The Commentariat -- Feb. 19, 2013
Here's Gail Collins' New York Times Magazine piece on Betty Friedan & The Feminine Mystique, which MAG mentions in today's Comments. Sorry I missed the article when the Times published it in January.
Steve Holland of Reuters: "President Barack Obama will make a fresh push on Tuesday to force congressional Republicans to make concessions that will head off budget cuts that appear increasingly likely to kick in starting on March 1. Obama, just back from a three-day golf getaway in Florida, will appear at the White House at 10:45 a.m. EST (1545 GMT) with emergency responders who would lose their jobs if the cuts go into effect." ...
... Update: Zachary Goldfarb of the Washington Post: "Speaking at the White House, surrounded by firefighters and other emergency personnel, Obama urged Congress to pass a short-term measure that would delay the cuts, known as the sequester, for a period of time until Congress can pass a permanent fix."
... Scott Wilson of the Washington Post: "More than he ever did in his first term, Obama is describing the country as he believes it should be, not the one it has been for much of the past decade.... Obama and his senior staff ... hope to harness his post-election political freedom on behalf of a domestic agenda still broadly unpopular among Republicans in a divided Congress. He is threatening executive action to confront such issues as climate change.... His vast former campaign organization also is mobilizing to fight outside the Beltway for a political agenda whose fate will be determined inside it." ...
... MEANWHILE, Molly Hooper of The Hill: "House GOP lawmakers say they do not fear political blowback if Congress fails to prevent $85 billion in automatic spending cuts from triggering in two weeks."
Mark Landler & Michael Gordon of the New York Times: "With conditions [in Syria] continuing to deteriorate, [U.S.] officials could reopen the debate over providing weapons to select members of the resistance in an effort to break the impasse in Syria."
** Michael Lofgren, a disaffected former GOP staffer in the Huffington Post: because of gerrymandering,* "it is unlikely Republicans will lose control of the House at least until the census of 2020. Dixie and the Tornado Belt are prone to send candidates of the intellectual caliber and world view of James Inhofe to the Senate for the foreseeable future, thus assuring a veto over legislation via the filibuster. The voting base itself, endlessly stoked by talk radio and Fox News, thrives on its martyr-like self-image as a persecuted remnant of Real Americans; and all the would-be messiahs they adore are Republicans, not third party candidates. There is also just too much money to be made by hucksters, so it is doubtful that the GOP will go the way of the Whigs." Thanks to Calyban for the link. ...
... I think this piece, written in September 2011 & published in TruthOut (& perhaps elsewhere), was what put Lofgren on the map. It's a doozy.
* BUT see John Sides & Eric McGhee on gerrymandering, linked below.
Ben Protess of the New York Times: "Criticized for letting Wall Street off the hook after the financial crisis, the Justice Department is building a new model for prosecuting big banks. In a recent round of actions that shook the financial industry, the government pushed for guilty pleas, rather than just the usual fines and reforms. Prosecutors now aim to apply the approach broadly to financial fraud cases, according to officials involved in the investigations." CW: read the whole article & see what you think. This sounds to me a little more like PR than like actually sending fat cats to the clink.
** Forget "Real America." Tim Noah of The New Republic: "We think of rural-heartland dwellers as real Americans, but they currently represent less than 20 percent of the population; nearly all of us live in and around cities. We think of churchgoers as real Americans, but only 40 percent of Americans attend any kind of religious service at least once a week.... We think of people who own guns as real Americans, but they represent only 21 percent of the population.... By fetishizing a fading tradition, liberals have only made their arguments for increased gun control less likely to have much of an impact. A recognition of their -- our -- dominant position would be a better way to start the debate."
Stupid Immigration Policy. Kevin Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Much of the immigration debate in Washington has centered on the 11 million undocumented migrants in the country. But, from the halls of MIT to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, business and academic leaders are more focused on what they call an even greater threat to the U.S. economy: immigration laws that chase away highly skilled foreigners educated in U.S. universities, often with degrees funded by U.S. taxpayers. While other countries are actively recruiting foreign-born U.S. graduates, the United States has strict limits on visas for highly skilled workers that often put them on waiting lists of many years. And unlike Canada and other countries, the United States offers no specific visa for young entrepreneurs ... who want to start a business in America."
David Dayen, writing in Salon, on how to save the U.S. Postal Service: institute a postal banking service, which would be a great help to "unbanked" or "underbanked" Americans who rely on payday lenders, pawn shops, etc., for "banking." "The National Association of Letter Carriers is ready to do this; they endorsed a resolution at their annual convention in 2012 to adopt a postal banking system in the US." CW: read the whole post. It's a pretty compelling idea & not nearly as novel as I thought. Of course, as Alex Pareene notes in the piece linked below, getting Congress off its collective ass to do something that's good for Americans -- & in this case, good for the USPS -- is a mighty heavy lift.
