New York Times: “A body believed to be of the suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting that left five people seriously injured this month was found on Wednesday, the authorities said, ending a manhunt that stretched into a second week and set the local community on edge. The Kentucky State Police commissioner, Phillip Burnett Jr., said in a Wednesday night news conference that at approximately 3:30 p.m., two troopers and two civilians found an unidentified body in the brush behind the highway exit where the shooting occurred.... The police have identified the suspect of the shooting as Joseph A. Couch, 32. They said that on Sept. 7, Mr. Couch perched on a cliff overlooking Interstate 75 about eight miles north of London, Ky., and opened fire. One of the wounded was shot in the face, and another was shot in the chest. A dozen vehicles were riddled with gunfire.”
To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.
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New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~
~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”
New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”
Click on photo to enlarge.
~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI."
Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”
New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”
Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”
Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."
Linda Greenhouse: "Not that any of the Republicans have asked me for advice, but I'll give them some anyway: Fomenting backlash [against the Supreme Court] is not a winning strategy.... Stoking public anger against the Supreme Court can't succeed in a vacuum. Backlash needs to be fed and sustained by fear: fear of crime; fear of a threat to 'our Southern way of life'; fear, in the case of abortion, of a revolution in women's traditional role in the family and in society. And what, exactly, are people supposed to be afraid of now? A same-sex married couple with affordable health insurance?"
Julie Bosman of the New York Times on sex offender registries. You could get on one for peeing in public or "swapping lewd texts." In the featured case, it appears the judge & prosecutor just didn't approve of young people hooking up via Websites, & they use that view as an excuse to ruin the lives of young people who aren't so prissy. CW P.S. Though the young man featured in the story is white, sex-offender statutes seem like an excellent way for racist judges to get away with criminalizing young black men.
Ben Wofford of Politico Magazine: The U.S. "has only one federally funded slave memorial -- and it's been falling apart." At least read the part about how Saint George Washington successfully finagled Pennsylvania's gradual abolition law.
John Hooper & Helena Smith of the Guardian: "Greeks have begun voting in a referendum that presents the biggest challenge to the running of the euro since its adoption and risks sending shock waves through the world's financial markets."
God News
Barbara Hoberock of the Tulsa World: "The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Ten Commandments monument at the state Capitol must be removed. The plaintiffs said its placement at the Capitol constituted the use of public property for the benefit of a system of religion, which is banned by the Oklahoma Constitution. The monument, a gift from Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, and his family, was recently reinstalled after a man drove a vehicle into it." Outrage ensues. ViaSteve Benen.
Presidential Race
Kevin Hardy of the Des Moines Register: "On the tail end of a three-day Iowa swing, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he's feeling good about his momentum here and across the country. More than 150 supporters marched with Sanders on Saturday in Waukee's Independence Day parade, the last of his eight Iowa stops this week.... Sanders drew both traditional Democrats and conservatives on Saturday. 'This will be the first time I've caucused with the Democrats,' said Michael Tallman, 25, of Des Moines... Micheal Davenport, 35, of Des Moines said he generally votes conservatively. But he marched in support of Sanders Saturday. Davenport is an anti-abortion Catholic.... But Davenport said Pope Francis' call for tolerance and more moderate rhetoric surrounding social issues has made him rethink some issues." ...
... Annie Karni & Jonathan Topaz of Politico on "Bernie & Hillary's holiday weekend." ...
... Philip Rucker & Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: In New Hampshire, the candidates paraded; hecklers heckled. ...
... Jennifer Kasperkevic of the Guardian: "As 2016 presidential candidates flocked to spend Independence Day in early voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clintonfound herself defending her record on policy and the size of crowds at her events." ...
... Annie Karni: "Hillary Clinton arrived in this liberal New England [-- Hanover, N.H. --] enclave with a message for anyone thinking about voting for Sen. Bernie Sanders of next-door Vermont: 'I take a backseat to no one when you look at my record in standing up and fighting for progressive values.'... And at the first stop of her two-day swing through the early-voting state, Clinton highlighted contrasts with her main Democratic rival without mentioning him by name." ...
