;)
The Commentariat -- Feb. 18, 2015
Internal links removed.
Michael Shear & Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "Just one day before undocumented immigrants were set to begin applying for work permits and legal protections, the administration announced on Tuesday that it would delay carrying out President Obama's executive actions on immigration, saying a federal judge's last-minute ruling had tied the White House's hands. Jeh C. Johnson, the Homeland Security secretary, vowed to appeal the court ruling...." ...
... David Nakamura & Juiet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "The effects of [District Judge Andrew] Hanen's procedural ruling rippled through Washington and underscored a broader challenge to the president as he seeks to solidify the legacy of his administration. Along with the immigration action, the fate of two of Obama's other signature initiatives -- a landmark health-care law and a series of aggressive executive actions on climate change -- now rests in the hands of federal judges. It is a daunting prospect for a president in the final two years of his tenure...." ...
... Kate Linthicum of the Los Angeles Times: "A large crowd of pro-immigrant activists and politicians gathered Tuesday outside L.A. City Hall to send a message to the Texas judge who one day earlier ordered a stop to President Obama's executive actions on immigration. 'Shame on you!' the protesters shouted in unison. 'Shame on you!'" ...
... Alan Yuhas of the Guardian: "A Texas judge's freeze on Barack Obama's plan to shield millions of immigrants from deportation likely won't last long, legal experts say, meaning Republicans who oppose the executive action will have to look away from the courts for help.... Few disagree that the president has the authority to defer deportations, even among those inclined to condemn Obama&'s decisions.... The 'narrow' scope of Hanen's ruling means the Obama administration may not have to rely on another round of judicial boxing to begin giving young migrants quasi-legal status. ...
... Lyle Denniston of ScotusBlog, however, seems to suggest Judge Hanen's ruling is strong on the merits. ...
... AND Dara Lind of Vox sees this ruling as Hanen's opening salvo: "... while the rhetoric of this opinion is often fiery, the actual legal scope of the ruling -- the part that matters going forward -- is much more limited. That's because this is the very beginning of a very, very long court battle, and everyone involved in the case understands that. From now on, the ruling stopping the deferred action programs will move up through the courts while Judge Hanen continues to consider the underlying questions." ...
... Josh Gerstein (one of a few reliably accurate, nonpartisan Politico reporters): "The current dispute could wind up at the high court on an emergency basis within days, but administration officials were not specific about whether they will immediately demand that Obama's immigration actions be allowed to resume." ...
... Stephen Legomsky provides quite a good explanation of the legal issue. CW: I found the whole "PBS News Hour" segment helpful:
The Contenders.... Brian Beutler of the New Republic: "... even if the legal challenge ends up bailing out Republicans this time around, the dynamics that brought the party to this brink will persist. The DHS funding impasse is symptomatic of tendencies in the Republican congressional majorities that presage more shutdown threats, debt limit fights, and other high-wire acts. These are precisely the kinds of reckless legislative politics party leaders hoped to avoid. Writing at Forbes, budget veteran Stan Collender argues that the incompatible imperatives facing Republican congressmen and Republican senators has transformed an executive-legislative branch showdown into an intraparty war." ...
... Jonathan Chait: "Poll Confirms the Republican Immigration Shutdown Plan Is Their Worst Idea Ever. (Subhead on the front-page link: "John Boehner dials political suicide hotline.") ...
... Charles Pierce: "Once we all calm down again, if that ever happens, we can look seriously at whether DHS is worth it. But, as long as it is, and as long as the country feels it's necessary -- and the country will feel that way as long as politicians gin up the fear the way they do -- then it should be funded without these kind of shenanigans. The country is smarter than John Boehner -- and I include the country's rocks as well as its people." ...
