The Ledes

Thursday, September 19, 2024

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.”

The Wires
powered by Surfing Waves
Help!

To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

Link Code:   <a href="URL">text</a>

OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, but Akhilleus found this new one that he says is easy to use.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

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."

Contact Marie

Click on this link to e-mail Marie.

Constant Comments

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. -- Edward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Saturday
Jan232016

The Commentariat -- January 24, 2016

Robert Burns of the AP: "In the spring of 2014, as a team of experts was examining what ailed the U.S. nuclear force, the Air Force withheld from them the fact that it was simultaneously investigating damage to a nuclear-armed missile in its launch silo caused by three airmen. The Air Force on Friday gave The Associated Press the first substantive description of the accident after being questioned about it by the AP for more than a year."

Maureen Dowd argues that Sarah Palin is boon to feminism because she proves "that a woman can stumble, babble incoherently on stage and spew snide garbage, and it isn't a blot on the female copybook."

Presidential Race

Des Moines Register Editors: "Democrats have one outstanding candidate deserving of their support: Hillary Clinton. No other candidate can match the depth or breadth of her knowledge and experience." ...

... Des Moines Register Editors: "Sen. Marco Rubio has the potential to chart a new direction for the party, and perhaps the nation, with his message of restoring the American dream. We endorse him because he represents his party's best hope." ...

... Amailie Nash of the Des Moines Register on how the paper went about evaluating the candidates. ...

... Harry Enten of 538 consults the historical record to examine the effects of Des Moines Register endorsements on the caucus results. "Even though Rubio probably won't receive enough of a boost to win the Republican caucuses in Iowa, the endorsement could help him finish higher there, in turn helping him in the fight to win the title of 'top establishment candidate' in the GOP race. Clinton could be put over the top...."

Oh, Great! Jonathan Lamire & Lisa Lerer of the AP: "Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is taking early steps toward launching an independent campaign for president, seeing a potential path to the White House amid the rise of Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders. Bloomberg has retained advisers and plans to conduct a poll after the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary to assess the state of the race and judge whether there is an opening for him to mount an independent campaign...." ...

... The New York Times story, by Alexander Burns & Maggie Haberman is here. ...

... Steve M.: "That other egomaniac Manhattan billionaire with delusions of political grandeur, Mike Bloomberg, is talking seriously about running for president.... No, Bloomberg won't win. But he might gift-wrap the presidency for the GOP, with corporatist Democrats' help."

Ben Schreckinger of Politico: "As seven Republican candidates made their case at Saturday's First in the Nation Presidential Town Hall in Nashua, [New Hampshire,] much of the focus on stage and behind the scenes centered on the one who wasn't there. With 17 days until New Hampshire votes, Donald Trump skipped the state's final pre-primary cattle call to campaign in Iowa. But his rivals for the Republican nomination kept him in the spotlight, even as they ignored candidates closer at hand and in the polls."

Caitlin Yilek of the Hill: "Fox News is not bowing to ... Donald Trump's calls to remove Megyn Kelly as host of the next GOP debate. Trump tweeted Saturday that the Fox News host 'should not be allowed to be a moderator of the next debate' because of a 'conflict of interest.'... 'Megyn Kelly has no conflict of interest,' Fox said in the statement. 'Donald Trump is just trying to build up the audience for Thursday's debate, for which we thank him.'" ...

... Trump's Amateur Hour. Eliza Collins of Politico: "Donald Trump used footage of Russian soldiers in a video post on his Facebook page that was meant to convey his respect for America's veterans. The video -- which was later deleted -- contains images of soldiers with medals that have the hammer and sickle, the symbol for communism, and 'CCCP,' an abbreviation for the Soviet Union. The original footage is available on the stock footage site Shutterstock and is titled 'RUSSIA, TOGLIATTI, MAY 9, 2015, Victory Day: Veterans of World War II with red flowers in hand at the Military Parade, military medals.'" In Trump's video..., Trump speaks directly into the camera and says, 'Our great veterans are being treated terribly, the corruption in the Veterans Administration, the incompetence is beyond. We will stop them.'" CW: If not a clownish mistake, then Donald really, really identifies with his best bro Vladimir. ...

... Jeremy Herb of Politico: "The Republican defense establishment is terrified Donald Trump will fail the 'commander in chief test' with voters should he continue to defy all predictions and become the GOP nominee.... Trump has made a long list of curious statements on foreign policy. In a recent debate, he didn't seem to know about the 'nuclear triad' -- the nuclear-armed bombers, land-based missiles and submarines that make up the U.S. atomic arsenal. He has confused the F-35 fighter jet with the Long-Range Strike Bomber, and the Kurds with Iran's Quds Force. He's said he gets military advice watching television, has praised U.S. foes like Russian President Vladimir Putin and has shown no apparent interest in seeking the counsel of the party's national security sages." CW: AND he can't tell the difference between U.S. & Russian soldiers. ...

