;)
The Commentariat -- April 16, 2014
Internal links removed.
Robert Pear of the New York Times: "The Census Bureau, the authoritative source of health insurance data for more than three decades, is changing its annual survey so thoroughly that it will be difficult to measure the effects of President Obama's health care law in the next report, due this fall, census officials said. The changes are intended to improve the accuracy of the survey, being conducted this month in interviews with tens of thousands of households around the country. But the new questions are so different that the findings will not be comparable, the officials said." ...
... Sarah Kliff of Vox: "It might not be time to freak out quite yet: What's being missed here is that the Obama administration will use the new survey questions to collect data for 2013, the year prior to Obamacare's health insurance expansion, a senior administration official says.... 2013 and 2014 -- the year before and after Obamacare's big programs started -- are using the same question set." ...
... Evan McMorris-Santoro of BuzzFeed: "On Twitter, Kaiser Family Foundation vice president Larry Leavitt praised the new survey and said it won't stand in the way of determining whether Obamacare is working when it comes to the uninsured."
Kyle Cheney & Brett Norman of Politico: "Insurers saw disaster in the fall when Obamacare's rollout flopped and HealthCare.gov was a mess. But a strong March enrollment surge, along with indications that younger and healthier people had begun signing up, has changed their attitude. Around the country, insurers are considering expanding their stake in the Obamacare exchanges next year, bringing their business to more states and counties. Some health plans that skipped the new marketplaces altogether this year are ready to dive in next year." ...
... Paige Cunningham & Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Anti-Obamacare Republicans home on recess are coming face to face this week with newly insured constituents. It could be an interesting encounter. No politician wants to sound eager to take government benefits away from voters -- and while public opinion polls show the health care law is still controversial, millions of people are indeed getting assistance. Especially in states where enrollment finished strong, Republicans will need a nuanced message: Even if Obamacare helped you personally, it's still bad for the country as a whole."
Kathleen Belew, in a New York Times op-ed: "In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security issued a nine-page report detailing the threat of domestic terrorism by the white power movement. This short document outlined no specific threats, but rather a set of historical factors that had predicted white-supremacist activity in the past -- like economic pressure, opposition to immigration and gun-control legislation -- and a new factor, the election of a black president. The report singled out one factor that has fueled every surge in Ku Klux Klan membership in American history, from the 1860s to the present: war. The return of veterans from combat appears to correlate more closely with Klan membership than any other historical factor.... The report raised intense blowback from the American Legion, Fox News and conservative members of Congress. They demanded an apology and denounced the idea that any veteran could commit an act of domestic terrorism. The department shelved the report, removing it from its website. The threat, however, proved real.... When we interpret shootings like the one on Sunday as acts of mad, lone-wolf gunmen, we fail to see white power as an organized -- and deadly -- social movement.... Would [Miller/Cross] have received greater scrutiny had he been a Muslim, a foreigner, not white, not a veteran? The answer is clear, and alarming."
... Peter Bergan & David Sterman of CNN: "... since 9/11 extremists affiliated with a variety of far-right wing ideologies, including white supremacists, anti-abortion extremists and anti-government militants, have killed more people in the United States than have extremists motivated by al Qaeda's ideology. According to a count by the New America Foundation, right wing extremists have killed 34 people in the United States for political reasons since 9/11.... Terrorists motivated by al Qaeda's ideology have killed 21 people in the United States since 9/11.... The disparity in media coverage between even failed jihadist terrorist attacks and this latest incident in Kansas is emblematic of a flawed division in the public's mind between killing that is purportedly committed in the name of Allah and killing that is committed for other political ends...." ...
... Steve Yaccino of the New York Times: "State prosecutors on Tuesday charged a 73-year-old white supremacist with murder in the killing of three people outside two Jewish community facilities on Sunday. At a news conference in this Kansas City suburb, the authorities announced one count of capital murder and one count of premeditated first-degree murder had been filed against Frazier Glenn Miller of Aurora, Mo., who has for decades espoused anti-Semitic and racist beliefs."
Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Michael R. Bloomberg, making his first major political investment since leaving office, plans to spend $50 million this year building a nationwide grass-roots network to motivate voters who feel strongly about curbing gun violence, an organization he hopes can eventually outmuscle the National Rifle Association."
Matt Taibbi: The Bush Justice Department was much tougher on corporate miscreants than the Obama DOJ. The 2008 Wall Street meltdown "was a crisis that was much huger in scope than the S&L crisis or the accounting crisis. I mean, it wiped out 40 percent of the world's wealth, and nobody went to jail, so that we're now in a place where we don't even recognize the importance of keeping up appearances when it comes to making things look equal." This Democracy Now! page has the full transcript, plus video.
Scott Wilson of the Washington Post: "President Obama will announce Wednesday a pair of grant programs designed to bring academic institutions and businesses closer together in preparing the American workforce for jobs that may otherwise go unfilled. The grant programs will total $600 million, money already in the federal budget. The decision to designate the money for these grant programs arose from a review of federal jobs programs by Vice President Biden, who will join Obama ... to make the announcement."
Equal Pay & the Single Girl. Igor Volsky: "In an op-ed published by the Christian Post, Phyllis Schlafly -- the founder of the Eagle Forum -- maintained that increasing the pay gap will help women find suitable husbands.... Schlafly has long been crusader for 'traditional values' within conservative movement and the Republican party, serving as a member of the National GOP Platform Committee as recently as 2012 and as a delegate to the National Convention." Here's Schlafly's op-ed.
Jo Becker in the New York Times Magazine on how President Obama "evolved" to supporting same-sex marriage. And, yeah, thanks, Joe Biden.
Brian Fung of the Washington Post: "Efforts to fix the notorious Heartbleed bug threaten to cause major disruptions to the Internet over the next several weeks as companies scramble to repair encryption systems on hundreds of thousands of Web sites at the same time, security experts say."
Maureen Dowd is worried about Google drones. CW: Her column is silly, but I think her underlying premise might be right.
Eli Lake & Josh Rogin of the Daily Beast: "The Obama administration is now considering a new policy to share more real-time intelligence with the interim government in Kiev after pressure from some in the U.S. military, Congress and U.S. allies in Ukraine. Over the weekend, CIA Director John Brennan met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaliy Yarema to discuss the formation of new, more secure channels for sharing U.S. intelligence with the country now fighting pro-Russian secessionists in its eastern cities, according to U.S. and Western officials briefed on the meeting."
Be Careful What You Wish For. Mike Eckel of the Christian Science Monitor: Life in Crimea is not so dandy since the Russians took it over.
Beyond the Beltway
Matt Apuzzo & Joseph Goldstein of the New York Times: "The New York Police Department has abandoned a secretive program that dispatched plainclothes detectives into Muslim neighborhoods to eavesdrop on conversations and built detailed files on where people ate, prayed and shopped...."
** Bailey McBride of the AP: "Cities across Oklahoma are now prohibited from establishing mandatory minimum wage or vacation and sick-day requirements under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Mary Fallin.... Those against the bill ... say it specifically targets Oklahoma City, where an initiative is underway to establish a citywide minimum wage higher than the current federal minimum wage." ...
... More from Lulu Chang of the National Memo. ...
... CW: One of many reminders that the Grand Oligarchs' Party doesn't just have it in for "lazy poor people"; they want to make sure the working poor stay poor. The excuse for this bill: to protect small business owners. Guess what? "The majority of small business owners support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and adjusting it annually to keep pace with the cost of living." More would support it if they understood macroeconomics. Another excuse: "economic homogeneity": how terrible if some cities (where the cost-of-living is likely to be higher than in rural areas) mandated a slightly better wage for the working poor. ...
... And finally, from the lips of Fallin: "Most minimum-wage workers are young, single people working part-time or entry-level jobs. Many are high school or college students living with their parents in middle-class families." Howevah, as the Economic Policy Report documented, "raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would primarily benefit older workers. 88 percent of workers who would be affected by raising the minimum wage are at least 20 years old, and a third of them are at least 40 years old." So fuck the 88 percent to keep a few middle-class kids from getting extra spending money or putting more change in their college funds.
