;)
The Commentariat -- Feb. 12, 2016
Afternoon Update:
This is going to create unprecedented turmoil in the Republic presidential race: Jim Gilmore just suspended his campaign.
Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "Despite big advances in medicine, technology and education, the longevity gap between high-income and low-income Americans has been widening sharply.... The causes are still being investigated, but public health researchers say that deep declines in smoking among the affluent and educated may partly explain the difference.... Limited access to health care accounts for surprisingly few premature deaths in America, researchers have found.... The growing longevity gap means that benefits like Social Security are paid out even more disproportionately to the better-off, because they are around for more years to collect them."
By her own account, Hillary Clinton & Henry Kissinger were best buds, & she relied on him for policy advice. Amy Chosick of the New York Times reports.
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The anti-tax group Club for Growth is beginning a $1.5 million advertising buy against Donald J. Trump in South Carolina, with a kitchen-sink-style spot that describes the real estate developer as a fake":
Nick Miroff & Brian Murphy of the Washington Post: "Pope Francis landed [in Havana, Cuba,] Friday for an unprecedented encounter with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a meeting that bridged a nearly 1,000-year rift in Christianity but whose focus was expected to be the current turmoil in the Middle East. The brief talks between the pontiff and Patriarch Kirill -- as they crossed paths at Havana's airport -- marked the first meeting between the religious leaders of the Vatican and Moscow since an 11th century Christian schism over papal authority and other disputes."
Presidential Race
When Debbie Was Right & I Was Wrong. ...
... The Bickersons. Amy Chozick & Patrick Healy of the New York Times: "Hillary Clinton ... repeatedly challenged the trillion-dollar policy plans of Bernie Sanders at their presidential debate on Thursday night and portrayed him as a big talker who needed to 'level' with voters about the difficulty of accomplishing his agenda.... Mrs. Clinton pounced from the start, after Mr. Sanders demurred in saying how much his proposals would increase the size of the federal government." ...
... Obama Obama Obama. Evan Halper & Michael Memoli of the Los Angeles Times: "Hillary Clinton sought to reboot her candidacy in a nationally televised Democratic debate Thursday night by closely aligning herself with President Obama and charging that her opponent is running on a one-note agenda. A calm, measured Clinton mentioned Obama's name 21 times during the two-hour debate. She chastised Sen. Bernie Sanders for criticizing Obama in language she said a Republican might use. And she tried to move past the Wall Street ties that have become the albatross of her campaign by warning voters that cleaning up campaign finance alone won't fix the country." ...
... Brian Beutler: "... in the debate's closing moments, Hillary Clinton sharpened one of her most promising -- yet fraught -- appeals to the Democratic base. Clinton frequently portrays herself as President Obama's natural heir. On Thursday night, for the first time, she effectively portrayed Bernie Sanders as one of President Obama's most inconstant allies." ...
... John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "Time and again across a long, and occasionally tetchy, evening, Clinton sought to use the President as a shield to guard against Sanders's blows, and as a sword with which to try and wound her opponent. At one point, she even accused Sanders of echoing Republican attacks on Obama -- a claim that prompted Sanders to reply, Madame Secretary, that is a low blow.' Indeed it was. But these are low days for the Clinton campaign -- and the race is now headed to Nevada and South Carolina, two states with a lot of minority voters, a group that thinks very highly of Obama." ...
... Jim Newell of Slate: "I am right now listening to the CNN post-debate commentary, and analyst Gloria Borger is describing this tactic as one the Clinton campaign considers 'helpful for South Carolina.' Oh? What she's trying to say is: The Clinton campaign is talking so much about how great Obama is, and how mean Sanders is to Obama, because there are a lot of black voters in South Carolina. It is the most amusingly obvious campaign tactic since, say, Wednesday morning, when Sanders for whatever reason decided to meet with Al Sharpton in Harlem the day after the New Hampshire primary." ...
... David Graham of the Atlantic: "Henry Kissinger ... was the subject of the biggest fireworks of Thursday night's debate in Milwaukee, which came after some 75 minutes of a mostly earnest, dry debate.... 'I am proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend,' Sanders declared, referring to Clinton's praise for the former secretary of state during the last debate. Suddenly, all hell broke loose. In a surreal spectacle, Clinton -- a child of the 1960s campus left and a leader of the nation's liberal party -- defended Kissinger, once a bogeyman to the Democratic Party. She tried to turn the argument back on Sanders, noting that he hadn’t managed to name who his own foreign-policy advisers are. He was ready: 'It ain't Henry Kissinger,' he replied." ...
... Fred Kaplan of Slate: "There is no question, Clinton jumps hoops over Sanders when it comes to foreign policy. Where he is eloquent on most other subjects, he's clearly sweating when the debates turn to the world outside our borders. Hence his constant retreat to the 2002 vote on Iraq and now her presumed guilt by association for secret decisions made between 1969 and 1972. Nonetheless, Clinton really should stop quoting the likes of Kissinger...." ...
... Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Facing off against Senator Bernie Sanders on Thursday night, Hillary Clinton did not comport herself like someone who had just suffered a landslide loss in New Hampshire. She did not raise her voice or express anger. She did not demonize Mr. Sanders or suggest he would be a dangerous choice for Democrats. She remained calm as he pungently sought to highlight their differences." ...
... CW: I agree. I didn't watch much of the debate, but I did get the impression that in her delivery, Hillary followed the advice of Reality Chex contributors. Now let's see if we can get Bernie to modulate the volume. Drop the Howard Beale impression, Bernie. Remember, the Beale character was crazy. We've heard you speak in conversational tones. You can do it. And we can hear you when you do.
... Jim Newell: During the debate, Hillary Clinton claimed she had nothing to do with & no knowledge of the superPACs that support her, & she repeatedly mentioned that superPACs supported our beloved President Obama, too. "The idea that there was Hillary Clinton just settin' up the ol' presidential campaign when along came this super PAC, unbeknownst to her, that decided to collect money on her behalf just for its own sake is risible. Support from Priorities USA, among other super PACs, was very much an effort on behalf of Clinton's team to get her elected. Clinton has even helped solicit donations for Priorities." ...
... Greg Sargent: At last night's debate, Hillary Clinton opened a new front of sorts against Bernie Sanders when she made this closing argument." Sargent points to the strategic implications of Clinton's argument. CW: I don't think anyone, including Sanders, would disagree that many of the country's systemic problems have little or nothing to do with big banks & fatcats.
A Democratic presidential debate will begin at 9 pm ET Thursday. Alan Rappeport of the New York Times has details on where you can access it live on PBS, CNN & NPR. ...
... The New York Times liveblog is here.
Manu Raju & Ted Barrett of CNN: "Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday that the Democratic race for president could drag on for months -- and possibly to the Democratic National Convention in July.... 'These races go on for a long long time,' Reid said. When asked if that included a brokered convention, he responded 'Sure, seriously some of the old conventions produced some good people.' Reid also said, 'It would be kind of fun.'" Raju's interview of Reid, which accompanies the story, is fun.
Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Members of the Congressional Black Caucus launched a multi-pronged attack Thursday on Sen. Bernie Sanders as a false revolutionary who lacks strong ties to the black community. The influential African American elected officials are seeking to use their clout to boost Hillary Clinton.... They officially endorsed the former first lady inside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington (though it was deemed an 'unofficial' event) and pledged to vigorously campaign for her in upcoming contests.... One key South Carolina Democrat did not attend the CBC PAC's news conference. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the No. 3 House Democrat, has not endorsed a candidate.... Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a member of the CBC, accused the group Thursday of excluding him from its endorsement process." ...
... Lee Fang of the Intercept: "... the Congressional Black Caucus PAC [which endorsed Clinton Thursday] is not the same thing as the Congressional Black Caucus, which is made up of 46 members of Congress.... Ben Branch, the executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, told The Intercept that his group made the decision after a vote from its 20-member board. The board includes 11 lobbyists, seven elected officials, and two officials who work for the PAC. Branch confirmed that the lobbyists were involved in the endorsement...." Read on.
... Hillary's War on Math: 80 = 60. John Ralston of the Ralston Report: "Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon told NBC's Chuck Todd..., 'There's an important Hispanic element to the Democratic caucus in Nevada. But it's still a state that is 80 percent white voters....' 80 percent white? What? This canard was later repeated Wednesday by Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook.... And it was then repeated on a conference call.... I understand the desire of Team Clinton to lower expectations in Nevada.... But both Mook and Fallon know that 80 percent figure is ludicrous, and the attempt to make Nevada seem like Iowa and New Hampshire is a spin too far.... Nevada's Hispanic population is about 27 percent. African-Americans and Asian/Pacific Islanders make up almost 10 percent each. That is, nearly half of the state's population is made up of minorities. The Democratic caucus population was 35 percent minority in 2008, according to exit polls, and is expected to be as high as 40 percent in 2016, according to local Democratic sources." ...
... Tom Hamburger & Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "Investigators with the State Department issued a subpoena to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation last fall seeking documents about the charity's projects that may have required approval from the federal government during Hillary Clinton's term as secretary of state, according to people familiar with the subpoena and written correspondence about it. The subpoena also asked for records related to Huma Abedin, a longtime Clinton aide who for six months in 2012 was employed simultaneously by the State Department, the foundation, Clinton's personal office, and a private consulting firm with ties to the Clintons." CW: The issuance of a subpoena suggests Hillary was not fully cooperating with investigators although it's possible the subpoena was a formality designed to absolve the Clintons of responsibility for turning over docs.
Sahil Kapur of Bloomberg: "Bernie Sanders' pitch to Democrats is that all the new voters he'll energize will compel Congress to support the transformative programs they want.... The first tests are in, and the signs of a revolution at the ballot box are scant. Rather than a surge of the previously disaffected, Democratic turnout was down in the first two states to hold contests in the nomination race -- by 28 percent in Iowa and 13 percent in New Hampshire."
