;)
The Commentariat -- Dec. 28, 2015
Internal links removed.
** Bryan Bender of Politico: "Fifty-four years ago, the brand-new Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara thought he could bring Pentagon spending on everyday items under control by applying efficiencies he had used to help turn around the Ford Motor Company. Instead, he created a monster. McNamara's creation, known as the Defense Logistics Agency, has grown into a global, $44-billion operation that, were it a private enterprise, would rank in the Fortune 50.... Led by military officials with little or no private sector experience, DLA lacks the redeeming features of the lean and efficient business McNamara envisioned. A trail of inspector general reports show how DLA is systemically overcharged for parts. It buys things the military doesn't need.... The Government Accountability Office ... has repeatedly flagged systemic management problems at the agency. The congressional watchdog found in 2010 that 'the average annual value of the inventory for the 3 years reviewed was about $13.7 billion. Of this total, about $7.1 billion (52 percent) was beyond the amount needed to meet the requirements objective.'"
Radley Balko of the Washington Post: "... over the past 12 months, we heard dire predictions of a 'nationwide crime wave,' complete with stats about soaring homicide rates. We've also heard incessant chatter this year about a 'war on cops' and how it's never been more dangerous to wear a police uniform. Inevitably, the same people making these claims have then cast blame on police critics, protest movements such as Black Lives Matter, viral videos of police abuse and efforts to hold bad cops accountable.... So how do all of those claims stack up? Not well."
To Deny or Not to Deny. Timothy Cama of the Hill: "Many of the most vocal Republicans say they have significant problems with the scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity is the main cause.... But others in the GOP aren't interested in litigating the science. They say it's more important -- and far easier -- to show that Democratic climate proposals would be disastrous to the economy and kill jobs. The split comes as more and more voters, particularly young people and minorities, say in opinion polls that they believe climate change is real and want action to fight it." CW: Of course nowhere in his story does Cama bother to mention that both positions are ridiculous: the effects of climate change obviously are "disastrous to the economy," although I suppose raising every building in Miami & other coastal cities five feet would create a lot of jobs. Idiots all.
American "Justice," Ctd. Terrence McCoy of the Washington Post: "Unlike traditional settlements, which are paid out in one sum, structured settlements dispense the payout in portions over a lifetime to protect vulnerable people from immediately spending it all. Since 1975, insurance firms have committed an estimated $350 billion to these agreements, spawning a secondary market in which companies compete to buy payments for a smaller amount of upfront cash. Such deals ... expose sellers to the risk that they will exchange lifetimes' worth of income for pittances." Although almost all states now require court approval of these deals, the laws have loopholes, & in Virginia, particularly, certain local courts rubberstamp egregious abuses.
Alexander Mallin of ABC News: "In a rare sit-down interview with ABC News, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer said he doubts mass internment would happen again in the U.S. Even though the Supreme Court has never technically overturned its 1944 decision approving the Roosevelt Administration's decision to isolate thousands of American citizens of Japanese descent during the Second World War, the country's values have changed in the intervening 70 years, the justice explained, and courts are more likely now to step in to enforce them. The internment was recently invoked by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to support his proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. Breyer refused to comment on Trump's proposed ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S., calling the issue 'highly political.'" Includes video.
Jad Mouawad of the New York Times: "As soon as next year, a driver's license may no longer be enough for airline passengers to clear security in some states, if the Department of Homeland Security has its way. Federal officials said they would soon determine whether Transportation Security Administration agents would start enforcing a 10-year-old law that requires states to comply with a set of federal standards when issuing driver's licenses."
Presidential Race
The End of the Interview: Steve Inskeep of NPR asks President Obama what question he would ask candidates for his job. Released this morning; recorded last week:
Hillary Clinton, Secret Agent. Amy Chozick of the New York Times: In the summer of 1972, when Hillary Clinton was a student at Yale Law & working for what would become the Children's Defense Fund, she travelled to Dothan, Alabama, & posed under an assumed name as a conservative Christian, to find out if the new private academy there was racially segregated & therefore ineligible for federal funds. Surprise! It was. But the Nixon administration did not rescind the school's (or other segregated white schools') federal funds.
** Bryce Covert of Think Progress in a New York Times op-ed: "Mrs. Clinton is using a definition of middle class that has long been popular among Democratic policy makers, from her husband to Barack Obama when he was a candidate: any household that makes $250,000 or less a year. Yet this definition is completely out of touch with reality. It also boxes her in. The most recent Census Bureau data showed that median household income -- what people in the exact middle of the American spectrum earn -- is $53,657." ...