... Liam Stack of the New York Times: "Hillary Rodham Clintonoffered moral support to a distraught gay youth who shared his anxiety about his future in a viral photograph posted on the Humans of New York Facebook page, telling him on Friday that it would be 'amazing.'" CW: What? No comforting words from Ted Cruz?
Belatedly, Marco Thumps Trump. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "On Friday, Rubio released a strongly worded statement which said: 'Trump's comments are not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive.'... On Saturday, speaking on the Fox & Friends morning show, Trump attacked Rubio for being 'very weak on immigration'. He also said the former New York governor George Pataki, who has criticised his remarks, was 'a sad figure' and 'a terrible governor of New York' who had 'zero numbers in the polls'.... Trump said he 'respected' the Texas senator Ted Cruz, who has defended his remarks on immigration.... On Friday, Trump lost the support of another US institution when the chairman of Nascar said the auto-racing series would not host its season-end awards at his Trump National Doral resort in Miami." ...
... Me-Too Mitt. Cassie Spodak of CNN: "Mitt Romney said Saturday that Donald Trump's comments on Mexico and undocumented immigrants have hurt the Republican Party, [link fixed] making the 2012 presidential nominee the latest Republican to slam the billionaire over his controversial remarks. Romney made his remarks during a Fourth of July parade in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, which was also attended by presidential candidates New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Asked if Trump's comments on Mexicans have hurt the Republican Party, Romney replied, 'Yes; I think he made a severe error in saying what he did about Mexican-Americans,' Romney said...." CW: Mitt's father George was a Mexican-American.
AP: "In a sudden reversal amid a stinging backlash, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and GOP legislative leaders said they agreed Saturday to completely remove a part of the proposed state budget that would severely roll back open records laws.... The restrictions, which Republicans on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee slipped into the proposed budget late Thursday, would shield nearly everything created by state and local government officials from Wisconsin's open records law, including drafts of legislation and staff communications. The proposal drew heavy criticism from liberals and conservatives alike, and was the subject of a withering front-page editorial in Saturday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel." ...
... Mary Spicuzza of the Journal Sentinel: "Walker, speaking with reporters Saturday before participating in the Wauwatosa Independence Day Parade, acknowledged that he had 'a lot of concerns about' the proposals. His comments were echoed by Republican legislative leaders early Saturday, including those who backed the changes just two days earlier. Though he holds one of the most powerful veto pens in the nation ... Walker early Saturday had stopped short of pledging to veto the open records overhaul. But by the end of the day, it became clear he wouldn't have to face that decision, because he and other lawmakers agreed to drop the proposal." CW: In other words, Scottie will get away with as much as he can. ...
... CW: Contributor Nadd2 points us to this video of Scottie's weasling out of muliple questions about his part in the scheme. I thought Scottie was no good at deflecting questions. Turns out he's a master of misdirection, dissemblng & deception. Bottom line: his dirty paws are all over the last-minute insert:
John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Another day on the presidential campaign trail, another crowd of eye-popping size for Bernie Sanders. The independent senator from Vermont attracted more than 2,500 people to a convention center [in Council Bluffs, Iowa] on Friday night.... Appearing Friday at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, the country's first primary state, [Hillary] Clinton attracted about 850 people."
Yes, Virginia, There Is an Uncle Sam. Maybe. Sam Roberts of the New York Times: "Two centuries ago, in Troy, N.Y..., Samuel Wilson, the upstate New York butcher known locally as Uncle Sam and considered the inspiration for the national symbol..., stamped the meat he delivered to American troops poised to invade Canada during the War of 1812 with the initials 'U.S.,' earning him a permanent spot in the nation's iconography."
