;)
The Commentariat -- Feb. 11, 2016
Afternoon Update:
Matthew Lee of the AP: "The Obama administration opened a two-front campaign on Syria on Thursday with a push to end one war there and step up another. As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry scrambled in Germany to negotiate the timing and conditions for a cease-fire between the Syrian government and moderate rebels, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter was in Belgium trying to rally new support for the fight against the Islamic State group. Meanwhile, the United States and Russia traded allegations over the bombing of civilian areas around the besieged city of Aleppo as fighting there intensified, further fueling fears of a mass exodus of refugees."
Michael Virtanen of the AP: "Morgan Stanley will pay $3.2 billion in a settlement over bank practices that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, including misrepresentations about the value of mortgage-backed securities, authorities announced Thursday. The nationwide settlement, negotiated by the working group appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012, says the bank acknowledges that it increased the acceptable risk levels for mortgage loans pooled and sold to investors without telling them. Loans with material defects were included, packaged into the securities and sold."
The Oregonian is running a liveblog of developments at the Malheur Refuge stand-off. At 12:15 pm ET, it appears the married couple -- Sean & Sandy Anderson -- is surrendering; they have to walk about a half-mile from their hideyhole to the check-point. The page also has an embedded livefeed from KGW-TV.
Why Can't We Get Better Politicians? Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "... emails and marketing documents obtained by The New York Times show the extent to which [Rep. Alan] Grayson's [D.-Fla.] roles as a hedge fund manager and a member of Congress were intertwined, and how he promoted his international travels, some with congressional delegations, to solicit business." Grayson is running for the Senate seat Marco Rubio is vacating. The House Ethics Committee is investigating Grayson's shenanigans. ...
... Roll Call lists Grayson as the 12th-wealthiest member of Congress. The list includes both senators & representatives.
*****
AP: "President Barack Obama returned Wednesday to the Illinois capital where he launched his national political career and appealed for help ridding politics of 'polarization and meanness' that discourage participation in civic life. In an address to the Illinois General Assembly, Obama said he regretted his failure to apply to Washington politics the lessons he had learned about working across the political aisle as a state senator. Changing the tone is possible, he said, but it 'requires citizenship and a sense that we are one." (Also linked yesterday afternoon):
Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation that would impose mandatory sanctions on North Korea, in a bid aimed at forcing the international community to retaliate more strongly against the rogue nation after a series of worrisome moves."
Michael Schmidt & Sewell Chan of the New York Times: "NATO will deploy ships to the Aegean Sea in an attempt to stop smugglers moving migrants from Turkey to Greece, the military alliance's secretary general said on Thursday. The alliance will also enhance its surveillance of the Turkey-Syria border to monitor more closely the flow of migrants and the activities of smugglers, the secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said. Officials emphasized that the patrols would focus on deterring human trafficking, not on stopping refugees from trying to make the journey."
The Feds Have Had Enough of Your Crap
Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "The Department of Justice filed a civil rights lawsuit against Ferguson, Mo., on Wednesday, less than a day after the city rejected an agreement to overhaul its beleaguered criminal justice system and address allegations of widespread abuses by its police department. 'Their decision leaves us no further choice,' Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said at a news conference announcing the suit.... In announcing the Justice Department's move, Ms. Lynch, who has a reputation for delivering impassive and guarded public remarks, was as animated as she has been in nearly a year as attorney general. 'The City of Ferguson had a real opportunity here to step forward, and instead they've turned backwards,' she said. 'They've chosen to live in the past.'"
Les Zaitz of the Oregonian: "Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who touched off one armed showdown with federal authorities and applauded another started in Oregon by his sons, was arrested late Wednesday at Portland International Airport and faces federal charges related to the 2014 standoff at his ranch. Bundy, 74, was booked into the downtown Multnomah County jail at 10:54 p.m. He faces a conspiracy charge to interfere with a federal officer.... He also faces weapons charges." Bundy had intended to go to Burns, Oregon. ...
... Les Zaitz: "The FBI on Wednesday evening moved in on the last four occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, apparently placing armored vehicles around their camp. A friend of occupier David Fry was streaming on YouTube through an open phone line with the occupiers as authorities made what appeared to be a final push to end the 40-day old occupation. Besides David Fry, 27, of Ohio, the encampment includes Jeff Banta of Elko, Nevada, and Sean and Sandy Anderson of Riggins, Idaho." ...