,.. CW: Covert doesn't give a reason for Clinton's relying on that definition, except to suggest it's "historical." However, some commentators mentioned during the last hoo-hah over tax rates that the real reason the definition of middle-class is set at 250K is that many Congressional staffers -- the people who actually write tax law -- have family incomes that fall near the $250K range. Ergo, there's no use arguing what "makes sense" as a definition of middle-class; there's a mighty powerful lobbying group -- those staffers -- who don't give a whit.
Austin Wright of Politico: "... Bernie Sanders said Sunday he's in 'negotiations' with the Democratic National Committee following an ugly spat that led to the firing of a Sanders campaign staffer accused of accessing voter data belonging to the Hillary Clinton campaign.... Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who chairs the DNC, appeared on 'Meet the Press' after Sanders but wasn't asked about the data issue." CW: ... proving that Mrs. Alan Greenspan is an even worse newsperson than Mr. Chuck Todd. I suppose the Sanders' campaign's suggesting the DNC planted a hacker in Sanders' staff isn't newsworthy enough for Mrs. Greenspan to explore.
Amanda Holpuch of the Guardian: "... Bernie Sanders said Sunday that he believes he can boost his own standing in the race by swaying supporters of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump to back his campaign. Sanders told CBS's Face the Nation that many of Trump's supporters have legitimate fears stemming from income inequality that Sanders is best positioned to address."
Paul Krugman: "... while the mainstream contenders [for the GOP presidential nomination] may have better manners than Mr. Trump or the widely loathed Mr. Cruz, when you get to substance it becomes clear that all of them are frighteningly radical, and that none of them seem to have learned anything from past disasters.... There's still a substantial chance that the outsiders will falter and someone less obviously out there -- probably Mr. Rubio -- will end up on top. And if this happens, it will be important to realize that not being Donald Trump doesn't make someone a moderate, or even halfway reasonable."
Eli Stokols of Politico: "Welcome to New Hampshire, where the fight for the establishment lane of the GOP presidential primary is turning into a circular firing squad.... Forget Iowa, which Cruz appears to be locking up. It's New Hampshire that will cull this field. And with Christie, Bush and John Kasich making the Granite State the singular focus of their campaigns, and Rubio, should he lose Iowa, needing a top-tier finish, the fight to be the mainstream alternative to Cruz or Trump could end here.... If Trump wins the Feb. 9 primary a week after Cruz wins Iowa, only one or two candidates finishing behind him will likely have the momentum to carry on."
Austin Wright: "... Donald Trump on Sunday accused ... Hillary Clinton of 'playing the woman's card' -- continuing a war of words between the two campaigns that heated up when Trump said Clinton got 'schlonged' in the 2008 Democratic primary. 'She's playing that woman's card left and right, and women are more upset about it than anybody else, including most men,' Trump said on Fox News." CW: Do try to make sense of Donald's sentence. Maybe Donald is getting inclusive & thinking of hermaphrodites, who, I presume, are less upset than are women that Hillary is playing the woman's card, whatever that may be. ...
... Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "... Donald Trump late Saturday blasted the announcement that former President Bill Clinton will campaign for his wife, Hillary Clinton. The real estate mogul said the former president has a 'penchant for sexism' in a tweet.... [Hillary Clinton] said in an interview last week that Trump has 'a penchant for sexism' after the billionaire said she 'got schlonged' in losing to then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2008."
Joseph Tanfani of the Los Angeles Times: "The real story of [Donald] Trump's rise and fall in Atlantic City is ... complicated. His casinos were profitable early. As he expanded, though, Trump's aggressive borrowing and go-go strategy left them laboring under high-interest debt. When he decided to leave, in 2009, the exit was far from smooth and graceful; he gave up after last-ditch battles with bondholders." ...
... Bradford Rochardson of the Hill: "Donald Trump says Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who is expected to endorse Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for president this week, was a 'total disaster' as chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi." ...
... Paul Waldman: "... it's understandable that the Rubio campaign would try to make a big deal out of Gowdy's support, since Republican politicians have been stingy with endorsements this year and Gowdy is well-liked among his colleagues on Capitol Hill. But when Trump dismissed the endorsement by saying that Gowdy's Benghazi hearings were 'a total disaster,' you could almost hear Republican voters nodding in agreement.... It's hard to imagine that too many base voters, in Iowa or anywhere else, are going to say, 'Well, if Trey Gowdy likes Marco Rubio, that's good enough for me.'"