White House: "In this week's address, the President wished everyone a happy Fourth of July. He honored the individuals who, throughout the history of America, have struggled and sacrificed to make this country a better place, from our Founding Fathers, to the men and women in uniform serving at home and overseas":
** Claire Moser, in Think Progress: "Just in time for the Fourth of July -- when millions of people across the country will visit America's national parks and other public lands -- the Koch brothers are rolling out their latest campaign against these treasured places: pushing for no more national parks. In an op-ed published in Tuesday's New York Times, Reed Watson, the executive director at the Koch-backed Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), along with a research associate at the Center, call for no more national parks, citing the backlog in maintenance for existing parks.... PERC has a long history of advocating for the privatization of America's national parks and other public lands, and has significant ties to the Koch brothers and fossil fuel industries." ...
... In this regard, it is worth re-reading Tim Egan's 2010 essay on the people's parks. ...
... "These Disunited States." Colin Woodard in Politico Magazine: "Long before the Civil War, the United States had been torn between competing visions of what the American experiment was all about, with the northernmost tier of the country emphasizing collective action to build an allegedly stronger, better and more just Union while the southernmost tier championed self-government, the liberties of local rulers and the sanctity of local tradition. The other regions -- and there were well more than two -- found themselves caught in between. Strikingly little has changed." ...
... Michael Lind in Politico Magazine: "Minus the South, the rest of the U.S. probably would be more like Canada or Australia or Britain or New Zealand -- more secular, more socially liberal, more moderate in the tone of its politics and somewhat more generous in social policy.... We'd be less violent, more mobile and in general more normal if not for Dixie." ...
... Colbert King of the Washington Post: "The political freedom resulting from the [American Revolution] was earned on battlefields at Lexington and Concord, at the Battle of Bunker Hill and beyond, with the help of black soldiers, both free and enslaved, who fought with the Continental Army. The Revolutionary War victory was every bit theirs, as well.... At the start of the war, George Washington opposed the recruitment of blacks, whether free or slave. Washington had plenty of company. Many slave owners considered the training and arming of slaves akin to inviting insurrection. But they soon found that there weren't nearly enough white men willing and able to fight the British, so Washington relented." ...
... Contra King, Dylan Matthews writes in Vox, "... Simon Schama writes in Rough Crossings, his history of black loyalism during the Revolution, the war was 'a revolution, first and foremost, mobilized to protect slavery.' Slaves also understood that their odds of liberation were better under British rule than independence. Over the course of the war, about 100,000 African slaves escaped, died, or were killed, and tens of thousands enlisted in the British army, far more than joined the rebels." ...
... Remains of the Day. CW: Matthews' post, titled "3 reasons the American Revolution was a mistake," is well-worth a read. However, in my own counterfactual, I would argue that Great Britain would soon tire of the American colonies & arrange to leave us mostly to our own devices, perhaps with the sort of autonomy that most of the remains of the Empire enjoy today. Downside: no Independence Day holiday. ...
... Michael Twitty in the Guardian: "... if America is about people creating new worlds based on rebellion against oppression and slavery, then barbecue is the ideal dish: it was made by enslaved Africans with inspiration and contributions from Native Americans struggling to maintain their independence.... Barbecue is laced with the aspiration of freedom, but it was seasoned and flavored by the people who could not enjoy any freedom on Independence Day for almost a century." Thanks to safari for the link.
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Sometime in the next few weeks, aides expect President Obama to issue orders freeing dozens of federal prisoners locked up on nonviolent drug offenses. With the stroke of his pen, he will probably commute more sentences at one time than any president has in nearly half a century."
Robert Pear of the New York Times: "Health insurance companies around the country are seeking rate increases of 20 percent to 40 percent or more, saying their new customers under the Affordable Care Act turned out to be sicker than expected. Federal officials say they are determined to see that the requests are scaled back."
Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "Federal and local authorities have found that ... [accused mass murderer Dylann Roof] had been in contact with white supremacists online, although it does not appear they encouraged him to carry out the massacre, according to law enforcement officials.... The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., reported on Thursday that the investigation had widened to include others who may have helped [Dylann] Roof." ...
