;)
The Commentariat -- December 1, 2015
Internal links removed.
Angela Keane & Justin Sink of Bloomberg: "The U.S. will meet commitments to help finance developing nations' efforts to reduce carbon pollution, President Barack Obama said, challenging congressional Republicans who have fought most of his environmental policies.... 'My expectation is that we will absolutely be able to meet our commitments,' Obama said Tuesday at a news conference in Paris. 'This is part of American leadership, by the way. This is part of the debate that we have to have in the United States more often. Too often American leadership is defined by sending troops somewhere.'" ...
... Sylvie Corbet & Angela Charlton of the AP: "... leaders of poor nations most affected by climate change are sharing their stories of global warming with leaders of some of the richest on Tuesday. The encounters -- French President Francois Hollande met African leaders and President Barack Obama was meeting envoys from island nations -- highlighted one of the biggest debates among delegates negotiating an international climate agreement: how much rich countries should help poor ones cope adapt to global warming and reduce their emissions." ...
... AP: "U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy says the House will not go along if President Barack Obama tries to commit taxpayer money to support a climate accord reached in Paris.... McCarthy suggested that a must-pass year-end spending bill currently in the works could become the vehicle for language blocking any such expenditure." ...
... Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "President Obama told world leaders who gathered northeast of Paris on Monday for a climate conference that the United States is at least partly to blame for the life-threatening damage that environmental change has wrought, and he urged world leaders to join him in fixing the problem.... Mr. Obama also repeated an argument, lampooned by some Republicans, that the climate conference was a fitting response to the terrorist attacks that cost the lives of 130 people in and around Paris on Nov. 13. 'What greater rejection of those who would tear down our world than marshaling our best efforts to save it,' he said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CW: Can hardly wait for the GOP response to Obama's admitting U.S. culpability on climate change: "Weak!" "Hates America!" _______Fill in______
... As the World Burns. Eliza Collins of Politico: "Republican presidential candidates and their allies made fun of President Barack Obama's comments about climate change in Paris on Monday. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, during a town hall in Iowa, said Obama 'apparently thinks having an SUV in your driveway is more dangerous than a bunch of terrorists trying to blow up the world.'" Et-cetera.
... The Times has a running commentary on the Paris talks. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Devin Henry of the Hill: "The White House is pushing congressional Republicans to formally authorize military action against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and institute new rules to prevent terrorism in the United States.... Speaking in Paris, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that Congress needs to implement a series or proposals rather than engage in politically motivated posturing that is 'wrong, dangerous and falls far short of what the America people deserve.'" ...
... Michael Dougherty of the Week: "Conservatives today are incensed that President Obama didn't plunge America deeply into a needless war in Syria two years ago.... But two years ago, it was conservative opposition to a needless war in Syria that stopped Obama from plunging in. This history is clear. It is undeniable. But many of my fellow conservatives, when faced with the choice of acknowledging reality or deriding a Democratic president as weak and feckless, will always and infallibly choose the latter."
Greg Sargent: "It looks increasingly likely that some time in the next few days or weeks, the GOP Congress may realize a longtime dream of Republicans: Pass something that seriously guts Obamacare. The health law won't actually be repealed, of course, since President Obama will veto such a measure. But that alone -- forcing Obama to veto a repeal bill -- is deemed a worthy goal in and of itself."
The New York Times editors call for the resignations of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy & Cook County Prosecutor Anita Alvarez over their self-interested cover-up of the (alleged) police murder of Laquan McDonald. "Around the time the freelance journalist Brandon Smith filed suit for release of the dash-cam video, on Aug. 5, 2015, the Chicago Police Department told him that it had already received, and rejected, 14 other Freedom of Information Act requests for the evidence." ...
... CW: Let's hear from President Obama on his support for & employment of Rahm Emanuel. Now would be a very good time for him to get over the "Chicago-style politics" his critics accuse him of practicing. ...
... Bill Ruthhart of the Chicago Tribune: "On Tuesday, Emanuel will seek to quell some of the growing chorus of criticism by announcing a task force his administration says 'will review the system of accountability, oversight and training that is currently in place for Chicago's police officers,' according to a brief news release issued late Monday. Appointing a committee to look into an issue is a tried-and-true tactic elected officials long have employed to buy time and breathing room when faced with a scandal or crisis." ...
... CW Note: The Trib has nixed my link above, but I got there via a link in Item 10 of this Mother Jones story by Brandon Patterson. Patterson provides a quick rundown of recent news regarding the case.
CBS/AP: "Fifty-seven-year-old Robert Lewis Dear appeared before a judge in a brief video hearing on Monday, standing next to public defender Daniel King. He's the same lawyer who represented Colorado theater shooting gunman James Holmes.... Judge Stephen J. Sletta has sealed court documents in this case. The order was made available Monday after being issued Friday, the day of the attack. Such documents detail evidence gathered by investigators that justify arresting suspects and searching property."
Sarah Ferris of the Hill: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) who head the special committee designed to convict investigate Planned Parenthood is not even about Planned Parenthood because the resolution establishing the committee does not specifically mention Planned Parenthood even those others -- including Speaker Ryan -- have said the committee is specifically charged to look into federal dollars Planned Parenthood receives.
... CW: So here's my question. Do they take lessons on how to tell whoppers with a straight face before or after they're elected to Congress? ...
