;)
The Commentariat -- December 3, 2015
Internal links removed.
Ian Lovett, et al., of the New York Times: "Investigators on Thursday hunted for a motive in the backgrounds of a husband and wife suspected in a shooting rampage that left 14 dead and 17 others wounded here, while federal agents traced the origins of the four guns recovered from the suspects, all of them bought legally, and officers combed through a sprawling set of crime scenes for evidence." ...
... James Queally, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "As authorities continued to comb through the home of the husband and wife responsible for a mass shooting at a San Bernardino holiday party, investigators and legislators from California to Washington, D.C., tried to understand what motivated the shooters. Speaking at the White House on Thursday morning, President Obama said the FBI was now leading the probe into the attack at the Inland Regional Center, which left 14 people dead and 17 wounded":
... CW: In today's thread, contributor D.C. Clark offers a useful differentiation between terrorist acts & other acts of violence. ...
... New York Times liveblog, 12:57 pm ET: "San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said there were 21 people injured in the attack, updating the previous tally of 17. And he said that investigators found 12 pipe bombs at the home of the suspects, searched after the killings." ...
... New York Times, liveblog, linked above, 12:44 pm ET: "The F.B.I. is treating its probe into the San Bernardino massacre as a counterterrorism investigation, two law enforcement officials said Thursday.... The F.B.I. has also uncovered evidence that Mr. Farook was in touch with people domestically and abroad who have Muslim extremist views, according to law enforcement officials. Mr. Farook had contact with them over several years, the officials said." ...
... Jack Dolan, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: [Mass murder suspect] Syed "Farook had traveled to Saudi Arabia and returned with a new wife he met online. The couple had a baby and appeared to be 'living the American dream,' said Patrick Baccari, a fellow inspector who shared a cubicle with Farook." CW: I suspected, early on, when President Obama "For those who are concerned about terrorism, some may be aware of the fact that we have a no-fly list where people can't get on planes, but those same people that we don't allow to fly could go into stores in the United States and buy a firearm and there's nothing we could do to stop them," that the shooter would be IDed as someone on a terrorist watch list. We still don't know that's the case, but I'd sure watch a guy who suddenly became a very religious Muslim & traveled to Saudi Arabia. I shudder to think where the party of Trump will take this. ...
... Julie Turkewitz & Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times examine what's known about the actions of Farook & Malik. ...
... L.A. Times liveblog, 7:45 am PT: "The female suspect in the deadly shooting rampage allegedly carried out with her husband was Pakistani, a federal source confirmed." ...
... L.A. Times liveblog, 7:01 am PT: "... Democrats will try to force the Senate to vote Thursday on legislation to stem gun violence. The specific measures are still being considered, but they would be proposed as amendments to a GOP package to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Passage of any effort to limit access to firearms appears unlikely...."
... L.A. Times liveblog, linked above, 10:19 pm ET, Wednesday: "The male and female suspects who died in a gun battle with police Wednesday after.noon were Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tafsheen Malik, 27, San Bernardino's police chief announced. Farook was born in the U.S. and worked as a county employee, and Malik's nationality was not yet known, Chief Jarrod Burguan said."
... L.A. Times liveblog, 6:47 pm: "Two law enforcement sources identified one of the suspects in the San Bernardino shooting as Syed Farook. According to public records, a Syed R. Farook worked as an environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County. It's unclear whether that is the same person connected to the attack. The shooting occurred at an event for the county's public health department." ...
... L.A. Times liveblog, 6:09 pm PT: "The lead gunman connected to the mass shooting in San Bernardino is believed to be a U.S. citizen, according to a federal law enforcement source speaking on condition of anonymity. The source added that links to international terrorism are still on the table, however, as the assailants could have been encouraged by a foreign terror group." ...
... L.A. Times liveblog, 5:56 pm PT: "Two people, a man and a woman, are dead after a confrontation with police. A third person seen running away from the scene has been detained, but it's not clear if he is connected to the shootings. Both deceased suspects were inside a dark SUV that was the subject of a police pursuit after officers arrived to investigate a home in Redlands. The suspects in the SUV were dressed in 'assault-style clothing' and were armed with assault rifles and handguns, officials said." ...
... LA.Times liveblog. 4:19 pm PT: two suspects are in custody. "At least one suspect is down and there may be another at large after a police pursuit and shootout, said San Bernardino Sheriff spokeswoman Sgt. Vicki Cervantes." ...