... Abby Phillip of the Washington Post: Amber Roof, Dylann's sister, who cancelled her wedding -- which had been planned for four days after Dylann (allegedly) massacred nine people -- decided to crowdfund a new wedding & honeymoon. After receiving -- and deleting -- negative comments, Amber took down her GoFundMe page. CW: One can hardly blame the poor dear; there is not a word of guidance in any of the wedding etiquette books on how a disappointed bride should conduct herself in such a circumstance. So she proceeded in the way she thought most tasteful (though even I would have suggested she use the spellcheck).
Dana Milbank: The ascendant populist movement appears to be leaving behind top Democrats like President Obama, Hillary Clitnon [Update: sometimes a typo is just a typo.] & New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
On Facebook, actor George Takeiissues an appropriate apology for a remark he made about Justice Clarence Thomas. ...
... Simon Maloy of Salon: "... support for nullification theory [link fixed] tends to rise in the context of civil rights struggles, as the opponents of equal rights claim that the Supreme Court can't tell their (usually Southern) state what to do.... The important thing to understand with the current gay rights battle is that the proponents of the 'religious freedom' argument aren't actually talking about 'protecting' religious freedom -- they're talking about expanding the definition of what can be considered an expression of religious faith. When Ted Cruz and Ken Paxton argue that county clerks can refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses in defiance of the Supreme Court, they're essentially saying that the act of doing one's government job is an act of faith and should be protected as such."
... George Rede of the Oregonian: "The owners of a shuttered Gresham[, Oregon,] bakery must pay $135,000 in damages to a lesbian couple for refusing to make them a wedding cake, the state's top labor official said Thursday. State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian ordered Aaron and Melissa Klein to pay the women for emotional and mental suffering that resulted from the denial of service. The Kleins had cited their Christian beliefs against same-sex marriage in refusing to make the cake. Avakian's ruling upheld a preliminary finding earlier this year...."
Lizette Alvarez of the New York Times: "After nearly a decade of recession, Puerto Rico's government says it cannot pay its $73 billion debt much longer. Gov. Alejandro García Padilla warns that more austerity is on the way, a necessity for an island now working feverishly to rescue itself. With so many bracing for another slide toward the bottom, the sense of despair grows more palpable by the day."
Griff Witte & Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: "Dueling rallies of tens of thousands of people apiece took over central Athens on Friday evening, with demonstrators making their final push before a referendum on Sunday that has passionately divided this flailing nation between those terrified Greece will lose its place in Europe and others determined to transform the continent at all costs." ...
... Suzanne Daley of the New York Times: "On Friday, a day of dueling yes and no rallies, when a top Greek court swept aside a constitutional challenge to the referendum, the role of the news media emerged as one of the most contentious issues. Ads predicting doomsday scenarios and long newspaper articles on the plight of retirees have been coming fast and furious from Greece's oligarch-dominated news organizations, which critics say are all in on the yes side. ...
... Paul Taylor of Reuters: "Euro zone countries tried in vain to stop the IMF publishing a gloomy analysis of Greece's debt burden which the leftist government says vindicates its call to voters to reject bailout terms, sources familiar with the situation said on Friday. The document released in Washington on Thursday said Greece's public finances will not be sustainable without substantial debt relief, possibly including write-offs by European partners of loans guaranteed by taxpayers." ...
... John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "Greece isn't going to cut, or reform, or grow it's way to debt sustainability. Either it will default on virtually all of its loans and adopt a new currency, or it will need debt forgiveness of the sort that Germany enjoyed after the Second World War, when more than half of its loans were written off." ...
... Noah Feldman in Bloomberg: "Greece is doing democracy wrong.... In a crisis, effective democracy requires an elected leader to do what he or she thinks is right -- and take the consequences later, when elections are called. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's failure to do this isn't democratic -- it's irresponsible hedging in the hopes of maintaining popularity even after a change in the policies that elected him."