... Driftglass says Bernie's ad producer "deserves a massive raise."
Steve M. learns that Confederate Democrat Jim Webb will not be running an independent race for the presidency. Steve thinks that's too bad, because Webb, although nominally a Democrat, would surely take more votes from the Republican candidate than from the Democratic nominee. CW: I don't know that Webb would have been a factor at all, tho as a former Virginia senator, he might have garnered enough votes in that important swing state to alter the outcome.
Tim Egan: "... the most likely Republican nominees have left a precise guide of what they would do on Day One in office. From violating the Geneva Convention on war crimes and torture, to becoming a renegade nation on climate change and trade, to kicking millions of people off health care, it's a hefty list of first-day promises."
Marco's "War on Math." Jonathan Chait: "The Tax Policy Center released on Thursday its analysis of Marco Rubio's ginormous-tax-cut plan. The figures are pretty staggering. Once fully in effect, Rubio's plan would increase the budget deficit by almost a trillion dollars a year. Rubio's tax cuts would overwhelmingly accrue to the rich. The highest-earning one percent would take home 40 percent of the benefit. The lowest-earning two-fifths of the country would see its income rise just over one percent from the Rubio tax cuts, while the richest one percent would see its income rise by almost 9 percent.... Naturally, Rubio's campaign is disputing the validity of these numbers.... In total, Rubio promises an enormous tax cut, higher defense spending, no changes to Medicare or Social Security over the next decade, and a balanced budget.... But because these promises are so impossible, he can't accept the legitimacy of standard budget accounting and must rely on fantasy promises of massive economic growth." ...
... Jordan Weissmann of Slate: "At this point, a Republican tax plan would not be a Republican tax plan if it weren't a morally and mathematically risible giveaway to America's wealthy. The latest reminder of this fact comes to us from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, which Thursday released an assessment of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's especially plutocrat-friendly proposal."
How to Get the Catholic Vote. Alan Rappeport: "Donald J. Trump has a message for Pope Francis ahead of the pope's trip to pray with migrants along the Mexican border: You don't get it.... In an interview with the Fox Business Network on Thursday, the Republican presidential candidate, who has proposed building a wall along the United States's southern border, suggested that Francis was serving as a pawn of the Mexican government. 'I think that the pope is a very political person,' Mr. Trump said.... 'I think Mexico got him to do it because they want to keep the border just the way it is. They're making a fortune, and we're losing.'"
It's $8 billion.... And of the 2,000 [miles], we don't need 2,000, we need 1,000 because we have natural barriers, et cetera, et cetera, and I'm taking it price per square foot and a price per square, you know, per mile, and it's a very simple calculation. I'm talking about precasts going up probably 35 to 40 feet up in the air. That's high; that's a real wall. -- Donald Trump, on the cost of building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Feb. 9
... based on the costs of the Israeli security barrier (which is mostly fence) and the cost of the relatively simple fence already along the U.S.-Mexico border, an $8 billion price tag is simply not credible. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post
Marc Fisher of the Washington Post: In 2002 (or thereabouts) Donald Trump "wanted to develop a weekly drama series based on his own life. The show, titled 'The Tower,' was to feature the adventures of a New York City developer who makes big deals, loves to win, and has set out to construct the tallest building in the world. Producers hired a Hollywood TV writer, Gay Walch, to create a pilot script for 'The Tower.'... Network executives said the script, like the overwhelming majority of pilots, never made it to TV because it wasn't a compelling story." Embedded with the story is "a scene from NBC's pilot script, read ... by actors." CW: So the nightmare thru which Trump is now putting the country is little more than material for a more "compelling" story about an egomaniacal sociopath who runs for president.
Nick Gass of Politico: "Ted Cruz's campaign pulled a recent ad after it was discovered that one of the actresses featured in it has also appeared in softcore porn films. The 30-second ad..., which launched Thursday, is set during a group therapy session in which conservative voters talk about being double-crossed by Marco Rubio. The video was pulled from YouTube on Thursday evening. 'Maybe you should vote for more than just a pretty face next time,' the woman played by Amy Lindsay tells another group member. Lindsay's filmography includes titles such as 'Animal Lust,' 'Co-Ed Confidential' and 'Carnal Wishes.'" CW: Probably Driftglass wouldn't give Ted's adman "a massive raise." ...
... Andrew Kaczynski & Christopher Massie of BuzzFeed have embedded the Cruz ad. ...
... MEANWHILE. M.J. Lee of CNN: "Ted Cruz will launch his most forceful attack yet against Donald Trump in a TV ad that accuses Trump of buying political influence 'in a pattern of sleaze stretching back decades.' The 60-second spot, shared first with CNN, is part of a six-figure ad buy that will hit voters' TV screens across South Carolina starting as early as Thursday":
... Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: Just before Cruz started airing negative ads against Trump in South Carolina, the Trump campaign "abruptly" pulled an attack ad against Cruz. "Mr. Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, had made the decision to go with all positive spots beginning on Thursday." ...