... The New York Times Editors get to the crux of the problem: "However the appellate courts come down on the case, Mr. Obama is finding himself once again dealing with a familiar sort of Republican intransigence. With his humane and realistic immigration policy, he is trying to tackle a huge and long-running national problem: what to do with more than 11 million undocumented people who are living, working and raising families here, when the government cannot possibly apprehend or deport all of them. To the contrary, bringing some of these people out of the shadows of illegality would be an economic boon, as noted by the 12 states and more than 30 cities around the country (including Brownsville, Tex.) that are defending Mr. Obama's actions. On immigration, the Republicans seem to want only to savage the president's efforts to address a pressing nationwide crisis, just as they have on health care reform. They are good at unleashing rage against Mr. Obama's supposed lawlessness, but they have no meaningful solutions of their own."
Lydia Wheeler of the Hill: "Attorney General Eric Holder called Tuesday for a national moratorium on the death penalty until the Supreme Court weighs in on the issue later this year. Holder went on to say he disagrees with Justice Antonin Scalia, who has said the U.S. has never executed an innocent person."
Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration will permit the widespread export of armed drones for the first time, a step toward providing allied nations with weapons that have become a cornerstone of U.S. counterterrorism strategy but whose remotely controlled power to kill is intensely controversial. The new policy, announced Tuesday after a long internal review, is a significant step for U.S.arms policy as allied nations from Italy to Turkey to the Persian Gulf region clamor for the aircraft."
Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Obama on Wednesday will outline his administration's efforts to counter what he calls 'violent extremism' in a speech to law enforcement, community and religious leaders gathered to discuss how to prevent groups like the Islamic State from recruiting disaffected young people to their ranks. The White House said the plans were a vital nonmilitary way to counter extremism of all kinds, a task that has taken on greater urgency after the terrorist attacks in Paris and Copenhagen." ...
... President Obama, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed, on the fight to stop ISIS & other violent extremists by winning over "hearts & minds." What can you do to join the battle? Don't be a hateful, ignorant dick. (Paraphrase.) ...
... Your Fake Controversy of the Day. Matt Wilstein of Mediaite: "'We cannot kill our way out of this war,' State Department spokesperson Marie Harf told MSNBC's Chris Matthews 'We need in the medium to longer term to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it's a lack of opportunity for jobs.' Ever since, she has been getting hammered by conservatives on Twitter and elsewhere across the web. Tonight, she joined Wolf Blitzer on CNN's The Situation Room and attempted to clarify her point." ...
... Steve M. responds.
Sarah Ferris of the Hill: "This year's ObamaCare enrollment officially beat expectations with at least 11.4 million Americans signing up in the second year, the White House announced late Tuesday." ...
... Jason Millman of the Washington Post: "Up to 6 million Americans are expected to pay a penalty for not having [health insurance] coverage in 2014, according to recent Obama administration projections. The 2014 penalty for this tax season is $95, or 1 percent of family income -- purposefully on the weaker side to let people adjust to this new coverage scheme. Most of the uninsured won't actually face the penalty because they'll qualify for an exemption, either related to their inability to afford coverage or some other hardship. But it's likely that a lot of people who will have to pay don't know it yet.... Nearly half of uninsured Americans weren't aware of the penalty, and almost as many don't realize the law offers financial help to purchase coverage, according to a Harris Poll survey in the fall."
Ryan Cooper of the Week: "Congressional restrictions on presidential power are only as good as Congress' willingness to act when the restrictions are breached. And right now there is approximately zero reason to think that Congress gives a crap about illegal war.... Obama is basically asking for the authority to start war against anyone who's watched an Islamic State video. Indeed, the main axis of debate is whether the proposed authority is broad enough. Except for Sen. Rand Paul, Republicans are basically fine with Obama being able to make war wherever he wants."
Nicholas Bagley, the Incidental Economist, suggests what the Supreme Court should do to clear up the standing issue in King v. Burwell. Bagley writes that "the Court can't just ignore standing. Without standing, the federal courts lack jurisdiction -- the power -- to resolve the dispute. That's why the courts must consider standing on their own, whether or not any party has objected."
Batsheva Sobelman of the Los Angeles Times: "In a scathing report with potential political and criminal repercussions, Israel's state comptroller sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for excessive spending of public funds in his official and private residences. The highly anticipated report, which came just four weeks before Israeli elections, faulted Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, for using public funds to spend lavishly on a variety of personal goods and services, including cleaning, clothing, water and grooming, between 2009 and 2012.... In addition, the report pointed to improprieties in management of finances, human resources and external contractors." ...