Presidential Race
Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "Mitt Romneyis hosting [N.J. Gov. Chris] Christie and his wife, Mary Pat, at his waterfront compound on picturesque Lake Winnipesaukee on Friday night.... Fellow GOP hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and his wife, Jeanette, also joined the Romneys for Friday night's slumber party.... On Saturday morning, the Christies and Rubios will also be marching in Wolfeboro's celebrated Fourth of July parade." CW: Aw, shucks, I have to clean out my car & do some laundry, so I won't be able to make it. ...
... Steve M.: "Romney seemed to be deferring to Jeb when he decided not to run for president this year, but I'm starting to wonder whether he's looking for a way to help Jeb's rivals at Jeb's expense.... Jeb, by the way, is holding "two intimate campaign events" (a dinner and a staff briefing) in Kennebunkport this weekend, according to the New York Post's Page Six." ...
... BUT, Philip Rucker: "Romney and his wife, Ann, plan to meet this coming week with former Florida governor Jeb Bush for lunch at Walker's Point, the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.... In past years, the Romneys have visited with the Bushes at Walker's Point." The summer residences are about a 50-mile drive from each other.
"A Lesson in Inequality." Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times: New York City, under the Bloomberg administration, paid Donald Trump$127 million (& tax breaks) to build & operate a public golf course in the Bronx. "A stretch of housing projects borders the links and so does a tightly packed cemetery, St. Raymond's...." The city was supposed to equip a free public park that is next to the grounds, but the "equipment" is nothing but a slide. ...
... Missed this, but it's worth noting. Erik Matuszewski of Bloomberg (July 1): Donald Trump "was quoted as saying in an interview with the Golf Channel that he's received 'tremendous support' from those in the golf world because 'they all know I'm right' [about Mexican immigrants].... The U.S. PGA Tour, the PGA of America, the U.S. Golf Association and the LPGA Tour said Wednesday in a joint statement that Trump's remarks don't reflect the views of those organizations.... 'While the LPGA, PGA of America, PGA Tour and USGA do not usually comment on presidential politics, Mr. Trump's comments are inconsistent with our strong commitment to an inclusive and welcoming environment in the game of golf,'" they said.
... Last week Lindsay Abrams of Salon interviewedAnthony Baxter, who made a documentary, "You've Been Trumped" about Donald Trump's golf course project in Scotland. "Trump's no less loathed in Scotland. There, however, the problem is less about what Trump says, and more about what he's actually done -- run roughshod over protected dunes to build an elite golf course, attack an offshore wind energy project because it 'ruined' his view, cajole politicians into supporting his every whim. He's also run into trouble for the promises he's failed to keep...." Also, of course, his 18 golf courses for the elite -- especially the courses in deserts -- are environmental disasters.
Michael Schmidt & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "... this Fourth of July weekend has spawned particularly strong warnings about a potential [terrorist] attack as the federal authorities and national security experts say the United States is more susceptible now because of tactics chosen for recent terrorist strikes by the Islamic State. Officials cite an increased effort by the Islamic State to galvanize its sympathizers in the United States and elsewhere since Memorial Day and during this Ramadan season to carry out acts of violence on their own -- so-called lone-wolf attacks. Those potential plots by individuals are harder for the authorities to detect and disrupt, senior American officials say, and have led the F.B.I. to put more Americans under investigation for suspected ties to terrorist groups than at any point since Sept. 11."
Jerry Markon of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration has begun a profound shift in its enforcement of the nation's immigration laws, aiming to hasten the integration of long-term illegal immigrants into society rather than targeting them for deportation, according to documents and federal officials. In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security has taken steps to ensure that the majority of America's 11.3 million undocumented immigrants can stay in this country, with agents narrowing enforcement efforts to three groups of illegal migrants: convicted criminals, terrorism threats or those who recently crossed the border." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "President Obama came to [La Crosse, Wisconsin,] on the Mississippi on Thursday and launched a frontal assault on Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who filed papers earlier in the day that moved him closer to joining a crowded Republican presidential field. ...
