." CW: Because it would be wrong to regulate business when the only beneficiaries are the little people/sardines. ...

... CW: Here's a November 2015 CBS News report on the incredible shrinking airline seat:

"Bench-Slap." Mark Stern of Slate: "In an utterly inevitable turn of events, the First Circuit Court of Appeals restored marriage equality to Puerto Rico on Thursday, reversing a bizarre district court ruling, which held that the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges did not apply to the territory. 'The district court's ruling errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin,' the First Circuit wrote, in reference to U.S. District Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez's 10-page anti-gay rant." CW: Pérez-Giménez is a Carter appointee.

Eric Kleefeld of the Raw Story: The Chicago Tribune "finds that at least four different people have made credible allegations [of sexual abuse] against ... [former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert]. And what's more, Hastert did something truly unbelievable: He asked one of his victim's family members to write him a character reference for the judge." -- CW

Laurie Goodstein & Jim Yardley of the New York Times: "In what could be an important moment for his leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis is scheduled to issue a major document on Friday regarding family issues.... In the document, known as an apostolic exhortation, the pope could change church practice on thorny subjects like whether divorced Catholics who remarry without having obtained annulments can receive holy communion. He might address debates over same-sex relationships, cohabitation and polygamy, an issue in Africa. Or, he could sidestep such divisive topics and stick to broader philosophical statements." -- CW

     ... Update. Jim Yardley & Laurie Goodstein: "In a broad proclamation on family life, Pope Francis on Friday called for the Roman Catholic Church to be more welcoming and less judgmental, and he seemingly signaled a pastoral path for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive holy communion." -- CW ...

... Here's Francis's proclamation.

Presidential Race

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "... Bernie Sanders on Friday morning announced a visit to the Vatican next week to attend a conference hosted by Pope Francis on social, economic and environmental issues." -- CW

Jesse Byrnes of the Hill: "Bernie Sanders on Friday walked back his criticism that Hillary Clinton was not qualified to be president, saying 'of course' the former secretary of State is qualified. 'The Clinton campaign has changed its tone and I think they were pretty public about it,' Sanders told NBC's 'Today,' suggesting Clinton's campaign was being more negative as the campaign shifts to New York ahead of the April 19 primary." -- CW ...

... Alan Rappeport & Yamiche Alcindor of the New York Times with the latest on the Bickersons: "Tension flared in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, with the candidates questioning each other's fitness to lead and Senator Bernie Sanders pressing his attack that Hillary Clinton is not qualified to be president." -- CW ...

... John Wagner of the Washington Post interviews Bernie Sanders on the state of the Democratic presidential race. -- CW ...

... David Graham of the Atlantic: "The first thing to say about these remarks is that the escalation is almost entirely semantic, rather than material. All of the attacks that Sanders leveled here ... are things he's talked about for months now.... [Clinton's attacks on Sanders have been] classic Clinton: She's cautious, careful, and stays on message. And the 'qualified' broadside is classic Sanders too. He's angry, and he's not afraid to show that. This directness -- and its contrast with the impression that Clinton is calculating -- is one of the forces that has powered Sanders's campaign. He may have overdone it in this case." -- CW ...

... Eric Levitz of New York: "'Disqualify him, defeat him, unite the party later.' On Wednesday, that was how CNN characterized the Clinton campaign's plan to contain an ascendant Bernie Sanders. Shortly after the insurgent senator's 14-point win in Wisconsin, the Clinton camp sent out a fund-raising email that suggested Sanders's widely criticized interview with the New York Daily News showed that he isn't qualified for the presidency.... [Hillary] Clinton went on the offensive Wednesday, questioning the democratic socialist's party loyalty and the depth of his policy knowledge, accusing him of putting gun manufacturers' interests before those of the victims at Sandy Hook, and then refusing to say whether she believes he's qualified for the presidency when asked by MSNBC's Joe Scarborough.... But by actually uttering the words 'I don't think you're qualified,' Sanders stumbled across a political redline: In a partisan primary, you're supposed to leave yourself cover for an eventual endorsement.... On Thursday..., [Clinton] appeared to have adopted a new strategy: Mollify him, unify the party, and defeat him later." -- CW ...