... Alexandra Jaffe of CNN: "A large majority of Americans believe that Republican congressional leaders should not have invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress without consulting the White House, according to a new CNN/ORC survey.... Even Republicans are split on whether it was a good idea for leadership to invite Netanyahu without alerting the White House, with a slight majority --52% -- backing the move. Just 14% of Democrats say it was the right thing to do, and just over a third of independents support the move."
Hadas Gold of Politico: "Attorney General Eric Holder criticized Fox News on Tuesday for its obsession with the administration's characterization of the Islamic State."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Evan McMurry of Mediaite: "Adding to the list of 'things Obama has been called in the past week,' which already included the Antichrist, the Seventh King, and a rape suspect, we now have 'assclown.' Kevin Cusick, a sports producer for the Pioneer Press, apologized Monday for using the term to refer to President Barack Obama in a slideshow that included Obama's selfie-stick moment from a BuzzFeed video.... 'After further review, it's a poor choice of word,' Cusick told local news station KMSP."
CW: If you're a little unsure of how perverted the right wing is, here's a helpful benchmark: they give prizes for hate speech. Paul Bond of the Hollywood Reporter: "Fourteen months after he sparked a major controversy for making remarks widely perceived as anti-gay, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has been named the recipient of a free-speech award from Citizens United, an organization routinely disparaged by Hollywood liberals. Robertson will receive the 'Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award' at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, which is better known as CPAC and is one of the biggest annual events for prominent movers and shakers on the right."
Presidential Race
Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Hillary Rodham Clinton held a private, one-on-one meeting with Senator Elizabeth Warren in December at Mrs. Clinton's Washington home, a move by the Democrats' leading contender in 2016 to cultivate the increasingly influential senator and leader of the party's economic populist movement. The two met at Whitehaven, the Clintons' Northwest Washington home, without aides and at Mrs. Clinton's invitation. Mrs. Clinton solicited policy ideas and suggestions from Ms. Warren, according to a Democrat briefed on the meeting, who called it 'cordial and productive.'" ...
... Hanna Rosin of the Atlantic: "When the 2016 presidential campaign was just a glimmer in the distance, at least a dozen conservative organizations had already dedicated themselves to Hillary Clinton's defeat. They are a combination of opposition-research shops, media outlets, and grass-roots activist groups. A couple have stationed staff in Little Rock to rifle through files in search of something new -- or even something old that can be framed in a newly relevant way.... If she runs for president ... Hillary Clinton will face something more like a vast right-wing conglomerate. This time around, the groups will be well funded, solidly professional, and thoroughly integrated into the party establishment."
Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Senator Rand Paul is eyeing April 7 as the day he will announce his plans to run for president, people close to him said, a step that would position him ahead of his potential Republican rivals as a declared candidate and allow him to begin raising money directly for his campaign 10 months before the Iowa caucuses."
Sahil Kapur of TPM: Jeb Bush makes a "mysterious" response to the judge's order on the ACA. But since he won't state any actual policy positions, he relies that handy fallback position: blame Obama! ...
... Catalina Camia of USA Today has a preview of Bush's foreign policy speech, scheduled for later today. Totally surprising nub of it: Obama & Clinton don't know what they're doing. ...
... Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is considering a 2016 presidential campaign, is seeking to distinguish his views on foreign policy from those of his father and brother, two former presidents. But he's getting most of his ideas from nearly two dozen people, most of whom previously worked for George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush." ...
... "Jeb Bush & the Ghost of W." Steve Kornacki of MSNBC: "The model for Jeb Bush’s campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination is obvious: his brother.... But there are already signs that what worked so brilliantly for W may be futile for Jeb. The former Florida governor faces fiercer competition on his right and far stiffer resistance from the base; the mood of the party is far less pragmatic today; and even an obscenely fat bank account may not be enough to save him." ...