... digby: "Hey, if you don't want to get shot, don't go to a Planned Parenthood clinic. That's pretty much what these anti-abortion leaders told Irin Carmon at MSNBC.... They just think that Planned Parenthood is dismembering living babies for profit and that it's perfectly natural for someone to want to kill them. And if someone happens to be there to support a friend it's unfortunate collateral damage. You can decide for yourself whether it matters that one of our major political parties is completely cowed by these terrorists." ...
... Rebecca Traister of New York: "That Democratic politicians are daring to draw connective lines between Republican language -- [Sen. Bernie] Sanders's 'bitter rhetoric' -- and the violence enacted this weekend represents a bold strategic shift. It could be the beginning of a reversal that has been a long time coming: the association of 'life' -- as in [Sen. Barbara] Boxer's evocation of the 'life-saving health care' provided by Planned Parenthood -- with reproductive-rights activism, and violence as the domain of those who stand between women and access to legal, high-quality health services, including abortion."
Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The Senate on Monday signed off on a new administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) amid a growing Syrian humanitarian crisis. Senators voted 79-7 to confirm Gayle Smith to lead the agency, seven months after President Obama nominated her for the post.... Despite the bipartisan consensus around her nomination, Smith was delayed over partisan fighting on unrelated issues. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) ... said earlier this year that he would block all State Department nominations because of his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal."
Politico: "House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday officially invited President Barack Obama to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 12."
Thomas Gibbons-Neff of the Washington Post: "The United States has delivered more than $260 million in non-lethal military equipment to help the government of Ukraine in its fight against a Russian-backed insurgency, but some of the U.S.-supplied gear meant to protect and transport Ukrainian military forces is little more than junk.... It is unclear how much of the material sent to Ukraine is secondhand and antiquated. The U.S. government has also sent new equipment, such as night vision and first-aid kits. Troops there have also received advanced equipment such as counter artillery, counter mortar radars, and communications gear."
Keith Bradsher of the New York Times: "The International Monetary Fund on Monday designated the Chinese renminbi as one of the world's elite currencies, a major milestone that underscores the country's rising financial and economic heft. The decision will help pave the way for broader use of the renminbi in trade and finance, securing China's standing as a global economic power. Just four other currencies -- the dollar, the euro, the pound and the yen -- have the I.M.F. designation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jim Tankersley of the Washington Post: Economist Thomas Piketty says "Inequality is a major driver of Middle Eastern terrorism, including the Islamic State attacks on Paris earlier this month -- and Western nations have themselves largely to blame for that inequality.... Within [Middle East] monarchies, he continues, a small slice of people controls most of the wealth, while a large -- including women and refugees -- are kept in a state of 'semi-slavery.' Those economic conditions, he says, have become justifications for jihadists, along with the casualties of a series of wars in the region perpetuated by Western powers."
Will Hobson & Steven Rich of the Washington Post: "... at many of America's largest public universities, athletic departments making millions more every year from surging television contracts, luxury suite sales and endorsements continue to take money from tens of thousands of students who will never set foot in stadiums or arenas. Mandatory student fees for college athletic departments are common across the country. Often small line items of a couple hundred dollars on long, complex tuition bills, these fees make millions for athletic departments at larger colleges.... Some smaller schools charge more than $2,000 per year in athletic fees...."
Paresh Dave of the Los Angeles Times: "By doing little more than taking a photo and swiping across their smartphone screen a few times, Snapchat users on Tuesday can raise as much as $3 million to combat AIDS. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to donate $3 to the nonprofit group (RED) for each use of a decorative 'World AIDS Day' banner on Snapchat.... The Gates Foundation expects to close donations after 1 million uses of the geofilter. But it will donate an additional $1 million if a music video on YouTube -- starring Scarlett Johansson, Barry Manilow and Jimmy Kimmel -- is shared more than 333,000 times." ...
... CW: Evidently reporter Paresh Dave thinks this is a lovely, generous plan. Pardon me for disagreeing. Here are these billionaires announcing, "If you will jump through a hoop for me, I will give you $3. Also, you have to be rich enough to have a smartphone, & have enough time to figure out how to use Snapchat (a commercial operation) & get that banner across your photo. Here's another idea, Bill & Melinda: write a check for $3MM & send it in. Oh, wait, no publicity for you.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan says her paper should quit presenting as fact claims made by Donald Trump & his campaign. CW: Seems pretty obvious. ...
... CW: The dogged reporting of independent journalist Brandon Smith & the stenographic "reporting" of New York Times reporter Alan Rappeport makes a nice contrast, doesn't it? (And yes, I know the Times often sues to obtain documents under the FOIA.)
Presidential Race
Liz Kruetz of ABC News: "One by one [Monday] night, 13 female Democratic senators took the stage inside the packed ballroom at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC to raise money and announce their support for Hillary Clinton. But it was the person missing from the group who stood out most. Elizabeth Warren, the progressive lawmaker from Massachusetts, was the only female Democratic senator who wasn't at the endorsement event and fundraiser for Clinton's presidential campaign.... Clinton's campaign said it invited the 13 female senators who have endorsed Clinton to attend tonight's event, but would not say whether or not they invited Warren. They also would not comment about Warren's absence." ...