... Charles Pierce: "This is just dumb politics on both sides. First of all, there's no question that HRC was questioning in that interview whether Sanders was unqualified to be president. She just didn't want to use the word, because that would have been the day's headline. (As, indeed, was the case when the Post used it for her.)... And, while we're on the subject, it was pretty damn creepy for HRC to wave the bloody shirt of the Newtown massacre at Sanders.... (She's been draping herself in other people's grief for a while now, and it's distasteful as all hell.)... I'm starting to wonder seriously about both of these people. Neither campaign seems able to avoid the easiest mistakes in optics." -- CW ...

... "Not Good at All." Josh Marshall of TPM: "All candidates, by definition, say that they're more qualified than their opponent. Various things Clinton said can be reasonably interpreted as questioning whether Sanders is up to the job of the presidency. But it is an entirely different matter when an opponent, in his own voice, says flatly his challenger is 'unqualified' to serve as President of the country.... Primaries that drag on get intense. Especially in the venomous and kinetic New York media environment. The Clinton operation has plenty of sharp elbows themselves. But it is incumbent on both candidates to fight hard and yet not say things that can't be unsaid...." ... CW ...

... Krugman Goes "Over the Edge." Paul Krugman: "... the way Mr. Sanders is now campaigning raises serious character and values issues." CW: Which is exactly what I would say of Krugman. This is a shocking column in that it presents a serious mischaracterization of the tick-tock. Marshall's post, linked above, is a well-considered criticism of Sanders. Krugman has used his valuable NYT space to rant. Period.

Eric Levitz: In Philadelphia, Bill Clinton clashes with Black Lives Matter protesters opposed to his policies he signed into law & to Hillary Clinton's remark about "superpredators," ca. 1996. -- CW ...

... Michelle Goldberg of Slate: "I wonder if there's a part of Bill Clinton that doesn't really want Hillary Clinton to become president, particularly if she has to distance herself from his legacy to do so.... At a time when Hillary Clinton is dependent on black voters and campaigning with mothers who've lost sons to police violence, Bill Clinton yoked her to his own discredited policies.... It is somehow only when he is working on his wife's behalf that he veers into sabotage.... Hillary should shut him down. She can't divorce him, but she can fire him." -- CW

Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog seems to agree with the possibility that Bill is a problem for Hillary. In more ways than one. The crime bill is a big one: "The flaws in the bill are a huge moral issue -- but then, beyond that, failing to reckon with them fully on the verge of 2016 is political malpractice." He goes on to reference the ineptness (described in the Goldberg piece linked above) Bill has displayed, in this and in the 2008 campaign, on Hillary's behalf. -- Akhilleus

Jonathan Chait: "Donald Trump would probably be the worst candidate any major party has ever nominated -- grossly uninformed, disorganized, personally and ideologically repellent to a majority of the public, and so unreliably attached to its core agenda he could potentially blow the party apart. Ted Cruz would be a much better choice. But ... he'd be very, very bad." Chait explains why. "Were it not for the rise of Donald Trump, the Republican Establishment and even most conservatives would be frantically working to prevent [Cruz's] nomination." -- CW

A look into the life of Trump's right hand man. I think the title itself gives you a good primer: Patricia Murphy of The Daily Beast: "Corey Lewandowski Called Coworker 'F*cking B*tch,' Yelled at Subordinate for Visiting Dying Grandma" --safari

Steve M.: Time goes all in for Cruz on its cover story. Zeke Miller's interview of Cruz "is barely an interview at all -- Miller mostly expresses his amazement at Cruz's success in the race, while the candidate regurgitates his Wisconsin victory speech, which was clearly geared to the general election.... 'Learning to Love Ted Cruz,' Michael Scherer's cover story, is a bit more skeptical -- but it's all about how Cruz is recalibrating his focus now that he's gone from purist Senate pariah to possible presidential nominee. Scherer, for instance, doesn't say a word about carpet-bombing or torture.... If Cruz really does slip into all-platitude mode for the general election, while nodding and winking to his feral base, can he beat Hillary Clinton? He's already within 3 points of Clinton. Sure he can. Watch out for this guy." -- CW

Jessie Hellmann of the Hill: "An apology from Ted Cruz for calling Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a liar 'ain't gonna happen,' the presidential hopeful said during a Thursday interview with CNN's Dana Bash. 'If the Washington lobbyists want to see that happen, they can hold their breath a long, long time,' Cruz said." -- CW

