The Commentariat -- Dec. 30, 2015
Internal links removed.
Afternoon Update:
Nick Corasaniti & Rachel Shorey of the New York Times: "First and last names. Recent addresses and phone numbers. Party affiliation. Voting history and demographics. A database containing this information from 191 million voter records was mysteriously published over the last week..., alarming privacy experts who say the information can be used for phishing attacks, identity theft and extortion. No one knows who built the database, or precisely where all the data came from, and whether its disclosure resulted from an inadvertent release or from hacks. The disclosure was discovered by an information technology specialist, Chris Vickery, who quickly alerted the authorities and published his findings on Databreaches.net."
Christine Hauser & Daniel Victor of the New York Times: "The authorities in Pennsylvania announced criminal charges on Wednesday against the entertainer Bill Cosby stemming from a woman's accusation that he drugged and sexually abused her at his home in a suburb north of Philadelphia, in 2004. Kevin Steele, Montgomery County's district attorney-elect, said that Mr. Cosby faces a felony charge of aggravated indecent assault. He said the investigation involved a 'relationship' between Mr. Cosby and the woman, Andrea Constand, that came about from her work with the basketball team at Temple University, Mr. Cosby’s alma mater."
Milan Schrueur of the New York Times: "In the six weeks since the Paris terrorist attacks, law enforcement agencies in Brussels, where most of the attackers lived or had ties, have been denounced as slow, unresponsive, disorganized and even incompetent. To this list of woes, another was added on Wednesday: Officials are investigating accounts of an alcohol-fueled 'orgy' at a police station one night last month while Brussels, the Belgian capital, was nearly shut down over fears of a copycat terrorist attack."
Ryan Felton of the Guardian: "Michigan governor Rick Snyder apologized on Tuesday for the debacle that caused the city of Flint's water supply to be poisoned by lead, while the top state environment official resigned in light of a report that chiefly placed the blame for the crisis on his department.... Flint has been embroiled in a never-ending stream of water quality issues that began in April 2014, when the city started pulling water from a local river as a cost-saving measure. The switch took place while Flint was operated by a state-appointed emergency manager...." Read the whole story.
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Noam Scheiber & Patricia Cohen of the New York Times: "With inequality at its highest levels in nearly a century and public debate rising over whether the government should respond to it through higher taxes on the wealthy, the very richest Americans have financed a sophisticated and astonishingly effective apparatus for shielding their fortunes. Some call it the 'income defense industry,' consisting of a high-priced phalanx of lawyers, estate planners, lobbyists and anti-tax activists who exploit and defend a dizzying array of tax maneuvers, virtually none of them available to taxpayers of more modest means. In recent years, this apparatus has become one of the most powerful avenues of influence for wealthy Americans of all political stripes.... All are among a small group providing much of the early cash for the 2016 presidential campaign."
Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "U.S. intelligence agencies recently fought off a move by Congress to require the CIA and other spy services to disclose more details about high-ranking employees who have been promoted or fired, despite pledges to be more open and accountable. The disputed measure was designed to increase scrutiny of cases in which senior officers ascend to high-level positions despite problems ranging from abusive treatment of subordinates to involvement in botched operations overseas." ...
... Ha Ha! Looks as if those reprobates at the NSA were spying on Bibi & his BFFs in the GOP. Jesse Byrnes of the Hill: "The U.S. captured communications from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his aides and swept up the content of private conversations with U.S. lawmakers, giving the Obama administration insight into Israel's lobbying efforts against the international nuclear deal with Iran, according to a new report. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the National Security Agency (NSA) swept up information that White House officials considered valuable as it sought to counter Netanyahu's vocal opposition to the nuclear deal between Iran, the U.S. and other world leaders. Netanyahu reportedly remained a top priority for the snooping, according to the report, despite President Obama saying two years ago he would curb eavesdropping on allies." CW: Sorry about that ha ha. I'm shocked, shocked that we would spy on our good friend Bibi. ...
... Nolan McCaskill of Politico has more on the spy story. I was able to pick up the original Journal story, by Adam Entous & Danny Yadron, via Google. The lede is "President Barack Obama announced two years ago he would curtail eavesdropping on friendly heads of state after the world learned the reach of long-secret U.S. surveillance programs." (Of course if you have a WSJ subscription, you won't have to jump thru the Google hoops.) And there's this from the Journal story, which also is shock, shock, shocking:
Stepped-up NSA eavesdropping revealed to the White House how Mr. Netanyahu and his advisers had leaked details of the U.S.-Iran negotiations -- learned through Israeli spying operations -- to undermine the talks; coordinated talking points with Jewish-American groups against the deal; and asked undecided lawmakers what it would take to win their votes, according to current and former officials familiar with the intercepts.
Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: "Congressional Republicans are planning to start the new year with another attempt to ban federal funds for Planned Parenthood. But after five years of fruitless legislative attacks, the House vote next week is likely to be the last, conservative activists say, until a Republican moves into the White House.... This month..., hard-line Republicans, including several who are running for president, were all but silent as Congress passed an annual government spending bill that would maintain about $500 million in Medicaid reimbursements for the network's health services to low-income people. (Federal law prohibits funds for most abortions.)"
Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. AP: "Kalobios, the troubled drugmaker taken over by Martin Shkreli last month, is seeking bankruptcy protection less than two weeks after his arrest on securities fraud. The San Francisco company was recently informed by Nasdaq that it would be delisted because of Shkreli's indictment." CW: Boo-fucking-hoo. P.S. I hope I haven't unknowingly invested in Kalobios. If so, boo-fucking-hoo for me, too.
Presidential Race
Nate Cohn of the New York Times: "You have undoubtedly heard that primary polls aren't necessarily very predictive far from an election. With just a month to go until the Iowa caucuses, I'm writing to tell you that ... it's still true.... In 2004, John Edwards held 7 percent of the support in Iowa with a month to go; he won around 32 percent. In 2008, John McCain held 18 percent in New Hampshire; he won with 37 percent. In 2012 in Iowa, Rick Santorum held 5 percent; he won with 25 percent.... Last-minute swings ... often happen without anything huge triggering them."
Amy Chozick of the New York Times: "For years, President Bill Clinton was the best friend Donald J. Trump always hoped to have. When scandal engulfed Mr. Clinton's White House, Mr. Trump leapt to the president's defense.... In the past week, any semblance of a friendship between Mr. Trump and Bill Clinton came to an ugly end.... 'If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband, with his terrible record of women abuse, while playing the women's card on me, she's wrong!' Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Monday.... Mr. Trump's tactics could backfire. Mrs. Clinton had some of her highest approval ratings ever after revelations that Mr. Clinton had a relationship with [Monica] Lewinsky, a 22-year-old White House intern." ...
... Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "Less than a decade ago, Donald Trump could be spotted on TV or in print gushing over Hillary Clinton. He publicly praised her health care plan (it had an individual mandate). He said he liked Clinton and her husband 'very much.' He said she would do a good job negotiating with Iran. During the heat of the 2008 campaign, Trump took to his own blog to praise Clinton, writing that she'd make a great president."
Ed Kilgore of New York: "The four candidates who have already dropped out of the contest (Rick Perry, Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, and Lindsey Graham) have a combined résumé of 86 years in elected office. The four who lead most polls (Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Ben Carson) together have 16 years of experience in elected office, and 13 of those are possessed by the 'youth candidate,' Marco Rubio.... If, as many observers believe, the contest boils down to a Cruz-Rubio battle, it will involve two freshman members of the U.S. Senate, one of whom devotes most of his time to attacking that institution (Cruz), and another who is laboring to live down his only notable legislative accomplishment (Rubio and his comprehensive immigration-reform bill). And Beltway Republicans will feel fortunate to have that choice, instead of you-know-who." Also, too, Rubio never shows up for work, so that whittles his "years in the Senate" experience down to "months in the Senate."
Emma Roller of the New York Times: "2015 was the Year of Trump because he is the perfect candidate for our viral age. His success tells us a lot about the nature of what goes viral and how it reflects our beliefs and our fears.... That Mr. Trump is both volatile in nature and allergic to nuance is part of his viral success.... 'Conservatives tend to be a lot more reactive to negative information and they also tend to be a lot more insular in nature, and they also tend to have less tolerance for ambiguity,' Professor [Bradley] Okdie said.... Mr. Trump is an echo chamber for certain corners of the far right, as evinced by his popularity with white nationalists and the so-called alt-right movement of mostly online activists." Thanks to Victoria D. for the link.
Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Another protester was violently ejected from a Donald Trump rally Monday night in New Hampshire -- this time by a self-described celebrity boxer.... A Trump supporter later identified as Todd 'The Punisher’ Poulton, pounced on [a] man [who had yelled 'fascist"], and witnesses said they knocked over an elderly man in the scuffle.... The boxer, whose face is partially covered by a tattoo, slammed the unidentified protester onto the bleachers, and a police officer came to break up the fight before Poulton could land a punch." Includes video, if you're into Jerry Springer-type campaign events.
Philip Bump of the Washington Post: If Ted Cruz, who opposes subsidizing renewable fuel, wins the Iowa caucuses in the state where corn is king, it may be the end of ethanol. CW: What a shame.
Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Ohio Gov. John Kasich has secured the support of Ron Burkle, a billionaire investor who has been a prominent supporter of Democrats over the years -- including the Clintons. Burkle is slated to host a Jan. 12 fundraiser for the Republican presidential candidate at the Soho House in Los Angeles...." CW: Burkle & Bill Clinton used to be close, until that whole "Air Fuck One" stuff -- and Burkle's shady business deals -- made news. BTW, John, when God told you to run for president, did he also tell you to make deals with the devil?
Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "George E. Pataki, the former three-term New York governor who undertook a long-shot presidential bid that failed to catch fire, withdrew from the presidential race on Tuesday, urging Republicans in a televised message to nominate another candidate who could bring the country together.... The next president must unite the country, Mr. Pataki said, 'If we're truly going to make America great again,' an allusion to the campaign slogan of Donald J. Trump, who Mr. Pataki has often criticized."
Beyond the Beltway
Jane Morice of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Cleveland Councilman Jeff Johnson announced Tuesday night via Twitter that he plans to request the city law director to file negligent homicide charges against the officers involved in the Tamir Rice case." ...
... ** New York Times Editors: "Tamir Rice of Cleveland would be alive today had he been a white 12-year-old playing with a toy gun in just about any middle-class neighborhood in the country.... But Tamir, who was shot to death by a white police officer that day, had the misfortune of being black in a poor area of Cleveland, where the police have historically behaved as an occupying force that shoots first and asks questions later. To grow up black and male in such a place is to live a highly circumscribed life, hemmed in by forces that deny your humanity and conspire to kill you." ...
... CW: Read the editorial. I have seldom, if ever, seen the Times editorial board so unequivocally condemnatory. Good for them. ...
... MEANWHILE, the Cleveland Plain Dealer editors/chickenshits call for demonstrators to be peaceful. ...
... Ari Melber of MSNBC in a Washington Post op-ed: Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim "McGinty used the grand jury as more of a sounding board for an exoneration of the potential defendants, rather than as a review of possible charges against them. His 70-page report reads like defense counsel brief, not a neutral assessment of potential charges.... This approach -- using the grand jury to review arguments on behalf of potential police defendants, not to prosecute them -- fits the model of several recent inquiries of police shootings.... Prosecutors in these cases hide behind the grand jury process.... Our founders put grand juries in the Constitution so that citizens could check overzealous prosecutors.... It is a historical oddity that today some prosecutors are using grand juries to present the defense's side and avoid any charges at all." ...
... CW: So what we're talking about here is prosecutorial nullification. ...
... Shaila Dewan & Timothy Williams of the New York Times: "Even as the number of police officers facing charges has notably risen, driven by video evidence and a national debate over law enforcement tactics, convictions have proved as elusive as ever." ...
... CW: I know black cops & Latino cops aren't any better or worse than white cops, on the whole, but I don't see why any two-person police team that patrols a primarily black or Hispanic neighborhood doesn't include at least one cop who shares the ethnicity of the community. This approach most certainly will not solve all problems (neighborhoods shouldn't be segregated in the first place), but I don't think a black cop would have been so ready to shoot Tamir Rice dead in two seconds.
Mireya Villarreal of CBS News (Dec. 28): "A torrent of methane gas has been spewing into the air for weeks in the small town of Porter Ranch north of Los Angeles, forcing thousands to evacuate. Infrared video shows gas rolling off the top of a nearby ridge, down into the community of Porter Ranch. It was shot by a law firm representing several homeowners who are now filing lawsuits against Southern California's gas utility company." Contributor Unwashed discussed this two days ago.
Manny Fernandez & others of the New York Times update the story on poor-little-rich killer Ethan Couch & his mother Tonya Couch, who have been arrested after fleeing from Texas to Mexico.
Way Beyond
Old Habits Die Hard? Pamela Constable of the Washington Post: "At a ceremony inaugurating the new 'Afghan Pentagon' [in Kabul] Monday, President Ashraf Ghani stressed the importance of building a modern military, subservient to the nation's constitution and laws rather than to powerful individuals. He portrayed the gleaming new facility, built with U.S. funds, as the central command for that mission.... But 150 miles east, in the embattled district of Achin, news was spreading of an atrocity committed by a private pro-government militia over the weekend. After Islamic State forces captured and beheaded four of its members, Afghan officials reported, the militia retaliated by decapitating four Islamic State prisoners, later placing their heads on piles of stones along a main road.
CW: I will now take a break to shovel some snow. It's 23 degrees out there. Yikes! ...
... Update: Aaah, 23 feel like 43 when you're shoveling snow.
News Ledes
Washington Post: "Forecasts are calling for record or near-record crests of the Mississippi River and its tributaries as a week of torrential rainfall drains into the basin. More than 20 people have died in the floods, and the worst has yet to come. The disastrous river flooding is the result of a month's worth of excessive rainfall, most of which has fallen over the past week."
Washington Post: "A powerful winter cyclone -- the same storm that lead to two tornado outbreaks in the United States and disastrous river flooding -- has driven the North Pole to the freezing point this week, 50 degrees above average for this time of year."
AP: "Turkish police on Wednesday detained two suspected Islamic State militants who were believed to be planning suicide attacks during New Year celebrations in central Ankara, officials said. The two men were detained in a raid on a cell house in the low-income Mamak neighborhood of Ankara, where police also seized a suicide vest armed with a bomb, an explosive device that was fortified with ball bearings and metal sticks and placed inside a back-pack as well as bomb-making equipment, according to the Ankara Chief Prosecutor's office."