... Amy Chozick of the New York Times: "Evoking the investment in American infrastructure by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, Hillary Clinton on Monday unveiled the most sprawling -- and costliest -- government program of her campaign to date. Mrs. Clinton said her five-year, $275-billion federal infrastructure program was aimed at creating middle-class jobs while investing heavily in improving the country's highways, airports and ports. Bridging the 'infrastructure gap' between the United States and developing nations like China would also eliminate red tape and fuel overall economic growth, she said." ...
... Julian Hattem of the Hill: "The State Department released its largest batch yet of Hillary Clinton's emails on Monday, part of a gradual process to put all of the messages that she claimed were work-related out for the public to see. The department released 7,800 pages of the former secretary of State's emails, including one email that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had originally flagged as potentially containing classified information before deciding it did not contain intelligence agency information. Monday's document dump was the seventh of the process."
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Senator Bernie Sanders stepped off the campaign trail on Monday to have a procedure to repair a hernia. Mr. Sanders, the independent from Vermont and Democratic presidential candidate, had an outpatient procedure at George Washington University Hospital and was expected return to his Senate duties on Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Amy Davidson of the New Yorker has the first fair report of presidential candidates' reactions to last week's Planned Parenthood murders. "Do the Republican candidates think that nobody is listening to them? Are they even listening to themselves?"
Maggie Haberman & John Corrales of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump met privately on Monday with black pastors and religious figures at Trump Tower in Manhattan, where he was expected to hold preliminary discussions to seek their endorsements." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Trump thinks the fiasco was the fault of BlackLivesMatter. Nick Gass of Politico: "'I think what happened, probably, it gets publicity, unfortunately, as everything I do gets publicity, and probably some of the Black Lives Matter folks called them up and said, "oh, you shouldn't be meeting with Trump because he believes that all lives matter,'" Trump remarked." CW: It seems MSNBC's "Morning Joe" is using Trump for critical commentary on the climate summit. Good work, Joe! ...
... Here are some things Donald Trump thinks are funny: Hernia operations, physical disabilities, calling the President a dumbass. If you don't think hernias & other physical impairments are funny, you're like those media critics who can't take a joke & are just trying to make an excellent humorist "look bad." ...
... Hadas Gold of Politico: "Donald Trump threatened to boycott the next Republican debate on Monday night, unless hosting network CNN donated $5 million to a charity. 'How about I tell CNN, who doesn't treat me properly I'm not gonna do the next debate, okay,' Trump said at a rally in Georgia. 'How about we do this for CNN: I won't do the debate unless they pay me five million dollars, all of which money goes to the Wounded Warriors or goes to vets?'"
Chris Christie Will Not Be Ready on Day One. But Maybe on Day Seven. If Provoked Enough. Katherine Krueger of TPM: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Monday gave a stronger rebuttal to ... Donald Trump's claims that Muslims Americans were cheering the attacks on 9/11, saying 'that didn't happen.'...The clarification comes a week after the governor said he didn't 'recall' Muslims cheering, in part because he was concerned about family and friends who were close to the attacks.... Christie's remarks came the same day Trump hit the governor on Twitter for his record of running the 'deeply troubled' state."
Ted & Marco Accuse Each Other of Once Doing Their Jobs. Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker: It now appears that we are entering a period of the campaign in which the two Republican senators who may have the best shot at unseating the front-runner, Donald Trump, and winning their party's nomination are veering into a potential murder-suicide pact over who was more complicit in actually trying to get something accomplished in Washington."
Dana Milbank: "Just days before the shooting [in Colorado Springs], [Ted] Cruz trumpeted an endorsement from an antiabortion activist who once called killing an abortion doctor a 'justifiable defensive action' and who leads a group, Operation Rescue, where a colleague did prison time for a conspiracy to bomb an abortion clinic. The activist whose endorsement Cruz celebrated, Troy Newman, is also on the board of the Center for Medical Progress, which made the surreptitious Planned Parenthood videos that prompted Cruz and many other conservatives to accuse the organization of selling 'baby parts' -- the phrase Dear allegedly used." Cruz has suggested that, according to media reports, The (alleged) shooter Robert Dear might be a "transgendered leftist activist." ...
... Here's the Rachel Maddow segment which Victoria D. links in the Comments below. The portion concerning Ted Cruz begins at about 13 min. in. The whole segment is worth watch:
Last I checked we don't have a rubber shortage in America. When I was in college we had a machine in the bathroom, you put .50 cents in and voila! So yes, anyone who wants contraceptives can access them, but it's an utterly made-up nonsense issue. -- Ted Cruz, outlining his reproductive rights program
Hillary Clinton embraces abortion on demand in all circumstances up until the moment of birth. Partial-birth abortion with taxpayer funding, with no notification for parents in any circumstances -- 91% of Americans say that's nuts. -- Ted Cruz, outlining Clinton's reproductive rights program
CW Translation: Contraceptive choices should be left to the man & I can lie wildly about Clinton's position on abortion. P.S. Thanks, CNN, for not bothering to fact-check Ted's remarks.
McKay Coppins of BuzzFeed: "Jeb and his team recognized the threat posed by Rubio nearly a year ago, and took aggressive action to knock him out of 2016 contention -- with some in Bush's circle trying to smear the senator by allegedly circulating lurid, unsubstantiated rumors of infidelity.... Ever since he began to make a name for himself in Tallahassee, Rubio had been trailed by a persistent series of unsubstantiated rumors about his sex life. Jilted mistresses, sordid affairs, secret love children.... No one in the staid, starchy D.C. press corps was willing to explicitly lay out the rumors dogging Rubio -- but they gestured toward them all the time...." Adapted from a segment of a book by Coppins. CW: Let's hope the sleaziest part of the story is not that Jeb!'s people do sleazy oppo research. What this election cycle is missing is sex. ...