Jim Siegel of the Columbus Dispatch: "Gov. John Kasich says he wants to change the way Ohio draws congressional districts.... Ohio's congressional districts are currently drawn by the legislature, which can gerrymander districts to favor the party that controls the chambers. The process has led to a number of districts that make little geographic sense, allow for few competitive races and have given Republicans 12 of 16 seats. 'I support redistricting reform dramatically,' Kasich said last week. 'This will be something I'm going to do whether I'm elected president or whether I'm here. We carve these safe districts, and then when you're in a safe district you have to watch your extremes, and you keep moving to the extremes. Kasich's position matches that of Secretary of State Jon Husted, a fellow Republican who for years has advocated changing the process for drawing legislative and congressional districts." CW: Kasich is the last honest person standing for the GOP presidential nomination; of course, he also holds to the usual horrible, retrograde Republican economic ideas.
Beyond the Beltway
No Rejoicing for Emanuel. Monica Davey of the New York Times: "GQ, the men's magazine, just named Mayor Rahm Emanuel to its list of 'The Worst People of 2015.' In Springfield, the state capital, a fellow Democrat is pressing for a measure to permit Mr. Emanuel's recall from office. And [in Chicago], demonstrators bearing thousands of signatures last week demanded Mr. Emanuel's resignation, then blocked traffic on Christmas Eve along the city's glittering North Michigan Avenue shopping district, chanting, 'Rahm's got to go in 2016!'" Emanuel is responding by reaching out, awkwardly.
Natalie Pompilio of the Washington Post: "Over the past 15 months, beleaguered Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has released a steady stream of messages retrieved from a state email server that show state officials and employees trading pornographic, racist and misogynistic messages.... One complicating factor[:]... Kane, the first woman and first Democrat elected to that office, faces a criminal indictment for felony perjury and multiple misdemeanors in an unrelated case for allegedly leaking grand jury information to embarrass a political rival and then lying about it under oath. The odd result of those criminal charges is that the state's top law enforcement official has had her law license suspended and is fighting efforts in the state Senate to have her removed from office. Gov. Tom Wolf, also a Democrat, has asked her to resign." Read the whole story to grasp the magnitude of the mess.
Ray Sanchez of CNN: "An alleged ISIS supporter from Arizona, accused of arming and training the men who tried to attack a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest in Texas earlier this year, has been indicted on charges that he sought to use pipe bombs to target last season's Super Bowl, according to court documents. A new indictment against Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, also known as Decarus Thomas, further accuses him of proving material support to the global terror network by accessing -- with the help of a cohort -- an ISIS document listing the names and addresses of U.S. service members."
Way Beyond
Anna Fifield of the Washington Post: "Japan and South Korea said Monday they had 'finally and irreversibly' resolved a dispute over wartime sex slaves that has bedeviled relations between the two countries for decades. In something of a surprise development, the two countries' foreign ministers met in Seoul to finalize a deal that will see Japan put $8.3 million into a South Korean fund to support the 46 surviving so-called 'comfort women' and to help them recover their 'honor and dignity' and heal their 'psychological wounds.'"
News Ledes
Guardian: "A huge storm system coursing across much of the central and southern US has claimed at least 43 lives, including four foreign soldiers who were posted to a military base in central Missouri. The soldiers' nationalities were not immediately released. The extreme weather, which included deadly tornadoes in Texas, flash floods in Oklahoma and blizzards in New Mexico, was blamed on el Niño, with national weather agencies saying the weather system could continue to wreak havoc into midweek."
Guardian: "Three days of near-constant rain sent creeks pouring into St Louis-area homes over the weekend, and area rivers are expected to approach, or even surpass record levels set during 1993's massive flood as the rain continued into Monday."
New York Times: "Meadowlark Lemon, whose halfcourt hook shots, no-look behind-the-back passes and vivid clowning were marquee features of the feel-good traveling basketball show known as the Harlem Globetrotters for nearly a quarter-century, died on Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he lived. He was 83."
Washington Post: "Iraqi troops backed by U.S.-led air support moved Monday to consolidate gains against the Islamic State in Ramadi after reclaiming the main government compound from the militants in a critical test for government security forces."
New York Times: "Iraqi forces said on Monday they had seized a strategic government complex in the western city of Ramadi from the Islamic State after a fierce weeklong battle, putting them on the verge of a crucial victory following a brutal seven-month occupation of the city by the extremist group."
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Mighty Hermaphrodite ~~~for Mr. Trump(Geek or Greek?) wherever he may be
Those Greeks and their hermaphrodites! Teiresias, the seer who futilely haunts so many Greek tragedies, was one. Having enjoyed the special privilege of living as both a male and female, he was asked by the gods to settle an argument about which of the two sexes has more pleasure from lovemaking; on asserting that the female did, he was struck blind by prudish Hera-but given the gift of prophecy by Zeus as a compensation. The minor deity, Hermaphrodites, of course, was another, appearing in religion.