Congressional Races
Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: Kathleen Sebelius is considering a run against Kansas GOP Sen. Pat Roberts, an old family friend who done her wrong.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) runs a hard-hitting ad against the Obama administration's energy policy:
Boehner's "Electile Dysfunction." A Tea Party challenger with a sense of humor:
Emily Schultheis of Politico: "Former Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who lost to Republican David Jolly in the special election in Florida's 13th District last month, said she will not run again for the seat -- a big blow to Democrats, who now have no obvious contender for the competitive St. Petersburg-area seat."
Unknown Races
Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: San Antonio's Castro twins, Julian & Joaquin, are campaigning hard -- for something.
News Ledes
AP: "A column of armored vehicles flying Russian flags drove into a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russia demonstrators Wednesday, dampening the central government's hopes to re-establish control over restive eastern Ukraine."
AP: "A multi-story ferry carrying 459 people, mostly high school students on an overnight trip to a tourist island, sank off South Korea's southern coast Wednesday, leaving nearly 300 people missing despite a frantic, hours-long rescue by ships and helicopters. At least three people were confirmed dead and 55 injured."
Boston Globe: "A shelter-in-place order on Boylston Street has been lifted and a 25-year-old Boston man is facing charges after police executed a controlled detonation of two suspicious bags left near the Boston Marathon finish line. Just after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, on the one-year anniversary of last year's Boston Marathon bombings, police said two backpacks had been found in the area and immediately ordered people to evacuate. Authorities said the backpacks were tied to a man who goes by Kayvon Edson. Edson was captured in several videos marching down Boylston Street in a black veil, wearing a backpack, and chanting 'Boston strong.'" ...
... UPDATE: "A man who was arrested after suspicious bags were found near the Boston Marathon finish line was arraigned today in Boston Municipal Court. Kevin Edson, 25, of Boston is being charged with possession of a hoax explosive, threatening battery, threats to commit a crime, disturbing the peace, disturbing a public assembly, and disorderly conduct, according to the Boston Police Department. Edson is being held on $100,000 bail and is being sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for an evaluation, the Associated Press reports."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/16/hank-aaron-atlanta-braves-receive-racist-hate-mail/?wpisrc=nl_headlines
It never stops does it? Soraya Nadia McDonald in the WaPo.
Hank Aaron: "The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts.” Unfortunately, all too true.
Nevada cows v. tortoises, armed insurrectionists v. feds
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/04/15/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-long-fight-between-cliven-bundy-and-the-federal-government/
At the beginning of this (pretty good) story is a photo of an identified, named man, in the prone firing position, aiming a rifle at a large group of people within range. You can't tell the caliber of the weapon, but if he is using a standard deer hunting weapon it would be .30 caliber. Enough to kill a human in one shot at long range.
That identified man is not a peace officer authorised to aim at humans.
That person seems not to have been arrested or hindered by any peace officers.
That person is associated with the militia types who have come to Nevada to support Mr. Bundy's resistance to tyranny.
If we lived under tyranny that man would now be dead or in jail.
This crap is getting out of hand.
It seems patently ridiculous that Oligarchs want--and seem to need--the poor to remain poor and the middle class to be even poorer. Look at it this way, if I own a business, or four, or forty, at least some of those must rely on consumers to purchase goods and services. Selling to other rich people only gets me so far. It behooves me to want a large, reasonably well off pool of citizens who have enough disposable income to buy my stuff and come back for more. Henry Ford thought this way. So did most of the business leaders of the early 20th century.
Of course they fought things like unionization (John D. hired thugs to murder striking miners) but they realized that, for the most part, a middle class with money was good for everyone, and, given America's explosive flirtation with anarchy and socialism in the early part of the century, depriving the poor of all hope of reaching for that middle class was not a very smart idea.
The difference, I think, is that many of today's wealthiest don't really care if anyone besides themselves do well. In fact, the Walton family's primary business relied on the poor remaining poor. When the GOP cut back on food stamps, WalMart had a rough time of it, relying as they do on the poor who shore up their bottom line that way.
