The Commentariat -- July 30, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

Afternoon Update:

Calling Dr. Palmer. The "Hunter" Becomes the Hunted. Rosie Gray of BuzzFeed: "The American dentist who admitted to killing Cecil the lion has not responded to attempts at contact, a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service official said on Thursday. 'The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing of "Cecil the lion,"' Edward Grace, the agency's deputy chief of law enforcement, said in a statement provided to BuzzFeed News. 'That investigation will take us wherever the facts lead. At this point in time, however, multiple efforts to contact Dr. Walter Palmer have been unsuccessful. We ask that Dr. Palmer or his representative contact us immediately.'" CW: Wherever Palmer is in hiding, at least he's not likely limping along with arrows in his side.

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter will allow more U.S. troops to be armed while stateside and called for other security measures to be put in place following the attack in Chattanooga, Tenn., that killed five service members. The decision was outlined in a two-page memo released at the Pentagon on Thursday."

Gabrel Sherman of New York: "The Fox News GOP Debate Could Draw the Biggest Audience in Cable News History -- and Roger Ailes Is Making All the Rules."

Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: "A judge set bail at $1 million on Thursday for the former University of Cincinnati police officer who shot and killed a motorist, after a traffic stop over a missing license plate."

*****

Jonathan Cohn of the Huffington Post: "It was 50 years ago Thursday that President Lyndon Johnson signed the legislation that created Medicare, dramatically altering life for America's seniors. But as debate over the program rages on, its conservative critics have learned to be more crafty about what alternatives they propose -- and how to justify them."

We Win! -- Lindsey Graham ...

     ... Steve Benen.: "... while that may be the end of the conversation for Graham, responsible policymakers have to wonder: 'win' at what cost? What are the security implications of the U.S. launching yet another Middle Eastern war? How long would the war last and with how many casualties? What happens after our 'victory'?" CW: Remember, this guy is likely the best candidate the GOP is fielding in the presidential race. He's the only one who's not an ignoramus or a kook or some combination thereof. And he thinks "we win" in a war with Iran is a great rationale to opt for unleashing untold carnage. This freak show isn't comical; it's scary. ...

Relieving the risk of a nuclear conflict with Iran diplomatically is superior than trying to do that militarily. -- Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a Senate hearing yesterday

... Helene Cooper & Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "While the nuclear agreement with Iran will not stop it from funding organizations the United States considers to be terrorist groups, the pact reduces the chances of a near-term military conflict between the two countries, the top American military leader, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, told Congress on Wednesday.... General Dempsey answered a barrage of questions from Republican senators that appeared intended to make him criticize the pact." CW: Yo, Lindsey, even the military thinks your bellicose approach is nuts.

CW: Adele Stan, in the American Prospect, makes the point that I made more clumsily over in Infotainment: "Among the most daunting obstacles to racial equality is the white liberal who thinks he doesn't have a racist bone in his body. Because we all do.... Until white progressives are willing to take a cold, hard look at why our movement is viewed with suspicion by those who feel shut out, a truly progressive future will be a promise unfulfilled." ...

Do-Nothing House Takes a Break. Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "The House adjourned Wednesday evening for its five-week August recess and won't have votes again until Tuesday, Sept. 8. Wednesday capped a July session dominated by Republican divides on highway funding, a controversy over displaying the Confederate flag, and a last-minute effort from a conservative rebel to oust Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)." ...

... Dana Milbank: "For the first time in 105 years, a speaker of the House is the target of what parliamentarians call a 'motion to vacate the chair'.... But, in a sense, the office of the speaker already is pretty much vacant. [John] Boehner is in charge, but only nominally. He is unable to move legislation, rendered powerless by his struggles to placate about 50 conservative holdouts.... If Boehner were instead to try a more bipartisan approach, he would further infuriate the Meadows crowd, but he would get things done. And Democrats have previously indicated they would help Boehner keep the speakership if conservatives were to stage a coup." ...

... Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Asked about [Mark] Meadows's [R-NC] gambit [to unseat House Speaker John Boehner], Republicans across the ideological spectrum reacted coolly Wednesday...." ...

... Scott Wong of the Hill: "Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) told his colleagues on Wednesday he would resign from the conservative House Freedom Caucus board of directors, just a day after he offered a resolution to oust Ohio Republican John Boehner as Speaker of the House. His offer came during a Wednesday morning closed-door Freedom Caucus meeting that was called to discuss his actions...." But then he took it back.

Chris Brennan & Jeremy Roebuck of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah [D] and four associates were indicted Wednesday on racketeering conspiracy charges stemming from several alleged schemes to misuse campaign funds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grant money to further their political and financial interests. The five schemes include accepting a $1 million illegal loan for Fattah's failed 2007 mayoral campaign from a 'wealthy supporter' and then repaying some of it using "charitable and federal grant funds" that passed through a nonprofit founded and controlled by Fattah, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said at a news conference." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Robert Schmidt of Bloomberg: "Representative Scott Garrett [R-NJ], who heads an influential House subcommittee overseeing the U.S. capital markets, is facing a revolt by corporate and Wall Street donors after he reportedly made anti-gay remarks at a private meeting of Republican lawmakers. Earlier this month..., the Big 4 accounting firms and their trade association abruptly canceled a fundraising event for the New Jersey Republican. In addition, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has decided to stop making political action committee donations to Garrett.... Other firms are likely to follow suit.... The Financial Services' capital markets subcommittee is informally known in Washington fundraising circles as the ATM -- a seat almost guarantees endless streams of cash from the financial firms that have business before the panel."

Tom Vanden Brook of USA Today: "Top Pentagon officials plan to meet Monday to lay out the road map for allowing transgender troops to serve openly in the military, a Defense Department official said Wednesday. Meantime, on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter sent a memo to top military brass and civilians formally outlining his plan that would protect transgender troops from being discharged and directs officials to develop a plan within six months to incorporate those troops into the ranks."

Alam Fram of the AP: "Under fire for its role in providing fetal tissue for research, Planned Parenthood asked the government's top health scientists Wednesday to convene a panel of independent experts to study the issues surrounding the little-known branch of medicine. Planned Parenthood's request to the National Institutes of Health came as Senate Republicans pressed their fight to bar the organization from receiving federal aid. ...

... Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, in a Washington Post op-ed: "... extremists created a apparently misleading corporate filings and then used false government identifications to gain access to Planned Parenthood's medical and research staff with the agenda of secretly filming without consent -- then heavily edited the footage to make false and absurd assertions about our standards and services. They spent three years doing everything they could -- not to uncover wrongdoing, but rather to create it. They failed.... Attacking [federal] funding [of Planned Parenthood] is attacking women who need preventive health care, including women who need cancer screenings and contraception." ...

... Anna North of the New York Times: "Long before the current 'baby body parts' effort, anti-abortion groups were accusing Planned Parenthood of profiting from abortions, as though performing an incredibly stigmatized procedure, one that puts providers at risk of cyberattacks, harassment and murder, were a great way to make some easy cash.... Lawmakers now clamoring to take away Planned Parenthood's financial support should be ashamed of their participation in this scam."

... Kevin Drum: "So far, the worst anyone has come up with from these [three] videos is that some of the Planned Parenthood folks caught on tape used a 'tone' that was unfortunate. Give me a break. This is the way any doctor talks among other health care professionals." ...

... CW: This all has me so riled I decided to make what for me is a substantial donation to Planned Parenthood. This is what I got. ...

     ... Update: Just discovered I could donate here. So I did.

Obama Is a Idiot. Let's Do What He Did. Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "... one of the prime objectives [of the Koch brothers network] could have a direct impact on Election Day 2016: to create a permanent ground force powered by a vast trove of data, replicating the kind of infrastructure that helped President Obama win reelection."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Ravi Somaiya of the New York Times: "Will Dana, the managing editor of Rolling Stone, will leave the magazine, just months after a controversial article about a supposed gang rape at the University of Virginia was retracted.... When asked if the departure was linked to the controversy over the discredited article, Rolling Stone's publisher, Jann S. Wenner, said, via a spokeswoman, that 'many factors go into a decision like this.'... The magazine has since been the target of lawsuits from an assistant dean at the university and by three members of the fraternity at the center of the article, who filed a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday."

Déjà vu All Over Again

I was wrong because my sources were wrong. -- Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, 2005, on her reports on Iraq's weapons capabilities

We got it wrong because our very good sources had it wrong. -- New York Times Deputy Executive Editor Matt Purdy, 2015, on the paper's story about a supposed criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail account to discuss classified information

... Eric Boehlert of Media Matters has more in this piece republished in Salon.

Something is not a secret just because you don't know about it. -- Jon Stewart

Presidential Race

Daniel Strauss of Politico: "Hillary Clinton plans to urge Congress to lift the U.S. embargo on Cuba during a speech on Friday at Florida International University in Miami. Clinton, according to her presidential campaign, will say that Republican arguments in opposition to more engagement with Cuba represent the 'failed policies of the past.'... Clinton is said to have been pushing to lift the embargo for years."

Liz Kruetz of ABC News: "Hillary Clinton has staunchly defended Planned Parenthood in the wake of recently released videos that an anti-abortion group claims to show employees with the organization discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue. But, in a new interview, she calls the graphic videos 'disturbing' and says there should be a national investigation into that practice. 'I have seen pictures from them and obviously find them disturbing,' the Democratic presidential candidate told the New Hampshire Union Leader on Tuesday..., which were released by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress. 'Planned Parenthood is answering questions and will continue to answer questions.' Clinton, however, did not waiver in her overall support of the organization...." ...

... CW: The Union Leader is an ultra-conservative paper. Hillary massaged her answer to appease her listeners. ...

... Rachel Bade of Politico: "An irritated federal judge Thursday put the Hillary Clinton email scandal into stark terms, grilling the State Department on a pattern of delayed document releases that has turned a possible bureaucratic logjam into a major problem for the leading Democratic presidential contender. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon, known for his blunt manner, said he simply did not understand why the State Department has dragged its feet on responses for emails in requests to the Freedom of Information Act." Leon is a Bush II appointee. ...

     ... As of 10:45 pm Wednesday, the New York Times is going with the AP story. ...

... Rachel Bade: "Long-time Hillary Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines handed the State Department 20 boxes of work-related emails taken in part from a personal email account, State officials said Wednesday, calling into question the extent to which top aides to the former secretary of state also engaged in controversial email practices." ...

... Niall Stanage of the Hill: "Even Democrats who are not Sanders partisans are concerned about Clinton's sometimes-opaque comments on the campaign trail.... Keystone is far from the only issue on which Clinton has bobbed and weaved."

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders spoke to supporters at more than 3,500 parties around the country Wednesday night, trying to harness the enthusiasm of the large crowds he has been drawing and bolster his insurgent campaign organization."

Quinnipiac Univesity: "... Donald Trump is the clear leader in the crowded Republican presidential primary field, but he trails any of three leading Democratic contenders by wide margins in general election matchups, according to a Quinnipiac University National poll released today. Trump's 20 percent is the largest tally for a Republican contender in any national poll by the independent Quinnipiac University. Behind Trump are Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with 13 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 10 percent. No other Republican tops 6 percent and 12 percent are undecided. Trump also tops the 'no way' list as 30 percent of Republican voters say they would definitely not support him. New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie is next at 15 percent with Bush at 14 percent."

Ted Cruz feels the need to be as disruptive as Donald Trump, so Trump becomes Mitch McConnell's problem. -- Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Daniel Strauss: "New Day for America, the super PAC supporting Ohio Gov. John Kasich, raised more than $11 million between April 20 and June 30 of this year.... Specifically, New Day for America raised $11,130,730.32 from 166 reportable contributions.... Of those donations, 34 were of $100,000 or more."

Dave Weigel & Ben Terris of the Washington Post: New Hampshire Republicans aren't very interested in the Most Interesting Man in Politics. ...