... Jim Kuhnhenn of the AP: "Wading into presidential politics, President Barack Obama on Thursday promoted his brand of middle-class economics by drawing sharp contrasts with 'mean' Republicans in the state where the GOP governor was preparing to enter the vast 2016 presidential field. 'They're good people,' Obama said of Republicans. 'It's just their ideas are bad.' Obama leveled some of his sharpest criticism of Republicans, who disagree with him on most matters, on the issue of health care....'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
I've lost count how many Republicans are running for this job. They'll have enough for an actual 'Hunger Games.' -- President Obama, in La Crosse
Jeffrey Jones of Gallup: "In the second quarter of 2015, Democrats regained an advantage over Republicans in terms of Americans' party affiliation. A total of 46% of Americans identified as Democrats (30%) or said they are independents who lean toward the Democratic Party (16%), while 41% identified as Republicans (25%) or leaned Republican (16%)."
Terry Gross of NPR interviews Adam Liptak of the New York Times on this past Supreme Court term. CW: Watch out for Liptak's claims about how "liberal" the term was. (I haven't listened, so I might be wrong.) Thanks to Haley S. for the lead:
Julia O'Donaghue of the Times-Picayune: "Following a court ruling ordering it to do so, Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration agreed Thursday (July 2) afternoon to allow the state Department of Vital Records in downtown New Orleans to issue the marriage licenses. Every other marriage license office in the state began doing so earlier this week." ...
... Matt Volz of the AP: "A Montana man said Wednesday that he was inspired by last week's U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage to apply for a marriage license so that he can legally wed his second wife. Nathan Collier and his wives Victoria and Christine applied at the Yellowstone County Courthouse in Billings on Tuesday in an attempt to legitimize their polygamous marriage. Montana, like all 50 states, outlaws bigamy ... but Collier said he plans to sue if the application is denied.... Yellowstone County chief civil litigator Kevin Gillen said he ... expected to send a formal response to Collier by next week. 'I think he deserves an answer,' Gillen said, but added his review is finding that 'the law simply doesn't provide for that yet.'"
Tim Egan: "The current heat [in Washington state] is a precursor, an early peek at a scary tomorrow. [Sen. Jim] Inhofe's ignorance could have a direct effect on the place we leave our grandchildren."
AP: "Greece' finance minister says an agreement with the country's creditors 'is more or less done' as European officials have put forward 'very decent proposals' to the Greek government his week. Yanis Varoufakis has told Ireland's RTE radio Friday that this 'has not been a dead week in terms of negotiations' despite European officials stating publicly that there would be no further talks until after Sunday's referendum." ...
... ** Phillip Inman, et al., of the Guardian: "The International Monetary Fund has electrified the referendum debate in Greece after it conceded that the crisis-ridden country needs up to €60bn (£42bn) of extra funds over the next three years and large-scale debt relief to create 'a breathing space' and stabilise the economy.... With days to go before Sunday's knife-edge referendum that the country's creditors have cast as a vote on whether it wants to keep the euro, the IMF revealed a deep split with Europe as it warned that Greece's debts were 'unsustainable'." ...
... Paul Krugman: "... if it weren't for the nightmare in southern Europe, the troubles facing the Finnish economy might well be seen as an epic disaster. And Finland isn't alone. It's part of an arc of economic decline that extends across northern Europe through Denmark -- which isn't on the euro, but is managing its money as if it were -- to the Netherlands.... What all of these economies have in common ... is that by joining the eurozone they put themselves into an economic straitjacket." P.S. to Greeks -- Vote "No." ...