He's watching you.... Cruz Control. The Creepiness of Ted Will Go to Your Head. Michael Biesecker & Julie Bykowicz of the AP: "Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has campaigned against government spying on law-abiding citizens, but his campaign is testing the limits with personal data from his supporters. His 'Cruz Crew' mobile app is designed to gather detailed information from users' phones -- tracking their physical movements and mining contact information of friends. That information is fed into a database containing details about nearly every adult in the U.S. to build psychological profiles that target individual voters with uncanny accuracy. Data-mining to help candidates win elections has been increasingly used by both Republicans and Democrats. But The Associated Press found the Cruz campaign's app goes furthest to glean personal data."
Joanna Walters of the Guardian on John Kasich: "... behind the unassuming image is a track record in his home state of Ohio, where he is a second-term governor, that puts him a big step to the right of what many Americans would consider moderate. Within hours of his success in New Hampshire, fresh legislation was passed in Ohio that will further restrict access to abortion in a state where Kasich has signed every one of a series of href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/eb8b7ad955ce4544b36e169a94529946/apnewsbreak-kasich-aides-helped-craft-abortion-restrictions">anti-choice measures that has ever reached his desk. Across the state he has made an enemy of public sector unions, teachers and environmentalists with attacks on collective bargaining, cuts to funding of public schools alongside scandals in the charter school education sector, and enthusiastic support for oil and gas production via fracking -- even though that has not brought as much prosperity to the state as some think." CW: And this doesn't even speak to his ignorance of sound federal fiscal policy. ...
... Paul Krugman: "It looks ... as if we're still living in the economic era we entered in 2008 -- an era of persistent weakness, in which deflation and depression, not inflation and deficits, are the key challenges. So how well do we think the various presidential wannabes would deal with those challenges? Well, on the Republican side, the answer is basically, God help us. Economic views on that side of the aisle range from fairly crazy to utterly crazy."
Other News
** David Sanger of the New York Times: "Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, announced that they had agreed on the delivery over the next few days of desperately needed aid to besieged Syrian cities, to be followed by a cease-fire that is supposed to clear the way for renewed peace talks. 'We have agreed to implement a nationwide cessation of hostilities in one week’s time,' Mr. Kerry said. 'That is ambitious.'"
Louis Sahagun of the Los Angeles Times: "President Obama designated three new national monuments in the California desert Thursday, expanding federal protection to 1.8 million acres of landscapes that have retained their natural beauty despite decades of heavy mining, cattle ranching and off-roading. The designation was requested by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who for a decade has sought to protect land that wasn't included in the 1994 California Desert Protection Act. That measure covered nearly 7.6 million acres, elevated Death Valley and Joshua Tree to national park status and created the Mojave National Preserve."
Martha Mendoza of the AP: "A bill headed for President Barack Obama this week includes a provision that would ban U.S. imports of fish caught by slaves in Southeast Asia, gold mined by children in Africa and garments sewn by abused women in Bangladesh, closing a loophole in an 85-year-old tariff law that has failed to keep products of forced and child labor out of America. An expose by The Associated Press last year found Thai companies ship seafood to the U.S. that was caught and processed by trapped and enslaved workers. AP tracked fish and shrimp from people locked in cages and factories to supply chains of top retailers and restaurants, from supermarket chains like Wal-Mart and Whole Foods to restaurants including Red Lobster."
Les Zaitz of the Oregonian describes the end of the siege of the Malheur Refuge. ...
... Here's an account by Carissa Wolf & others of the Washington Post: "After repeatedly threatening to shoot himself, complaining that he couldn't get marijuana, and ranting about UFOs, drone strikes in Pakistan, leaking nuclear plants and the government 'chemically mutating people,' the last occupier, David Fry, 27, lit a cigarette, shouted 'Hallelujah' and walked out of his barricaded encampment into FBI custody." CW: Apparently there is a Constiutional right to free cannibis. ...
... 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. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Update: "The four remaining occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge surrendered Thursday morning, bringing an end to the standoff on its 41st day. Jeff Banta, Sean Anderson, Sandy Anderson and David Fry were taken into FBI custody. Fry was the last to surrender, finally emerging after an extended phone dialogue with supporters who tried for over an hour after the others left to get him to walk out." ...
... The New York Times story, by Dave Seminara & Richard Perez-Pena, is here.
Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. 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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Tierney Sneed of TPM: "An Iranian official said 'Republican rivals of the current US administration' attempted to stall last month's Iranian-U.S. prisoner swap until the eve of the U.S. presidential election, Tasnim News Agency reported.... The prisoner swap ... included Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and three other U.S. citizens imprisoned in Iran, who were freed in exchange for the release of seven Iranians." CW: That's a devastating charge.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. CW: I know many Reality Chex readers are fans of Charles Pierce, & I admire the way he can often bring snark to a high art form. Moreover, the points of the snark are usually well-taken. BUT. I objected when he laughed off sexual abuse, to no avail, & I don't like it when he uses ethnic slurs to characterize minorities. Last week I would have linked one of his posts deriding Marco Rubio but again Pierce called Rubio "greasy," so I took a pass. Yesterday he went over the top: "The Rubio people should be selling this from in front of an abandoned gas station, along with boiled peanuts and a picture of Elvis on velvet." I doubt Pierce would acknowledge his bigotry; he probably isn't aware of it. He's one more guy who came up in an age when white men thought demeaning everybody else was funny, & he never outgrew it.
Senate Race
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. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Roll Call lists Grayson as the 12th-wealthiest member of Congress. The list includes both senators & representatives. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
Alice Walton, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "Nearly four months of environmental contamination and civic disruption in Porter Ranch came close to an end Thursday when work crews pierced the underground casing of the damaged Aliso Canyon gas well and started injecting it with a mud-like compound. 'The well is no longer leaking,' said Jimmie Cho, senior vice president of gas operations and system integrity for Southern California Gas Co. The final step is for concrete to be pumped into the well, a process that could begin as soon as Friday, and for state regulatory officials to declare that the leak has ceased."
Sarah Nir of the New York Times: "A New York City police officer was convicted of manslaughter on Thursday in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn for killing an unarmed man who was hit by a ricocheting bullet fired from the officer's gun in the stairwell of a housing project. The officer, Peter Liang, and his partner were conducting a so-called vertical patrol on Nov. 20, 2014, inside the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn. At one point, Officer Liang opened a door into an unlighted stairwell and his gun went off. The bullet glanced off a wall and hit Akai Gurley, 28, who was walking down the stairs with his girlfriend, piercing his heart."
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Reader Comments (27)
Another October Surprise engineered by the R's?
Not likely, as I'm sure we'll hear from all the R's who've repeatedly warned us you can't trust those Iranians. And if you can't trust a Republican....
I enjoyed reading the comments from the Oregon assholes. Tells you everything about what the word conservative really means.
This land is my land.
I oppose abortion so that defines the law.
The only purpose of goberment is to support me.
When the land is mine, it will cost nothing to maintain it.
The Constitution is too difficult to read.
And on and on.
@Marvin Schwalb: Exactly right. In their own very fucked-up way, the occupiers exposed all that is wrong with what today is called "conservatism." It's all about avarice & egomania.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., an old saying explained the concept of living in society in terms that any layman can understand: "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins." This is the underlying premise of our Constitution & of many a philosophical & religious thesis. Yet there is nary a confederate who practices it, & few who would even preach it, except in those moments they might find themselves in close proximity to somebody else's fist.Marie
To Marie Re Pierce -
"The Rubio people should be selling this from in front of an abandoned gas station, along with boiled peanuts and a picture of Elvis on velvet."
Yes! Hateful, blatant bigotry, either believed by the one/s generating it that it can (and will) slip beneath the radar and manage to amuse - or - is so subconsciously imbedded that there is zero feedback to the head and heart.
Last Night's Debate, Subjectively -
I surprised myself and actually viewed the first half. At the break, I visited the loo (I know, I know: "Disgusting!") and then switched to back-to-back episodes of "Forensic Files". (Love that stuff.)
I believe that Sanders' physical energy is part & parcel of his personality and his passion and how he listens and thinks and prepares. However, I so wish he was working with someone (actor, director) knowledgeable of on-camera staging:
Pacing, moving toward (or nearly entering) one's opponent's "space", gesticulating while a fellow candidate is speaking (I could go on, but won't) - - These "read" disadvantageously to an audience (live or broadcast), especially during split-screen shots for the home audience,
highlighting comparison.
Clinton has benefited from years of on-camera experience - and it shows! - as well as projecting (possessing?) a much more contained (restrained) demeanor. (Think of her at the BenGaaahZee Hearings: astonishing control, endurance & poise.)
Stillness inspires a perceived advantage - - even if utter nonsense is spoken.
@Ken: Yeah, if this is true it's a serious allegation and I would like to think, cause quite a scandal. Tom Cotton and his crew wrote a letter to the Iranians re: the Iran deal so maybe he is the one whose dirty paws are once more on this business.