     ... CW: Oh, and there's this: Paul's moves to party orthodoxy "... have alienated the libertarian base that has always been seen as Paul's stronghold in the crowd. Paul's high-profile attacks on the tax code and Planned Parenthood are designed to make up for that." Excellent calculation, Li'l Randy. I don't know what the loud-mouthed freeedom libertarian boyz think about girls -- or if they even know any girls -- but I know some prominent adult libertarians, and they strongly support Planned Parenthood & abortion rights. Because freeedom is for girls, too. ...

... Jonathan Chait: "No White House for you, Rand Paul. All happy campaigns are alike, but each unhappy campaign is unhappy in its own way. Those unique experiences of campaign failure provide some of the best entertainment of the long and arduous journey, and the pain is compounded by the observed scientific reality that a political corpse is capable of continuing to trudge forward well after its viability has expired. We begin our study of failure with Rand Paul."

Eliza Collins of Politico: "According to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran is essentially financing terrorism. And he's not backing down after the president called his comments 'outrageous.' 'If this deal is consummated, it will make the Obama administration the world's leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism,' Cruz said during a round table Tuesday."

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "James S. Gilmore III, the former governor of Virginia, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday to enter the crowded field of Republican presidential contestants. He becomes the 17th prominent candidate to seek the party’s nomination."

AND Chris Christie blames a New Jersey university pollster for his own unpopularity.

Beyond the Beltway

Lisa Cornwell & Dan Sewell of the AP: "A University of Cincinnati police officer who shot a motorist after stopping him over a missing front license plate pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of murder and involuntary manslaughter." ...

... Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: "A University of Cincinnati police officer was indicted on murder charges on Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a driver this month. In the indictment handed down by a grand jury in Hamilton County, the officer, Ray Tensing, is accused of killing the driver, Samuel DuBose, during a traffic stop near the campus on July 19. At a news conference, the county prosecutor, Joe Deters, said that Officer Tensing 'purposely killed' Mr. DuBose after the officer lost his temper. The death of Mr. DuBose, who was black, at the hands of Officer Tensing, who is white, joined a string of recent episodes ... that have raised hard questions about law enforcement use of force, and the role of race in policing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... The Jeremy Stahl of Slate: If not for the video, Tensing would have got away with (alleged) murder because his fellow officers backed up his concocted story. "As for what happens next for officers ... who supported Tensing's false account, [County Prosecutor Joe] Deters said the city was 'looking at the issue' at the urging of the Dubose family." ...

... Charles Blow: "What is happening between police officers and people of color in this country is a structural issue and must be deconstructed as such. Cameras won't change basic character.... Police and criminal justice reform has to be a priority in our political actions now, and into the future."

Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress: "Alabama officials are currently seeking to prevent a pregnant prison inmate from obtaining a legal abortion by stripping her of her parental rights, in a case where a lawyer has been appointed to represent the interests of her fetus."

Kevin Sieff of the Washington Post: "While the world mourned Cecil, the 13-year-old lion that was allegedly shot by an American hunter in Zimbabwe, an even more devastating poaching incident was quietly carried out in Kenya. Poachers killed five elephants in Tsavo West National Park on Monday night..... While the killing of the lion in Zimbabwe has attracted the world's attention, the death of the five elephants has received almost no coverage, even though elephants are under a far greater threat from poachers than lions. Their tusks can be sold in Asia for more than $1,000 per pound." ...

... Ryan Broderick & Tammera Griffin of BuzzFeed: "Here's what the internet does when it thinks you killed a lion." ...

... Alan Pyke of Think Progress: "What Walter Palmer did wasn't hunting."

News Ledes

New York Times: "The commander of a group of Syrian fighters trained by the United States has been kidnapped by Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, his group said in a statement Thursday. The commander, Nadeem Hassan, and seven of his fighters were taken by the Nusra Front, a rival of the Islamic State in Syria, as they were returning from a meeting in Turkey."

AP: "Afghanistan's Taliban on Thursday confirmed the death of Mullah Mohammad Omar, who led the group's self-styled Islamic emirate in the 1990s, sheltered al-Qaida through the 9/11 attacks and led a 14-year insurgency against U.S. and NATO troops. The Taliban Shura, or Supreme Council, chose Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, who had served as Mullah Omar's deputy for the past three years, as its new leader, two Taliban figures told the Associated Press...."

Washington Post: "The U.S. economy rebounded between April and June, new government data showed Thursday, expanding at an annualized rate of 2.3 percent. Growth in the second quarter remained modest, particularly compared with the breakneck pace seen in much of 2014, but it also signaled a bounce-back from a surprisingly sluggish winter when the economy was at a crawl."

New York Times: "Government officials and families of passengers lost on a Malaysian jet that vanished last year with 239 people aboard responded warily on Thursday to the discovery of possible wreckage from the aircraft, reluctant to fan hopes after more than a year of fruitless searching and false rumors. Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss of Australia, whose country has led the search for the jet, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, said that the discovery of an airplane part thousands of miles from the search area was 'a very significant development' but cautioned against concluding that it was from the missing aircraft."

The Commentariat -- July 29, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

Afternoon News:

Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: "A University of Cincinnati police officer was indicted on murder charges on Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a driver this month. In the indictment handed down by a grand jury in Hamilton County, the officer, Ray Tensing, is accused of killing the driver, Samuel DuBose, during a traffic stop near the campus on July 19. At a news conference, the county prosecutor, Joe Deters, said that Officer Tensing 'purposely killed' Mr. DuBose after the officer lost his temper. The death of Mr. DuBose, who was black, at the hands of Officer Tensing, who is white, joined a string of recent episodes ... that have raised hard questions about law enforcement use of force, and the role of race in policing."

Chris Brennan & Jeremy Roebuck of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah [D] and four associates were indicted Wednesday on racketeering conspiracy charges stemming from several alleged schemes to misuse campaign funds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grant money to further their political and financial interests. The five schemes include accepting a $1 million illegal loan for Fattah's failed 2007 mayoral campaign from a 'wealthy supporter' and then repaying some of it using "charitable and federal grant funds" that passed through a nonprofit founded and controlled by Fattah, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said at a news conference."