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Jim Webb, the former Virginia senator and Reagan-era secretary of the Navy, announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, bringing his antiwar credentials to the field in what many consider a long-shot campaign for the presidency. Mr. Webb's announcement caught some political observers by surprise -- the politician was the first to form a presidential exploratory committee among both Democrats and Republicans, but he has been barely visible ever since." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... The Washington Post story, by Rachel Weiner, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... David Graham of the Atlantic: "In a different era's Democratic Party, Jim Webbmight be a serious contender for the presidential nomination.... As surprising as Bernie Sanders's rise in the polls has been, he looks more like the Democratic base than Webb does.... Webb's statement essentially saying he had no problem with the Confederate battle flag flying in places like the grounds of the South Carolina capitol may have been the final straw." ...
... Ed Kilgore: "In a pretty clear indication that he doesn't care much for the advice of people like me, former Senator Jim Webb leapt into the 2016 presidential race without further clarifying his rather anachronistic views on the display of Confederate emblems, or for that matter, doing much of anything else in preparation."
Dan Roberts of the Guardian: "Bernie Sandershas more than halved the gap with Hillary Clinton in the early-voting state of Iowa, according to a new poll which shows the leftwing insurgent building on his recent record-breaking public appearances with growing support among key Democratic voters.... The latest survey in Iowa, carried out by Quinnipiac University, shows him trailing her by 33 to 52 percentage points among likely Democratic participants in the state caucuses on 1 February. This compares with Clinton's 60-15 point lead, more than twice as large, in the last Quinnipiac poll on 7 May...." ...
... Brian Mahoney of Politico: "In a memo this week to state, central and area divisions of the labor federation..., the AFL-CIO chief [Richard Trumka] reminded the groups that its bylaws don't permit them to 'endorse a presidential candidate' or 'introduce, consider, debate, or pass resolutions or statements that indicate a preference for one candidate over another.'... The memo comes amid signs of a growing split between national union leaders ... and local officials and rank and file, who are increasingly drawn to the Democratic Party's growing progressive wing, for whom [Sen. Bernie] Sanders is the latest standard-bearer. The South Carolina and Vermont AFL-CIOs have passed resolutions supporting Sanders, and some local AFL-CIO leaders in Iowa want to introduce a resolution at their August convention backing the independent senator from Vermont."
Nick Gass of Politico: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walkerwill officially announce his bid for the White House on July 13 in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha."
Matea Gold, et al., of the Washington Post: "Shortly after Jeb Bush left the Florida governor’s office in 2007, he established his own firm, Jeb Bush & Associates, designed to maximize his earning potential as one of the country's more prominent politicians. Tax returns disclosed this week by the Republican's presidential campaign revealed that the business not only made him rich but also provided a steady income for his wife and one of his sons.... The returns show that the company set up a generous and well-funded pension plan now rare in corporate America, allowing Bush to take large tax deductions while he and his wife built up their retirement portfolio."
Ben Brody of Bloomberg: "Republican presidential candidate Rick Perryaccused his party of trading its 'moral legitimacy' for political pragmatism in abandoning the cause of African Americans and, along with it, the black vote. 'We found that we did need it to win,' the former Texas governor said. 'But when we gave up trying to win the support of African Americans we lost our moral legitimacy as the party of Lincoln, the party of equal opportunity for all.'... Perry also ... [said Donald] Trump's recent disparaging comments about Mexico and Mexican immigrants do not 'reflect the Republican Party.'" ...
... digby: "I'll just point out that Rick Perrylost all moral legitimacy with the human race when he blithely signed more death warrants than any governor in history.... Also too: African Americans comprise only 12% of the population of Texas, but they comprise 39.8% of death row inmates." ...
... CW: Even if Perry had not signed a single death warrant, he has "lost all moral legitimacy" by his policies that so often are aimed to hurt racial minorities (& other vulnerable people, like seniors, gays & women): his economic policies & proposals such as a flat tax & opposition to minimum wage laws; his opposition to the ACA, to the point of refusing to accept the Medicaid expansion; his opposition to Social Security; his successful efforts to close clinics that perform abortions; his advocacy for voter suppression (successful here, too!) -- look at his record & you'll probably find plenty of other policy positions he supports that negatively affect minorities more than they do wealthy white guys. Sorry, Rick, platitudes don't trump policies.