... Andrew Prokop of Vox: "Since there's no evidence that these rumors about Rubio have any truth to them, the mainstream press has tended not to mention them in print. But a whisper campaign like this could well lead GOP elites to be hesitant to fall behind Rubio for fear of a looming scandal."
Andy Borowitz: "Calling criticism of her misrepresentations about Planned Parenthood 'typical left-wing tactics,' ... Carly Fiorina said, on Sunday, 'I will not be bullied into telling the truth.'"
Beyond the Beltway
Benjamin Weiser & Susanne Craig of the New York Times: "Sheldon Silver, who held a seemingly intractable grip on power for decades as one of the most feared politicians in New York State, was found guilty on Monday of federal corruption charges, ending a trial that was the capstone of the government's efforts to expose the seamy culture of influence-peddling in Albany. Mr. Silver, 71, a Manhattan Democrat, was convicted on all seven counts against him. The charges of honest services fraud, extortion and money laundering stemmed from schemes by which he obtained nearly $4 million in exchange for using his position to help benefit a cancer researcher and two real estate developers.... As a result of the conviction, he must automatically forfeit the Assembly seat to which he was first elected nearly 40 years ago." ...
... David Klepper & Larry Neumeister of the AP: "The conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has shaken New York politics down to the granite foundations of the state Capitol, provoking fresh calls to overhaul a system that has stubbornly clung to its long history of corruption."
Brian Lyman of the Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser: "Alabama would pay just over $51,000 in legal fees to settle a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood Southeast over Gov. Robert Bentley's attempt to cancel the organization's Medicaid contract, under an agreement filed in federal court Monday morning.... The draft agreement, which still needs approval from U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, says that Medicaid restored PPSE's contract after Thompson ruled against Bentley last month."
Nicky Woolf of the Guardian: "Officials have filed charges today against four men accused of shooting into a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis a week ago. Protests have been ongoing outside the precinct building since police shot Jamar Clark, an unarmed black man, just a few hundred yards down the road on 15 November. He died in hospital a day later." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: "Allen 'Lance' Scarsella, the man charged with shooting five people at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Minneapolis last week," has been identified as an adherent to the "sovereign citizens" philosophy, "a strange subculture united by little more than anti-government ideology and a sense of desperation.... According to the criminal complaint, Scarsella, who is white, spoke derogatorily about African Americans and stored racist images on his cellphone."
This is my only warning. At 10 a.m. on Monday mourning (sic) I am going to the campus quad of the University of Chicago. I will be armed with a M-4 Carbine and 2 Desert Eagles all fully loaded. I will execute aproximately (sic) 16 white male students and or staff, which is the same number of time (sic) Mcdonald (sic) was killed. I then will die killing any number of white policemen that I can in the process. This is not a joke. I am to do my part to rid the world of the white devils. I expect you to do the same. -- Jabari Dean, online posting (allegedly) ...
... Michael Pearson & Dana Ford of CNN: "A 21-year-old man was arrested Monday, accused of threatening to kill students and staff at the University of Chicago in an apparent attempt to avenge the death of Laquan McDonald, authorities said. Jabari Dean, 21 was arrested without incident. He is expected to appear in court later in the day."
Lately There Seem to be Quite a Number of Cop Stories Like The One. ...
... Denver Post, Nov. 9: "Commerce City[, Colorado] police have issued a Blue Alert as they search for the man who shot an officer in the torso Sunday.... The officer's ballistic vest stopped the bullet, and he is being treated for injuries that are not life-threatening." ...
... Denver Post, Nov. 30: "A Commerce City police officer was formally charged Monday with falsely accusing a non-existent motorist of shooting him."
Way Beyond
Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "The Chinese military scaled back its cybertheft of American commercial secrets in the wake of Justice Department indictments of five officers, and the surprising drawdown shows that the law enforcement action had a more significant impact than is commonly assumed, current and former U.S. officials said.
News Lede
Washington Post: "A former wife of the Islamic State's leader was released Tuesday after more than year in custody in Lebanon as part of a prisoner swap involving Lebanese security forces held captive by militants in Syria. Lebanese authorities handed over Saja al-Dulaimi, an Iraqi who was briefly married to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the presumed head of the Islamic State. Along with Dulaimi was a group of mostly Islamist detainees, according to officials in Lebanon's military."
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Reader Comments (29)
Nevah happened! Governor Chris Christie in Portsmouth, NH on Monday rebuked a claim by Donald Trump that "thousands" of Muslims held "tailgate parties" in northern New Jersey on September 11th.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/christie-parties-nj-9-11-didnt-happen-n471516
But, still The Donald persists...
"Trump said his staff is searching for evidence of the parties in New Jersey."
Wonder if this staff is part of the same crack team that spent time in Hawaii to disprove Obama's birth certificate? Maybe they're still there!