... Yeah but WTF? Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "... Donald Trump thinks there's not much he could possibly do to erode his support. Lauding his fans' loyalty at a campaign event in Sioux Center, Iowa, on Saturday, Trump said ... 'I have the most loyal people, did you ever see that? I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot people and I wouldn't lose voters.'..." ...

... Donald Finds a Friendly Senator. Anna Palmer of Politico: "Sen. Chuck Grassley gave a rousing introduction speech at a Donald Trump rally, but he didn't go so far as to endorse the 2016 Republican candidate." Well, a fair-weather friend. Grassley "He is also slated to appear at Marco Rubio's event in Iowa next Saturday." ...

... CW: Ross Douthat seems to have more of a sense of realpolitik than does his colleague David Brooks. Brooks suggested a week or so ago that Republican leaders across the country form a "collective" to "organize ... a grass roots movement" to defeat Trump. (Apparently Brooks is confused about the meaning of "grass roots," but what with the "grass-roots" Tea party being a Koch enterprise, one can understand Brooks' mistake.) Douthat recommends that Trump's opponents run a different kind of attack campaign -- one that destroys Trump's "brand" and "persuade[s] people that he's a con artist, and they're his marks." Here's what Douthat has in mind:

... Ben Kamisar: "...Donald Trump says he may file a lawsuit over rival Ted Cruz's eligibility for the White House.... [At the Sioux City event, he said,] 'The Democrats are going to sue if he ever got the nomination within two days. There have already been two lawsuits filed, but they don't have standing. I have standing to sue. Can you imagine if I did it? Should I do it just for fun?' Trump added that he believes that he will defeat Cruz without the need of a legal challenge to his candidacy, which is why he probably will not sue."

Portrait of the Megalomaniac as a Young Man. Shane Goldmacher of Politico: "A new video of a teenaged Ted Cruz, posted Saturday on YouTube, shows a lankier and younger version of the future Republican presidential candidate sarcastically talking about his life's goals -- and they're far more ambitious than the mere presidency. 'Take over the world, world domination, you know, rule everything. Rich, powerful, that sort of stuff,' Cruz says":

Beyond the Beltway

Mary Walsh of the New York Times: "Negotiations to restructure roughly $9 billion of the debt of Puerto Rico's power company collapsed late Friday, raising the prospect of the biggest default yet in Puerto Rico's deepening debt crisis. The creditors blamed the utility, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or Prepa, for scuttling the talks, saying Prepa officials had decided to let a critical expiration date pass without taking action. But Prepa said it was the creditors' fault for trying to impose a requirement that Prepa had already rejected."

The Frivolous Poor. Amy Davidson of the New Yorker: "It was as if [Michigan] state officials thought [the poisonous water they pumped into Flint] was all a cultural problem, poor people being frivolous instead of drinking water that had long been, as one memo put it, 'perfectly fine.'"

Les Zaitz of the Oregonian: "Occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for three weeks have made sweeping demands that local and federal authorities say are both brazen and unrealistic.... A bedrock claim of the small group led by Arizona businessman Ammon Bundy is that the Constitution limits federal ownership of land.... But scholars say Bundy and his followers are misreading the Constitution" on accounta that missed this part: "Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 -- known as the 'Property Clause': 'The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.'" Also missed: all the case law that interprets that clause. CW: That is, the "occupiers" are pretty much just selfish, whiney, gun-totin' ignoramuses. But we knew that.

News Ledes

AP: "Seven people were taken to hospital after an American Airlines plane from Miami to Milan made an emergency landing in Newfoundland after the jet briefly encountered severe turbulence."

Washington Post: "... the winter snowstorm ... thrust a hurricane-like surge of water into the [East C]oast, producing historic flooding. At Cape May, N.J., the water level surged to 8.98 feet Saturday morning -- the highest on record there, and major flood state. It broke the previous record of 8.9 feet set in Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The story was the same on the Delaware coast, where Lewes reached a new record water level of 9.27 feet, breaking the previous record of 9.20 feet set in 1962."

Los Angeles Times: "Sheriff's investigators Sunday were continuing to search for three dangerous prisoners who escaped from the Orange County Men's Central Jail by cutting through half-inch steel bars, making their way through plumbing tunnels and then rappelling from the roof using a makeshift rope."

AP: "A magnitude-7.1 earthquake knocked items off shelves and walls in south-central Alaska and jolted the nerves of residents in this earthquake-prone region on Saturday night. But there were no immediate reports of injuries. One home was extensively damaged and an entire neighborhood was evacuated after a gas leak was reported, Kenai police chief Gus Sandahl said on Sunday morning."