... L.A. Times liveblog, 3:52 pm ET: "According to a federal law enforcement official, authorities believe that one man angrily left the event that county employees were holding Wednesday morning at the Inland Regional Center.The man, they believe, returned with 'one or two' others and opened fire."
... Adam Nagourney, et al., of the New York Times: "Hours after as many as three gunmen stormed a service center for people with disabilities ... on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 17 others, the police engaged in a shootout in nearby surburban neighborhood, that officials said left one suspect dead, one likely wounded in an S.U.V. and a third suspect on the run.... ... Witnesses described a wild scene as the police closed in on the vehicle, with hundreds of shots being fired. Dozens of police officers rushed to the scene, many with their guns drawn, as the people in the vehicle battled the police. When the guns fell silent, the police swarmed out into the neighborhood and hunted for one person believed to be on the run." The story has been updated repeatedly. ...
... Richard Serrano, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "As many as three assailants attacked a gathering inside a San Bernardino office building Wednesday morning, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 14 others, according to law enforcement officials. The shooters, who carried long guns and wore masks and camouflage clothing, may have opened fire on a holiday party being held by county employees, federal law enforcement sources and a witness told the Los Angeles Times. The shooting took place in a large conference room on the grounds of the Inland Regional Center, which serves people with developmental disabilities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties." CW: This story has been updated. ...
... The L.A. Times is liveblogging events here & currently has live KTLA coverage embedded in the liveblog. KTLA currently (6:15 pm ET) has a helicopter reporter covering what they say is police approaching a suspect who may be "down." This apparently follows a "shootout." The number of injured has been raised to 17. KTLA is now saying the subject is definitely down. The SUV involved in the shootout is riddled with bulletholes & all the tires are shot out. ...
... Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "'We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world,' said [President] Obama, who expressed his sympathies to the victims, in a CBS News interview with Norah O'Donnell that was taped as information about the situation was developing. 'And there's some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently'":
... Elizabeth Bruenig of the New Republic posts presidential candidates' Twitter reactions to the San Bernardino massacre: "... that's prayers, luck, and blessings from Republicans, and gun policy prescriptions from Democrats."
Your 'thoughts' should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your 'prayers' should be for forgiveness if you do nothing -- again. -- Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) (Via Greg Sargent)
... With Gun Violence Increasing, Americans Want More Guns. Mona Chalabi of the Guardian: "In 2014, 336 mass shootings were recorded by a Reddit community which tracks all incidents where four or more individuals are injured (including the shooter). That number has already been surpassed this year. In the 334 days since 1 January, there have been 351 mass shootings in the country -- that total doesn't include [Wednesday's] shooting [in San Bernardino]. The number of victims has also risen. In 2014, 383 people were killed in mass shootings and 1,239 were injured. So far this year, 447 individuals have been killed and 1,292 injured.... The interval between shootings is falling.... Despite the rise in the number of mass shootings, public opinion about gun control has shifted over that period away from controlling gun ownership according to Pew Research Center.... When Pew has conducted surveys immediately before and after shootings, they have found that violence has little effect on public opinion about gun control." ...
... Sharon LaFraniere, et al., of the New York Times: "More than one a day. That is how often, on average, shootings that left four or more people injured or dead occurred in the United States this year, according to compilations of episodes derived from news reports.... Ted Alcorn, the research director for Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization that advocates gun control, said the shootings with multiple victims were just a small subset of everyday gun violence in America. 'You have 14 people dead in California, and that's a horrible tragedy,' he said. 'But likely 88 other people died today from gun violence in the United States.' In a recent report, the Congressional Research Service found a slight uptick in shootings in which four or more victims died." ...
... German Lopez of Vox: "With 14 people dead, the San Bernardino shooting would count as a mass shooting under any definition. But whether these types of shootings are more common today depends on which definition you use for mass shootings.... America has six times as many firearm homicides as Canada and 15 times as many as Germany, according to UN data compiled by the Guardian's Simon Rogers. In fact, no other developed country comes close to the levels of gun violence that America has...." ...
... Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "On Wednesday morning, a group of doctors in white coats arrived on Capitol Hill to deliver a petition to Congress. Signed by more than 2,000 physicians around the country, it pleads with lawmakers to lift a restriction that for nearly two decades has essentially blocked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from conducting research on gun violence. Joined by a handful of Democratic lawmakers, the doctors spoke about the need to view gun violence as a public health epidemic and research ways to solve it -- as the country would with any disease causing the deaths of thousands of Americans each year.... Hours later, another mass shooting began to unfold in San Bernardino, Calif." ...
... Here's a statement from Doctors for America. ...