... Update 10 pm PT: "The live stream that broadcast online what appears to be the last stage of the refuge occupation stopped after more than five hours. The phone feed ended as the occupiers headed to their night camp, preparing to surrender Thursday morning. They said they have a promise that the encircling FBI agents would leave them alone overnight." ...
... There's a rebroadcast of yesterday's livefeed here. And this seems like a different, earlier, portion of the livefeed. CW: Listening to a bit of it is riveting, in a sickening way. ...
... Kirk Johnson of the New York Times: "Negotiations were continuing into the evening, the F.B.I. said in a statement, and no shots, they said, had been fired. But in a live phone feed that was streaming on YouTube, with more than 20,000 listener/viewers, the occupiers said they believed the government agents had closed in to kill them. They said that they would not fire their weapons first, but that tear gas would be considered an attack that would justify shooting back."
Presidential Race
PBS is hosting a Democratic debate at 9:00 pm ET. Moderators will be Gwen Ifill & Judy Woodruff. The livestream will be here; the feed will begin at 8:30 pm ET.
Frank Rich on the New Hampshire primaries: "My guess is that these same [establishment] types -- including the opportunistic [Bill] Kristol, no doubt -- will start to shift back into Neville Chamberlain mode and look at the bright side of Trump again." Entertaining. ...
... Charles Pierce has fun reflecting upon the outcomes of the primaries. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Adam Nagourney of the New York Times: "... after Mrs. Clinton's overwhelming defeat in New Hampshire by Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday..., Nevada is looming as a turning point in their increasingly competitive contest, offering critical tests of the two candidates' strengths." ...
... Anne Gearan, et al., of the Washington Post: "The race for the Democratic presidential nomination turned sharply Wednesday into a battle for Hispanic and African American voters, who are expected to play a decisive role in a long list of upcoming contests in Southern and Western states.... Making clear how crucial minority support will be, Sanders's first stop after leaving New Hampshire was in Harlem, where he met Wednesday morning with the Rev. Al Sharpton and Benjamin Jealous, the former head of the NAACP.... With a blast of announcements about endorsements, travel plans and more, the Clinton campaign sought to turn to subjects -- gun control, criminal justice, the water crisis in Flint, Mich. -- that speak to African American and blue-collar voters in the states that vote next." ...
... Susan Davis of NPR: "The morning after his New Hampshire primary victory, Bernie Sanders made a highly publicized visit to Harlem to dine with Al Sharpton, one of America's most prominent civil rights activists and media personalities. The two dined at Sylvia's, the same New York City restaurant where Sharpton huddled with Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign." ...
... CW: Let us not forget this landmark dining moment at Sylvia's. Andrew Ironside of Media Matters (September 2007): "Discussing his recent dinner with Rev. Al Sharpton at the Harlem restaurant Sylvia's, Bill O'Reilly reported that he 'couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship.' O'Reilly added: 'There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, "M-Fer, I want more iced tea."'" With video. I myself have enjoyed Sylvia's fried chicken, served by Sylvia herself, & I completely forgot to scream, "Motherfucker, I want more iced tea." Just shows how white I am. Bernie is from New York. Maybe he better handled the imagined O'Reilly protocol. ...
... "Stop Bernie-splaining to Black Voters." Charles Blow: "Tucked among all [the] Bernie-splaining by some supporters, it appears to me, is a not-so-subtle, not-so-innocuous savior syndrome and paternalistic patronage that I find so grossly offensive that it boggles the mind that such language should emanate from the mouths -- or keyboards -- of supposed progressives. But then I am reminded that the idea that black folks are infantile and must be told what to do and what to think is not confined by ideological barriers. The ideological difference is that one side prefers punishment and the other pity, and neither is a thing in which most black folks delight." ...
... Matea Gold & John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Sen. Bernie Sanders took a few moments in his victory speech Tuesday night to make a small request of his supporters: 'Please help us raise the funds we need, whether it's 10 bucks, 20 bucks, or 50 bucks,' he said. The response was so overwhelming that his website buckled under the traffic. Between the close of polls and mid-afternoon Wednesday, his campaign brought in a record $5.2 million. Sanders is barreling out of New Hampshire in a position few anticipated when he first entered the 2016 White House contest: financially competitive with Hillary Clinton." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Yamiche Alcindor of the New York Times: "Ta-Nehisi Coates, the award-winning writer who has become one of the nation's most influential voices on cultural and political issues, particularly touching on race relations, said Wednesday that he would be voting for Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The decision by Mr. Coates, the recipient of a MacArthur 'genius grant' and ... winner of the National Book Award, came as something of a surprise: Last month, Mr. Coates, author of a widely read 2014 Atlantic essay, 'The Case for Reparations,' wrote two articles sharply criticizing Mr. Sanders over his opposition to reparations for slavery." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... CW: Washington Post Editors criticize Sanders for supposedly proposing a policy they made up out of thin air: "We think forcing working people to subsidize, through their taxes, the college tuition of wealthier Americans is not a progressive policy...." Really? Sanders' free-tuition (for public universities) proposal, which he repeats ad nauseum, & which appears on his Website, "... is fully paid for by imposing a tax of a fraction of a percent on Wall Street speculators who nearly destroyed the economy seven years ago." No wonder the WashPo editors don't like Sanders; I don't like the policies they pretend he's proposed, either. They should issue a correction, but they won't. ...