*****

Joby Warrick of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration has decided to give states more time to comply with proposed regulations that will require dramatic cuts in greenhouse-gas pollution from power plants, people familiar with the plans said Tuesday. The Environmental Protection Agency will give states an additional two years -- until 2022 -- to begin phasing in pollution cuts, even as the agency toughens the standards that many states will ultimately have to meet."

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Jonathan J. Pollard, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1985 for passing classified documents to the Israeli government, will be released on parole in November after 30 years in prison, a government panel decided on Tuesday. Mr. Pollard's lawyers announced the decision of the United States Parole Commission on Tuesday afternoon, and officials at the Department of Justice confirmed that Mr. Pollard had been granted parole." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Tuesday defended the Iran nuclear agreement as a 'strong deal' before skeptical members of Congress who expressed concern that it will eventually give Iran the freedom to build nuclear weapons and finance mayhem in the region. Appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Kerry told lawmakers that it is a 'fantasy' to think that sanctions can prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons should it choose to do is." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... William Saletan of Slate presents arguments on why Kerry should STFU. Kerry is revealing way too much, Saletan says. ...

... Eugene Scott, et al., of CNN: "The longest-serving Jewish member currently in Congress announced Tuesday that he'll back the Iran nuclear deal, saying it is the best way to protect Israel. 'I believe that Israel, the region, and the world are far more secure if Iran does not move toward possession of a nuclear weapon. I believe the Agreement is the best way to achieve that,' said Democratic Rep. Sandy Levin in a statement. The support of a veteran Jewish representative, who has served Michigan for 33 years, could be significant in building momentum for Democratic backing of the deal." ...

... CW: Levin's statement ends with a poignant remembrance:

Each Member of Congress will bring both private and public life experiences to address this difficult issue. I along with my brother and late sister when we were in our teens experienced with our parents great personal joy when President Truman announced U.S. recognition of Israel. It was something that we could take hold of amidst the unfolding horrors of the years before. Israel's security has and always will be of critical importance to me and our country. I believe that Israel, the region, and the world are far more secure if Iran does not move toward possession of a nuclear weapon. I believe the Agreement is the best way to achieve that. In my view, the only anchors in public life are to dig deeply into the facts and consult broadly and then to say what you believe.

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "A Republican congressman has filed a request to oust House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) in a new and unusual challenge to his leadership from the GOP's right flank. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) on Tuesday evening filed a 'motion to vacate the chair,' which, if successful, would force the election of a new speaker. Such a challenge has never before succeeded in the House, and only once before -- 105 years ago -- has it been attempted."

Ted-o-thon Cut Short. Dana Milbank: "Finally, Senate Republicans are standing up to the bully who terrorized them the past two and a half years.... In a broader sense, Republican senators seem to be growing in confidence that they can defy what remains of the tea party and affiliated conservative groups...."

** Jim Rutenberg in the New York Times Magazine on the "Republican activists who have systematically dismantled" the Voting Rights Act. CW: Thanks again, Supremes.

Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: More than 167,000 people petitioned the White House, arguing that Edward Snowden was "a national hero and should be immediately issued a full, free and absolute pardon." In a statement, the White House said no, thank you.

Jennifer Haberkorn of Politico: "A new undercover video released by opponents of Planned Parenthood on Tuesday includes graphic depictions of a technician sorting through the tissue collected after an abortion.... 'This video really shows such extremely disturbing violations of patient privacy and dignity,' Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said on a call with reporters. A new Hart Research survey released by the group showed voters don't support congressional defunding efforts.... The Obama administration's top health official, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, on Tuesday deferred questions on the investigations to DOJ and suggested her department is not conducting its own review of Planned Parenthood." ...

... Jennifer Haberkorn & Anna Palmer of Politico: "House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this week called to halt Planned Parenthood's federal funding while Congress investigates whether the organization broke a federal ban on profiting from fetal tissue donation. The Senate plans to hold a vote on a defunding amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and others that is likely to fail." ...

... CW: If you're not a friend of Planned Parenthood, you're not a friend of women. It's that simple.

Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "... Facebook, already a major player in past cycles, has been working to expand its digital dominance in the political realm. Facebook -- which has 189 million monthly users in the United States -- has pitched its tools and services to every presidential campaign in the 2016 race, not to mention down-ballot races, to showcase new features as candidates seek to reach and recruit new supporters and potential donors.... Facebook has rolled out several tools since the last presidential election to help campaigns reach voters more efficiently and effectively." CW: You must find the "tools" the campaigns are using to be invasions of privacy.

A Marine Corps lieutenant colonel is relieved of her commend, & the Marine Corps Gazette subsequently decides not to publish her essay criticizing the Corps' treatment of female Marines. C. J. Chivers of the New York Times has the backstory, & publishes the essay. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Anne Barnard of the New York Times: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip "Erdogan's stance [against Kurdish militants] presents a complication for the United States and other NATO allies. Under alliance rules, they are bound to protect Turkey from threats, and they have long listed the Kurdish militant group that fought a long insurgency in Turkey, the P.K.K., as a terrorist organization. But they are eager not to let the Kurdish issue overshadow the international fight against Islamic State militants who have seized much of Syria and Iraq and sought to inspire attacks around the world."

** Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. The New York Times' "Very Good Sources." Norm Ornstein in the Atlantic: "... the huge embarrassment over the story claiming a criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton for her emails -- leading the webpage, prominent on the front page, before being corrected in the usual, cringeworthy fashion of journalists who stonewall any alleged errors and then downplay the real ones -- is a direct challenge to its fundamental credibility. And the paper's response since the initial huge error was uncovered has not been adequate or acceptable.... Someone should be held accountable here, with suspension or other action that fits the gravity of the offense." Ornstein suggests that the government leakers, whoever they might be (Trey Gowdy), had been shopping around the criminal investigation story & the reason the Times scooped the others is that the Times didn't check its facts. ...

... Jonathan Allen of Vox has more. The Times story, he says, results from "a bureaucratic turf war between the [state] department and the intelligence community" as to what is classified or "senstive" & what is not, a disagreement which the IGs asked the DOJ to mitigate, not litigate; in other words, a boring story.