Guardian: Fox "News" host Megyn Kelly "spoke openly about her evolving relationship with [Donald] Trump during a discussion with Katie Couric at the Women in the World Summit in New York City on Wednesday night, revealing that he used to call repeatedly after shows and send her signed press clippings in an attempt to 'curry favor' ahead of his presidential run." Video. -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump Wrong on Lots of Things but apparently especially so on his assertions about China driving down its currency to "beat" the US. Randall Forsyth on Barron's points out that "...where [Trump's] concerned, far more pernicious than any of his much publicized foibles and faux pas is his insistence that China is systematically manipulating its currency, cheapening it to gain an unfair advantage in trade." -- Akhilleus

Beyond the Beltway

Haley Takes the High Road. Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "A South Carolina lawmaker introduced a bill on Wednesday that would mandate that public restrooms and school bathrooms in the Palmetto State only be used based on the gender on a person's birth certificate. However, Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said Thursday that there had been no complaints that would suggest such a bill is needed." -- CW

Tim Egan has a fine column on "a Mason-Dixon line of progress."

Charles Pierce: A lawsuit alleges that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's administration engaged in "racketeering activity" in its Flint water shenanigans. -- CW

Camilo José Vergara, 71, "...a photographer who has spent more than half his life obsessively documenting American cities is creating an expansive and eye-opening record of how poor, segregated neighborhoods have transformed over time. [Vergara] has systematically photographed the same set of intersections in New York, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities over and over again since 1977." The time lapse photos demonstrate the dramatic changes in inner cities.... Once largely minority communities, these neighborhoods are now more and more gentrified. -- Akhilleus

How Big Data Harms Poor Communities: Kaveh Waddell in The Atlantic, points out the highly discriminatory outcomes that can befall Americans who don't have the wherewithal to live in upscale communities, or in one of Trump's towers. "For many poor people in the U.S., the data that's gathered about them at every turn can obstruct attempts to escape poverty. Low-income communities are among the most surveilled communities in America." -- Akhilleus

Way Beyond

Neil MacFarquhar & Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "The reverberations from a leaked trove of Panamanian documents rippled through several nations on Thursday, with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia calling the exposure of a proliferation of shell companies and tax havens an American plot, while Iceland picked a new prime minister and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain admitted that he had profited from an offshore trust." -- CW

Robert Booth, et al., of the Guardian: British Prime Minister "David Cameron has finally admitted he benefited from a Panama-based offshore trust set up by his late father. After three days of stalling and four partial statements issued by Downing Street he confessed that he owned shares in the tax haven fund, which he sold for £31,500 just before becoming prime minister in 2010. In a specially arranged interview with ITV News' Robert Peston he confirmed a direct link to his father's UK-tax avoiding fund, details of which were exposed in the Panama Papers revelations in the Guardian this week." -- CW

James Kanter of the New York Times: "The European Union is stepping up pressure on the United States to add more European [-- Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania--] countries to the list of those whose citizens can travel across the Atlantic without a visa, holding out the threat of requiring Americans to get visas for trips to Europe if Washington does not agree." -- CW

Tim Hume, et al., of CNN: "A new Prime Minister took the reins in Iceland Thursday as fallout over the Panama Papers document leak continued. Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, who had been the country's agriculture minister, was sworn in as Prime Minister Thursday afternoon. That came two days after former Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson announced he was stepping down amid mounting protests and calls for his resignation after leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm revealed his links to an offshore company. Gunnlaugsson's resignation doesn't mean the dust has settled. He will remain head of the Progressive Party...." -- CW

Modigliani, "Man with a Cane," 1918.Holly Watt, et al., of the Guardian: "Mossack Fonseca helped a New York art gallery defend itself over a claim about a Nazi-looted artwork after the apparent original owner's descendant launched a legal battle for its return, the Panama Papers reveal. The case involves a $25m (£18m) Modigliani painting taken from Paris when the Germans marched into the city in 1940 and the role played by Mossack Fonseca, as the family who say it is theirs fought for its return.... The descendant claims the painting was owned by Oscar Stettiner, a Jewish gallery owner in Paris who fled weeks before the Nazis entered the city." -- CW

Adam Taylor of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors in Belgium have released a new video that shows a third suspect in last month's Brussels airport attack allegedly leaving the scene after the bombing. The suspect is believed to have been the only surviving participant in the attack on March 22. The two other suspects, identified as Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, are believed to have died in the airport bombing...." With video. -- CW

Max Bearak in the Washington Post: "But what's so scandalous about the Panama Papers isn't just that there's a nexus of rich people, some elected, who make profits by evading taxes. It's that so much of the money moved through tax havens would otherwise be taxed by some of the world's poorest, most revenue-hungry governments." -- CW

Why It Matters

By Akhilleus

A few weeks ago American philosopher and great soul Hilary Putnam died. Martha Nussbaum, a friend, colleague and outstanding philosopher in her own right, offers a commemoration of Putnam's life and the importance of his work on the HuffPo site.