... Delphine D'Amora of Mother Jones has more on the Congressional gag order. "A Mother Jones investigation published this summer found that gun violence costs the United States a staggering $229 billion every year."
... Gun TV. Joanna Walters of the Guardian: "A new home shopping channel will launch in the US early in 2016. It will be called, simply, Gun TV.... Gun TV's specialty will be exactly that: guns. It will also sell ammunition, accessories such as concealed-carry holsters and clothing, such as hunting jackets.... The channel's logo shows a bullet whizzing through the words Gun TV, which are depicted in shining silver. The tagline: 'Live shopping. Fully loaded'." CW: Folks, make sure your cable provider carries Gun TV! This is a marketing innovation the country really needs right now. What a shame the channel won't be up in time for Christmas.
Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "... when [Republicans'] intensely inflammatory and deliberately shocking language coincides with not one but six actual attacks on Planned Parenthood clinics -- and a massive upsurge in threats of violence -- it's sort of absurd to suggest that there is no conceivable connection. Oh, and there is this as well. What they are saying is a lie.... There is no factual or empirical basis from which to believe that Planned Parenthood sells fetal parts for money.... One side is lying about Planned Parenthood and declining to admit the truth about the consequences of violent, graphic rhetoric. The other side is pointing out that the lies about Planned Parenthood are lies and that words have consequences. There is no equivalency here."
Alan Fram of the AP: "Republicans pushed legislation toward Senate approval Thursday that would demolish President Barack Obama's signature health care law and halt Planned Parenthood's federal money, setting up a veto fight the GOP knows it will lose but thinks will delight conservative voters in next year's elections." See also L.A. Times liveblog above, at 7:01 am PT today. ...
... Wait, Wait! There's More! Dana Milbank: "... like Captain Ahab and the white whale, congressional Republicans continue their quest to repeal the law. On Wednesday, House Republicans announced that they were joining yet another legal challenge to Obamacare, and Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), commander of this latest judicial Pequod, called reporters to a Capitol meeting room and declared that the very survival of the nation was at stake.
Mike Lillis & Scott Wong of the Hill: "Citing dozens of 'poison-pill' riders, House Democrats have rejected the Republicans' initial year-end government funding bill and plan to respond with their own alternative package. GOP leaders had delivered the sweeping spending proposal to the Democrats on Tuesday evening as Congress scrambles to fund the government and prevent a shutdown ahead of a looming Dec. 11 deadline."
Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "In a critical report to be released publicly Thursday, House investigators describe the ... [Secret Service] as an 'agency in crisis' that has failed to fix many of the deeply ingrained problems exposed last year amid a string of humiliating security lapses, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Washington Post.... [A] staffing decline, which includes the uniformed-officer division that guards the White House, is 'perhaps the greatest threat' to the Secret Service, the report says. Among other factors, the report points to past budget cuts and 'systemic mismanagement' by the agency.... The committee's probe uncovered a number of previously unreported breaches...."
GOP Senate Campaign Committee Ready to Clone Trump. Robert Costa & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "In a seven-page confidential memo [dated September 22] that imagines Trump as the party's presidential nominee, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee urges candidates to adopt many of Trump's tactics, issues and approaches -- right down to adjusting the way they dress and how they use Twitter. In the memo on 'the Trump phenomenon,' NRSC Executive Director Ward Baker said Republicans should embrace Trump's tough talk about China and 'grab onto the best elements of [his] anti-Washington populist agenda.' Above all, they should appeal to voters as genuine and beyond the influence of special interests.... Still, Baker sees limits to being like Trump. He writes that it is prudent for Senate candidates to craft their own political brands distinct from Trump's and to distance themselves by quickly condemning his more controversial comments, such as 'wacky things about women.'" The memo is here. ...
... CW: Every time I think Republicans can't get worse, they prove me wrong. ...
... Greg Sargent on the Senate memo: "... the mere possibility that [Donald Trump] might win the nomination requires GOP establishment figures to evade acknowledging the true sources of his appeal."
You've picked the wrong people. I don't understand how you could do this. You've picked the wrong people! -- Former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) to President Obama, on his nominations of Tim Geithner & Larry Summers, ca. late 2008 ...