Presidential Race

Zaid Jilani of AlterNet: "Of all the arguments the Democratic establishment has thrown out against Bernie Sanders' candidacy, perhaps the most recurring one revolves around electability. 'Sure, you agree with him,' they argue, 'but he can't win.' A just released CNN poll finds Sanders out-polling all of the GOP's major candidates, though pretty much tied with Jeb Bush." ...

... Also, Too. Tuck Chodd & Mark Murray of NBC News: " The Unpopularity Contest: The numbers inside the new NBC-Marist poll tell a story beyond the horesraces in Iowa and New Hampshire. They underscore how most of the top presidential candidates are unpopular right now with the general-election audience in both states. And that's especially true for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton and (not much surprise here) Donald Trump. The one exception? Bernie Sanders."

AP: "Hillary Clinton says she will not take a position on the Keystone XL pipeline until she becomes president, citing her work on the issue as secretary of state. Clinton told voters in New Hampshire on Tuesday that she will not 'second-guess' Barack Obama's pending decision on the pipeline. She said that would not be the 'right thing to do' because the government's review of the project started during her tenure at the State Department." ...

... Alexa Corse & Shane Harris of the Daily Beast: "There is a two-month gap in Hillary Clinton's emails that coincides with violence in Libya and the employment status of a top Clinton aide, Huma Abedin.... 'There are gaps of months and months and months,' Republican Representative Trey Gowdy, chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi, said in a March 8 interview.... In a statement to reporters, Clinton spokesperson Nick Merrill noted, 'More emails are slated to be released by the State Department next week, and we hope that release is as inclusive as possible.'"

Jim Newell of Salon plays “If I Were A Conservative Voter." Turns out I would love Ted Cruz who always tells me that the Bible & the Constitution justify my righteous anger at Washington RINO sellouts, & I would not be fond of elitist snob Jeb! who hangs with CEOs & regards me as a hapless rube who needs civilizing.

Mike Allen of Politico: "Fox News is opening its 5 p.m. debate to all the announced Republican candidates who fail to make the cut for the Aug. 6 prime-time event, removing a requirement that participants reach at least 1 percent in polling. The change amounts to an insurance policy for candidates who were in danger of being disqualified from the vital first debate ... -- Carly Fiorina, former New York Gov. George Pataki and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).... The 9 p.m. debate will include the 10 candidates with the highest average in national polls, as determined by Fox News. The 5 p.m. forum will now include all the rest." ...

... CW: If I had to vote in the GOP primary, I'd vote for Lindsey Graham, & not just because he represents my last chance to be FLOTUS. Knowing as I do that Lindsey would love to lead us into World War III, I still think he's the best-qualified GOP presidential candidate & the only one who meets the minimum IQ threshold (as it appears in Article II of the Constitution:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years and who shall not have attained an Intelligence Quotient of at least One hundred, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.)

Erik Wemple updates Donald Trump's media strategy in the wake of his consigliere's threats against a Daily Beast reporter. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Ed Kilgore: "... almost immediately, (a) Ivana Trump came to her ex-husband's defense, hinting that she might have exaggerated..., and saying he'd be a great president, blah blah blah; and (b) some Trump spox disclaims any association with [gangster lawyer Michael] Cohen's comments to the Beastly duo. For dessert, somebody discovered an old tweet with Cohen posing between two 'great Americans,' Hillary Clinton and Patrick Kennedy, and [Donald] Trump fans are beginning to speculate that he tried to sabotage Trump on Hillary's behalf! So ... it gets turned into a story ... about one a them gold-digging women who make up rape allegations they later abandon, and the lyin' liberal loser journalists -- perhaps in league with Hillary! -- who use that to smear The Donald." ...

... ** McKay Coppins of BuzzFeed: "Was this really the best goon money could buy? Cohen's outburst was, in fact, emblematic of the loyalists who have long populated The Donald's inner circle. Trump's key lieutenants tend to fit the same consumer profile as his discount luxury-brand targets: They are men with middle- and working-class roots; lacking in elite credentials; mesmerized by made-for-TV displays of lavish wealth." CW: Entertaining reading that incidentally backs up my assessment [offered a few days back] of the source of Trump's popularity. ...

... John Cassidy of the New Yorker is sticking with his earlier prediction: "Sooner or later, Trump's act will start to seem old, even to G.O.P. voters."

Rebecca Berg in Real Clear Politics: "Scott Walker has insisted he will be able to 'compete anywhere in the country' ... but, at a private event in St. Louis on Sunday, Walker said he does not plan to compete in Florida, contradicting his own public assertions that he would not skip that primary." Via Paul Waldman.

Alex Isenstadt of Politico autopsies Rand Paul's campaign. CW: Don't worry, Li'l Randy. I'm sure you'll pick up a lot of votes with your effort to defund Planned Parenthood. BTW, there's a reason your supporters are overwhelmingly male. What's up next? A move to repeal of the 19th Amendment?

Terrence Dopp of Bloomberg: "Residents in U.S. states that have legalized marijuana should toke up while they still can, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said. 'If you're getting high in Colorado today, enjoy it,' Christie, a Republican campaigning for the 2016 presidential nomination, said Tuesday during a town-hall meeting at the Salt Hill Pub in Newport, New Hampshire. 'As of January 2017, I will enforce the federal laws.'" ...

... EXCEPT, digby points out, Christie now is also a states' rights guy. Also a God guy. CW: I'm a little confused about whether or not Christie thinks God backs the Second Amendment. I could look it up, but I don't care much about Chris Christie's theological musings. ...

... CW BTW: I found out the other day that some confederates -- like the chair of Oklahoma's Republican party -- object to the pledge of allegiance because of the "one nation, indivisible" part. I supposed the "United" part of "United States" rankles these patriots, too. Confederates are also Pre-Constitutionalists.

Mika Brzezinski is often pretty silly & shallow. Not this time:

... ** Unsurprisingly, Israelis are offended, too. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Reuters: "Los Angeles city council has voted unanimously to ban the possession of large-capacity gun magazines, following San Francisco to become the second major city in California to take that step. The law prohibits Los Angeles residents from possessing a handgun or rifle magazine that fits more than 10 rounds."