New York Times: "A massive snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast moved out to sea on Sunday, leaving 28 people dead, near-record snowfall in some major cities and heavy flooding along the coast. Residents emerged with snowplows and shovels, and tens of thousands of stranded travelers were scrambling to get to their destinations or find alternate arrangements." ...

     ... As of 6 pm ET, the Times is still liveblogging storm-related events. ...

... Weather Channel: "Millions of Americans were preparing to dig themselves out Sunday after crippling Winter Storm Jonas brought not just big snow, but ice, high winds and flooding. At least 14 people have died in the storm, a quarter of a million customers have lost power and hundreds of crashes have been reported." ...

... New York Times: "The day after a blizzard covered New York City with more than 30 inches of snow in some parts, grappling with its sheer volume was the next order of business." ...

... Washington Post: "The Washington region awoke Sunday, battered by one of the biggest storms in local history, to face a monumental dig out that is likely to hobble the area well into the workweek." ...

... Snapshots from Space. USA Today: "NASA astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted pictures of view of the epic storm from the International Space Station on Saturday morning." Includes two of Kelly's photos.

Friday
Jan222016

The Commentariat -- January 23, 2016

Gloria has an excellent comment today noting how the Avatar of the Party of Personal Responsibility & Family Values rejects its phony catchphrases in practice. One can find other excellent examples, even in current news -- like Ted Cruz's forgetting -- purposefully or carelessly -- to obtain new health insurance coverage for his family. Or Carly Fiorina's corraling four-year-olds into an anti-abortion rally (without obtaining parental approval, natch). Would you up & tell a stranger's preschooler about abortion? No, I didn't think so. It's bizarre.

Barry Meier of the New York Times: "... newly disclosed documents suggest that Iranian officials knew far more about [Robert] Levinson[, a CIA consultant who disappeared in Iran in 2007]. In late 2011, a top Iranian diplomat acknowledged that his country was holding the American and would release him if the United States helped delay an assessment criticizing Iran's nuclear activities, the documents say."

Reuters: "Twelve US marines missing after two military helicopters collided last week off Hawaii's Oahu island have been listed as deceased, the military said on Thursday. The coast guard called off the search for the missing marines on Tuesday after five days of search and rescue efforts across some 40,000 square nautical miles of ocean, along with shorelines."

Michael Cieply of the New York Times: "Confronting a fierce protest over a second straight year of all-white Oscar acting nominations, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on Friday that it would make radical changes to its voting requirements, recruiting process and governing structure, with an aim toward increasing the diversity of its membership.The changes were approved at an unusual special meeting of the group's 51-member governing board Thursday night." ...

... The Los Angeles Times story, by Rebecca Keegan, is here.

Brian Stelter of CNN: "In a statement Friday morning, [Washington Post reporter Jason] Rezaian said he and his family members were heading home to the states. They were traveling on a private jet with [WashPo/Amazon.com owner Jeff] Bezos, according to a person at the Post who asked not to be named."

Eliza Collins of Politico: "Bowe Bergdahl's defense lawyer on Friday said his client's right to a fair trial had been 'irreparably compromised' by Donald Trump, and said he might call the billionaire presidential candidate to the witness stand..... He said that Trump, who often calls Bergdahl a 'no-good traitor' during campaign events and has called for his execution, was allowed to say what he wanted under the First Amendment but that he could face a defamation case in the future."

Presidential Race

CW: It's telling that in none of the debates organized by either party has a reporter from Politifact or FactCheck.org been invited to participate in the moderators' panel. Of course it would be impolite to tell Hillary Clinton her pants were on fire, but it would be okay to flash a graphic, which would require minimal artwork, of Donald Trump's hair in flames. The public deserves more Candy Crowley "He did in fact,sir" moments.

Mark Landler, et al., of the New York Times: President "Obama has said he will not endorse a candidate during the primaries; his advisers are careful not to root publicly for anyone. But the White House is working with Mrs. Clinton's campaign in ways large and small. Their two staffs consult on issues ranging from the campaign's use of Mr. Obama's image in advertisements to the positions she takes on his policy priorities, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which she pushed as secretary of state and then came out against as a candidate." ...

... Philip Rucker & Abby Phillip of the Washington Post: "With another Iowa presidential contest at risk of slipping out of Hillary Clinton's reach, the Democratic Party is launching a massive effort this weekend to boost her candidacy. A crowd of well-known entertainment and political figures, including Sen. Timothy M. Kaine (Va.), a former party chairman, and Tony Goldwyn, star of the hit series 'Scandal,' is jetting to all corners of this state to help Clinton erase her enthusiasm deficit to Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.). And major progressive groups such as the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the National Education Association are firing up their political operations, including door-knocking teams and phone banks, to give her an outside push." ...