... Nick Gass of Politico: "President Barack Obama will not endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary, but there is no doubt where he is leaning, according to former White House press secretary Jay Carney. 'I think the president has signaled while still remaining neutral that he supports Secretary Clinton's candidacy and who prefer to see her as the nominee,' Carney said on CNN Wednesday following coverage of the president's speech to the Illinois state Senate in Springfield." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
Annie Karni of Politico: "As she looks toward the more diverse March states, [Hillary] Clinton is putting a new focus on race. The first salvo came Wednesday, when African-American elected officials and civil rights leaders supporting her campaign participated in a conference call to raise questions about Sanders' record on gun violence and criminal justice reform.... On a conference call with African-American surrogates for Hillary Clinton, civil rights leader and former NAACP president Hazel Dukes dismissed the significance of Bernie Sanders' participation in the March on Washington in 1963.... New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on the call that ... 'When you match up the record of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, there simply is no comparison.... She's been at the dance from the beginning of her career.' In contrast, 'Sanders has been missing in action on issues of importance to the African American community,' Jeffries said, characterizing him as 'a new arrival to the dance ... at the twilight of his career.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "On Thursday morning, the [Congressional Black Caucus's] leaders said they will appear at a club adjacent to the Democratic National Committee to formally endorse Clinton for president, through the CBC political action committee. The group will then disperse its African-American lawmakers to states where black voters are crucial, particularly in South Carolina's Democratic primary on Feb. 27." ...
... Susan Page of USA Today: "Rep. Jim Clyburn, the most influential Democratic officeholder in South Carolina, says he'll 'huddle' with his family to decide this weekend whether to make an endorsement in the presidential race -- a move that could help shape the race in a state Hillary Clinton's campaign views as a crucial firewall." Page's interview of Clyburn, which accompanies the story, is worth hearing. He's a mightily talented politician. ...
Contributor Nancy points to a post Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone wrote last week in which he asserts that Bill & Hillary Clinton have gone over to "the other side of the ropeline"; that is, they're one with Wall Street. Taibbi backs up his assertion with anecdotal evidence.
... ** Michelle Alexander of the Nation: "... Hillary Clinton Doesn't Deserve the Black Vote. From the crime bill to welfare reform, policies Bill Clinton enacted -- and Hillary Clinton supported -- decimated black America.... [President Bill Clinton] capitulated entirely to the right-wing backlash against the civil-rights movement and embraced former president Ronald Reagan's agenda on race, crime, welfare, and taxes -- ultimately doing more harm to black communities than Reagan ever did.... By the end of Clinton's presidency, more than half of working-age African-American men in many large urban areas were saddled with criminal records and subject to legalized discrimination in employment, housing, access to education, and basic public benefits -- relegated to a permanent second-class status eerily reminiscent of Jim Crow....If you listen closely here, you'll notice that Hillary Clinton is still singing the same old tune in a slightly different key." CW: I think Anderson somewhat overstates her case, but it is nonetheless a strong case. ...
... Gail Collins: "If the younger voters who are flocking to Bernie Sanders don't share their elders' intense feelings about needing to elect a woman president right now, it's partly because Hillary Clinton helped create a different world. So no matter what comes next, everybody's a winner." ...
... CW: Steve Kornacki of MSNBC is too polite to say so, but in his comparison of the demographics of the 2008 & 2016 New Hampshire Democratic primaries, one can see how Democrats vote when their racism isn't showing. We had a brief discussion in yesterday's Comments about whether or not Sanders' Jewish heritage could be a factor in a general election. I thought maybe not so much, but the New Hampshire results make me think that the nearly-even Clinton/Sanders split in the Iowa Democratic caucuses did indeed reflect a religious/ethnic bias. In the Iowa exit poll interviews, Clinton beat Sanders as the candidate who most closely "shared my values." That certainly sounds like code for "Christian!" ...