... Fred Flintstone for President. Jonathan Chait: " as part of his plan to win the Republican nomination, [Jeb Bush] is ... eschewing all foods unavailable to his caveman ancestors. In fact, the Paleo diet is pure pseudoscience.... The whole appeal of the Paleo diet is a primal fantasy that appeals to men enchanted with some vision of primitive brute strength. All this is to say that perhaps Jeb Bush will fit into the Republican primary just fine."
Senate Race
Marc Caputo in Politico: "Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chairwoman, is strongly considering a bid for U.S. Senate, calculating that having Hillary Clinton at the top of the 2016 ticket would help lift her candidacy in a year-of-the-woman campaign. Driving Wasserman Schultz's interest: the increasing likelihood that Sen. Marco Rubio will run for the White House and that he ultimately won't seek reelection in 2016, Democratic insiders familiar with her thinking say."
Beyond the Beltway
Driftglass on Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (RKoch): "And so, one hire at a time, one policy decree at a time, our new governor works the Koch Brothers's playbook, line by line."
Judd Legum of Think Progress: "An Oklahoma bill banning Advanced Placement U.S. History would also require schools to instruct students in a long list of 'foundational documents,' including the Ten Commandments, two sermons and three speeches by Ronald Reagan.... [The] bill was approved by the Education committee on an 11-4 vote." ...
... Margaret Hartmann of New York has more.
Emily Le Coz of the Jackson, Mississippi, Courier-Ledger: "State Rep. Gene Alday, R-Walls, publicly apologized Tuesday for controversial statements he made in a Clarion-Ledger article that had sparked outrage among legislators. Addressing the House of Representatives, Alday acknowledged he made a mistake without repeating his original comments.... The comments in question refer to African-Americans in his hometown of Walls.... Alday, 57, told Clarion-Ledger investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell that he comes 'from a town where all the blacks are getting food stamps and what I call "welfare crazy checks." They don't work.' He also said that when he went to the emergency room one time, 'I liked to died. I laid in there for hours because they (blacks) were in there being treated for gunshots.' Alday later said the statements, which were published Sunday, appeared out of context and didn't accurately portray his feelings. He denied being racist and said he has supported civil rights." CW: Yes, because proper context would have rendered such remarks acceptable.
Hudson Hongo of Gawker: "Krispy Kreme's whimsical spelling has long straddled the line between 'friendly Southern grandma' and 'racist country grandpa,' but this week a UK branch of the donut chain accidentally went full hoods and crosses with an ad promoting 'KKK Wednesdays.' Apparently short for "Krispy Kreme Klub Wednesdays," the store responsible for the sign says they didn't realize the initials had already been taken another, more famous KKK.... On Tuesday, Krispy Kreme finally recognized their food-grade fuck up, removing the sign and issuing a formal apology." CW: The could make special donuts topped with cute little white icing hoods. Idiots.
News Ledes
Washington Post: "The coldest air of the season is surging south this week, leading up to what could be historic cold for parts of the eastern United States. Thursday and Friday's polar outbreak could set all-time February low records from Tennessee to Virginia." ...
... The Weather Channel describes the systems & how they likely will affect portions of the U.S.
Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called Wednesday for an international peacekeeping mission in his nation's war-torn east, a stark admission that his nation can no longer fend off pro-Russian rebels after a major battlefield defeat. Any international force on the ground would harden the battle lines after 10 months of fighting, forcing Ukraine to give up for now its attempts to reunify the nation. But it would also halt Russian-backed rebels from pushing onward toward Kiev." ...
... New York Times: "President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine said on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces were withdrawing from the embattled town of Debaltseve, a strategically important transportation hub where intense fighting has raged in recent days despite a cease-fire agreement signed last week." ...
... Guardian: "The US has accused Russia of violating the ceasefire in Ukraine, amid reports that some Ukrainian troops are pulling out of the key strategic rail hub of Debaltseve. The US joined other UN security council members in lining up to pour scorn on a resolution drafted by Moscow approving the truce. Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN, said it was 'ironic to say the least' that Russia produced the motion at the same time as it was 'backing an all-out assault' in Ukraine despite the ceasefire."