Want to know what is wrong with America? The article about money and sports in education tells a lot. People ask how come I retired from my teneured position at the NJ Medical School. Well for forty years the school had no football team. Then we became part of Rutgers. Previously my job was teaching, research and patient care. Then Rutgers changed it. My job was to make money for football. And I am not exaggerating or being sarcastic. Rutgers spends $36 million of academic money on athletics every year.
So Margaret Sullivan says the NYT "should quit" publishing Trump's lies. Really? That's like saying Jabba the Hut could lose a few pounds. Where's Baquet on this, how about explicitly naming candidates' statements that are lies immediately, in print, period. The news media has an enormous festering scoop of blame for the fomenting anger and fear in the U.S. They have long ago thrown over their legitimate journalistic brief for trash talking.
@Marvin Schwalb-
Tell me about money, education and football! The University of Oregon--which is hardly a world-class institution--has spent millions on a new football stadium, locker room for players, special workout rooms, new dorm--while the rest of the University weathers and rots in the damp climate. All of this is thanks to Phil Knight, CEO of Nike (in Portland) and obvious champion of FOOTBALL! In past years, he has outfitted the team with new jerseys and helmets for almost every game and spent untold amounts on special coaches and tutors. Marcus Mariotta (whom I admire) was the "raison d'être" for Knight's enthusiasm, but he is now gone. The new team is "eh," but doing okay--considering.
Point is--the U of O has suffered from loss of good faculty members in Liberal Arts and has a lack of dorms for students. What they have is so old and insufficient that many students prefer to find their own not so good) housing off-campus. No new money, that I have heard about, is going into bettering the academic program or up-dating other facilities. However, Phil Knight continues his largesse for the athletes. This is what quite a few colleges are about these days. Pisses me off!
Re college athletics and money, I recommend reading "Billion Dollar Ball" by Gilbert Gaul. You will be outraged.
Because I had access to contraceptive care, once via Planned Parenthood, I've never had an abortion. But had I needed an abortion, I would have had one. Like many, probably most, women, I think I had at least one spontaneous abortion. Flushing a little glob of tissues down the toilet did not traumatize me or cause me to wonder if God had punished me for enjoying sex absent the purpose to procreate.
No, I don't think abortion is the best method of birth control. But, especially for teenagers & poor women, it may be the only one available, thanks to a culture -- promoted by conservatives -- that stigmatizes healthy sex.
What Ted Cruz revealed in his little reminiscence about the good old days at Princeton is that reproductive decisions should be left to men & boys. It is a given that boys will be boys & that lucky boys -- like the ones who attend posh Princeton -- will find themselves some sluts. Also too, it's okay if married men, like Ted, decide to use contraception to limit the number of children he and his wife have. I think we're supposed to infer here that Ted is so "liberal" that he thinks fun sex is fine for married couples. Ted is no Rick Santorum!
It is appalling that decades after a number of reliable methods of birth control were developed that an entire political party still thinks that women who have sexual relations outside of marriage should "suffer the consequences," even if they're victims of rape or incest, even if their pregnancies are life-threatening.
What does it take to convince millions of people that we -- women and men -- are built to have sexual desires when we're quite young & not financially or emotionally equipped to rear children? This little biological quirk is a leftover from days when life expectancy was 35 years. It is not a quirk that is likely to disappear. Modern medicine has extended life expectancy, & modern culture privileges later-in-life pregnancies. Fortunately, modern medicine also finally accommodated that biological/cultural disconnect.
And yet, and yet. We still have Ted & Rick & Marco & the Pope & many other churchmen equating our natural -- God-given! -- inclinations with "sin." We live in a culture where women & girls are still stigmatized for having "inconvenient" desires.
Ted laughs at the "war on women," a war in which he is captain of the guard. It's long past time to shut down all the Ted Cruzes & all the religious leaders who egg him on.
I've been too tolerant of abortions critics, too accepting of the notion that opposing abortion, at least in a general sense, is rational opinion. No, it is not, at least not until any girl or woman can walk into a drugstore & get on-demand contraception (including "morning-after" contraception) for 50 cents, like the Princeton boys of yore.
Marie
Actually I want to give Sen. Ooze a little credit. I think he is the first one to mention that reproduction actually involves a man and women. If you look at most political comments from Republicans on abortion you get the impression they all involve virgin births. I mean it is entirely the fault of the women. No men cause unwanted pregnancies. If there is any hint that a man is involved it is only the fact that all women who want an abortion are sluts,.
Rachel Maddow had an excellent rundown of the history of abortion violence and a shocking conclusion describing Ted Cruz's association with a few extreme anti-abortion flame throwers who have, at the very least, condoned and encouraged violence against doctors who perform abortions.
From the NYT article on Donald Trump's "jokes":
"Mr. Trump, in defending some of his recent jabs before making new ones, resorted to the old trick of suggesting that anyone who took offense at his remarks simply didn’t have a sense of humor."
It reminds me of a comment I used to hear a lot, often from gunship pilots over the radio, in Viet Nam. When, after the guns had suppressed fire (meaning: put a lot of bullets and rockets into an enemy position), we would report taking fire from that area when going in for an evac, the gun lead would often say "Fuck' em if they can't take a joke" and roll in with another round of jokes.
@Marvin Schwalb: Sorry, I'm just on a tear today because I had an unsettling reminder yesterday of what it's like to be treated as an incompetent little woman who doesn't know her own body. And, yeah, it was a medical doctor who said so. As I get older & require more treatment for this & that, I can see I am going to be subjected again & again to this kind of belittling dismissal of who I am.