... ** David Dayen, in the New Republic, offers a provocative & compelling take on the rise of the angry right: "The right-wing surge after the financial crisis was predictable. So was its endurance when it interacted with the realities of American politics. But Democrats had a moment after 2008 to restructure the financial system, not just rebuild it. Failure to do so wasn't just bad policy; it hurt at the voting booth." Read the whole post. CW: This is very much what most liberals were saying in 2009 & 2010, as the Obama administration's foolish, bank-friendly response to the financial crisis was rolling out, but Dayen adds some empirical research to back us up. Worth noting: this makes Hillary Clinton the worst possible Democratic candidate for 2016. Expect to see ads depicting her bronco-riding the Wall Street bull a la Slim Pickens in "Dr. Strangelove."
** Judge Richard Posner & Eric Segall, in a New York Times op-ed, expose the judicial philosophy of Justice Antonin Scalia. "The logic of his position is that the Supreme Court should get out of the business of enforcing the Constitution altogether, for enforcing it overrides legislation, which is the product of elected officials, and hence of democracy.... Justice Scalia seems to want to turn the Constitution upside down when it comes to government and religion; his political ideal verges on majoritarian theocracy."
Tierney Sneed of TPM: "Alabama now faces a federal lawsuit over its voter ID law after closing 30 or so driver's licenses offices, many of them in areas with high African-American populations. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund is bringing the suit on behalf of Greater Birmingham Ministries and the Alabama NAACP. It was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Alabama."
Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: "Janet L. Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, said on Wednesday that economic conditions were ripe for the Fed to start raising its benchmark interest rate this month, a move that appears all but inevitable barring a sharp change in the economic weather."
Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "The Chinese government recently arrested a handful of hackers it says were connected to the breach of Office of Personnel Management's database this year, a mammoth break-in that exposed the records of more than 22 million current and former federal employees. The arrests took place shortly before a state visit in September by President Xi Jinping, and U.S. officials say they appear to have been carried out in an effort to lessen tensions with Washington."
Griff Witte & Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Britain on Wednesday night opted to join a U.S.-led bombing campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria, with Parliament endorsing a push by Prime Minister David Cameron following a raucous debate marked by accusations that revived the ghosts of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war."
Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: "The Islamic State claims to be more than a militant group, selling itself as a government for the world's Muslims that provides a range of services in the territory it controls. But that statehood project is now in distress, perhaps more so than at any other time since the Islamic State began seizing territory in Iraq and Syria, according to a range of interviews with people who have recently fled.... As its smuggling and oil businesses have faltered, the Islamic State has fallen back on ever-increasing taxes and tolls imposed on its squeezed citizens."
Presidential Race
Dan Merica of CNN: "Hillary Clinton supports an independent investigation into the Chicago Police Department, her campaign spokesman said Wednesday, days after the department released video of the Laquan McDonald's shooting death at the hands of police.... This lines Clinton up against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a longtime Clinton aide who worked for former President Bill Clinton in the White House. Emanuel, who is facing calls for his resignation, said Wednesday he was against a federal inquiry." Clinton is not calling for Emanuel to step down.
Upside-Down World. Peter Stone of the Guardian: "A conservative group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers and their wealthy allies boasts a scorecard on its website that rates the presidential candidates based on their opposition to policies meant to tackle climate change.... Texas senator Ted Cruz scored the highest rating on the American Energy Alliance site, which labelled him a 'hero' due in part to his opposition to regulation and taxes. Cruz was followed on the scorecard by four other Republican candidates -- Florida senator Marco Rubio, ex-Florida governor Jeb Bush, ex-Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Kentucky senator Rand Paul, who were named as 'defenders'."
Ed Kilgore, who now works for New York magazine: "You may still be able to find pundits who will dismiss everything that's happened up until now as meaningless (tell that to Scott Walker and Bobby Jindal!), and confidently predict big TV ad money will determine the nomination by and by. But the desultory impact of the very real money spent so far on very real campaign ads suggests the only 'shock and awe' in sight is in the minds of donors who realize they are pouring a lot of money down a lot of ratholes." ...
Ben Schreckinger of Politico: Donald "Trump once said that all presidential candidates should release their medical records. But so far in the 2016 race, he had declined to release his, and a campaign spokeswoman had not responded to multiple requests for comment about the candidate's health records stretching back to October. On Thursday, three hours after this article was published, the billionaire businessman relented, tweeting that he'll release his records within the next two weeks. 'As a presidential candidate, I have instructed my long-time doctor to issue, within two weeks, a full medical report-it will show perfection,' Trump said in the tweet." ...