... P.S. It occurs to me that religion may play a role in the minority vote, too: both black & Latino voters have, on the whole, strong Christian affiliations. As Greg Sargent points out this morning, "... the Clinton campaign is aggressively pursuing a strategy that depends in part on the support of influential black pastors, an approach Bill Clinton relied on in 1992." ...
... Benjamin Wallace-Wells of the New Yorker: "... in New Hampshire, the rare demographic group [Clinton] won was those with incomes of more than two hundred thousand dollars a year. For now, at least, Clinton has become the wine-track candidate." CW: If that's how the cookie crumbles as the campaigns move forward, Clinton would be going into the general election as the candidate of the rich; obviously that's ironic in view of the policies of whoever her opponent might be. ...
... ** Robert Parry of Common Dreams provides a very useful shortcourse on the history of Democratic primary battles. Bottom line, especially when read alongside Martin Longman's post, linked below: we the people are screwed. ...
... The Establishment's Votes Count Way More than Yours. Martin Longman of the Washington Monthly gets real: "As of right now, with 92% of the vote reporting, Bernie Sanders is projected to have won 13 delegates from New Hampshire. Hillary Clinton is projected to have won nine. There are still two delegates left to be allocated.... But ... even winning 60% of the vote, he barely scratched the surface of Clinton's lead, which thanks to superdelegates currently stands at 394-42. The same proportional rules that make it impossible for Clinton to put Sanders away also make it nearly impossible for Sanders to overcome a 350 delegate deficit."
Anthony Gaughan, in the Raw Story: "Above all, the fact that a socialist won the New Hampshire Democratic primary and a billionaire won the GOP primary demonstrates that the two parties are headed in profoundly different directions. Polarization is shaping the 2016 presidential campaign in unpredictable ways as Americans grow ever more divided."
Ed O'Keefe, et al., of the Washington Post: South Carolina, "a state known for its nasty political brawls, is about to host an epic one, pitting a foul-mouthed celebrity billionaire against a band of senators and governors scrapping to challenge him. The Republican presidential candidates arrived here Wednesday ready for 10 days of combat.... Since Tuesday's New Hampshire primary failed to deliver much certainty, the Palmetto State's GOP primary on Feb. 20 could prove determinative for a trio of candidates vying to become the GOP establishment's consensus alternative to front-runner Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas." ...
... Digby, in Salon: "... it's a good bet that the GOP race is going to come down to either an authoritarian white nationalist or a far-right zealot. And the authoritarian white nationalist, the man who has convinced over two thirds of Republicans in New Hampshire that we need to ban Muslims from America, is the most likely winner. This is no longer a bizarre spectacle. It's a horror movie." ...
... Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker: "... New Hampshire’s failure to sweep away the also-rans dramatically increases the odds that the Republican nomination process will end with Trump as the G.O.P. nominee.... No Republican candidate who has won a gold and a silver in the first two states has ever lost the G.O.P. nomination.... As long as Cruz, Kasich, Bush, and Rubio stay in, they will divide a sizable chunk of the vote that could be consolidated against Trump, and Trump will be able to collect delegates with his thirty- to forty-per-cent share." ...
... Jonathan Chait: "Among those shocked by Donald Trump's runaway victory in the New Hampshire primary was Eric Cantor, who had just a few weeks before made a bet that Trump would fail to win a single primary. The experience of being shocked should not come as a shock to Cantor. In 2010, Cantor invested some $15,000 in a fund that bet on higher inflation, which was widely predicted by conservatives at the time but utterly failed to come about. In 2014, he lost his primary despite internal polling that showed him 34 points ahead, and admitted he was 'absolutely' shocked by the defeat.... People who want to bet their money on Cantor's ability to see the future" can find him at his investment firm, advising wealthy people on what the future holds. CW: Love the accompanying photo of Cantor, adjusting his glasses in such a way as to remind potential investors that he is (a) a very smart guy (b) who can see into the future. My dart board would be a better advisor on picking stocks & bonds. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Steve Peoples of the AP: "The best hope of the Republican establishment just a week ago, Marco Rubio suddenly faces a path to his party's presidential nomination that could require a brokered national convention. That's according to Rubio's campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, who told The Associated Press that this week's disappointing performance in New Hampshire will extend the Republican nomination fight for another three months, if not longer." ...