I don't know what I am going to do about it: yesterday, I had to make a humiliating & wholly unnecessary compromise to receive the medical treatment I needed. Am I going to keep making these compromises in order to live longer? I'm not sure. But I am sure I'm sick of a lifetime of being treated as less than human simply because my humanity is of the female sort.
I know every woman has to put up with this, & I'm fed up. I also know every minority person has to endure this, every person who has difficulty with English (shout a little louder, will you, & maybe the "foreigners" will get it), every gay person, every person who can't pass for white and male and straight and in some way elite.
I'm just sick of living in a society where the male aristocracy not only rules, it sucks millions of peons into doing its bidding.
Marie
@Patrick: an apt analogy.
Marie
The plain simple truth about the anti-choice movement is that they wish to enforce their religious beliefs on everyone, every woman, I should say, and if you decide not to obey their commands, have sex and need an abortion, they reserve the right to harass and intimidate you, threaten you with violence, and if all else fails, murder the doctors and healthcare workers you seek out for help.
That's it. There's nothing else there. They occupy no defensible moral position. Even if you decided to agree that a stance against abortion was fine for individuals to adopt (which, of course, it is--something they would never allow for others), the millisecond they try to force anyone else to abide by that stance as well, they have lost all claim to any moral ground, high or low. Their position becomes intractably immoral.
It's all about their religious beliefs which cannot be brooked. By anyone.
The whole thing is viciously unAmerican. We live in a pluralistic society whether they like it or not. And yet, an entire political party has aligned themselves against the possibility that some people might not agree with the religious zealots. In other words, if you won't come along peaceably, we'll force you. We'll humiliate you. We'll do our best to try to shame you. We'll make it as difficult as possible for you to choose your own path. We'll work with our allies on the highest court in the land to make it illegal for you to choose. But if you still refuse to bend to our will and kowtow to our religious beliefs, no matter your own belief system, you will then be forced to go to another country for an abortion, if you can afford it, or visit underground backroom "doctors" and perhaps die in the process.
Because that's how the pro-life movement operates.
It's all about religion. And religion, at least in its most virulent, fundamentalist form in this country, is all about control.
Do what we say or else.
Marie, you briefly touched on it, but in addition to the other condescensions that are irksome, medical ageism will start to become a bigger factor in your life as you progress toward geriatric medicine. My mom lived with my sister for the last five years of her life, and was always as mentally sharp as ever, although she suffered from degenerative macro and couldn't drive. My sister had to drive her to doctors' appointments. Even doctors who knew my mother well would address their questions and instructions to my sister, as if my mother (in her late 80's) was incompetent. My mother would immediately say "I'm right here, you know." Politely. And the docs would catch themselves and start to treat her like the sentient human she was. For some reason, medical folks tend to treat older people as if they aren't fully competent. It is a pretty persistent bias, especially if they are accompanied by someone who looks like a caretaker (my sister).
So, don't get used to it ... but expect more of it the longer you live.
Ignorance is bliss if you are a Republican politician. Apparently no one in Iowa and lots of other states notices that the Paris climate conference involves the leadership of 190 countries all run by morons.
The entire world is up on this issue except the American Republican party.
And Akhilleus the climate change piece in America is also all about religion. I mean if those scientists got this one right, doesn't that mean they might be right about the evolution story.
Religion is destroying the world and we are going to make a lot more damage than ISIS.
Marie,
Quit your griping. You think you have it tough? You know who REALLY has it tough? Confederate Men. That's who. They are the real victims here, so stop your whining. Just think about all they have to put up with.
Okay, I'm making a joke. A sick joke, it's true. But for millions of Confederates and people like Cruz and Rubio and Bush and Cheney and Limbaugh and O'Reilly, they are the ones who bear the brunt of everything, trying to protect those stupid women and show them what's good for them, trying to make sure those uppity nee-groes and Mexicans know their place. Dealing with pesky liberals who think things should be "fair" and having to take on Putin and all. They have to run the world and all they get is criticism. And for what? Trying to show women and minorities and immigrants who's boss? It ain't right, I'm tellin' ya right now.
Seriously. I know people who think exactly like this. And this means these people are categorically closed off from considering that other people might have it tough. It's intellectually and emotionally impossible for them to empathize with the plight of other people. Why? Because they're the ones who have it tough, not those whiny-ass "urban" thugs or nagging broads.
This is why Ben Carson can visit a refugee camp and say that everyone is fine and dandy and happy as Larry living in tents in the desert and pissing into holes in the sand. Carson, of course, should know better, given the fact that he has doubtless had the outsider experience, given his race. I think, however, he's been too long in the bubble and has grown accustomed to and comfortable with the Confederate mindset. He's been adopted by Confederates as one of the "good blacks", like a pet, and he won't do anything that might encourage them put him out in the pen in the yard with the bad dogs.
But for the white guys, those poor victimized heroes, pretty much everything is an assault on their superiority, on the patriarchy, on their manhood, ergo Cruz's pathetically unexamined idea about men and boys being in charge of "getting the rubbers". (I'll bet he was one of those dickheads who kept a rubber in his wallet to show off to the other guys as proof of his studliness. The only problem was the rubber never left the wallet. It became frozen in place like a leather frieze, most young women being savvy enough to avoid misogynistic douchebags who kept rubbers in their wallets in the first place, in case they "got lucky".)