New York Times: "Local prosecutors in Switzerland conducted a search of the offices of HSBC's Swiss private bank in Geneva on Wednesday as part of a new investigation into potential money laundering. The Geneva prosecutor's office said in a statement on Wednesday that it had opened a criminal inquiry into possible aggravated money laundering against HSBC Private Bank (Suisse), but it did not provide additional details."
Guardian: "Police in Paris and London have launched investigations after Chelsea supporters were filmed singing a racist chant and preventing a black man from boarding the Paris métro."
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Reader Comments (20)
I am seriously looking forward to Republicans stopping funding for DHS. Absolutely support for ISIS and Al Qaeda. Maybe that will get a majority of America to get the tea party's real game. Screw you America!
Marvin, if only our beloved public were as sensible as you imagine. As long as the other side pays attention to selling its ideas and prejudices and our side sits back smugly waiting for people to figure out that it's all nonsense, they won't. We need our own equivalent of Frank Luntz, who can package ideas in language that surmounts people's defenses and wins their hearts. Remember that people are best convinced by notions that make them feel smart and special and powerful. Sensible suggestions often accomplish none of those purposes.
@Jack Mahoney I agree with your comment however I think the DHS issue is special because it deals with the leading issue of the human brain - FEAR. It does not matter if homeland security is actually affected. Because of the rules, cutting funding to the DHS will have no real impact but that will not affect the response because the other leading issue in America is -DUMB.
You are correct in that people are best convinced by notions that make them feel smart and special and powerful. But when it comes to the sudden appearance of a saber toothed tiger there is no rational thought. Remember Ebola.
re; what I was thinking even though I wasn't thinking right. Last week RC clued me into the Homeland Dept. I had not been aware of the gathering of many federal agencies into one. Marie kindly suggested I might want to have some knowledge of what the fuck I was talking about and suggested source reading. Damned if it did not make a difference.
But coupled with my greater awareness of the DHS my distrust of the agency grew as well. I see it as this vast paramilitary organization who's real function is to protect status quo by keeping the public scared shitless from real and imaginary threats.
Think of a DHS run by the Kock Brothers in the not too distant future.
As Charlie Pierce says, "big glass of antifreeze please"
"If it disappeared tomorrow, and its functions dispersed to the various agencies that existed before it came into being, it wouldn't bother me in the least" Charlie Pierce
Another issue that Pierce touched on that I learned about in my suggested reading was when DHS was organized thousands of union protected jobs were lost because of "security issues".
I feel safer already.
If all those conservative organizations are busily sharpening their swords and polishing their guns in anticipation of Hillary's run, wouldn't it be loverly if someone–-say Senator Whitehouse–-had been squirreling away great mounds of money from secret big Daddies and at the last moment announce his candidacy while Hillary, who gives her stash of $$ to him, says--just foolin, folks, ain't gonna run. What fun we'd have with that maneuver! OR maybe the ruse is actually being planned (Elizabeth and Hillary get-together) but that's a foolish fancy, fer sure.
The immigration stoppage makes me crazy. However, now that the courts are going to settle this, how about those little people in Congress that were threatening to shut down the government if Obama didn't succumb to their wishes ( now have lost their cudgel) could they possibly get on with the funding of the DHS––I'm with Marvin here in that I would love to see Republicans not vote for the funding.
And re: JJG's comments–––thank you for delving into this and thank CW for her push in the right direction. The loss of the union protected jobs were/are crucial and that's only part of the problem.
Fear always works its magic, don't it?
@JJG & PD Pepe: Obviously, you've both hit on excellent reasons to object to the Department of Homeland Security. However, I think what you're objecting to is its origins more than its present purposes.
It is true, of course, that some of the bad policies that Bush & Congress cooked up are still embedded in DHS policies & practices, perhaps the worst being the "support" the federal government gives to local police forces in the form of, among other things. military equipment -- which exacerbates these little yahoos' already-overblown us-against-them policing mindset.
But when was the last time Jeh Johnson got on the teevee & announced an orange alert? The guy just is not scaring me.
I also suspect that something you're objecting to is more visceral: I continue to think, as I thought from the git-go, that the name is a disaster, one designed to impart the fear that Bush himself certainly felt & the nativist insularity that wingers wanted to promote.