Philosophy routinely comes in for much hilarity and scorn, especially from the right. Big Brain Marco Rubio once whined, in an appropriately awkward expression, that "We need more welders and less philosophers." Nice going with that Basic Writing class, Marco. Nussbaum reminds us that NC governor, bigot and all around misogynistic creep Pat McCrory, described philosophy as "worthless" because it offers "no chances of getting people jobs". You can be sure no philosophical urges were circling McCrory's tiny lizard brain when he recently signed into law one of the most discriminatory laws in recent US history.

But, as Nussbaum also reminds us, the United States of America was founded by guys who were quite enamored of and conversant in the most important philosophical questions of their time. It's because of the philosophical enlightenment of these founders that we are a nation at all. Adams and Jefferson, in their voluminous correspondence, routinely delve into philosophical discussions, referencing the ancient Greeks as well as contemporary thinkers. Just imagine what fun would be made of them by wingers today: "ivory tower liberals", "elitists", "out of touch". But had we to rely on 18th century Marco Rubios or Pat McCrorys, Donald Trumps or Ted Cruzes, in 1776, we'd all be singing "God Save the Fucking Queen" today. (I think that's the original title.)

Right wing antipathy--nay, hostility--to education, even the IDEA of education, is what has birthed the current horror show of astounding ignorance and rank stupidity that is the Republican presidential nomination wrestling match. These people aren't just anti-intellectual, they're anti-thought.

As for Hilary Putnam, he "...was a philosopher of amazing breadth. As he himself wrote, 'Any philosophy that can be put in a nutshell belongs in one.' And in his prolific career Putnam, accordingly, elaborated detailed and creative accounts of central issues in an extremely wide range of areas in philosophy. Indeed there is no philosopher since Aristotle who has made creative and foundational contributions in all the following areas: logic, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of science, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, ethics, political thought, philosophy of economics. philosophy of literature."

I first came to Putnam through his wonderful 1981 book, "Reason, Truth, and History" three subjects with which no Confederate has the slightest acquaintance.

Perhaps the biggest reason philosophy is still important.

And why they hate it so much.

P.S. by the by, Martha Nussbaum is an extraordinary and entirely accessible thinker and writer herself. If you're interested, check out her book on "Poetic Justice: The Literary Imagination and Public Life".

The Commentariat -- April 7, 2016

I've done a piss-poor job here, & not by accident. I need some help. -- Constant Weader

CW Update: The contributions safari & LT have made since I posted my plea for help are terrific. LT even does the work a commenter could not be bothered to do: provide facts, put them in context & link the sources.

Afternoon Update:

Guardian: Fox "News" host Megyn Kelly "spoke openly about her evolving relationship with [Donald] Trump during a discussion with Katie Couric at the Women in the World Summit in New York City on Wednesday night, revealing that he used to call repeatedly after shows and send her signed press clippings in an attempt to ‘curry favor’ ahead of his presidential run." Video.

*****

Louise Story of the New York Times: "The United States government is close to issuing a rule that will for the first time require banks and other financial institutions to find out the identities of people hidden behind shell companies. The rule is meant to close a major loophole in the American banking system that enables the sorts of secretive financial maneuvers that were thrust into the spotlight this week with the leak of millions of documents from a law firm in Panama." -- CW

Jonelle Marte of the Washington Post: "The Labor Department announced sweeping rules Wednesday that could transform the financial advice given to people saving for retirement by requiring brokers and advisers to put their clients’ interests first. The long-awaited 'fiduciary rule' would create a new standard for brokers and advisers that is stricter than current regulations, which only require that brokers recommend products that are “suitable,” even if it may not be the investor’s best option." -- CW ...