... Marco Marco Marco Knew Christie Was on the Attack. Jeremy Peters & Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "Mr. Christie had not just telegraphed the coming attack, he directly forewarned Mr. Rubio backstage on Saturday night as the two men waited for their names to be called by the ABC News moderators. 'I understand I am going to have a hard time tonight,' Mr. Rubio playfully told Mr. Christie. 'Yes, you are,' Mr. Christie replied, according to three people to whom he recounted the conversation. Todd Harris, a senior Rubio adviser, called the conversation 'completely fabricated.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... BUT Now Marco Marco Marco Is "Funny, Unscripted & Human." Jeremy Peters: "Senator Marco Rubio of Florida ... took questions from reporters aboard his charter flight to South Carolina for nearly 45 minutes.... As he spoke, he made it clear that he was entering a new phase of his campaign, one less burdened by the caution and message discipline that have made him seem mechanical and scripted at times." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... "Control-Alt-Delete." Michael Crowley of Politico: "... the freewheeling Rubio who appeared for reporters on his campaign plane was gone once he disembarked and walked in front of voters in South Carolina. Rubio stuck to his standard script at two events. (He skipped a third event to return to Washington for a Senate vote on North Korea sanctions and, he said, to catch up on classified briefings.)... It was unclear whether the charge that Rubio is robotic would dog him here (although two young men in cardboard 'Marco Roboto' costumes posed for photos outside his first event)."
CW: Dana Milbank makes a point I mentioned yesterday: Jeb!'s prospects aren't necessarily dead: "Only in the bizarre world of politics would Bush's fourth-place finish in New Hampshire be considered good news: His millions of dollars got him only 31,160 votes, or 11 percent of the total. But considering that Bush was ready for embalming before Tuesday night, the notion that Jeb is not dead is noteworthy. At the very least, he lives to be awkward another day.... Republicans, at least until the age of Trump, have shown a tendency to select the most obvious candidate after exhausting all other possibilities. For better or worse, that would be Jeb." Milbank writes that Bush is now totally energized & suddenly comfortable in his [WASPy white establishment] skin. ...
... David Korn of Mother Jones: "South Carolina has a history of below-the-belt politics, and the Bush family has been part of that. (See the 2000 GOP primary campaign, when the George W. Bush camp slimed John McCain to defeat.) The Bush clan knows how to get dirty in South Carolina. Regardless of what happens with Trump and Cruz, a Bush-Kasich brawl could well be the main event."
Alexander Burns & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a once-commanding figure in the Republican Party who struggled to attract support for his presidential campaign but unsettled the race with his strident attacks on Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, ended his run for the White House on Wednesday. The decision came a day after Mr. Christie came in sixth in the New Hampshire primary, an embarrassing result after he had focused the bulk of his campaign's efforts on the state. He was also facing the prospect of being left out of the group that will take the stage at the Republican debate on Saturday because of his poor showings in the Iowa caucuses last week and in New Hampshire on Tuesday." ...
... Matt Arco & Claude Brodesser-Akner of the Star-Ledger list "25 reasons Chris Christie's presidential campaign tanked." CW: P.S. Welcome home, Gov. Chrisco. ...
...Bradford Richardson of the Hill: "... Donald Trump says fellow GOP primary candidate Chris Christie called him after Tuesday night's New Hampshire primary to have a 'long talk.' Asked whether he would seek Christie's endorsement if the New Jersey governor drops out of the race, Trump praised Christie for his performance at last week's GOP primary debate. 'I think that Chris did an amazing job in terms of the debate, as a prosecutor, and he's a friend of mine, Trump said early Wednesday on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'" ...
... Anne Laurie of Balloon Juice: "Fortunately, by shivving Rubio so effectively, [Christie] should've guaranteed himself a nice cushy schedule of private planes and high-dollar hotel rooms while backing up either Trump or Jeb for the next few months." CW: As you may recall, Christie has a long history of partaking of luxury travel & accommodations paid for by others (including taxpayers). He'd be in his element in one of Trump's 24-karat-gold-plated private jet(s):
... Given all that, I don't see how poor Jeb!, with his cheesy rent-a-planes has a shot at a Christie endorsement.
... P.S. When our lovely hostess tour guide refers to a "dive-in," she means "divan" (dəˈvan).