Jesse McKinley of the New York Times on how & why prison worker Joyce Mitchell helped two murderers escape from an upstate New York prison.

News Ledes

Guardian: "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday continued to pave the way for an increase in interest rates as early as September. The US central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at near zero -- where it has been since the 2008 financial crisis -- but once again signalled that rates will rise later this year. While the Fed chair, Janet Yellen, has left little doubt that rates will rise this year, the Fed left itself wiggle room as it has set no timetable and said rates would only be raised if the economy continues to improve and unemployment continues to fall." ...

... The Fed's statement is here.

New York Times: "A large object that appeared to be an airplane part washed up Wednesday on the shore of Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, prompting speculation that it might be debris from Flight 370, the Malaysia Airlines jetliner that disappeared in March 2014." ...

     ... AP UPDATE: "Air safety investigators have a 'high degree of confidence' that aircraft debris found in the Indian Ocean is of a wing component unique to the Boeing 777, the same model as the Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared last year, a U.S. official said Wednesday."

New York Times: "After months of speculation, Afghan officials announced Wednesday that they were now certain that the Taliban's reclusive leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, died in Pakistan in 2013."

Guardian: "Binyamin Netanyahu ... has approved the immediate construction of hundreds of settlement units in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in an effort to stave off a growing threat posed by pro-settler parties in his rightwing coalition government. The issue was brought to a head on Wednesday by a supreme court ruling that two buildings in the West Bank settlement of Beit El -- built on private Palestinian land without permits -- should be destroyed, despite Netanyahu's opposition."

Washington Post: "An Albuquerque 911 dispatcher has resigned after audio was released of him hanging up on a 17-year-old as she tended to a friend who was shot at the party. The victim, 17-year-old Jaydon Chavez-Silver, later died.... Emergency responders had already been dispatched to the house before [the dispatcher] hung up." Includes 911 audio.

Minneapolis Star Tribune: "A big-game hunter from the Twin Cities found himself at the center of an international firestorm Tuesday over the death of a beloved lion in Zimbabwe, but said he regrets killing the animal and believed his guides were leading him on a legal hunt.... Earlier Tuesday, the Telegraph newspaper of London identified [dentist Walter] Palmer as the hunter who shot Cecil and reported that he paid $54,000 for the hunt. The Telegraph said the lion was illegally lured out of Hwange National Park, where it had protected status, and onto a neighboring game farm, where Palmer was on safari." ...

... Salon: Yelp contributors are whacking Palmer.

The Commentariat -- July 28, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon Update:

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Jonathan J. Pollard, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1985 for passing classified documents to the Israeli government, will be released on parole in November after 30 years in prison, a government panel decided on Tuesday. Mr. Pollard's lawyers announced the decision of the United States Parole Commission on Tuesday afternoon, and officials at the Department of Justice confirmed that Mr. Pollard had been granted parole."

Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Tuesday defended the Iran nuclear agreement as a 'strong deal' before skeptical members of Congress who expressed concern that it will eventually give Iran the freedom to build nuclear weapons and finance mayhem in the region. Appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Kerry told lawmakers that it is a 'fantasy' to think that sanctions can prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons should it choose to do is."

Erik Wemple updates Donald Trump's media strategy in the wake of his consigliere's threats against a Daily Beast reporter.

A Marine Corps lieutenant colonel is relieved of her commend, & the Marine Corps Gazette subsequently decides not to publish her essay criticizing the Corps' treatment of female Marines. C. J. Chivers of the New York Times has the backstory, & publishes the essay.

Mika Brzezinski is often pretty silly & shallow. Not this time:

... ** Unsurprisingly, Israelis are offended, too.

*****

BBC News: "US President Barack Obama has warned that Africa could not advance if its leaders refused to step down when their terms ended. He also called for an end to the 'cancer of corruption', saying it took money away from development. Mr Obama made the comments in the first ever address by a US leader to the 54-member AU at its headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa." Here's a clip:

Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Now, with a push from President Obama, and perhaps even more significantly a nod from Speaker John A. Boehner, Congress seems poised to revise four decades of federal policy that greatly expanded the number of Americans -- to roughly 750 per 100,000 -- now incarcerated, by far the highest of any Western nation. Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee who has long resisted changes to federal sentencing laws, said he expected to have a bipartisan bill ready before the August recess."

Scott Wong & Kevin Cirilli of the Hill: "House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday said his chamber will not vote on the Senate's six-year highway bill. McCarthy's declaration that the House will not be 'taking up the Senate bill' means a short-term extension is the only way to prevent a lapse in federal infrastructure funding at the end of the week. It also means the Export-Import Bank, linked to the highway bill in the Senate, will not be renewed until September at the earliest." CW: One more reminder -- as if you needed one -- that Republicans in Congress are incapable of running their arm of the government. ...

... ** In Which Mitch McConnell Play the Hero. NEW. David Dayen explains why House Republicans want a five-month extension of the highway bill: "Of particular interest should be the timing. This patch would last until December 18, the last day of Congress before the Christmas break, also known as the time when Congress slips things into law while everyone is off holiday shopping and trimming the tree. And there's a plan for what to do with a long-term highway bill too: fund it through a corporate tax amnesty, allowing multinationals to bring home their foreign earnings with a minimal tax hit, well below the normal 35 percent range. Future Democratic leader in the Senate Chuck Schumer and Republican Rob Portman have already teamed up on this, using the enticement of infrastructure funds to alter the way the corporate tax system works." ...

... Another GOP Zombie Plan. Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "Tucked into a dusty corner of the Senate's Highway Trust Fund bill ... is a zombie proposal to hire private debt-collection agencies to hound delinquent taxpayers on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has actually tried outsourcing tax collection activities to private debt collectors before, at Congress's behest. Twice, in fact, over the last two decades. Both times, the experiment was a disaster.... Both times the program was scrapped because it actually cost taxpayers money on net.... Yet for some reason -- perhaps amnesia, a blind devotion to privatization at all costs, a desire to line the pockets of friends in the debt-collection industry, or a conspiracy to make Americans hate the IRS even more than they already do -- this policy proposal just will not die.... The solution is to just adequately fund the IRS...."