... Reuters: "The US State Department asked a judge on Friday for a one-month extension to finish publicly releasing thousands of emails sent by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state, in part because a winter storm closed government offices. The department said in a federal court filing it needed until 29 February after realizing this week that it had 'overlooked' emails amounting to 7,254 printed pages that it should have already shared with other agencies for them to review for sensitive information.... Whether Judge Rudolph Contreras will grant the extension is unclear...."

Kasie Hunt of MSNBC: "Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign and other progressive groups that have endorsed Hillary Clinton are not part of the political establishment, Sen. Bernie Sanders said Thursday, walking back comments he made earlier this week on MSNBC."

He Who Does Not Show Up. Ben Schreckinger of Politico: "As eight Republican candidates prepared to make their case at Saturday's First in the Nation Presidential Town Hall in Nashua, New Hampshire, much of the jockeying behind the scenes focused on the one who won't be there. With 17 days until the state's primary, Donald Trump is skipping the state's final pre-primary cattle call to campaign in Iowa. And the old guard of New Hampshire Republican politics is openly rooting for Trump's lead in the state to collapse." ...

... The Twittersphere of the Donald. Eliza Collins: "Donald Trump on Friday retweeted a message from a Twitter user with the handle @WhiteGenocideTM. The tweet features a photoshopped picture of Jeb Bush holding a 'vote for Trump' sign outside of Trump Tower. The user's profile has a black banner photo with red lettering that says 'Get the f--- out of my country.' The name attached to the profile is Donald Trumpovitz and the location is 'Jewmerica,' with a link to a page promoting a pro-Adolf Hitler documentary." ...

... (U.K.) Press Association: "US presidential hopeful Donald Trump is making it more difficult to confront and defeat extremists by making the 'fundamental mistake' of trying to blame all Muslims for the ideology of a minority, [British Prime Minister] David Cameron has said." ...

... The Monster Has Orange Hair. Jeet Heer of the New Republic: "... when National Review launched its special issue 'Against Trump' [Thursday] night, it was keeping to a venerable tradition of policing the right.... The special issue ... seems designed to be its definitive statement, a historical milestone on par with William F. Buckley's denunciation of the John Birch Society in 1965 or the magazine's rejection of Pat Buchanan's anti-Semitism in 1991. Yet ... too much time is spent trying to prove that Trump is not a real conservative, while ignoring the fact that the racist nationalism he is espousing has its origins on the right.... In truth, the relationship between National Review and Donald Trump is like that of Victor Frankenstein and his monster.... Without Frankenstein, there is no monster. And without a conservative movement that fostered and indulged white identity politics, there is no Donald Trump." ...

... Steve M. does an excellent job of tearing apart just one point the NR editors made: "... if you have no familiarity with the relevant details and the levers of power, and no clear principles to guide you, you will, like most tenderfeet, get rolled." Steve finds a number of instances where NR writers have applauded amateur politicians for being "outsiders" or CEOs who "knew how to meet a payroll." Echoing Heer, Steve says to NR, "You told us that America could be saved by CEOs who know squat about politics. You said political experience doesn't help, and is actually a liability. So reap what you've sown." ...

... ** More on how the National Review writers & other conservatives created Donald Trump. "Conservatives fear him not because he is an ignorant demagogue, but because he's not their ignorant demagogue.... Movement conservatism rejects the conclusions of wide swaths of economists, social scientists, the entire field of climate science ... of course it is liable to attract anti-intellectual candidates. A second problem is that conservative doctrine is unpopular with the public as well. The majority may often support generalized anti-government sentiment, but it does not follow those generalities through to their specific implications." So conservative candidates engage in doublespeak, where, for instance, they say they'll repeal ObamaCare & replace it with "their own vague alternative health-care plans.... The difference is that, when Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio promise to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something terrific, conservatives can trust that they're lying." ...

... The Trump Gazette. Jack Shafer of Politico on how Donald Trump resembles an 1890s tabloid.

CW: What I Said Yesterday. Dana Milbank: "That soft flapping sound you hear is the Grand Old Party waving the flag of surrender to Trump. Party elites -- what's left of the now-derided 'establishment' -- are acquiescing to the once inconceivable: that a xenophobic and bigoted showman is now the face of the Republican Party and of American conservatism." ...

... Gail Collins: "Under normal conditions, if a party was confronted with a candidate who had never held any public office, whose political activism consisted mainly of trying to prove Barack Obama was born in Africa, and whose platform consisted of whatever stuff was getting good crowd response at the last rally, everybody would race to get behind the alternative. So if Trump does win this thing, he'll owe it all to the terribleness of Ted Cruz." ...

CW: What I Said Yesterday. But Worse. Liar, Liar, Liar.