Daniel Strauss of Politico: "... Carly Fiorina dropped out of the 2016 [presidential] contest on Wednesday, ending a campaign that failed to enlist enough support despite Republican voters' clear preference for a Washington outsider this cycle. I've said throughout this campaign that I will not sit down and be quiet. I'm not going to start now,' the former Hewlett-Packard CEO said in a statement. 'While I suspend my candidacy today, I will continue to travel this country and fight for those Americans who refuse to settle for the way things are and a status quo that no longer works for them.'" CW: With any luck, the media won't cover her travels & fights. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Driftglass Welcomes Michael Bloomberg: "... who better to step in out of the Beltway pundit's magic Centrist unicorn dreams and into the race... Who better to dump another shit-ton of money into a race already choking on the fumes of burning piles of cash...Who better to grab both the unruly anti-Wall Street Democrats and the unhinged, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant wingnut rabble by the scruff of the neck and tell them all to STFU and fall in line... than yet another New York billionaire!" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
Donna St. George, et al., of the Washington Post: "An investigation into child pornography at a Prince George's County[, Maryland,] school broadened Wednesday as officials interviewed more than two dozen families, placed the principal on leave and examined whether any policies on reporting child abuse were breached. But officials offered few new details about how an unpaid library volunteer in suburban Maryland allegedly managed to make videos of children performing sex acts on school grounds during school hours.... Deonte Carraway, 22, of Glenarden has been charged with 10 counts of felony child pornography and related charges. He has admitted creating the videos, in which he sometimes can be seen or heard directing children between 9 and 13 years old to perform various sexual acts, police said." CW: Words fail me.
Marcus Gilmer of Mashable: "The City of Cleveland has filed a claim against the estate of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2014. It asks for for $500 to cover 'ambulance advance life support' and other medical expenses, including mileage, related to Rice's ride to the hospital the day he was shot."
Tony Barboza & Dan Weikel of the Los Angeles Times: "The California Coastal Commission fired its executive director Wednesday -- a decision made despite an overwhelming show of public support for the land use agency's top official. The panel disclosed that it voted 7 to 5 in a private session to dismiss Charles Lester, touching off an emotional scene unique in the agency's 44-year history."
News Lede
AP: "Sirhan Sirhan was denied parole Wednesday for fatally shooting Robert F. Kennedy after a confidante of the slain senator who was shot in the head forgave him and repeatedly apologized for not doing more to win his release. Paul Schrade's voice cracked with emotion during an hour of testimony on his efforts to untangle mysteries about the events of June 5, 1968. The 91-year-old former labor leader said he believed Sirhan shot him but that a second unidentified shooter felled Kennedy."
Share Article
Reader Comments (18)
Ezra Klein nails the horror that is Donald Trump in a piece entitled The Rise of Donald Trump is a Terrifying Moment in American Politics.
"Trump is the most dangerous major candidate for president in memory. He pairs terrible ideas with an alarming temperament; he's a racist, a sexist, and a demagogue, but he's also a narcissist, a bully, and a dilettante. He lies so constantly and so fluently that it's hard to know if he even realizes he's lying."
We should all be very scared, as it increasingly appears Trump has a clear path to the Republican nomination.
All the more reason for Democrats to treat both of our fine candidates for the nomination with respect, and not give Republicans more fodder for the general election.
I see the merits of both Clinton and Sanders, but if I were giving advice to Hillary Clinton on changing her campaign strategy, it would be to keep Bill Clinton as far away from her campaign as possible. In hindsight, Bill Clinton screwed us all (no Lewinsky pun intended, please) and I wish I'd never voted for him. This piece from Matt Taibbi is a food for thought. Hillary is of the same cloth, I fear.
Re the last story posted: since when do victims get sued?? This seems to be a new trend, as there was another story like this a couple of days ago. Doesn't it all fit in to the inability of authoritarian types to take responsibility for their own actions?? Will wonders never cease...
Speaking of authoritarians, it was jaw-dropping to listen in to the live feed from the Oregon refuge last night. Those people's brains don't work like most-- the talk was about "liberty" and the federal government taking guns and the "thousands" of people listening in who were sympathetic to their "cause," whatever that was... Coming to their rescue would be Franklin Graham and Michele Fiore, whose name we know from discussion about the Nevada Bundy standoff. They were also propped up by a media guy located somewhere else, and he was quite smooth and oily, offering a lot of prayers and bible reading along with sympathy for their "plight--" brought on entirely by themselves, of course. Good god. Fringe elements with a large platform now-- the mind, it boggles-- Good news, however, that the Feds have been playing a long game and intercepted Cliven, finally--
I am increasingly thinking that a contest between Clinton & Trump would be a disaster: Trump would inspire every crazy to come out from under the rocks to vote, & his vague promises could peel off a huge chunk of the working-class vote. Meanwhile, Hillary wouldn't much inspire anybody but Madeleine Albright, & voter turnout among Democratic-leaners would be low. A contest between a billionaire & a multi-millionaire might cause millions of people to just turn the whole thing off.