So forget about thinking anyone has it tougher than right-wing white males. But if you do forget, they'll remind you. As often as possible.
Marvin,
Good point about the importance of religion to the anti-science movement. Even Bill O'Reilly thinks tidal activity is one of the Mysteries of the Church. "Who can explain it?"
Honestly, that one still throws me. It's an appallingly eye-rolling revelation into the infantile mindset of one of the giants of the Confederacy.
Shameful "Journalism" Chapter XXX
So this morning I'm halfway listening to an interview Charlie Rose is conducting with Hillary Clinton on the CBS morning show. He tries to corner her into a "both-sides" trap, laying the blame for much of America's difficulties on "Washington", meaning, of course, both sides.
Hillary, as she should have, refused to bite. She reminded Rose that intransigence was on one side of the fence only. I don't have the exact quote, but it went something like this:
"No, Charlie, what we have is a minority group in one party which doesn't believe in compromise, doesn't believe in reaching a consensus..."
At this point Rose interrupted her (as he so often does) and blurted out "Now you're attacking them! That's not the way to do it!"
This is what we've come to? Telling the truth is the same as attacking the other side? Naturally Republicans believe this to be the case. They're like paranoid schizophrenics who live in their own warped universe. Any attempt to pull them out of it will be met with venomous hostility and even violence. They simply cannot handle being told the truth. Thus we have Ted Cruz dreaming up ridiculous alternate explanations for the actions of the Planned Parenthood murderer. He's not a right-wing fanatic who has been sautéed in hate and basted in violent rhetoric. He's a left wing transgendered person, natch.
But for Charlie Rose, or anyone who considers themselves a member of the legitimate press, to interpret a statement of truth as an attack is repulsive. I'm sure Rose was doing what most MSM stars do, trying to rescue the other side, no matter what (but now that I think of it, how often have you seen one of them beard Republicans about their positions by invoking an opposing view?), creating false equivalencies so as not to appear partisan. But since when is truth a partisan quality?
I've enjoyed some of Charlie Rose's work over the years, despite his annoying habits of talking over his guests and answering his own questions. And although it might be fine in an interview show to take the opposite tack as a spur for opening up the conversation, in a hard news interview like this, characterizing a true statement as an attack simply delegitimizes his entire position and presents a view of things that is distorted and dishonest.
And shameful.
As long as most institutions in the country rest power in the hands of white males, the idiot ramblings of Cruz, Trump, Carson, et al will be presented with some semblance of legitimacy. They're desperately holding on and they receive enormous help from media. The upside is women are becoming harder to control and the numbers of minorities are rising. At some point, the fear of moving away from the status quo will dissipate.
@Marie I'm with you on the Dr. rant. By choice, mostly I communicate by email and lab tests. Once, I was attacked by an overzealous podiatrist wielding a scalpel and aiming it at my severely infected big toe sans any numbing agent. I got some numbing agent after I yelled "what the F are you doing" I also demanded 2-3 pain pills post procedure. I was complimented on the fact that I remained very still as "we thought you were going to be a problem."
I've always thought if a penis was subject to the same flattening as a breast during a mammogram, there'd be a whole different procedure.
Akhileus: I couldn't agree more with your post about shameful journalism. One of my personal grievances at the moment concerns the numerous times establishment journalists allow the terms "selling baby parts" in connection with PP to pass unchallenged. Ugh!
What part of what Hillary said was wrong? Everyone knows that's what's going on, including the perpetrators who often proclaim it's their way or the highway. Charlie Rose doesn't sound too bright.
I've been thinking about Carly Liarina's pithy quote from last Sunday morning when she basically blamed Planned Parenthood for the murderous rampage at a Colorado clinic.
“This is so typical of the left to immediately begin demonizing the messenger because they don’t agree with your message,”
Here's the problem with this statement: if the message is "We control your bodies, American women, don't even think of getting in our way because you could be shot and killed. Your doctor too. And anyone you brought along. So don't get any ideas" then how is it possible that you would feel kindly and welcoming toward the messenger. "Oh, you're gonna shoot me if I don't go along with you? Oh well, never mind then. C'mon in, have some pie."
Another way to think of it is that Liarina meant that the messenger was Robert Dear, and the message he carried from the right was "Die, dirty sluts!" Well, that's a pretty anodyne message, right? Why all the fuss? Stupid liberals, always with the demonizing.
Oh, and by the way, it's not like "the left" just suddenly realized what that message was; we've been pretty clear about it for a long time, and about those, like Liarina, who promote hatred and violence against any who "don't agree" with their message.
So here, in a nutshell are the messages from either side:
Left: We want to be left alone so we can make decisions about our own lives.
Right: Then we will kill you.
Now tell me again about demons?
Priorities.
Newly elected Speaker of the House, Paul (Lyin') Ryan has a lot on his plate. Brain eating zombie wingers clutching for control of his party, a House in disarray populated by clowns who think pounding on the table and screaming is "legislation", another impending shut down of the government, prompted by his side, not to mention his stated goal of restructuring how the House works by decentralizing its operation, per demands from the above mentioned clowns.
A lot to think about.
So what's foremost on his mind?
Frivolous inanity.
"Hey kids, guess what? I'm the first speaker in over a hundred years to have a beard! Whoopee and hurray for me!"