Blue Cross Blue Shield cancelled all their individual (health care) policies in the state of Texas, effective Dec. 31. -- Ted Cruz, January 21, in a New Hampshire appearance

Actually, the company continues to sell coverage all over Texas, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. The company also says individual customers like Cruz were notified [more than 5] months before 2016 changes -- including an end to individual PPO plans -- kicked in. So, Cruz was both incorrect about Blue Cross' offerings in Texas and evidently mischaracterized how his own coverage came to lapse. -- Gardner Selby of Politifact

Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times: "Cruz's problem has nothing to do with Obamacare and everything to do with his own sloth.... Ted also claimed his premiums -- and the voters' -- would go up 50 percent, "but average rate increases in the individual market in Texas aren't anywhere near 50%.... In New Hampshire, the biggest plans had increases in the single digits." But wait, there's more: "A campaign spokesman tol[d] the Wall Street Journal that the Cruz family had been automatically enrolled by BlueCross BlueShield in one of its HMOs..., as of Jan. 1, when their former PPO plan expired. The insurance carrier did this for all 2015 PPO enrollees who took no action before Dec. 31.... The insurance carrier informed all affected customers of the change."

... Kyle Mantyla of Right Wing Watch: "Ted Cruz says he is "grateful" to have the endorsement of Mike Bickle, a "prophet" who believes Oprah Winfrey is a forerunner to the antichrist. "Bickle is the founder of the International House of Prayer, a controversial missionary organization in Kansas City, Missouri, that some critics have labeled a cult and which is best known for engaging in nonstop 24-hour-a-day prayer in preparation for the End Times and for its anti-gay activism in Uganda. Bickle is just the latest in a long list of radical Religious Right activists who have publicly endorsed Cruz for president, many of whom Cruz's campaign has eagerly embraced.... Back in 2008, Republican presidential nominee John McCain was forced to reject the endorsement of John Hagee after it was revealed that Hagee had made comments similar to Bickle's about God having used Hitler as a 'hunter' to force the Jews return to Israel." ...

Young Ted (right) with friend David Panton. Even though it appears that Cruz is doing his "I have a black friend" thing, Panton really is Cruz's friend, & he isn't just Cruz's only black friend; he's probably Cruz's only friend.... Rosalind Helderman & Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post report on the friendship between Ted Cruz & his college roommate David Panton, the son of prominent Jamaicans.

Beyond the Beltway

Mark Guarino of the Washington Post: "If a lead-laced water supply wasn't enough to deal with, many residents of Flint, Mich., face a new crisis: Replacing the water heaters, pipes and even the service lines to their homes that may have been damaged by the city's water. And for now, it's unclear whether they will receive any help in covering those costs."

Another Elected Official Goes to Jail. Christopher Goffard of the Los Angeles Times: "Former Santa Ana City Councilman Carlos Bustamante [R] was sentenced to a year in jail Friday on charges that included attempted sexual battery and grand theft. Bustamante, who also had served as an executive manager for Orange County, pleaded guilty in December to attempted sexual battery, stalking, assault and false imprisonment. Prosecutors had accused Bustamante of assaulting seven female county employees between 2003 and 2011 while working at the Orange County Public Works Department."

Jessica Lee of the Seattle Times: "Authorities have in custody a man who they believe accidentally shot and injured a woman in a Renton[, Washington,] movie theater Thursday night, Renton police Cmdr. David Liebman said. Investigators believe the 29-year-old man was intoxicated when he entered a showing of the film '13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi' at Regal Cinemas The Landing 14, 900 N. 10th Place, with a loaded gun before 8:15 p.m., he said." ...

     ... CW: A drunk with a gun -- sounds like your typical "13 Hours" fan.

Way Beyond

Joshua Partlow of the Washington Post: "The rapid spread of the Zika virus has prompted Latin American governments to urge women not to get pregnant for up to two years, an extraordinary precaution aimed at avoiding birth defects believed to be linked to the mosquito-borne illness." CW: That should upset all the anti-contraception freaks.

News Ledes

The Washington Post's liveblog of theEast Coast storm, continued from yesterday, is here. Access is free. ...

... The New York Times has a map, which it updates hourly, of actual recorded snowfall along the East Coast & inland. It's a slow-loader. The Times' liveblog is here. ...

... At 1:15 pm ET, the WashPo blog reports these highlights:

  • Snow totals have mainly reached the 14-20 inch range with some 20+ inch totals north and west of the city; snow expected to continue through late tonight.
  • Thundersnow has been reported. Extreme snowfall rates up to 2-3 inches per hour are possible into the early afternoon north and west of D.C., easing a bit thereafter.
  • A lull or lighter snow is possible at times in the District and points south and east.
  • Wind gusts of 40-50 mph cause whiteout conditions today with blowing and drifting snow. Winds are strongest east of the District toward the bay.
  • Total snow accumulations of 16 to 30 inches are expected. Highest north and west of District, lowest southeast.

... Washington Post Update: "The storm pummeling the East Coast with snow and blustery winds continued to wreak havoc on air travel, canceling thousands of flights throughout the weekend." ...

