The Commentariat -- March 6, 2014
Alissa de Carbonnel of Reuters: "Crimea's parliament voted [unanimously] to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum within 10 days on the decision in a dramatic escalation of the crisis over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula.... The vice premier of Crimea ... said a referendum on the status would take place on March 16. He said all state property would be 'nationalized', the Russian ruble could be adopted and Ukrainian troops would be treated as occupiers and be forced to surrender or leave. The announcement, which diplomats said could not have been made without Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval, raised the stakes in the most serious east-west confrontation since the end of the Cold War." ...
... Zeke Miller of Time: "President Barack Obama ordered a round of economic sanctions Thursday targeting individuals and corporations that the administration sees as destabilizing Ukraine or involved in the crisis in Crimea.... The broad directive allows for sanctions on an array of individuals, from officials of the former Ukrainian government, to Russian government, military, and business leaders. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney warned that 'depending on how the situation develops, the United States is prepared to consider additional steps and sanctions as necessary.'" ...
Carol Morello & Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: "Lawmakers in Ukraine's Crimea region voted Thursday to hold a referendum on March 16 to decide whether Crimea should become part of Russia, according to the Associated Press. The autonomous region's 100-member parliament voted 78 to 0, with eight abstentions, in favor of holding the referendum, which would also give Crimean voters the option of remaining part of Ukraine, but with enhanced local powers, AP reported." ...
... Alan Cowell of the New York Times: "The European Union was meeting in emergency session in Brussels on Thursday to debate the crisis in Ukraine, reinforcing its support for the fledgling government in Kiev even as it punished the Russian-backed former president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, with measures to freeze his assets and those of 17 of his closest aides and family members. But pro-Russian forces -- and Moscow itself -- seemed to be pressing ahead undeterred with preparations to tighten their grip on the southern Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, where Ukrainian military installations are under a tight blockade." ...
... Anne Gearan & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration claimed progress Wednesday toward resolving a Cold War-style standoff with Russia over its military incursion in Ukraine, even as the Pentagon moved to reassure nervous NATO allies by positioning fighter jets closer to Russia." ...
... Top Diplomat Gets More Diplomatic. Denver Nicks of Time: "Speaking at an event at UCLA on Wednesday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied she drew a parallel between Russia's recent actions in Ukraine and Nazi Germany at a fundraiser on Tuesday. 'I'm not making a comparison, certainly,' Clinton said. 'But I am recommending that we perhaps can learn from this tactic that has been used before.' She also called Putin 'a tough guy with a thin skin.'" ...
... Joe Coscarelli of New York: "Except she is comparing them, certainly, in the sense that she's noting the similarities between their actions. Clinton may not be equating the two men or their behavior, but even if the analogy is sloppy, as some have argued, she wouldn't have made it again if she didn't want to seem tough on the issue." ...
... Marc Tracy of the New Republic: "No matter which Hitler moment Clinton was referring to, she can't have been making a particularly apt analogy. It makes her seem like an Internet commenter. And even if it were a good analogy, it is not one a prominent American statesperson -- even one currently in the private sector -- should make.... If there is a silver lining [to her unstatesmanlike remark], it is that there isn't likely to be extensive political fallout for Clinton.... Given that no public figure is more associated with the Benghazi debacle than Clinton, [Sen. Lindsey Graham] cannot possibly square a narrative in which she is weak, a narrative in which Putin is like Hitler, and a narrative in which Clinton's saying Putin is like Hitler makes her unfit to lead. (Tune in next week to see how he squares those narratives.)"
... ** Henry Kissinger Is Not Dead Yet: "Russia and the West ... [have] made the situation [in Ukraine] worse. Russia would not be able to impose a military solution without isolating itself at a time when many of its borders are already precarious. For the West, the demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one." ...
... ** Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast: Rudy "Giuliani, once a genuinely moderate Republican (go look up his mayoral immigration record) and a man whom aides used to describe a long time ago as the one figure capable of pulling the national GOP back toward the center..., has served for some time now as little more than a right-wing standup comic -- and a staggeringly hypocritical one at that.... A standup comic often serves as his audience's id, and so it is in this case. The neocons, on some emotional level, prefer Putin to Obama." ...