Another problem is that, most of today's oligarchs see the poor and middle class as a different species altogether. The consider themselves so far above everyone else as to be from a different planet. And they like it that way. If you're gonna be a lord, you have to have someone around to lord it over. Oligarchs have likely always felt this way but today's brand have allies in congress and governors' mansions who feel the same way and provide the necessary trappings to make it all nice and legal.
But a big difference is that most of today's oligarchs, the Kochs are an excellent example, don't really consider themselves citizens of America. That's simply a useful emblem for political purposes. They are citizens of Money. So it doesn't much matter to them if Americans get poorer. They're not really Americans anyway. Their fealty is to themselves and other oligarchs who help to keep them rich.
The poor and middle class, at last, are just a minor nuisance who need the occasional kick in the ass to remind them who's boss.
And that's why they keep useful idiots like Paul Ryan around.
From the CW post today: "The report raised intense blowback from the American Legion, Fox News and conservative members of Congress. They demanded an apology and denounced the idea that any veteran could commit an act of domestic terrorism."
Just so happened, last week I watched an episode of MI-5 from the second BBC series, and the plot was based on 'domestic terrorism' arising from a military hero. Apparently not so far fetched—even if & when the 'protest' is based on an supposedly valid dissent.
Sorry. Have to forgo reading the Phyllis Schlafly's piece. Never could stomach that irritating woman.
I know you'll pick up on today's Edsall commentary "Abortion Endures as a Political Tripwire"
(http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/opinion/why-does-abortion-endure-as-a-political-tripwire.html?hp&rref=opinion)
here's the link. It often seems as though women's rights (since the 1960's) has made two steps forward and four back.
Where are today's voices a la Friedan, Abzug, (Germaine) Greer, Steinem (still a voice, thank goodness)? Sorry, Sheryl Sandberg's 'lean forward' doesn't cut it.
As is most often the case, things are just a bit complicated. This working women thing for instance.
Why would women work outside the home? Just as Phyllis Schlafly (working from here home one must conclude) suggests, just because they've gotten uppity enough to renounce their genetically and biblically determined roles of helpmeet and wife?
Yeah, just a bit, and more power to 'em.
But per usual those Righties, who think they know so much about the business of business, about the way the economy should work, didn't notice perhaps, that there were other powerful factors at work. First, economies rely on a steady stream of low-wage workers, a pool usually filled either by those entering the job market for the first time or those from a social class with no established bargaining power. Throughout the seventies and eighties, women, tho' not the only entrants, fit that double bill. In a way, they were braceros of their time.
Second, our rampant consumer culture encouraged every middle class family to buy more and more things they couldn't afford on one salary. It was the women's second salary that made it possible for families to have a home, a boat and an RV and maybe a small place on the lake. If the second salary was not sufficient to pay cash, it at least looked good on loan applications. Good enough anyway, as the two burst bubbles of the 2000's made abundantly clear.
Third, as the power of unions declined and wages stagnated, the second salary--usually less than the male, primary wage earner-- became more of a necessity than a luxury. Working women, those anyway who comprise a large part of our low-wage workforce, simply can't afford to quit--and head back to the confines of their happy homes...
Am thinking at the Phyllis and her unimaginative, troglodytic cohort might be better able to entice women back into traditional roles if they dropped the moral crap and talked real money.
How about a Koch- and Walton-funded scholarship program for the thousands of woman who they just know would prefer to be at home but simply can't afford it? Maybe Phyllis could organize it from her home.
MAG,
In 1996, following several incidents involving ex or active military personnel, a report from the US Marine Corps, authored by LCDR Steven Mack Presley, MSC, USN, has this to say:
"Right-wing extremists and hate-motivated groups have historically, and are currently recruiting active duty military personnel for several reasons, including: 1) they lend a degree of "legitimacy" and "bravado" to militant groups that aids in the group's ability to recruit civilians, 2) they are trained and are capable of training group members in the use of weapons and tactics, 3) they are useful as an "inside" point of contact for ordinance and munitions thefts, and 4) the military environment fosters a more disciplined and conservative mindset that these groups can exploit and construe to attain loyalties and devotion based upon the racial or religious convictions of the soldier."
And that was nearly 20 years ago.