... New York Times: "Making up for a remarkably mild winter, the first major snowstorm of the season barreled up the East Coast on Saturday, with accumulations of three inches an hour bringing a long stretch of the country from Tennessee to New York to a near-standstill.... [New York] Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo declared a state of emergency and urged residents to stay home." ...

     ... New Lede: "... a blizzard propelled by tropical-storm-force winds that brought much of the Northeast to a standstill and left more than two feet of snow in New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio called it 'very likely one of the worst snowstorms in our history.' Officials imposed a travel ban in and around the city to keep drivers off streets."

Friday
Jan222016

The Commentariat -- January 22, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: On MSNBC, "The governor of Michigan said on Friday that race was not a factor in the state's response to reports of lead in the drinking water in Flint, a poor, majority-black city where the supply has been contaminated for more than a year, even as state officials insisted that it was safe to drink." CW: Well, okay then, that's settled.

*****

Gregory Korte of USA Today: "President Obama promised more help for America's cities Thursday, telling a gathering of mayors at the White House that they're on the front lines of providing services to citizens. Obama promised $80 million in water infrastructure grants to Michigan, the day after returning from a trip to Detroit in which he lamented the water crisis in Flint":

... Lenny Bernstein & Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday ordered the city of Flint and the state of Michigan to treat, test and report on the beleaguered municipality's water supply, in an emergency directive issued because their responses to a lead crisis in the water there 'have been inadequate to protect public health.' EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy also accepted the resignation of Susan Hedman, the agency's top official for the region that includes Flint, where 100,000 people are unable to drink the water that comes into their homes because of elevated levels of lead. President Obama also sharply criticized Michigan officials for failing to respond more quickly to the crisis, saying that 'our children should not have to be worried about the water they're drinking in American cities.'" ...

... Charles Pierce: "We should never forget that the voters of Michigan overturned the expanded emergency-manager law in 2012, only to have a new Republican majority in the state legislature pass another bill slightly adjusting the parameters of the law that was defeated. Would you like a banana with your republic?"

Sara Wire of the Los Angeles Times: "First Lady Michelle Obama urged the nation's mayors Thursday to redouble efforts to ease homelessness among military veterans in a speech that both highlighted progress and underscored the magnitude of the problem. Obama, speaking at the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, said it was 'an absolute outrage' that veterans were sleeping on the nation's streets. 'It is a horrifying stain on our nation, particularly when you think about all that these men and women have done for our country,' she said. The first lady lauded the city of Los Angeles for finding homes for more than 5,500 of the 7,000 veterans estimated to be on the streets as of January 2015, and for developing mental health and job placement services to keep them housed."

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "In a significant victory for President Obama, a federal appeals panel [of the D.C. District] on Thursday rejected an effort by 27 states and dozens of corporations and industry groups to block the administration's signature regulation on emissions from coal-fired power plants while a lawsuit moves through the courts.... By rejecting the petition on Thursday, a three-judge panel of the court required states to move forward with plans to shut down polluting coal plants and build new wind and solar sources.... The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set June 2 to hear arguments in that case, although it is widely expected to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court, most likely in 2017."

Andrew Roth of the Washington Post: "In their first interview since [Washington Post reporter Jason] Rezaian left Iran, his wife [Yeganeh Salehi] and his mother, Mary, described the tortuous end to a saga that began with the journalist's arrest on July 22, 2014, and eventually involved top-level negotiations between Tehran and Washington that produced a deal to free him and three other jailed Iranian Americans."

Robert Bateman of Esquire: What did British Judge Robert Owen mean when he concluded, "Taking full account of all the evidence and analysis available to me, I find that the FSB operation to kill [Alexander] Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr Patrushev and also by President Putin"? Bateman translation: "In Britain, 'probably' is nearly the opposite of 'inconclusive.' This statement says the equivalent of, 'You definitely did this, you pissant Putin, but I am too refined to say "definitely" because I want to leave wiggle-room for my country.'"

Presidential Race

... ** Paul Krugman: "Mr. Sanders is the heir to candidate Obama, but Mrs. Clinton is the heir to President Obama. (In fact, the health reform we got was basically her proposal, not his.)" Read the whole column. It's a reality chek that should be required reading for every liberal who says, "I'll never vote for Hillary Clinton." And it is another reminder of how multi-talented our current president is.

Frank Rich weighs in on Sanders v. Clinton, Palin + Trump, & the all-white Oscars & Chris Rock.

Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "The Republican National Committee has ended a debate partnership with National Review after the venerable conservative magazine devoted its new issue to a 'symposium' of reasons why voters should reject Donald Trump's presidential campaign.... RNC spokesman Sean Spicer Fowler ... added in a comment to Buzzfeed's Rosie Gray that 'a debate moderator can't have a predisposition.' That leaves CNN, Salem Radio, and Telemundo as the co-sponsors of the planned February 25 forum in Houston." CW: Also, too this is the Republican party's official act of contrition & capitulation to its New Leader. ...

... Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: The RNC's "Houston debate is now an embarrassment of indecision and thought control. Recall that the RNC earlier this month announced that the original broadcast partner, NBC, had been bounced from the event because of the behavior of moderators from CNBC in a widely panned October debate.... RNC's decision surfaces a deep-set ignorance about the role of National Review."

It's like being shot or poisoned. What does it really matter? -- Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the choice between Trump & Cruz ...

... Ted, Worse Than Trump. Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Republican establishment -- once seen as the force that would destroy Donald Trump's outsider candidacy -- is now learning to live with it, with some elected and unelected leaders saying they see an upside to Trump as the nominee. In the past few days, Trump has received unlikely public praise from GOP luminaries who said they would prefer him to his main rival, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.... But other Republicans still believe it is impossible to choose between the two, because they believe that either would be a disaster as the nominee -- and that others can eventually rise." ...

... Manu Raju, now of CNN, quotes a number of Republican senators badmouthing Ted. It seems they don't enjoy his fingering them as sleazy operatives in a "corrupt cartel." ...

... Erica Werner of the AP: "Cruz has become such a pariah that one of his colleagues, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, told supporters at a campaign fundraiser for his own re-election that he would vote for liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders for president before Cruz, according to one person who attended the event. Burr did not appear to be joking, said the person, who demanded anonymity to discuss the private gathering. ...

     ... Jim Morrill of the Charlotte Observer: "U.S. Sen. Richard Burr on Thursday strongly denied a news report that said he had told people he would vote for Democrat Bernie Sanders over Republican Ted Cruz. Burr's aides asked The Associated Press for a retraction. An AP spokesman said the news agency was sticking by its story." ...

... So why have the GOP party elite picked Trump over Cruz? Digby says it's because they "see [Trump] as a sort of simple clown they'll be able to dominate once he's in office and is dependent upon their superior knowledge and experience. What planet are they on? Do they really look at Trump and see someone who plays well with others? Someone who isn't a stone cold narcissist and megalomaniac who is clueless about everything important to the job he is seeking? Do they think this is all an act?... They hate Ted Cruz for being rude and self-serving more than they are concerned that Trump is promising to turn this country into an authoritarian police state.... Trump has expressed admiration for only two leaders during this campaign: Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un. It's highly unlikely if Trump becomes the most powerful man in the world he'll be humbly asking the House GOP Weenie Caucus to hold his hand and tell him what to do."

... Nick Gass of Politico: "Ted Cruz revealed on Thursday that he is not currently covered by any health insurance.... 'I'll tell you, you know who one of those millions of Americans is who's lost their health care because of Obamacare? That would be me,' Cruz told a Manchester, New Hampshire, audience. 'I don't have health care right now.... So our health care got canceled, we got a notice in the mail, Blue Cross Blue Shield was leaving the market.... I hope by the end of the month we'll have a policy for our family. But our premiums -- we just got a quote, our premiums are going up 50 percent.'... Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas did stop selling some of its individual policies for 2016 but not all of them.... Blue Cross HMO plans ... are still available in Texas on HealthCare.gov, and other insurance companies in the state offer a variety of network types. Also, while premiums did rise across the country this year, they did not spike 50 percent." ...

... CW: Also, too, when an insurance company notifies a customer it will not renew his coverage, it doesn't just cut him off that day. Under the ACA (& most state laws), the insurer must give the policyholder at least 30 days' notice of cancellation. "If your plan is cancelled, you have several options, including a Special Enrollment Period." So what Ted is saying is that he & the wife were too busy promoting Ted to make sure the family had health insurance. Which Is Obama's Fault.

** Nate Silver: "I'm now much less skeptical of Trump's chances of becoming the nominee." His reasons why are interesting (and readable), especially the part about the community dump on Cruz. ...

Teresa Tritch of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump has been making wild-eyed claims about unemployment since at least last June, when Politifact rated his pronouncements as 'False.' But he keeps it up because, obviously, his goal is not to inform. It's to inflame. The facts would not stoke the raw emotions that power Mr. Trump's candidacy, so he uses lies. What he loses in credibility among detractors he gains in popularity among supporters." ...

Okay, one more: "Speaking in Tongues":

Manuel Roig-Franzia & Scott Higman of the Washington Post: When he was 18, Marco Rubio "was arrested ... for being in a crime-plagued public park after closing time, according to police records and an interview with a friend who was cited with Rubio that night. The previously unreported misdemeanor ... eventually was dismissed.... Rubio, who has no history of criminal convictions, has never discussed his arrest publicly, and he did not mention it in his 2012 memoir, 'An American Son.'... 'When he was 18 years old, he violated a municipal code for drinking beer in a park after hours,' [campaign stragegist Todd] Harris said. 'He was never taken into custody, never hired a lawyer and never appeared in court. Why The Washington Post thinks that is a story is beyond me.'" ...