The Debate: Hillary was glowing in a mustard-yellow Asian cut jacket while Bernie appeared to have a cold–-coughed repeatedly––and the two once more carried on. Nothing new, really, except it's clear Bernie is not in the same league with her when it comes to foreign policy, but he tried to show off his knowledge of historical facts which went on too long and were sometimes not really relevant to the issue that they were discussing–––however, I understand why he did it. The whole Kissinger thing is silly, but like the vote for the Iraq War Bernie is using this to badger. In the last debate Hillary mentioned that one of the people she gleaned some advice from was Kissinger––Bernie pounced on this like a cat with a ball. Hillary could have come back with the same accusation about Churchill, but she declined (Sanders was asked to name two prominent persons that influenced him––he said FDR and Churchill). I found it amusing that Bernie, with that finger waving in the air as though he was calling for a waiter, always had to have the last word which sometimes did not connect to the actual last topic. He really believes in the goodness of people––we can talk to our enemies without caveats, we can "sit down and work with people"––the only way we can really change the system is if we have a revolution––the people will help make the change. (I think he's right about that, but since many of the people we vote for to represent us only work for themselves...) Hillary, on the other hand, knows better––doesn't disagree with those changes, but knows it's a dirty, sometimes sleazy, hard slog. Her closing statements, I thought, (she knows her audience–-unions, Scott Walker's ineffectiveness, etc) were strong and inspirational.
By the way, Bernie's campaign manager, Ted Divine, had a hissy fit when confronted about a picture Ted had said was Bernie conducting a sit-in during the sixties. Turns out it was not a picture of Bernie, but someone else. "Ok, ok. ok, so we got it wrong,so what's the big deal, why all the fuss, you people won't let it go"––not an exact quote, but close, said with almost hysterical screeching. This all has to do with showing how involved Bernie has always been with civil rights. Interesting to me that Sanders would have a man like that who flies off the handle so easily and looks for all the world like a blubbering kid who is furious at getting caught at something.
Good news from Flint: work has begun on changing those lead pipes using a new method that is like laparoscopic surgery ––much faster and no digging up whole streets.
Marie:
Thanks for the reference to the Quote Investigator site.
Following down the page, we see the further reference to what Mary Woodbridge attributes to another speaker, regarding the origin of the phrase about the limits to personal liberty:
"Neither in law nor equity can there be a personal liberty to any man which shall be bondage and ruin to his fellow-men."
The personal liberty gained by having obscene amounts of money going to the 1% results in bondage and ruin to their fellow citizens. This is why the tax code must be changed, for one example only of the application of the phrase to current laws.
From RC's first post of the day, which included this: '..."after Mr. Sanders demurred in saying how much his proposals would increase the size of the federal government." ...
Demurred? Bernie? Huh? Made me smile. Sounds so genteel
in view of his finger-waving gesticulations and raspy remarks. PD Pepe captured that picture perfectly from last night's debate in her comment above.
I like Bernie. Really do. But, more and more practical thoughts come to mind. See by the higher-recommended comments today that Krugman has once again stirred the pot. Beginning to find myself wavering between "he's got good points, yet..." and her baggage; but, she's smart, and she appears to be 'getting it' finally. It will be interesting to watch between now and June.
""In the course of the talks for exchanging prisoners, the Republican rivals of the current US administration who claim to be humanitarians and advocates of human rights sent a message telling us not to release these people [American prisoners] and continue this process [of talks] until the eve of US presidential elections,” Shamkhani said, according to Tasnim."
I'm coming back to this because I find it so egregious––how can we check on the true matter? I tried to find something, but to no avail. And why isn't this being reported by others? Could this be something the Iranians cooked up themselves to shame us? If the message was sent in writing then let's see it.
To PD Pepe -
I came across the following on YouTube. Don't know if it enhances your search or contains info you've already gathered. But here goes:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7pg4lvGWNEk
Understand your reaction, Marie, and have no problem missing more recycled Pierce, much as I, too, often enjoy his snark. It's your gate and a fine one at that, so keep it.
Discussion of Pierce, though, prompts two other thoughts.
In his longer "Esquire" articles, Pierce often styles himself The Cynic, and even as he delivers one hammer blow after another to people I have good reason to dislike, it's a pose I find philosophically and morally off-putting. I know (I think?) Pierce adopts cynicism as an artful mask because believing in nothing gives him permission to say really nasty things about nearly anything or anyone, but in doing so cynicism and the Right's current anti PC crusade (another pose? even another cynical one?), which also provides a cover for unbelievable nastiness, are bloody brothers under the skin.
The other thought. Sometimes insensitivity is just ignorance in another form, and therein I'm often guilty. Would have missed the racist elements of the Rubio slam you objected to had you not pointed them out. Hope that doesn't mean Pierce's heavy-handed humor has become too subtle for me.
Or maybe the unpleasant memory of the boiled peanuts I tried once (a taste as unsubtle as Pierce's humor) as would have taken up all my head space and left room for nothing else.
Of Swinging Fists and Confederate Faces.
Hold on...I'll get to the comment in a moment. I'm savoring that image right now....
Okay. I'll get back to that in a bit. That was fun.
The Holmes sentiment quoted by Marie in response to Marvin's cogent comment might suggest that we expand upon that image just a bit. Let's just take this particular case which reminds me of a scene offering a quote from a different Holmes, from the story, "The Silver Blaze" in which we find this exchange:
Gregory (Scotland Yard Detective): "Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
Holmes: "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."