... Jared Bernstein, in his blog, explains the importance of two of the key actions taken by the Obama administration this week. He thinks the conflict of interest rule for financial advisors (linked above) is, "one of the administration’s biggest wins for middle-class people trying to do the right thing and save for their retirement." He also weighs in on the importance of Obama's attempts to snuff out corporate inversions to avoid US corporate tax, reminding us that, "Because Congressional conservatives would never have let either of these new rules become law, they’ve been run through executive action. That means the next president could reverse them." --safari. Via Washington Monthly

J. Weston Phippen of The Atlantic: "The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit  Wednesday to block a merger between Halliburton, the world’s second-largest oilfield-services company, and the third-largest, Baker Hughes. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the deal would 'skew energy markets and harm American consumers.'" --safari

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "On Thursday,[President Obama] will return to the [University of Chicago] law school for the first time as president, using the backdrop of his academic life [there] to underscore his demand that Republicans follow the letter of the law by agreeing to hold a hearing and a vote on his nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick B. Garland, the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit." -- CW

Mary Ellen Kustin of ThinkProgress: "The national monuments that President Obama has created or expanded are generating more than $156 million in local economic activity annually, according to a study published Wednesday. (...) Harry Reid (D-NV) said in a statement. 'As this report shows, we can protect the most magnificent areas of our nation while also providing real opportunities for local economies.'" --safari note: Tell that to the Bundy Bunch.

Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration will take $589 million in existing federal funds — most of which were intended to combat the Ebola virus — and spend the money instead on fighting the spread of the Zika virus. The move, which federal officials described as a stopgap measure, came after GOP congressional leaders refused to provide $1.9 billion in emergency funds to limit transmission of Zika in the United States and abroad." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... CW: So, a new way to get around Congress. Let them scare themselves silly (see Paul, Rand) about one threat, claim it costs billions to eliminate; then, when that threat abates, transfer the left-over money to needs the Congress won't fund, like ones that most affect women & minorities/"foreigners," about whom Republicans care NOTHING.

Hannah Fairfield & Tim Wallace of the New York Times: "Republican leaders have blocked the closing of the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, because they say they do not want terrorists held on United States soil. But American prisons currently hold 443 convicted terrorists, far more than the 89 men who remain imprisoned in Cuba.The New York Times was able to confirm locations for about a third of the terrorists, shown on the map above. The Department of Justice would not release the names or locations of the other prisoners who had been convicted of terrorism." Includes map of know locations. ....

    ... CW: The Times story appears to be meant as a persuasive tool cloaked in a factual representation. That is, it proffers an implicit argument: let's save millions by imprisoning 89 more terrorists (& suspected terrorists) in prisons in this country. As such, it assumes facts not in evidence: (1) Congressional Republicans can be swayed by logic or sensible argument; (2) Congressional Republicans care about the safety of all innocent people, including Cubans; (3) Congressional Republicans would pass any legislation that President Obama initiated; (4) Congressional Republicans believe they should do their jobs.

C. J. Chivers of the New York Times: "A terrorist hoping to buy an antiaircraft weapon could look no further than Facebook, which in recent years has been hosting sprawling online arms bazaars, including handguns, heavy machine guns and guided missiles.... This week, after The New York Times provided Facebook with seven examples of suspicious groups, the company shut down six of them." CW: And you people don't like Facebook!

Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined a Texas inmate’s request to halt his execution, rejecting an appeal from his attorneys hours before his scheduled lethal injection. Texas authorities plan to execute Pablo Vasquez, 38, on Wednesday evening. Vasquez was convicted in 1999 of murdering David Cardenas, a 12-year-old boy, the previous year." -- CW

America's crumbling instrastructure...Sarah Frostenenson and Sarah Kliff of Vox: "Neighborhoods where kids face the highest risk of lead poisoning exist all across America. (...) So we worked with epidemiologists in Washington state to estimate risk levels in every geographic area in America." --safari note: Includes national map to check out your area.

Presidential Race

Frank Rich: "A contested [Repubican] convention in which the various camps conduct trench warfare to win over, steal, or bribe unbound delegates seems near-certain.... What Sanders is doing and can keep doing is force Clinton to address his signature issues and keep weakening her in the process by calling attention to her inability to plausibly pose as a populist and her overall deficiencies as a candidate. She is now openly exasperated by Sanders’s campaign. And she keeps making astonishing errors...." -- CW

Peter Eavis of the New York Times: "Yes, Bernie Sanders knows something about breaking up banks." Eavis explains what Bernie was saying in that New York Daily News interview (linked below). Hillary Clinton can quit gloating now (which she did, sending transcripts of the interview all around. Maybe she should read the interview.) -- CW

     ... Steve M.: "I don't know how many votes Hillary Clinton can win by pouncing on this. When she says she's been in the trenches and has the experience, voters seem to envision not statecraft but shady deals in back rooms. Touting her experience is probably hurting her. It's just that kind of year." -- CW ...