What a thoughtful response by our President whose advice to those who covet his job was exactly right–––IF you love this country you'll want to make it the best it can be––the emphasis on community–-rather than all this fear and anger. I think Obama will go down in history as one of our most successful presidents–––I'd like to say, greatest, but I'm afraid that word might never be used again to describe a US president––I hope I'm wrong.
PD,
The president's response, measured, thoughtful, insightful, and, if I may say so, humble (a quality notable for its conspicuous absence among the current crop of incapacious aspirants), demonstrates why he should be more generally admired and also why he is so roundly hated by his enemies.
Admiration is due for the almost superhuman perspicacity and equanimity he has brought to the job not just of president, but that of being the first black president, especially in the face of a what could easily have been a withering enfilade of extravagant hatred and unconscionable bigotry from the day he took office. Republican leaders met to plot his downfall before the music from the inaugural balls had faded, to plan that nothing he tried to do would succeed, to ensure his failure, and, if necessary, the failure of the American people if that's what it took for them to get their way. History has a way of celebrating firsts purely in the event. Obama's first is different. He is not just the first black man, he has risen, in spite of perpetual attacks on himself, his wife, their children, their race, to become one of the most accomplished men at that job.
His measured response to the unheard of animosity was deliberate and consistent, perhaps to a fault, he never losing sight of his enemies' humanity and hope that they might be persuaded to set aside their own personal hatred long enough to do some good for the country.
I don't know that I could have done it. I seriously doubt it. Now put any single one of his implacable, virulently antagonistic foes in his spot, and throw at them half of what they put upon him. They'd be broken as if on the wheel, or lash out with the kind of vindictiveness and cynicism they've forged through careers as political hacks and yes men for powerful masters, they never having mastered either themselves or anyone else, without threats of violence, legislative or otherwise, economic or otherwise.
And perhaps that's why they hate him so much. They have never been able to bully him. Never been able to hector or torment him, to push him into the clammy folds of fear that envelope them and their supporters. Never able to dissuade him from the path of rationality, thoughtfulness, to drag him down into irrational filth. Never able to understand that someone--especially a black man, someone they insulted and tried to humiliate--under such constant bombardment could not be forced to knuckle under to the constant barrage of vile and villainous vituperation. To strike back in kind or simply give up. Why could he not understand that they are his superiors and stepinfetchit the way he was supposed to? Why?
To put it simply. He is a better man. A better man by far. By leagues.
And they can't abide the manifest certainty of that truth, or at the very least, the possibility that so many Americans can see so that so clearly.
Christmas reading.
Well kids, I dunno about you guys, but I got something I really did want for Christmas: two volumes I had seen recently at a (okay, the) bookstore near where I live.
I've always been a great fan of the essay form (Montaigne, the old bugger, has a place of honor on the nightstand. He's like an old friend pulling you aside to give you a good talking to now and then or whispering something smart into your ear late at night before the sandman beats you senseless). Thus, for some years I've been picking up random issuances from the Best American Essays series. This year I noticed a neighbor on the essay shelf, the title of which I couldn't resist: Best American Non-Required Reading. How could you not open that one? And upon doing so, I espied an entry for "Best American Poem about a Particle Accelerator".
Sold, American!
Well that poem is a beauty. It's “At the Particle Accelerator at Krasnoyarsk” by a guy named Brandon Todt, a meditation on the rise and fall of ideas and their political usefulness. But the entry that really stood me up against the wall was "How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America: A Remembrance' by Kiese Laymon, a thoroughly original voice. I've been following the writings of Ta-Nehisi Coates in the wake of the proliferation of killings of unarmed black men and the rise of Black Lives Matter, a movement (see Marie's links above) widely despised by Confederates determined to prove the opposite, but I've rarely come across writing that sticks the landing so well, that comes at you from a place you've never been (if you're white).
This is more than the story of a black kid who was kicked out of college for taking a book out of the library without checking it out (he brought it back the next day), a kid whose writing about black life incensed the college powers, powers who went so far as to try to deep-six his entry into other schools. This is an invitation to peek over the fence. It's the (pardon the laziness of the cliché) real deal.
If you have a few minutes, give it a whirl. Laymon is Mississippi's Montaigne.
(Oh, and another reason for celebration of the Non-Required reading choices: they were all made by high school kids, something that should bring the old curmudgeons amongst us some hope that the future of the country's literacy will not be brought to ruination by emoticons, atrocious grammar, peculiar spelling choices involving numbers rather than letters, and SSSLT (stupid shorthand shit like this).