Gregory: "The dog did nothing in the night-time."
Holmes: "That was the curious incident."
Sherlock Holmes' point was the fact that the dog didn't bark during the commission of a crime because he knew very well who the criminal was.
The Bundy Boobs, the criminals in this case, were not barked at by the dogs (federal agents), nor were they bitten (except for the one asshole who tried to run down FBI agents then pull a gun on them).
But these treasonous pretenders would have everyone believe that they were the victims of a murderous attack, that federal officers were closing in to kill them. Hyperbolic outbursts on livestreams to the effect "If you want to kill me, go ahead, I'm an American and I'm here to protect FREEEDOMMMMM" attempted to sell a much different story line than the truth, which was that these people were trespassing, had taken control of a government facility and threatened to murder anyone who tried to get them out. In fact, one idiot described the situation as nothing more than an attempt on his part to take a little hike on the trails of a public facility and suddenly and inexplicably being violently accosted by federal agents intent on killing him.
In this case, as with the previous Bundy assault, the wingers have no justification for screaming that a fist is coming their way. They invited it. They asked for it then whined and cried when it started their way. They begged to be bitten by the dogs. When the dogs didn't bite, they invented a scenario depicting themselves as being pursued by packs of rabid, murderous hounds.
This absurd playacting is all of a piece with their juvenile, but dangerously deluded thinking. But anyone watching this sorry exhibition of Confederate treason masquerading as concern for the Constitution knows better.
As Holmes says elsewhere, "There is nothing like first-hand evidence." Oliver Wendell would no doubt agree.
Oh joy! Gravity explained.
Please to be sending that very elementary video posted under the RC infotainment section, to Loofah Boy (aka Bill O'Reilly) as it contains a simplistic, easy-enough-for-third-grade explanation about how and why the tides go in and out.
Just in case he's still wondering.
Now if we could only direct a few gravitational ripples to his brain stem. Unfortunately, now that I think of it, that wouldn't work, based on Isaac Newton's calculations. As described by Newton, the gravitational effect can be determined by the product of the mass of two objects divided by the square of the distance between them. Since the Loofah brain has almost no mass, the other object would have to be both immense and right next to his little monkey head, otherwise, zilch.
Well, it was a good idea, anyway.
Another part of Marvin's comment on the Traitors in Oregon raises a different problem, one--sadly--all too familiar. More often than not, what twists so many Confederate panties has nothing to do with the Constitution. That's a canard. As Marvin notes, few of them have ever even read the thing. What bothers them is that they are outraged that their religious beliefs are not automatically transmogrified into the law of the land to control others who think and believe differently.
Attaching the issue of abortion to disputes over land ownership is, on the face of it, nuts. Until you realize that the freedom they're always on about is their freedom to force the rest of us to bow to their religious beliefs. I saw somewhere that the new Confederate teabagger governor in Kentucky is not only dismantling healthcare in that state, but has just signed a law forcing all women to undergo a state ordered ultrasound and lie there while the doctor comes in and "describes" what he or she sees in the image. You can imagine what anti-abortion medical personnel would be saying to these women.
This isn't medicine. This has as much to do with medicine as control over a woman's reproductive decisions has with Cliven Bundy's mooching on federal land: not a fucking thing.
AND, if for reasons of compassion or a bad reaction to state ordered religious bullying, a doctor refuses to comply, they will be fined $100,000 for the first offense and nearly a quarter million each and every time they don't bow to the Jesus brigade.
This is some unconscionable shit. We're talking about a completely legal medical procedure, a decision that should not have wingnuts hovering around prodding, poking at, humiliating, and bullying women who have already made a tough decision.
This is all about trying to enforce religious tenets the Bible bangers have not been able to legalize in the proper way.
And Kentucky is not the only state to insist that the religious beliefs of the few trump beliefs of any other citizens. Like the Terry Schiavo case, there will be plenty more examples of Confederates ramming their beliefs down our throats. And if things go their way, they may have a president and congress who will be on their side all the way.
Akhilleus,
Don't neglect the possibility that the Loofah brain is a Black Hole. It would then have immense gravitational mass, which might account for its outsized influence on similar cerebellums.
Akhilleus, let me add that the Traitors not only don't read the Constitution, some don't read anything and many couldn't understand it even if they did. And if they had to actually calculate the cost of managing the land they claim to own, well not if the numbers involve more than 2.
On the abortion issue, it is becoming clear to me that this is not about the fetus. That is just an excuse to uphold their true religious belief that women are just reproductive robots who spend their off time cleaning and cooking. The thing that I cannot understand is how there is a women anywhere who doesn't get it.
D.C.,
Geez. Hadn't thought of that. Well that explains why he is never able shed light on anything. There's no light there to shed.
Marvn,
I'm guessing they read at least a couple of things, far-right secession supporting websites and gun catalogs.
As for your second point, I'm going to let the ladies take a crack at that one. Unless it can be explained by the Kool-Aid Phenomenon or some kind of winger Stockholm Syndrome, I'm at a loss.