... E. J. Dionne illustrates the difference between principled dissent & extremist partisan assaults.
Robert Pear of the New York Times: "The Obama administration, struggling with continued political fallout over its troubled health care law, said Wednesday that it would allow consumers to renew health insurance policies that do not comply with the law for two more years. The action is a reflection of the difficulties the president has faced as he tries to build support for the Affordable Care Act, and the backlash over his promise -- which he later acknowledged was overstated -- that individuals who liked their insurance plans could keep them, no matter what." CW: Yes, excellent idea. Give the GOP another two years to caterwaul.
Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "Relations between the CIA and the US senators charged with its political oversight were at a nadir on Wednesday after the head of the agency issued a rare public rebuke to lawmakers who accused it of spying on their staff. John Brennan, the director of the CIA, said the claims by members of the Senate intelligence committee were 'spurious' and 'wholly unsupported by the facts', and went as far as suggesting the committee itself may have been guilty of wrongdoing." ...
... Jonathan Landay, et al., of McClatchy News have more on the allegation/suspicion that the C.I.A. spied on Senate aides: "The CIA Inspector General's Office has asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations of malfeasance at the spy agency in connection with a yet-to-be released Senate Intelligence Committee report into the CIA's secret detention and interrogation program, McClatchy has learned." ...
... Update. Landay, et al.: "Congressional aides involved in preparing the Senate Intelligence Committee's unreleased study of the CIA’s secret interrogation and detention program walked out of the spy agency's fortress-like headquarters with classified documents that the CIA contended they weren't authorized to have, McClatchy has learned. After the CIA confronted the panel in January about the removal of the material last fall, panel staff concluded that the agency had monitored computers they'd been given to use in a high-security research room at the CIA campus in Langley, Va...." CW: This piece is a key that puts together the earlier pieces.
Jonathan Weisman (Update: & Michael Shear) of the New York Times: "The long shadow of Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose trial for the killing of a Philadelphia police officer became an international cause célèbre, fell over the Senate on Wednesday as lawmakers from both parties rejected President Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department's civil rights division. Debo P. Adegbile, who headed the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund when it represented Mr. Abu-Jamal decades after his conviction, could not overcome a concerted campaign by Republicans, conservative activists and law enforcement organizations, still infuriated by the murder of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner." ...
... CW: The New Lede Is Not Like the Old Lede. New: "Senate Democrats on Wednesday rejected President Obama's nominee to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in an embarrassing rebuke of the president on the choice of a key legal adviser and one that left senior White House officials 'furious' with members of their own party.... The president personally appealed to Senate Democrats at a recent caucus meeting and made several calls to Democratic senators in the last week, officials said. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Denis R. McDonough, the White House chief of staff, continued making calls Tuesday night and Wednesday morning." ...
... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress has more. Plus, he points us to ...
... Adam Serwer of NBC News: "Three months ago, John Errol Ferguson was executed for one of the worst mass murders in Florida's history. After tricking his way into a woman's home, he eventually bound, blindfolded and shot eight people. Six of them died. While under indictment for those crimes, Ferguson murdered two teenagers on their way to church.... What kind of person would defend a butcher with the blood of eight people on his hands? It was Chief Justice John Roberts, who devoted 25 pro bono hours to Ferguson's case when he was working in private practice."
He inserted his office in an effort to turn reality on its head, impugn honorable and selfless law enforcement officers, and glorify an unrepentant cop-killer. This is not required by our legal system. On the contrary, it is noxious to it. -- Mitch McConnell on Debo P. Adegbile
Judge Roberts has an impressive record. He has keen intellect, sterling integrity, and a judicious temperament. Most importantly, Judge Roberts will faithfully interpret the Constitution, not legislate from the bench.... We should not attribute to him the actions of clients he has represented. -- Mitch McConnell, on John Roberts, July 20, 2005
I wonder what the difference is. Oh, yeah. John Roberts is white and murdered teenagers don't have a lobby. -- Charles Pierce
Republicans argued that Adegbile's advocacy on behalf of civil rights disqualified him from running the civil rights division. -- Adam Serwer
... Jesse Wegman of the New York Times: "Some have called Mr. Adegbile a 'cop-killer advocate.' Another word for that might be 'lawyer.' In representing people like John Ferguson and Mumia Abu-Jamal, Chief Justice Roberts and Mr. Adegbile were doing what lawyers everywhere are trained to do. Particularly in death-penalty cases, it is critical to ensure that a defendant has adequate representation and that his trial, conviction and sentence do not violate the Constitution." ...