Pete Williams of NBC News: "The governing body of the Boy Scouts of America voted Monday to end its decades-long ban on gay scout leaders. The organization's national executive board, meeting in Texas, concluded that the policy of excluding gay adults 'was no longer legally defensible.' The decision was approved by 79 percent of the board." ...

... Ben Lockhart of the Salt Lake City Deseret News: "The future relationship between the Boy Scouts of America and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now uncertain after the Scouting body voted Monday to rescind a nationwide ban on gay Scout leaders, prompting strong words of concern from the church and a promise to re-evaluate its century-long affiliation with the organization.... Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a prepared statement. '... the admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America.'" ...

... Margaret Hartmann of New York: "The Christian Science Monitor notes that as a result of its ban on gay individuals, over the years BSA's membership has grown more conservative, with about 70 percent of troops now run by religious organizations. Following the 2013 decision, some conservatives left the Boy Scouts and created the group Trail Life USA. BSA enrollment had been declining for some time.... Southern Baptist Convention spokesman Roger Oldham said that, like the Mormons, Baptists may be ready to abandon the Boy Scouts altogether instead of being forced to eventually accept gay leaders."

Jessica Glenza of the Guardian: "Planned Parenthood representatives say that hackers appear to be working to gain access to the abortion providers' employee information systems. The organization notified the FBI and Department of Justice of a possible data breach, a spokesperson said on Monday, one that representatives from the organization said 'if true' could threaten the 'privacy and safety of our staff members'."

Dana Milbank: Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kansas) returns to a Washington unlike the one he left. The art of the deal used to involve friendship & compromise.

Sally Kohn in a Washington Post op-ed: When will we start holding racism and misogyny accountable for the violence they rationalize and inspire?... John Russel Houser, who killed two women & injured many more people in a Louisiana movie theater "was steeped and stewing in right-wing xenophobic, homophobic, misogynist and racist hate.... Houser was crazy and held some beliefs that were variations of more mainstream conservative beliefs. The roots of some of Houser's political views are hard to distinguish from ideas espoused by many, if not most, of the candidates running for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.... When there's evidence that a mass shooting suspect who's Muslim espoused anti-American, pro-radical Islamicist views, we tie that suspect to the broader ideology.... Black Americans are presumed to bear blame as a group even when they're the victims of violence.... White privilege extends even to white mass murderers...."

Samuel Gibbs of the Guardian: "Over 1,000 high-profile artificial intelligence experts and leading researchers have signed an open letter warning of a 'military artificial intelligence arms race' and calling for a ban on 'offensive autonomous weapons'. The letter, presented at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was signed by Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Google DeepMind chief executive Demis Hassabis and professor Stephen Hawking along with 1,000 AI and robotics researchers."

Hang your head, Ben.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

All Our Pulitzers Are Tarnished. But We Led the News Cycle! CW: The New York Times publishes an unsigned CYA "Editor's Note" explaining why Hillary Clinton is not behind bars yet despite their excellent "criminal investigation" bombshell story. For one thing, you can't trust the government: "That article was based on multiple high-level government sources." (Those sources likely being Trey Gowdy, Trey Gowdy's top staffer & the boyfriend of a DOJ clerk who once worked at Justice but now represents the RNC. And Trey Gowdy.) For another, Hillary's henchmen harassed a cub reporter the moment the story hit the Internets: "Shortly after the article was published online, however, aides to Mrs. Clinton contacted one reporter to dispute the account." BTW, we decided that before we tried to bury Clinton, we would not offer her the same courtesy we do other subjects: contacting her before publication. Yeah, I wouldn't sign this piece of crap either. But at least this excuse for a mea culpa is helpful to the folks Erik Wemple cites:

...CW: In Confederate America, there's a new meme. The New York Times changed its blockbuster story outing Hillary Clinton as a serial criminal BECAUSE HILLARY ASKED THEM TO. So that's another scandal on top of all her criminal misdeeds. Erik Wemple of the Washington Post has the details: "... the critique was leaving out something that once mattered in political dialogue: the truth." BTW, here's an unnamed Democratic spokesman to back up what I've been saying for days: "A Democratic spokesman for the House oversight committee, which is closely involved in Clinton e-mail stuff, told the Erik Wemple Blog: 'Unfortunately, the New York Times did not check with us before running its story, even though we have offered to help in the past and could have corrected these errors before they showed up on the front page. We do not know who the New York Times talked to, but we talked to the Inspectors General themselves.'" What a concept! ...

... MEANWHILE, "independent journalist" Ron Fournier of the National Journal wants to know what Hillary is hiding. Fournier never mentions his own fucked-up complaint of last week that Hillary was "blaming The New York Times, which is as pathetic as it is laughable" & that the DOJ should investigate her criminal activities. ...

... Laura Clawson of Daily Kos: "Twice in the last few months, a hot, breaking New York Times story on Hillary Clinton's use of a private email address while secretary of state has gone from 'wow, that looks terrible for Hillary Clinton' to 'wow, that looks terrible for the New York Times' in the day or so after its initial much-hyped publication.... The Times is making it clear that it isn't prepared to change the practices that led to serious mistakes in two bombshell-turned-bomb stories about Hillary Clinton's emails...."

Political scientist Henry Farrell explains why Tom Friedman never has to say he's sorry. CW: Here's another funny bit: I came to Farrell's piece via Paul Krugman, who is forbidden to say anything bad about the bozos & bobos who people the same op-ed page he does. True to his code, after a fashion, Krugman never mentions Friedman.

Presidential Race

Command Performance -- The Koch Presidency. Ken Vogel of Politico: "Four leading GOP presidential candidates -- Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Scott Walker -- are traveling to a Southern California luxury hotel in coming days to make their cases directly to the Koch brothers and hundreds of other wealthy conservatives planning to spend close to $1 billion in the run-up to the 2016 election. The gathering -- which also will include former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, but notably not Sen. Rand Paul -- is hosted by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the umbrella group in the Kochs' increasingly influential network of political and public policy outfits. It represents a major opportunity for the candidates at a pivotal moment in the presidential primary." ...