To say that the usual suspects listed in today's post (Fox, et al) who are loudly demanding apologies for what the military itself recognized then (and likely still do) as a serious possibility, is disingenuous at best. It's still morning so I'm being nice.
But I have two words for anyone who wants to slobber all over themselves and decry the temerity of anyone who suggests a possible connection between ex-military personnel and domestic terrorism:
Timothy and McVeigh.
The worst domestic terrorist incident in US history came directly from the mind of a decorated Army veteran.
By the way, the Presley report concludes that there is not much evidence (in 1996) that there was a lot of involvement by active military personnel. But they were at least aware that such persons were high on the list for recruitment by the nuts who are today actively supported by the GOP, Fox, and all the other assholes on that list. And remember that since 1996, the military itself has become far less tolerant of differences of opinions and religions, to the point where senior officers travel the country spewing idiocy and being applauded by hate groups.
And since 1996, there have been definite and alarming exceptions to the report's conclusions. Less than two years ago, four active soldiers in Georgia murdered a comrade and his girlfriend to keep the lid on their anarchist terror group that had detailed plans to blow up government buildings and kill government employees.
And let's not forget Aaron Alexis, a recently discharged Navy petty officer who murdered a dozen people in a terror attack at the Washington Naval Shipyard just about seven months ago.
Times change but the crazies persist and grow, and so do the so-called legitimate organizations that provide them succor and cover.
That was then...
This is now.
One final thought...
Those four terrorist murderers were stationed in Georgia. Tim McVeigh was trained at Fort Benning in Georgia. And...according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Georgia is one of the top states for hate groups, surpassed only by California, Texas, and Florida, states with substantially higher populations.
WTF is in the water down there in the Peach State?
Ken,
So, let me get this straight.
Phyllis Schlafly, has made a career and a ton of money out of lecturing other women that they shouldn't have a career and/or make a ton of money.
Sounds like multi-millionaire, drug-addicted celebrity and draft dodging ass pimple Rushbo Limbaugh talking about the simple pleasures of the low income heartland and the glories of military life.
Or like Paul Ryan, who paid for his entire education with government assistance, makes a ton of money off the government, and lives in a house protected and supported by the government as an historical property, telling everyone else to forget about help from the government, that government is bad, bad, bad.
Or like the entire Republican establishment which works hammer and tong all the day long to disenfranchise Democratic black voters and denying that the Civil Rights Act is constitutional, taking credit for freeing the slaves and battling discrimination.
Or people like Marsha Blackburn who declare that the Party of Anti-choice who believes in things like legitimate rape, aspirins between the knees as contraception, and vote against paycheck equality is actually the party fighting hardest for women. Shit. I'd hate to see what it would look like if they were against them.
I could go on all day with this but I've already got me one of those roaring GOP hypocrisy headaches.
Christ! These people!
Patrick,
"If we lived under tyranny that man would now be dead or in jail."
The fact they can't even comprehend what real tyranny is would be funny if it weren't so dangerous.
Patrick
It's not easy being a turtle, and they cause so much trouble! Thank you for the link to article on history of disputed land in Nevada. I had wondered if the land being illegally grazed had been set aside for some sort of conservation purpose.
In my little neighborhood Blanding's turtle, listed as threatened in Massachusetts, nest in our yards. For the entire month of June I scour the neighborhood looking for the nesting beauties, and if possible protect their nests. Last year an individual attempted to nest in the flower garden of a neighbor. It was early evening, and still light and hot as hell. She was in the process of mulching the bed. A nesting turtle is easily spooked, and it's always best to keep a comfortable distance from her until she has deposited her eggs. I politely asked the neighbor if she might cease mulching activities until the next day to allow turtle to nest. The neighbor (and friend?) said, "this is MY private property and I can do whatever I want when I want, and I'm not stopping for a turtle". The turtle left, and I was not able to relocate her. Did I mention she's republican (not the turtle), and that her family refers to her as "nature girl".
People like her discourage me, but I try to remember the neighbors who are happy to be slightly inconvenienced, if at all, by a turtle nest. It's scary how callous the Bundy clan is regarding the environment. And then after seeing your post I watched the trailer to http://www.midwayfilm.com/ Life is tough for birds too.