On the other hand, a Trump-Sanders match-up is a real roll of the dice. Bernie, who is not wealthy (tho he's richer than most voters, as are most members of Congress), would of course frame it as us against the billionaires, but would anyone listen? Maybe they'd rather have a leader who declares he would "bomb the shit out of" ISIS & "build a beautiful wall" at Mexico's expense.
There are millions of voters who, even if they don't know anything about the details, sort of intuit who's on their side, but there are millions of voters who are dumb as posts, too.
Marie
@VictoriaD...Good link. Good take on the danger of Drumpf.
How is it he gets away so much? Sitting back in the armchair and musing over the what and Huh!? of his surge...can't help wondering WHEN the dirt will start to emerge? Slow leaks? Massive breaking story? Imagine in certain power circles that Trump is detested & disliked to a high degree. Are these people waiting for a 'right' moment to bring him down? Let the cocky one crow a while...and, then BAM, drop the ax? Not only do I wonder WHO his NYC enemies are, but sometimes other than his fan base of riled up dupes, WHO are his friends? Not the sycophants who likely surround him, but those personal relationship that most of us would consider indicative of 'real' friends?
Verrr-rr-ry interesting!
Marie:
I agree with your comment. I'm betting that since the dumb-as-posts brought us Cruz and Rubio and our current congress, they'll deliver our next President Trump. Frightening, when you realize this may actually happen.
Victoria D, the Klein piece is very good but my frustration is the statement "He lies so constantly and so fluently that it's hard to know if he even realizes he's lying.". When is the media going to get it. I have said this many times before, Trump is seriously mentally ill. He does not lie because he has no clue what the truth is. Anything that comes out of his mouth is the truth. There are no facts, just 'trumps'.
So lets go to medicine. This is the DSM IV official definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder:
Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements).
Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.
Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).
Requires excessive admiration.
Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations.
Is inter-personally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends.
Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.
Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.
Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.
Does this look familiar?
"If the younger voters who are flocking to Bernie Sanders don’t share their elders’ intense feelings about needing to elect a woman president right now, it’s partly because Hillary Clinton helped create a different world. So no matter what comes next, everybody’s a winner." (Collins)
Gail nails it. We women of a certain age know what it was like to have to fight for our day in the sun, for our place at the table and may I add damn close to the salt! And we are still having to do much of that today, and even though younger women's roads have been paved, there still are some bumps. Years ago –-during the sixties, I was complaining to a colleague of mine who was also a close friend, an older black woman, telling her about an incident where I felt I was not being taken seriously by a male colleague. "Oh, shit girl," she said, "Sit your pretty white ass down and listen to me." She told me the struggle of the black woman each and every day––that the white women's fight for equality was fine and necessary, but black women's fight was for survival. Big difference, she said. And within all that fighting there builds up a hard core of determination coupled with a fury that's always there–-bubbling like a slow simmer that just might boil over.
I listen to so many political pundits parse Hillary's messages–-"she needs to do..." "If she were only more..." "she isn't reaching.." and I wonder why when she is the one who tells the voters HOW she is going to do thus and so and gets into the weeds which she is then criticized for–- too much prose and not enough poetry. Poetry??? You know who gave us a shit load of poetry? Ronald Reagan. So if the voters want more of that I'd say use Collin's last sentence––if that isn't poetic, I don't know what is.
@Victoria: I agree–-with you and Ezra. This is no longer a fun and games kind of situation. The prospect of Trump rising higher than his tower is not only frightening, but infuriating. Yet––given the rest of the GOP candidates––the next one is almost as bad as the last.
I would like to say it isn't so, but this is America and only in America...could we imagine a pre-eminent huckster as President.
No surprise, I guess, when you could make the case that the American Dream that has long been our best-selling product is 99% pure snake oil. And our politics have already provided large hints.
Freedom? Equality? Opportunity? Always in much more limited and in much shorter supply than advertised.
But gobs of cash for those eager and able to sell a faulty product to a credulous public (goat glands, the early 20th C. Viagra come to mind)? We happily hand over those bags of cash time and again for nothing more than a promise and a dream.
Should we have a Trumpet as President, I will think of Ronald Reagan, a shamelessly successful snake oil salesman himself, as Trump's John the Baptist, leading the way.
Trump is Reagan without the charm.