... Dave Weigel & Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is turning down a coveted invite to a gathering of wealthy conservative donors this weekend, citing his plans to be on the campaign trail.... Paul told The Washington Post..., 'We've been invited -- it's just hard to make [these] decisions, because you can't be everywhere.'" CW: If Li'l Randy's purpose in giving up a chance to grovel at the feet of the Koch Brothers' Band of Billionaires by caucusing with the cornpones of Iowa was intended to make him seem like a man of the people, he might have announced his populist sacrifice without employing the royal "we."

Tim Mak & Brandy Zadrozny of the Daily Beast: "Donald Trump introduced his presidential campaign to the world with a slur against Mexican immigrants, accusing them of being 'rapists' and bringing crime into the country.... It was an unfortunate turn of phrase for Trump.... Not only does the current frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination have a history of controversial remarks about sexual assault, but as it turns out, his ex-wife Ivana Trump once used 'rape' to describe an incident between them in 1989. She later said she felt 'violated' by the experience.... Ivana Trump's assertion of 'rape' came in a deposition -- part of the early '90s divorce case between the Trumps, and revealed in the 1993 book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump." Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen told the Daily Beast, "You cannot rape your spouse. And there's very clear case law." ...

I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we're in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don't have. And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know. So I'm warning you, tread very fucking lightly, because what I'm going to do to you is going to be fucking disgusting. You understand me? You write a story that has Mr. Trump's name in it, with the word 'rape,' and I'm going to mess your life up ... for as long as you're on this frickin' planet ... you're going to have judgments against you, so much money, you'll never know how to get out from underneath it. -- Michael Cohen, special counsel to the Trump Organization to Tim Mak of the Daily Beast

... Ben Jacobs of the Guardian: "Marital rape was made illegal in all US states in 1993. It was made illegal in New York state in 1984, five years before the alleged incident. Donald and Ivana Trump settled their divorce in 1992." ...

... Arturo Garcia of the Raw Story: "ABC News reported that the Trump campaign responded to the report by calling the rape allegation 'old news and [that] it never happened.'... The campaign also downplayed Cohen's role, saying, 'Nobody speaks for Mr. Trump, but Mr. Trump.'... The response came hours after Cohen appeared on CNN billed as a spokesperson for the candidate."

... Nate Cohn of the New York Times: "Most of the polls [which came out this week & showed Donald Trump in the lead for the GOP nomination] were partly or entirely conducted before Mr. Trump's controversial comments [about John McCain].... For good measure, it is not at all clear that we should expect Mr. Trump to suffer discernible losses in the near future. Take Herman Cain, who faced reports that he was accused of sexual harassment in late October 2011. These reports were surely more problematic for his candidacy than Mr. Trump's comments about Mr. McCain, and yet the early polls conducted after the allegations did not show much evidence that they had any effect on his standing. One month later, Mr. Cain was out of the race." ...

... Steve M. argues there's no comparison between Cain & the Ablest. ...

... CW: Yeah, and there's this. Greg Sargent: "A big majority of Republicans believes that the government's main focus on immigration should be not just on stopping the flow of illegal immigrants, but also on deporting those already here." Do you suppose there was "a big majority of Republicans" who believed it was quite all right for (black) men to fondle (white) ladies without their consent? Possibly not. ...

... Dara Lind of Vox: "If a new CNN poll is correct, a majority of Republican voters are significantly to the right of pretty much every Republican elected official and every single Republican presidential candidate -- including Donald Trump -- on immigration."

... Stefanos Chen of the Wall Street Journal: "... Donald Trump has sold his penthouse in New York's Trump Park Avenue building for $21 million, according to real estate listing agent Michelle Griffith. With slide show. CW: All the rooms are white. He plans to purchase & extensively remodel another White House.

Jim Tankersley of the Washington Post: "On the campaign trail, Jeb Bush has repeatedly emphasized his record overseeing Florida's boom economy as the state's governor.... But according to interviews with economists and a review of data, Florida owed a substantial portion of its growth under Bush not to any state policies but to a massive and unsustainable housing bubble -- one that ultimately benefited rich investors at the expense of middle-class families.... In the four years after Bush left office..., the typical Florida family's net worth fell 60 percent in that time, according to the Census Bureau.... Many of those families now pay rent to Wall Street firms."

CW: If you think the next administration & future federal courts should be made up on graduates of Livingston High School, New Jersey, & Seton Hall Law, you should definitely vote for Chris Christie. It will happen. Matt Arco of NJ.com reports. Nonetheless, I suppose David Wildstein won't become Transportation Secretary. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Jeff Mulvihill of the AP: "Three public workers' pension funds are suing New Jersey for billions in damages, claiming the state government breached contracts when it contributed less than planned. The filing Friday is the latest volley in a more than yearlong dispute over pension contributions. They stem from Gov. Chris Christie's decision last year amid a budget shortfall to veer from a pension funding plan he signed into law in 2011.... Spokesmen for Christie did not respond immediately to a request for comment." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "A conference protesting police violence against African Americans ended in police violence against African Americans on Sunday, when at least one officer deployed pepper spray against men and women protesting the arrest of a 14 year-old teenager."

Way Beyond

Nicholas Watt of the Guardian: "Lord Sewel has announced he is to resign from the House of Lords with immediate effect as he apologised for the 'pain and embarrassment' he has caused after the release of a film showing him allegedly taking cocaine with sex workers.... Sewel's decision will raise questions about whether Paul Kernaghan, the House of Lords commissioner for standards, will continue with his investigation into whether the peer broke the code of conduct for the upper house.... The peer's resignation will have no impact on the police investigation that was launched on Monday...."

News Ledes

Guardian: "Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya's former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, has been sentenced to death by a court in Tripoli. Saif, once seen as his father's heir apparent, was condemned to death along with eight other figures from the former dictatorship, including the former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi and Gaddafi's last prime minister, Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi."

Reuters: "FIFA boss Sepp Blatter deserves a Nobel Prize for his stewardship of soccer's governing body, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview aired by Swiss broadcaster RTS on Monday."