A Party without a Policy. Jonathan Bernstein in the Washington Post: "The problem with Republicans today on public policy isn't that they're stuck in the 1980s; it's that they've given up entirely." ...
... So, in Lieu of Policy, Here's What They Have -- Benghazi!!!. Ed Kilgore: "Sen. John McCain's insistence on Meet the Press yesterday that the Obama administration was engaged in a 'massive coverup' of Benghazi! is an indication that conspiracy-shouting on the subject among Republicans won't go away any time soon, or perhaps ever."
Alex Pareene of Salon: "After [Sen. Ted] Cruz's [RTP-Texas] hostile questioning of Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel, [Sen. John] McCain [R-Az.] publicly rebuked the Texas senator, something McCain only does to practically everyone who annoys him in any fashion.... But ... Ted Cruz's loudmouthed Senator Asshole routine is not what's wrong with the Senate.... Ted Cruz didn't blow up immigration reform on multiple occasions. Ted Cruz isn't why senators like McCain and [Lindsey] Graham [R-S.C.] decide to stop supporting things they used to support, like cap-and-trade.... What's wrong with the Senate is just about every other senator, most of whom ... never evinc[e] any concern whatsoever for the real-life consequences of their inaction on nearly every single one of America's most urgent problems...." ...
... Steve Benen: "A strange website with a troubled reputation published an unsubstantiated rumor about something Chuck Hagel is accused of having said in 2007. There is no proof that Hagel made the comment or anything like it, but two Republican senators nevertheless demanded an explanation. In other words, for [Lindsey] Graham and Kelly Ayotte [N.H.], there's nothing odd about effectively saying, 'We heard some unsubstantiated rumor on a website we know little about, and we expect you to take it seriously and provide us with an immediate explanation.'"
Jon Chait of New York: Joe Scarborough is pretty dimwitted & it shows when he tries to write down his "thoughts." "The fiscal scolds have so successfully inculcated their moralistic urgency about debt, so thoroughly dominated the news agenda, that millions of people like Joe Scarborough think it is self-evidently insane and evil to in any way minimize the awesome scale of the crisis. Scarborough can't really explain why Krugman is wrong, because the nub of the issue is that Krugman's way of looking at the issue simply offends him."
Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: Justice Clarence Thomas, who hasn't asked a question from the bench in seven years, says he sometimes gets Justice Stephen Breyer to ask questions for him.
John Sides & Eric McGhee in the Washington Post on gerrymandering, which these political scientists argue, based on a series of tests they applied to election results, had very little effect on the 2012 Congressional races: "... the ability of Republicans to retain the House majority may have been due to incumbency advantage, not new and more favorable districts. Why do Democrats have a somewhat chronic disadvantage in these graphs, especially in the last 20 years? Part of the reason is that Democratic votes are increasingly concentrated in urban areas where they are more likely to waste votes with large majorities.
Congressional Races
Ed Kilgore: "Life often imitates parody in South Carolina: former Gov. Mark Sanford has just put up his first ad in his campaign to get back his old congressional seat, recently vacated by now-Sen. Tim Scott. Seems he's going full-tilt into the paradox of simultaneously begging for forgiveness for his sins (which include not just adultery and public idiocy but a variety of financial irregularities that might have in some jurisdictions landed him in the hoosegow), while posing as the guy that can smite Washington with demands for strict fiscal accountability and moral rectitude." CW: meanwhile, Sally Quinn & other Washington hostesses with the mostesses are likely rooting for Sanford in hopes he & his lovely Argentinian fiancee will star at their little get-togethers.
Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Senator Mike Johanns, a Nebraska Republican who is in his first term, announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election next year, the fifth lawmaker to bow out of a Senate that has become increasingly polarized and dysfunctional."
CW: Sorry, but this extended wail from Jim VandeHei & Mike Allen of Politico is one long unintentional knee-slapper. Apparently, President Obama is not being transparent enough currying favor with these turdwingers & their buddies in the hard-working White Press corps. "The frustrated Obama press corps neared rebellion this past holiday weekend when reporters and photographers were not even allowed onto the Floridian National Golf Club, where Obama was golfing. That breached the tradition of the pool 'holding' in the clubhouse and often covering -- and even questioning -- the president on the first and last holes." Etc., etc.
... Digby is also "relieved that the fourth estate has its priorities straight." ...
... Anne Laurie, in Balloon Juice: "You'd think Tha Meeja would at least admire the Obama administration's deftness in beating them at their own game, but ... 'The president's staff often finds Washington reporters whiny, needy and too enamored with trivial matters or their own self-importance.'...Oooo, burn" ...