"To put it simply. He is a better man. A better man by far. By leagues."
Couldn't agree more. He is by far the best President that I have seen and likely the best I will ever see. I am proud to have voted for him.
Oh dear, oh my... Since Akhilleus just HAD to mention particle accelerators:
http://xkcd.com/1621/
@Akhileus @Rockygirl: I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of our President, and I reflect on the huge gap between his qualities and any other contender fairly regularly. It's true that polls indicate a large number do not currently agree with this assessment. My thought is that once Obama leaves office his gifts will be put into perspective for some of these naysayers and their opinions will shift. Either way, I don't expect to see a better president in my lifetime, but I try not to lose help.
D.C.,
Love the idea of this new subatomic particle, the "fixion". Especially love its properties of being "Higgs-ish" and triggering Siberian sinkholes. Think if we bombarded Carrot-Head with a steady stream of fixions we could, ya know, fix him?
Ahh...too late for that, I reckon. Procreation has already occurred. The gene pool has already been peed in. But maybe we're not too late for that suppressing of antimatter thing. After all, Trump seems to destroy most things he comes in contact with, maybe a dose of fixion antimatter suppression would be just the ticket.
@D.C. Clark - as a very lay physicist (I am not a scientist & I don't even play one on T.V.) I loved the Fixion!
Here are my current fave science videos - a little dated but still great
http://youtu.be/j50ZssEojtM
http://youtu.be/DYW50F42ss8
Very cool Rockygirl, thanks for sharing.
Can't compete with the CERN video, but...
One highlight of my career was working on the Swift spacecraft:
http://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html
Some of my young colleagues at Goddard and Sonoma State U. formed an a cappella group, wrote and recorded 'The Swift Song". Find a transcript and MP3 here:
http://swift.sonoma.edu/resources/multimedia/song/index.html
It's true -- geeks have more fun.
@DC: thanks for http://xkcd.com/1621/
Had missed it; n.b., all should have xkcd bookmarked for a daily lift. Or puzzlement.
etc. n.b.:Trouble with the Obamas: true class.
While catching up on the news in Sweden via Dagens Nyheter yesterday, I can across an article about a situation in the US that I hadn’t hear about. The headline says, “Prolonged Gas Leak in Los Angeles is Causing Concern.”
A google search turned up more articles here, here, and here.
A leak at a underground storage facility for Southern California Gas Company was discovered last October. The facility is an old oil well that pumped dry in the early 70’s and converted to store natural gas. It’s at a location called Porter Ranch, a 30-year old planned community that sits atop the storage well 8000 below, 20 miles from downtown L.A.
Because of a broken well casing or failed safety valve gas is escaping at the rate of about 50 tons per hour (equivalent to 5000 gas grill-sized tanks). They’re currently drilling a relief well nearby that won’t be completed until February or March.
In the meantime, thousands of local residents have been evacuated or relocated because of safety or health concerns. Some are equating it the BP Gulf oil disaster.
Given the concern with the heat-trapping effects of methane that is more severe than C02 and its impact on climate change, I’m curious as to why this situation hasn’t made more significant headlines in national news. I can only guess that the outlandish comments by Donald Trump or the latest goings-on of the Kardashians are more important.
Let’s hope that lighting doesn’t strike the area any time soon.
Sooooo...
Cops who killed (sorry, murdered) a 12 year old kid in Cleveland for the crime of carrying a toy while black get off scot free and get to go back to killing more children, if, in their opinion, they need killing.
Two seconds.
The police cruiser hadn't even come to a complete stop before they shot this kid. But there's no blame here???????
What.The.Fuck.
These guys couldn't have taken two more seconds to ascertain the situation?
Don't worry, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity will have two hour specials talking about how cops have to shoot anyone they fear. Anything else would be un-Confederate.
Does anyone--anyone--seriously doubt that had this kid been white, even in a bad part of town, he'd still be alive?
Black child with a toy? Kill him. No worries.
@ Unwashed: thanks for bringing up that gas leak––Rachel introduced that catastrophe some time ago and said she will keep her reporter's eye on it. Like you, I am flummoxed as to why this has not been more newsworthy.
@ AK: Enjoyed so much your literary foray––loved "the old bugger" tag for Montaigne––and will read your link for Laymon later. Voices––those from pages that bring us up short, make us stop and reassess, and possibly change our minds are like manna from––dare I say it?
Just finished reading the Laymon essay. It has left me stunned––and angry––powerful stuff –-gritty and so sad–-so terribly sad––and yes, it's the real deal, isn't it?