... CW: Harris is mostly right. This is akin to the hundreds of stories and thousands of posts & comments about young Barack Obama's smoking pot. Very few people think this kind of thing is a disqualifier for high (no pun intended) office. There's no particular reason for the MSM not to write it up, though. BTW, I think teenagers' arrest & misdemeanor records should be automatically expunged after a number of years.

Hey, Remember Her? She's Still at It. Adam Gabbatt of the Guardian: "Carly Fiorina has been accused of 'ambushing' a group of children, after she ushered pre-schoolers, who were on a field trip to a botanical garden, into an anti-abortion rally ... at the Greater Des Moines botanical garden. Entering the rally, before a crowd of about 60 people, she directed around 15 young children towards a makeshift stage.... The children's parents had not given Fiorina permission to have their children sit with her -- in front of a huge banner bearing the image of an unborn foetus -- while she talked about harvesting organs from aborted babies.... During the rally an anti-abortion activist, carrying a scale model of four-month-old foetus, joined Fiorina at the front of the room." CW: If those kids had been, say, embryos, Carly would have protected them. But, hey, they're little kids, living kids, so why not push them around & maybe scare the crap out of them?

Congressional Race

Reid Wilson of the Morning Consult: "Former State Department official Liz Cheney is likely to launch her bid for Congress within days, several Republicans in Washington and Wyoming tell us, and unlike her short-lived Senate bid two years ago, this time she'll almost certainly begin as the favorite. Cheney will run for an open seat being vacated by retiring GOP Rep. Cynthia Lummis, the only woman in the House Freedom Caucus. It's also the seat once held by Cheney's father, former Vice President (and House Minority Whip) Dick Cheney." ...

     ... Via Paul Waldman, who says, "And Liz Cheney, who practically makes her dad Dick look like Daniel Berrigan (ask your parents), is probably going to run for Congress from Wyoming, a state she has visited numerous times."

Beyond the Beltway

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "A white police officer was indicted [in Decatur, Georgia] Thursday on six counts, including felony murder, in the fatal shooting last year of an unarmed black man who was naked and described as acting in an erratic manner. The indictment of Officer Robert Olsen of the DeKalb County Police Department came about two weeks after the district attorney said he would ask a grand jury to pursue criminal charges in the death of Anthony Hill, a 27-year-old Air Force veteran."

Sean Murphy of the AP: "A former police officer convicted of raping and sexually victimizing women while on his beat in a low-income Oklahoma City neighborhood was ordered Thursday to spend the rest of his life in prison. Jurors had recommended that Daniel Holtzclaw be sentenced to 263 years in prison for preying on women in 2013 and 2014. District Judge Timothy Henderson agreed, said Holtzclaw will serve the terms consecutively and denied his request for an appeal bond.... Defense attorney Scott Adams said Holtzclaw will appeal."

Mike McPhate of the New York Times: "An associate professor at Kent State University in Ohio is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation over possible involvement with the Islamic State. The inquiry came to light as federal agents arrived at the campus this week to interview students and professors about Julio Pino, an educator in the history department known for making incendiary remarks on Israel.... In 2011, he shouted 'death to Israel' during a lecture at the university by a former Israeli diplomat." Pino is tenured & will continue to teach. CW: So hate speech is protected at Kent State.

News Ledes

The Washington Post is liveblogging developments related to the winter storm that has hit the Mid-Atlantic region. The Post's stories about the storm are free to nonsubscribers.

(U.K) Independent: "At least 45 refugees travelling from Turkey have drowned after two overcrowded boats sunk off the coast of Greece. The bodies of 34 people, including 11 children, were found near the small Greek island of Kalolimnos where a wooden sailing boat went down. Another eight bodies, including six children and two women, have been recovered after another boat carrying 49 people sank near the island of Farmakonisi, reports BBC."

Guardian: "The number of dead in a school shooting in northern Canada was revised down to four from five, the Canadian police said late Friday, but gave no new details on either the victims or the one male in custody."

Washington Post: "A University of Virginia student honored as an 'intellectual risk-taker' has been arrested in North Korea, its state-run media said Friday, accusing the American of an unspecified 'hostile act' against the state."

Washington Post: "With an epic blizzard virtually certain to pummel the Washington area this weekend, Metro threw up a white flag Thursday, announcing that it will shut down the nation's second-busiest subway and all bus service Saturday and Sunday in a move that apparently is unprecedented in the transit system's 40-year history."

New York Times: "At least 14 civilians were killed and dozens were wounded after Islamist militants struck a popular beachside restaurant Thursday night in Somalia's capital that had become a symbol of the city's struggling renaissance...."