     ... Ryan Grim of the Huffington Post: "In fact, in several instances, it’s the Daily News editors who are bungling the facts in an interview designed to show that Sanders doesn’t understand the fine points of policy. In questions about breaking up big banks, the powers of the Treasury Department and drone strikes, the editors were simply wrong on details." -- CW ...

     ... Mike Konczal of the Roosevelt Institute: "Let’s Dispel Once and for All With This Fiction that Sanders Doesn’t Know How to Break Up Banks." -- CW

Mrs. Clinton Is No Longer Amused. Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton launched a fierce new two-pronged attack on rival Bernie Sanders on Wednesday, questioning the persistent challenger's bona fides as a Democrat and his qualifications to run the country. In comments to a union gathering [in Philadelphia] and in interviews, the Democratic front-runner did not hide her frustration and annoyance with Sanders and his underdog assault as the once-tame Democratic primary turns increasingly testy." -- CW

...Neither is Mr. Sanders. Hanna Trudo of Politico: In response to Hillary Clinton insinuating that Bernie Sanders is not qualified to be President, Sanders replied, "I don't believe that she is qualified if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds,...voted for the disastrous war in Iraq,... [and] supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement." -- LT ...

     ... Yo' Mama Update. Anne Gearan & John Wagner of the Washington Post provide a blow-by-blow account. -- CW

Glenn Thrush of Politico interviewed Hillary Clinton Monday, & she unloaded on everybody, especially Bernie Sanders. "She was ticked off — already factoring in an inevitable loss in Wisconsin Tuesday — and was in a rare mood of public introspection...." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Eliza Collins of Politico: Former Obama advisor & campaign guru David Alexrod "was asked on CNN’s 'New Day' on Wednesday about Clinton telling Politico that she felt sorry for the young supporters of Sanders who 'are fed this list of misrepresentations' about her record. Axelrod ... cautioned the former secretary of state against being dismissive of Sanders' allure to young voters. 'One thing I would stay away from, I would stay away from the insinuation that these young people who are inspired by Bernie Sanders are dupes and they are being fed misinformation and that is why they are enthusiastic about Bernie Sanders,' Axelrod said." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jonathan Chait: Hillary "Clinton’s dominance of the African-American vote has been explained as a residue of the long-standing ties she and her husband have built over decades on the national scene. Sanders’s failure has likewise been attributed to his decades of confinement to the flamboyantly white state of Vermont. Both factors have surely played a role. But there is a larger and more durable force behind the African-American place in the Democratic Party mainstream: a long historical tradition of highly rational electoral pragmatism." -- CW

Democrats need not worry about the Bickersons. Over on the Republican side, a catastrophe is brewing. Paul Waldman in the Week: "Republicans ... may be facing the worst of all possible worlds: a terribly damaged [Donald] Trump who nonetheless can't be stopped from winning their party's nomination. Trump has certainly suffered in the last couple of weeks, as the horrifying farce that his candidacy represents has become more clear with each passing day.... Ted Cruz[? ... That won't sit right. In the current establishment fantasy, a deadlocked convention is resolved when the attendees finally give the nomination to that fine young man, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. That would be a disaster of a different sort." -- CW

Jenna Johnson & Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump’s campaign will soon announce the hiring of several 'seasoned operatives' and 'well-known, established names' to help the Republican front-runner quickly grow his operation and prepare for a likely contested convention, his campaign manager said Wednesday." -- CW ...

"Seasoned operatives"? Why didn't you say so? Karoli Kuns on Crooks and Liars, reports that Trump BFF and former dirty trickster with the Nixon Gang, Roger Stone, who was born under a rock, is looking at calling upon a few of his own "seasoned operatives" if Trump doesn't get the crown next summer in Cleveland. His plan? "'We’re going to have protests, demonstrations. We will disclose the hotels and the room numbers of those delegates who are directly involved in the steal,' Stone said Monday in a discussion with Stefan Molyneux on Freedomain Radio, as he alleged that Trump's opponents planned to deny the democratic will of Republican primary voters.'" And if you're not sure whether or not someone from your area is involved, Stone and his thugs will help."...we’ll tell you who the culprits are. We urge you to visit their hotel and find them." Jeff Toobin, in a New Yorker profile (mug shot is more like it) of Stone a few years back relayed the Stone mantra: "'Attack, attack, attack—never defend' and 'Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack.'" No wonder Drumpf loves this guy. -- Akhilleus

... John King, et al., of CNN: "Donald Trump met Wednesday with GOP strategist Paul Manafort, a huddle that suggests campaign changes could be in the works.... The move raised questions about the future of Trump's embattled campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.... Friction between Lewandowski and Manafort may have already had an impact on Trump's campaign.... Campaign sources say Lewandowski's role is clearly being diminished....Trump's adversaries see the campaign overhaul as coming too late in the process." ...