... Eric Levitz of New York: "On Wednesday, [Donald] Trump joined eminent conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for a discussion of New Jersey's jihadist Muslims, the imminent threat of a one-world government, his own 'George Washington-level' greatness, and other true things that the lamestream media is afraid to report on. Here's a quick rundown of all the things we learned...: Donald Trump grew up with 'nothing.'... Trump was the only major U.S. figure to oppose the Iraq War.... If we don't drastically increase surveillance, we won't have a country anymore.... If Trump isn't elected, we probably won't have a country anymore.... President Obama is afraid to talk about radical Muslim ... stuff.... Trump won't drop out, even if the globalists try to kill him." ...
... BUT Jonathan Chait argues that "a nominated Trump would be a different figure.... Republicans who currently have a strong incentive to tear him down would instead have a strong incentive to rally around their nominee and salvage his standing. A nominated Trump would bring onboard some Establishment advisers currently working for his rivals. Conservatives who insisted during the primary they could never support him would see in their nominee a different, more sober and thoughtful figure than the demagogue they had lambasted months before. And because Republicans would now be rallying around him, Trump would enjoy far more latitude for his wild claims. Fear of partisan bias would then dissuade the media from labeling Trump's lies as lies."
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "... after weeks of carnage inflicted by terrorists in France, Mali and Lebanon, doubts about [Ben] Carson's knowledge of the world have reversed his momentum.... Tied with Mr. Trump in early November, Mr. Carson's support was down seven percentage points, leaving him essentially tied for second place with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Support for Mr. Trump, who continues to lead, grew to 27 percent from 24 percent last month." ...
... David Catanese of US News: "Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson beat back questions about the loss of a top fundraiser and categorized the shootings in San Bernardino, California, as a 'hate crime' during a testy news conference [in Wellford, South Carolina,] Wednesday.... The Wall Street Journal reported that one of Carson's top fundraisers had left his campaign over a dispute over the direction of its leadership.... Carson shrugged off the loss during a question-and-answer session with reporters. 'People come and go when they feel that things aren't being run the way they want them to be run,' he said."
CW: I try to avoid mentioning one particular fake presidential candidate, but Tim Murphy of Mother Jones provides another useful reminder of what a scam artist Mike Hucksterbee is. But then Jesus came up with some mighty fakey miracle cures, so I guess it's all okay.
Beyond the Beltway
AP: "Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan [D] has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the Chicago Police Department's practices violate federal and constitutional law. Madigan said Tuesday that the 'shocking death' of Laquan McDonald, a black 17-year-old who was fatally shot by white police officer in 2014, raises serious questions about the use of lawful and excessive force. She says trust in the police department is 'broken.'"
How Do You Spell "Hypocrite"? T-E-X-A-S R-E-P-U-B-L-I-C-A-N-S. ...
"The Reddest State Goes Green." Taylor Hill of Take Part: "... ranching and farming operations across West Texas are changing a century-old way of life to adapt to the new reality of climate change, even if, in their unwillingness to talk about global warming, they see their actions as a pragmatic response to a new business reality. So a state that once spawned oil billionaires like T. Boone Pickens now mints wind barons like, yes, T. Boone Pickens, and rock-ribbed conservative cities are ditching dirty coal for wind and solar energy. Texas may be home to some of the nation's most vociferous climate skeptics -- hello, Ted Cruz -- but Texans are already fighting climate change, even if they won't admit it. Survival, it turns out, trumps denial." Via Nancy Le Tourneau of the Washington Monthly. ...
... MEANWHILE. KVUE Austin, Texas: "Gov. Greg Abbott comes home to Texas Wednesday following a three day trip to Cuba that focused on travel, trade and exports. Abbott met with Cuban officials Tuesday, stressing that he wants close economic ties between Texas and Cuba regardless of whether the U.S. embargo is lifted, according to KVUE's partners at the Austin American-Statesman."
... BUT climate change is a liberal hoax & President Obama is a Castro-loving commie.
Way Beyond
Greg Botelho of CNN: "ISIS released video Wednesday showing the beheading of a man it claims joined the terrorist group but was in fact a Russian spy, as well as a message chastising Russian President Vladimir Putin and threatening his country's citizens."
Guardian: "Britain has carried out its first airstrikes in Syria, hours after MPs voted overwhelmingly to authorise military action. Four RAF Tornado jets were seen taking off from the Akrotiri base in Cyprus early on Thursday morning and the Ministry of Defence later confirmed they had carried out the "first offensive operation over Syria and have conducted strikes'."
AP: "Oscar Pistorius was convicted of murder on Thursday by a South African appeals court that described the once-glittering story of the double-amputee Olympian and Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend he killed in his home in 2013, as 'a human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.' The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned a lower court's conviction against Pistorius on the less serious charge of manslaughter, adding another twist to a case that riveted people around the world...."
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