Except he's not. Even when he's being frivolous and immature, he's wrong. He can't even be accurate about the stupid. A fraud forever. I suppose it goes along with his first official act as speaker. Adding several hundred new mirrors to the corridors of the House, the better for him to admire himself as he hippity-hops to the chamber.
The country can wait. I'll be workin' on my manscaping.
I live in Chicago. I'm not ready to toss out Rahm until I know who will take his place. We have enormous problems here and in the state with schools and finances. We have a terrible Republican governor who will not allow a budget to be passed (now five months late) unless he gets to 'restructure' Illinois governance ala the Scott Walker remake of Wisconsin. That means the death of unions. He would love to see Rahm gone. Chuy is no replacement. He is nice guy but without any particular skills or brains. The rest of the city council is worse.
Plans of sweeping out entire governments make me very nervous. I keep thinking of Iraq. Ousting Saddam was the easy part. The lack of a plan after was an unmitigated disaster. Let's be careful lest we break Chicago.
AK's second link takes one to a Washington Post article entitled "Did Speaker Paul Ryan jump the gun on beard boast?" Forget the history. I'm not sure I would call it a beard yet.
Marie,
Sorry to hear of your recent experience. May I venture a suggestion? For many years, nearly all of my health care providers, including my primary care physician and dentist, have been women. This is a very deliberate choice I've made. I find female doctors more empathetic, patient, better listeners, and less likely to be pedantic know-it-alls.
...and another thing...
To follow up on D.C.'s suggestion, it may be that, in addition to being more empathetic and better listeners, women may be just as know-it-ally as some men, just not as pedantic about it.
You've all probably heard about Marilyn vos Savant, possessor of the world's highest IQ, according to Guinness, a staggering 228 (Crap! she beat me by four stinkin' points!). Some years ago, Marilyn was asked a question about decision making. The issue involved a rather famous logic puzzle called the Monty Hall Problem. Savant answered the question correctly but was roundly discredited by thousands of readers (mostly men it appears) who couldn't get around the fact, apparently, that a woman could figure this out when they couldn't.
She seems to have taken it all in stride. Just imagine Donald Trump being told he was wrong then proven he was wrong before a huge audience.
It would be epic. Or at least another opportunity to lie.
Anyway, it's a short clip. The answer is ridiculously simple when you follow Savant's logic.
Oh, and the most interesting part? This same problem had previously been tackled by a number of other logicians who published their findings in journals and peer reviewed papers. They came up with the same answer she did. No one told them they were wrong. Know why?
They were all men.
So the next time some Confederate asshole starts questioning the ability of Hillary Clinton to figure things out, you know, like a man, just think of Marilyn.
Marie: Just remember, all or most doctors are gods in their own
minds. Doesn't matter if you're male or female or LGBT. They
know what's best and never question it. My revelation happened
when my family doctor of 20 years or so crashed into a boulder
while bicycling and came up with brain damage. No more practice
for him, so now I have a female doctor who I now trust 100% more,
possibly because she's gay friendly and possibly lesbian, but I
actually haven't had the nerve to go there. To be continued, because
my partner's older, white male, republican, homophobic brother is
coming for a short visit so if I don't post tomorrow, call 911.
Marie -
I am truly saddened to learn of your experiences while seeking medical assistance . . . minus the assistance - and the respect - that you are owed.
Depending upon where one lives, what type of insurance (if any!) one has, whether or not a PCP or Specialist accepts one's Medicare or Medicaid, etc etc etc, it can be a veritable mine-field . . . and crapshoot.
Just a few thoughts, on the outside chance that they might serve:
Are you in a position to switch doctors?
Have you friends who might make recommendations if you can?
Do you know one singular physician - past or present - who could refer you to better care?
Would it be helpful to bring a friend or colleague to your appointments, to provide both moral support and, if needed, advocacy & note-taking? (This is something I have arranged for myself, and have reciprocated with friends of mine, whether regarding routine appointments, treatments or during hospitalizations.)
One may be as independent & tough as nails in day-to-day life, but when it comes to our health and matters medical, we are - all of us - vulnerable. And a doctor who practices The Art of Medicine understands that.
As An Aside:
Personally, I've experienced brutal female docs & smart, empathic male physicians (and, yes - men who were total a-holes - "Bye bye, Buster!" - as well as fantastic women).
I so hope some changes - or arrangements - can be made, Marie, so that you will receive the care, support and respect that you deserve.
With best wishes -
Ophelia
I watched the Rachel Maddow clip linked above. I know I am a broken record on the subject of language, but words matter and we always seem to fall into the hole of using winger words. I believe that we should not be referring to Planned Parenthood clinics as abortion clinics, ever. They should be called what they are, health care clinics. They are not even only for women. And doctors should be called doctors, or gynaecologists, etc, not abortion providers. In using winger vocabulary, we just provide target practice.
The answer is Yes! Telling the truth does mean attacking the Right. Democrats are bullied out of telling the truth, but the Wrongs won't be bullied out of telling their lies. That they resort to deceit and violence shows again their disdain for democracy.
I would like to recommend the latest BBC4 Analysis program, which is available as a 28 minute podcast and from the website. Called "Will They Always Hate Us?"
Gloria -
Ditto RE words! / Well said / Thank you.
(gynaecologists = British?) :)
Ophelia