     ... CW: The CNN reporters write that "Trump and his team simply appeared unaware of how the delegate process worked." As we mentioned here last week, Trump seems to have believed -- until he met with the RNC & even thereafter -- that he should be nominated by acclamation, & that anything less was "unfair" to him. He has continued to characterize rival campaigns' customary outreach to delegates as "stealing." ...

... NEW. Benjy Sarlin of MSNBC: "Colorado is a rare state where party officials choose delegates without any input from a primary or caucus vote," and the Trump campaign has little or no presence there. Donald Trump himself "canceled an appearance in the state to campaign in New York instead." Meanwhile, Ted Cruz has a sophisticated delegate outreach operation, & he plans to address the state's convention. "It’s not just Cruz and Kasich that Trump has to worry about either. The anti-Trump group Our Principles PAC, which has spent millions on ads opposing his candidacy, is increasingly devoting its focus to the delegate selection fight." Sarlin casts the Trump campaign's near-absence in Colorado as consistent with its lack of effort in other states. -- CW

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Without providing any evidence, Donald Trump casually accused Ted Cruz of violating campaign finance law by coordinatng with a pro-Cruz superPAC, which would be a federal crime. But there's this: "Trump himself appeared at fundraising events for a super PAC supporting him last year, before the super PAC was shuttered following a Post story that raised questions about how the campaign and the PAC were interacting. In that case, the two organizations shared a vendor, and that vendor reached out to raise money for the PAC using information he apparently received from Trump's office." -- CW

Trump Blows off Pro-Lifers. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Anti-abortion activists gathered in Washington on Wednesday had expected to hear from Donald Trump about his abortion positions. They left disappointed. Trump did not address the 115 Forum, a conference of abortion foes in Washington organized by Priests for Life. Three sources associated with the group said organizers had initially led attendees to believe that Trump would be speaking to them by phone. Yet later on Wednesday, organizers said the mogul would not be speaking." -- CW ...

... CW: Please. Donald loves babies, even girl babies, despite the fact they don't yet have the most important female assets:

     ... See? A pro-lifer AND a feminist.

Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker, in a greatest-hits column, demonstrates how, during the past several weeks, Donald Trump blew a lock on the nomination with a series of stupid Trump tricks. -- CW ...

... CW: IMO, Trump cannot fix these goofs, because they are part and parcel of who he is -- a narcissistic, childish, shallow, tasteless, misogynistic, mean-spirited bully. Candidate Trump has sought to cast his oafish public persona as a long-running media act. To the extent that he's covered his cowardice with boorishness, that's true. But the goonish persona has been a means to try to hide a host of abhorrent character traits and personal shortcomings that he cannot undo by pretending to "act presidential." "Presidential" isn't an act; it is a galaxy of traits that one develops (or doesn't) over a lifetime: intellectual depth, emotional equilibrium, empathy, decency, diplomacy, humility, grit. Maybe money can buy Trump love, maybe it can even buy him the presidency, but it cannot make him presidential. Ever.  

Trump in a funny way has normalized Ted Cruz because without Trump, the establishment would be totally opposed to Cruz. -- Newt Gingrich ...

... Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Newt Gingrich on Wednesday marveled at one of Donald Trump's biggest accomplishments in the 2016 race — making Ted Cruz appear normal." -- CW

Chauncey Alcorn & Leonard Greene of the New York Daily News: Ted "Cruz was scheduled to speak [about education] at Bronx Lighthouse College Preparatory Academy until students wrote a letter to the principal asking her not to let Cruz come, prompting staffers to cancel the appearance. 'We told her if he came here, we would schedule a walkout,' said Destiny Domeneck, 16. 'Most of us are immigrants or come from immigrant backgrounds. Ted Cruz goes against everything our school stands for.'" -- CW

Allegra Kirkland of TPM: "While campaigning in the Bronx on Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz explained that his attacks on Donald Trump’s “New York values" were really attacks on the 'liberal Democratic' values he said were held by leading politicians in the state." --safari note: Classic Cruz, Uniter-in-Chief.