... AND Reid Epstein of Politico: "... after months of buildup and a week since his State of the Union address, key aides on the Hill and at the White House acknowledge that even GOP senators who fit Obama's vision of bipartisanship -- Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Rob Portman of Ohio, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma -- are all waiting to hear anything from the president.... They'd like to have a conversation. Or at least get a phone call. And with the president's whole agenda on the line, they're surprised that hasn't happened yet." ...
... CW: I'm surprised the Senate has not yet installed phones where they can call out. I guess the two-way walkie-talkies thingies are too new-fangled. Well, shucks, maybe Obama doesn't have a real phone, either:
Right Wing World
Local News
Carly Carioli of The Phoenix: Massachusetts "State Rep. Marty Walsh and Joyce Linehan -- the legendary rock publicist turned political rainmaker -- had teamed up to file HD3506, a bill to make 'Roadrunner,' by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, the official rock song of Massachusetts." CW: I agree with Richman who said, through a spokesperson, "I don't think the song is good enough to be a Massachusetts song of any kind."
Apropos of yesterday's inconsequential discussion, contributor Julie sends along this by Marshall Ramsey:
News Ledes
New York Times: "The Afghanistan authorities have captured a senior member of the blank">Pakistan Taliban in a stretch of mountains near the frontier between the two countries, Afghan and Pakistani officials said on Tuesday. One Afghan official said the militant, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, had been arrested after American airstrikes, some carried out via drones, had flushed him out of a more remote haven."
New York Times: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a criminal inquiry into suspicious trades placed ahead of the $23 billion acquisition of H.J. Heinz, a person briefed on the matter said on Tuesday.The F.B.I.'s involvement adds to the scrutiny surrounding the deal and further highlights the temptation that major takeovers present to traders. Last week, a day after the deal was announced, the Securities and Exchange Commission promptly froze a Swiss account linked to possible insider trading in the Heinz takeover."
New York Times: "A growing body of digital forensic evidence -- confirmed by American intelligence officials who say they have tapped into the activity of [a Chinese] army unit for years -- leaves little doubt that an overwhelming percentage of the attacks on American corporations, organizations and government agencies originate in and around" a building in Shanghai, which is the People's Liberation Army base for China's growing corps of cyberwarriors." ...
... Washington Post: "A U.S. security firm has tied more than a hundred cyber attacks on U.S. corporations to China's military, according to a report released Tuesday. The 60-page study by investigators at the Alexandria-based Mandiant security firm presents one of the most comprehensive and detailed analysis to date tracing corporate cyber espionage to the doorstep of Chinese military facilities. And it calls into question China's repeated denials that its military is engaged in such activities."
Reuters: "A seven-member delegation of U.S. lawmakers arrived in Cuba on Monday in the latest effort to move forward political relations that have been at a standstill since U.S. government contractor Alan Gross was imprisoned there in 2009. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, who saw Gross and met with Cuban President Raul Castro and other high-ranking officials a year ago, is leading the group of five senators and two members of the House of Representatives on a three-day visit to communist Cuba.... Gross, 63, was arrested in Havana in December 2009 and sentenced to 15 years in prison for installing Internet networks under a secretive U.S. program the Cuban government considers subversive."
New York Times: "Prosecutors accused Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star and one of the world's best-known athletes, of premeditated murder on Tuesday, saying he opened fire four times on his girlfriend through a locked bathroom door after putting on his prosthetic legs and walking more than 20 feet from a bedroom."
CBS News: "Law enforcement sources say Adam Lanza, [the Newtown, Connecticut, mass murderer,] was motivated by violent video games and a strong desire to kill more people than ... Anders Breivik, a Norwegian man who killed 77 people in July 2011." With video report.
AP: "Now that investigators have determined the origins of the engine-room fire that paralyzed a Carnival cruise ship at sea for five days, they will try to learn more about the cause, the crew's response, and why the ship was disabled for so long. A Coast Guard official said Monday that a leak in a fuel oil return line caused the engine-room fire that disabled the Carnival Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving 4,200 people without power or working toilets for five days."
AP: "Eight masked gunmen made a hole in a security fence at Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and snatched some $50 million worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane without firing a shot, authorities said Tuesday. The gang used two black cars in their daring raid late Monday, grabbed the cache of stones and sped off into the darkness...."
Reuters: "Nestle, the world's biggest food company, has removed beef pasta meals from sale in Italy and Spain after finding traces of horse DNA. The discovery of horsemeat in products labeled as beef has spread across Europe since last month, prompting product withdrawals, consumer anger and government investigations into the continent's complex food-processing chains."