Marvin & Akhilleus Re Abortion - a few randoms off the top of ma tete:
* I agree that many men (Confeds or otherwise) see the role of women as 1) the recipients (or, in some contexts, as the receptacles) of their seeds, and 2) the nurturing of their progeny (or, in some contexts, "You take care of the damn brats and, uh, hand me a beer while you're at it, Babe?"
* I'm aware that women remain in abusive relationships (and continue to procreate) because 1) they've been conditioned to believe (by upbringing, by society) that they are undeserving of better, and/or 2) they've already experienced the "assistance" they've sought via social services & law enforcement: All too often, you've got to be *dead* to prove abuse. And should you finally muster the nerve to grab that gun away from your abuser and he's shot dead . . . "Next Stop: Penitentiary".
* There are many women - of all stripes - who would never consider terminating a pregnancy . . . even if the pregnancy resulted from rape (Of course we now know it's impossible for such an occurrence as female biology can instinctively differentiate between consensual and non). Not a "choice" I would make. (But wait! How could I really know unless I were to find myself in those circumstances?)
* Women's religious beliefs play a Yuuuge role regarding abortion . . . and sex . . . and premarital sex . . . and homosexual sex. Religion's hand is Yuuuge when comes to sex. ;)
* I've known more than a few women who understood that they *had* to terminate their pregnancies - for various reasons - and believed, wholeheartedly, that this was the absolute right (if not the only) decision for them at the time. And yet, carry with them an acute awareness - years or decades after-the-fact - that a life, once growing inside of them, was stopped. Ain't always "black-and-white".
* I believe that abortion must be safe and available to all women (and young girls). I also can appreciate why many women would feel otherwise. Even while my bottom line remains 'safe and available to all'.
Time to layer-up and head out into a most frigid February afternoon.
Cheers
Jim, we hardly knew ya!
Gilmore dropped out of the Republican race? Refresh my memory, he's the brother of the "Gilmore Girls"?
This abortion issue comes down to something more basic. The sheer genius of the Founding Fathers. Yes, you have every right to live the life decision on abortion that your religion mandates. What you don't have is the right to make your religion the 'rights' of others. In other words in many cases religion hates democracy.
Marvin -
"What you don't have is the right to make your religion the 'rights' of others. In other words in many cases religion hates democracy."
Bottom Line / Absolutely
Regarding women who are opposed to abortion rights for all women, I have read accounts from abortion providers about women seeking a termination whom they see regularly on clinic picket lines, shouting and spitting. These women universally consider their situation to be different and unique from that of all other women. Some do have profound ( brainwashed?) religious beliefs about it, and some know they are in a position to procure a termination for themselves, daughters, sisters etc, while still looking pious in their communities. Women can be stupid, mean, nasty and hypocritical with the best of them!
@ Ophelia: I appreciate you finding that video––but it still doesn't answer the big question of who the heck sent the message. Another black hole?
@Gloria: Yes, to your last sentence. I've always said, I'd rather tussle with a male adversary any day rather than a female bent on destruction.
Ophelia and Gloria,
Thank you for your take on this issue. I would be hard pressed indeed to assume I had any authentic and unassailable wisdom about it, this being such a difficult and gender specific consideration (which is not to say that the men/partners of these women have or should have no opinions on the matter--except that those emanate from a separate country, so to speak, and as such have a vaguely alien quality about them), so having some insight from your side is highly valued.
About winger women who publicly denounce those seeking abortions but make sure it's available if and when they need it, all the while striving to maintain their own hate inflected and religious bona fides which deny such a choice to others, less deserving (or whatever excuse they choose to cleave to), I can only guess that theirs must be a life of personal angst. Unless, of course, like most winger pols, they are experienced at walling off personal decisions from ideological and religious desiderata.
What a world.
Marvin,
I'm tempted to say that in all cases religion hates democracy, but that's not necessarily true. Many religions seem to have no problem with democracy. The most strident calls we hear, in this country, for religion to trump decisions that have been arrived at democratically, come from fundamentalist Christians. I don't doubt there are fundamentalists from other faiths who are not thrilled with certain elements of life in a democratic America, but it's only the Christians who go hammer and tong at trying to attack democracy, and do it most publicly and jarringly.
Just listen to Cruz and Rubio (not to mention Carson, Liarina, Santorum, Huckabee, and Kasich) talk about how this nation is, and should only be, a Christian nation, dedicated to the(ir) lord and savior Jesus Christ.
This is some scary shit, brother.
Re, the Times "With 3 California Sites, Obama Nearly Doubles Public Land He’s Protected"
You won't catch a GOP pres. doing THAT.
@Gloria: A big "yes" to your description of pro lifers who undergo abortions thinking their situations are unique, and therefore justified. I have heard these stories many times from our local abortion providers and don't doubt it for a minute. I think there must be a basic principal of human behavior at work here.