On another matter: watched some of the hearing yesterday with Janet Yellen being grilled––rudely, I may add––and apropos of women getting their due, I have witnessed that our legislators are much harsher toward females than when grilling males––but maybe I'm just being sensitive–-you know, that female trait we all have. Ha! Anyway––the Fed policy has been a point of contention even in the presidential campaign––Bernie's scathing op-ed in the Times––and wasn't it Bernie that confronted Greenspan? Seems to me Marie had that video for us.
Janet held her own––talk about having to be stoic––no tears, no anger displayed–-very professional she was. This is a tough business.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/10/yellen-global-slowdown-market-turmoil-could-weigh-on-u-s-economy/
Another entry in the lengthy gallery of smart people doing stupid things.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/us/politics/alan-graysons-double-life-congressman-and-hedge-fund-manager.html.
Brings to mind the old question, still begging for a good answer, (tho' Marvin may have nailed it in his post above):
What's the matter with these people?
It is simply mind boggling that cops could kill your 12 year old and then you could become a criminal for not paying the ambulance bill. Wow! To think this exploitation of people of color is as regular as the sunrise is amazing. I guess compassion and empathy are born and nurtured every single otherwise they are lost.
I'm still aghast at that, Citizen... I seem to remember that a couple who lost their daughter at the shooting in Aurora is also being sued...I guess I missed the boat stating that it is a trend. It has probably gone on longer than I thought, but I - am - still - aghast. Seems so uncivilized, but hey, so is mass murder and cop-on-black murder. Why am I surprised?
We out on the NorCal coast are more than saddened by the ouster of Charles Lester from the Coastal Commission, but view it as a sell-out by pseudoenvionmentalist Gov. Brown, who appointed four of the members that all voted to fire. He's not doing so well on water and petroleum either. Underscores the toxic legacy of privatization of resources, including land, and especially watershed land, with which our Founding Fathers saddled us. So the pseudolib vulgarians, will continue to exercise their "right" to defile our shrinking coastline with their 10,000 sq ft second or third houses on their 10 acre preserves. Oh, well, we're just catching up.
For any RCers that can bear hearing how bad it all is, and don't mind feeling guilty sipping that glass of California pinot noir or putting up redwood trim on the house, superb journalist Will Parrish (easy to find via Google) has written the book on the rape of California by welfare barons.
Whyte,
Yes, it is sad.
The CA coast is one of America's most extraordinary natural glories. My wife, and SF girl, and I honeymooned (a friend had given us $100) at and around Pt. Reyes, an area that to my mind sets the standard. Fortunately, Pt. Ryes and other coastline stretches are protected....for now.
When we bicycled the Outer Banks in North Carolina a few years back, the miles of ugly shoreline development that blocked our view of the Atlantic was in such stark contrast to much of the West Coast, we still haven't recovered from the shock.
People like to say that CA anticipates America's future, that things happen in CA first. As you say, this time CA is just catching up to the low standards set by a culture where everything is for sale.
To Whyte Owen Re Will Parrish -
Thank you for "introducing" me to Will Parrish. Forgive my ignorance, but I had known nothing of/about him.
Just finished one article (of many) from the Internet . . how Parrish is being fined nearly 1/2 million bucks and faces an 8-year prison sentence for his activism.
I spent some glorious time - *many* years ago - as a dancer/student at the U of Santa Cruz (apparently Parrish graduated from there: Oh, those redwood forests & untouched quarries! And that mystical fog rolling in at nighttime & folding back on itself at dawn! I fell in love with your magnificent NoCal coastline, and inlands. Is it any wonder that Ansel Adams aimed his cameras there?
Will continue reading, with interest (and outrage), more about Parrish and what's happening in/to your neck of the woods.
Parrish has written many articles on water, vineyards and logging, all thorough and footnoted. His sentence and fine, recently set aside by judgements, were for interfering with destruction of a wetland and oak grove to build gratuitous bypass around Willits; haha if you've ever seen Willits. The destruction proceeded. Here's something else that concerns us wherever, and to which Parrish was a contributor.
Ken, went to grad school at Carolina ('72) and even then the coast was choked with vacation homes. Then there's Atlantic City.
As a spin-off from my thoughts of yesterday (Bernie Sanders' background), re-introduced today by Marie's link to Steve Kornacki's piece, her own commentary and the exit poll results of interviewees' "shared values", I'm posting the following from January's Daily Beast: I find (IMO) that it says/explains a lot. And reinforces my views concerning Sanders' non-Christian status.
"What Kind of Jew Is Bernie Sanders?" The Daily Beast
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/31/what-kind-of-jew-is-bernie-sanders.html