... Ari Berman of the Nation: "... Adegbile was the victim of a vicious right-wing smear campaign attacking him because LDF defended Mumia Abu Jamal's right to a fair trial. All across the right-wing media echo chamber, on Fox News and conservative blogs, the words Adegbile and 'cop-killer' were plastered in the headlines. The Fraternal Order of Police came out against his nomination, even though a court agreed with LDF that Abu Jamal had not been granted a fair trial -- a basic right in American society regardless of whether he did or did not commit the crime." ...
... Steve M. wonders: "Are Democrats ever going to develop the habit of anticipating attacks of the kind that were made against Adegbile? Are they ever going to recognize the need to neutralize such attacks rather than sticking their fingers in their ears and hoping the attacks will just go away? Is the Democratic Party always going to be a party of Dukakises?" ...
... CW P.S.: Let's give President Obama some credit here. He nominated the right guy for the job, he pushed to get him confirmed, then he condemned his own party members for voting against his nominee.
Gail Collins ponders the definition of oligarchs & who they are here in the U.S.A. So far, her list is limited to Charles & David Koch, Sheldon Adelson & maybe Michael Bloomberg, who bought himself the mayority of the country's largest city.
Absurd Moments in American History
Brought to You by the Republican Party
March 5, 2014 Edition. "Darrell Issa Hits a New Low." Dana Milbank: "Darrell Issa ... found a new way to silence Democratic critics who question his actions: He shut off the microphones." Issa had called IRS official Lois Lerner to testify, even though she had previously invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege & her attorney had said she would not testify Wednesday. Issa forced her to take the Fifth ten times during the brief hearing, and refused to allow any Democrats to speak. Here's the best/worst bit: after repeatedly shutting off the mic of ranking member Elijah Cummings,
Issa and fellow Republicans walked off to cries of 'Shame!' 'Mr. Chairman,' Cummings called after Issa, 'what are you hiding?' Said Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.), 'He's taking the Fifth, Elijah.'
Beyond the Beltway
Robert Costa & Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "CPAC, which is an event that brings together movement conservatives, libertarian college students, and tea-party leaders for three days of talks, will be an opportunity for [New Jersey Go. Chris] Christie to showcase his displeasure with the president he once considered an ally." Christie is to speak at CPAC today. ...
... Charles Stile of the Bergen Record: The secrecy & duplicity in the way Gov. Christie managed toll hikes for the Hudson River crossings appears to be part of a pattern: "Christie publicly expressed surprise and outrage over the magnitude of the hikes. But a knowledgeable source said Christie met privately with his aides three days earlier to discuss the inflated toll-hike proposal. So far, Christie and Cuomo have said nothing about the reports.... Christie critics will inevitably conclude that if Christie was aware of the toll-hike scheme, then he must have been equally aware of the bridge-lane closings, despite his forceful denials."
Steve Yaccino of the New York Times: "Passing a symbolic resolution Wednesday, Chicago's City Council unanimously opposed naming a federal building in Washington after Eliot Ness, the Prohibition-era agent whose team of lawmen in Chicago inspired 'The Untouchables' book, movie and television series." Here's the backstory, by Yaccino.
The Grayson Family Saga, Ctd.:
News Ledes
New York Times: "An American drone strike killed five Afghan National Army soldiers and wounded eight more Thursday morning, according to Afghan officials. The attack took place at 3:20 a.m. in the Charkh district of Logar Province, an area of intense insurgent activity. 'We believe the strike was the result of poor coordination between the people on the ground and the operators of the drone,' said Din Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the governor of Logar Province, which is in eastern Afghanistan...."
New York: "In the latest inception of the SAT, the second ever change in the exam's 88-year history, the College Board tried to make a test that would be more accessible to more people, for which preparation materials would be widely available, and wealthy students would have a harder time gaming the system by taking expensive classes."