When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. -- Donald Trump, presidential candidacy announcement
Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "... it's worth noting the two hallmarks of classic Donald Trump that emerged from his response [to the furor his [remarks caused]. First, he unfailingly stood by the comments.... And second, he's wrong. On CNN on Wednesday night, he offered a defense to anchor Don Lemon. 'If you look at the statistics, of people coming ... I didn't say about Mexico, I say the illegal immigrants -- if you look at the statistics on rape, on crime, on everything, coming in illegally to the country, they're mind-boggling,' he told Lemon. Every part of that is incorrect. He did say his comments about Mexico -- explicitly. And data show that new immigrants -- including illegal immigrants -- are actually less likely to commit crime, not more." (Emphasis added.) Read the whole post. ...
... Jamelle Bouie of Slate: "... just because Trump is an unqualified vanity candidate doesn't mean he's unimportant in the story of the 2016 GOP presidential primary....While Trump was out-of-bounds of mainstream conversation, he was well in the bounds of Republican Party politics and the kinds of rhetoric used there about Mexican and Latin American immigrants.... His rhetoric -- a revanchist stew of foreign policy belligerence, small government ideology, anti-elite agitation, and raw bigotry -- reflects and appeals to a meaningful part of the Republican electorate." ...
CW, via the Raw Story: If you're a white guy who organizes a plot to massacre members of a Muslim community -- gathering guns, ammo & "recruits" -- you might not be a terrorist; you might just be mentally ill or drunk or something. The federal judge, who ruled that prosecutors had to produce evidence that defendant Robert Doggart was "a true threat," is a Clinton appointee. And he's black. Here's the Chattanoogan story.
Tania Eiserer of WFAA Dallas-Fort Worth: "The criminal investigation against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken a more serious turn, with special prosecutors now planning to present a first-degree felony securities fraud case against him to a Collin County grand jury, News 8 has learned. Special prosecutor Kent Schaffer told News 8 Wednesday afternoon that the Texas Rangers uncovered new evidence during the investigation that led to the securities fraud allegations against the sitting attorney general.... Schaffer ... said the securities fraud allegations involve amounts well in excess of $100,000." ...
Whatever Happened to Scott Brown? The last we heard, the once-and-former-handsomest-man-in-the-Senate was working an unpaid job learning to change a bicycle tire since changing a car tire was way beyond his skill level. Now he has a -- presumably -- paying job as a salesman for what is probably a phony, reportedly dangerous, "weight-loss" dietary supplement. Olivia Nuzzi of the Daily Beast has the story. Brown is apparently unsure how long he's been taking the supplement: either it's a few months or ten years. Something like that. But look out, Maine, your native son is now really fit to run for Senate.
News Ledes
Hill: "France has rejected an asylum requestfrom Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks. In a statement reported by Channel News Asia, Prime Minister Francois Hollande's office explained the rejection by saying that Assange is in no immediate danger. Assange, who has been holed up in Equador's embassy in London, requested asylum in a letter."
AP: "A Wisconsin man is being detained in a mental health facility after authorities say he told a security guard he planned to kill President Barack Obama. A warrant was issued Thursday for 55-year-old Brian Dutcher of Tomah, the same day Obama was in La Crosse touting a proposal to make more workers eligible for overtime pay."
New York Times: "The health insurer Aetna said on Friday that it had agreed to acquire its smaller rival Humana for $37 billion in cash and stock, signaling the start of what may become a flurry of consolidation in the sector. The deal would bring together two of the United States' biggest health insurers. The combined company would have estimated operating revenue of $115 billion this year and more than 33 million consumers."
Washington Post: "A U.S. drone strike has killedTariq al-Harzi, a senior Islamic State militant in Syria, in an attack that took place a day after another American aircraft killed his brother, also an influential militant, in neighboring Iraq, the Pentagon said Thursday. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the strike that killed Tariq al-Harzi occurred June 16 in Shaddadi, Syria...."
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