Amber Phillips of the Washington Post: "It's hard to imagine a more far-right presidential candidate than [Ted] Cruz, who has shown little to no willingness to appeal to the broader electorate that Republicans arguably need to win the White House and maintain control of the Senate. Some political analysts even think Republicans' majority in the House could be in play with not just a Trump nomination, but also a Cruz nomination." -- CW

Beyond the Beltway

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "Donald L. Blankenship, whose leadership of Massey Energy Company transformed him into one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Appalachia, was sentenced on Wednesday to a year in prison for conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards. The sentencing, in Federal District Court here, came six years and one day after an explosion tore through Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine, killing 29 people. Although Mr. Blankenship was not accused of direct responsibility for the accident..., the disaster prompted the federal inquiry that led to Mr. Blankenship’s indictment." -- CW

Amber Phillips: "North Carolina's Republican party has declared war on itself.... In [a] press release they sent Tuesday, party leaders say they now have proof that not only did [the state chairman Hasan] Harnett try to crash their website, but that he tried to divert party funds into his own account.... ]The leaders have] shut down [Harnett's] email account and banned him from accessing their websites from going into party headquarters." -- CW

Tom Fuller of the New York Times: "San Francisco on Tuesday became the first city in the United States to approve six weeks of fully paid leave for new parents — mothers and fathers, including same-sex couples, who either bear or adopt a child." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Gov. Rick Scott (RAsshole-Fla.) hits Starbucks for a latte & a nice chat with the little people (who can afford $4/coffee):

Let's Party Like it's 1865! Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, another one-a them "uniters, not dividers", you know, like Trump and Cruz and Trump BFF David Duke, has officially designated April Confederate Heritage Month! Praise the white lord, chillun! This not very startling happenstance comes at the behest of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Such nice lads. And, according to Breitbart, defender of all things White Supremacisty, not a racist among them. Know how they know? Why, the SCV says so, that's how. Yeah, and ISIS is dead set against terrorists. Oh, well then. I guess we can ignore some of the stated core values of the SCV, which, according to Max Blumenthal in a an article appearing on Salon, involve "...promoting issues and ideas you wouldn’t believe. One of the books they’re promoting... argues that Jewish northern intellectuals are the South’s deadliest enemy — that civil rights is really a Jewish conspiracy and that blacks have lower IQs. They’re also selling...a book that portrays the KKK as great heroes."

See? Not racist at all. But back to Confederate Heritage Month. Fun will be had by all. Oh...as long as you're white, Christian, and wingnutty. The official proclamation (issued on the SCV website and not the official mississippi.gov site) acknowledges that there might have been a few, er, well, hmmmm....some "mistakes" made...in the past. Long time ago. Not even worth mentioning anymore. What were those mistakes? Who knows? Oh, and there's no mention of the S word. Shhh... Why? Well, former Mississippi Guv, Haley Barbour, had to remind everyone, not long ago, that them darkies were all happy as Larry before all the civil rights foolishness. A-pickin' and a-grinnin. No one sad or nothin'. Of course you won't hear much from black Mississippians anymore on account-a all the amazingly successful vote suppression that has diminished black turnout so dramatically. But anyways, don't forget to jot down April 25th on your calendars. That's Confederate Memorial Day. Aiiieeeeyyyaghohwooo (rough approximation of Rebel Yell, which sounds very much like a dog being castrated.) -- Akhilleus

Way Beyond

Never Mind. Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: "Iceland’s already fragile coalition government was thrown into further uncertainty on Wednesday after the country’s prime minister [Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson] said he had not formally resigned but had stepped aside for an 'unspecified' period after leaked documents linked him to an offshore company." -- CW

Kareem Fahim & C. J. Chivers of the New York Times: "A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition used bombs supplied by the United States in an attack on a market in Yemen last month that killed at least 97 civilians, including 25 children, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Wednesday."

Wall Street vs. Puerto Rico. Brian Chappatta, Michelle Kaske and Steven Dennis of Bloomberg: "Puerto Rico risked upending months-long efforts on Wall Street and in Washington to address the commonwealth’s fiscal crisis by authorizing the government to halt payments on a wide swath of its $70 billion debt (...) A default on those obligations would be a first for Puerto Rico" --safari

Michael Forsythe of the New York Times: "At least three of the seven people on the Chinese Communist Party’s most powerful committee, including President Xi Jinping, have relatives who have controlled secretive offshore companies, the organization that has publicized a trove of leaked documents about hidden wealth reported on Wednesday." -- CW