James Bartlett had some thoughts (and did some research) on that back in the day. I don't know what a better name would be, since "national security" has already been taken by other federal entities. (Maybe "national safety" or "federal safety" -- something like that.) But "homeland" is nativist, alarmist, inward-looking yet confrontational (& for many probably implicitly racist) all in one. The concept is pretty creepy.
In the hands of Republicans, it is not just the concept that's creepy.
Marie
A award. For hate speech.
Wow.
Just when I thought I couldn't feel lower about certain elements in this country than I already do--although I suppose I should never delude myself into thinking that the right-wing has reached bottom in their incessant attempts to drag the rest of us down to their pond scum level--along comes the Andrew Breitbart Award for Hate Speech.
It's been an interesting evolutionary (oh shit...do I have the right to use that word?) ride for Confederates and their relationship to the First Amendment. For decades, it appeared that only the Second and Tenth (and maybe the Ninth--but maybe not) Amendments meant anything; well, the Fifth, for when they're arrested for abridging someone else's rights, or shooting someone, maybe, but that's about it.
The problem with the First Amendment, for most of Right Wing World has long been its guarantee of freedom of religion and the establishment clause, two big burrs under the fundamentalist Confederate saddle.
Freedom of religion, of course, as they view it, is only for Christians, and many are not shy about saying that Christians are the only Americans to whom this right applies. The standard (ie, correct) interpretation is that EVERY American is guaranteed freedom to practice their own, or no, religion. This incenses wingers. Of course the Establishment Clause is not a problem for them. As with the opening clause of the Second Amendment, the one that restricts the freedom to bear arms to a well regulated militia, wingers simply pretend it's not there. Even Supreme Court justices (lookin' at you Nino) pretend that one is not there.
And if they had their way, I'm pretty sure wingers would have abolished, or at least edited the First Amendment to their liking a long time ago, giving them free rein to establish a theocracy and deny everyone else any religious or atheistic or agnostic pursuit of their choice.
But recently the First Amendment has become their best friend. The Supreme Court is largely responsible for this. As Justice Breyer has observed, wingnuts have decided to use the First Amendment as a weapon in forcing everyone else to abide by their ideological tenets.
So the Confederates who control the court have used it to support corporations, to attempt to demolish unions, to put the rights of wealthy political donors ahead of all other Americans, thereby contaminating the entire political process but ensuring a dramatic increase in power for wingers, and of course, to place religious beliefs of (Christian) corporations ahead of the rights of their employees, which is a two-fer: it supports corporations over people and forces the religious (Christian) beliefs of the corporate owners on all of their employees, a kind of modern day "Cuius regio, eius religio". The Peace of Westphalia, wherein one finds the earliest enforcement of this sovereign rule, was signed in 1648. Too bad the Supreme Court hasn't progressed very far beyond it.
Just as a sidebar, for anyone doubting that their intent is to raise Christianity above all other religions, just picture Hobby Lobby being owned by observant Muslims who wanted to enforce a tenet of Sharia Law on all their employees. 'Nuff said?
Anyway, the dots connecting all these in your face right-wing victories over the forces of equality and freedom of speech and religion for other than just Christians, point directly to the First Amendment, the wingers' new best friend.
Funnily enough, even though they pretty much rule over the American political demesne, to hear Confederates tell it, they are downtrodden and victimized. It's also interesting that this new Hate Speech Award, which trumpets heroic victories over the assaults on the rights of the Right, is given by the asshole who rammed Citizens United through the Supreme Court, David Bossie, thus enshrining the rights of the Right to dominate every political contest for the foreseeable future. Funny how that works. Even better, it's named for Confederate Liar and hate speech lover, Andrew Breitbart.
I don't want to go on too long here, even though I could (but you knew that...), but I do want to point out the hilarity when reading about how rough it's been for Confederates who think hate speech is their right. You know what, assholes? It is. You can say whatever you want. But if you are being paid by an entity with other priorities and rules, the fact that they take umbrage--and action--following your barrage of evil, doesn't make you a victim. It makes you a dumbass. So the Duck Dynasty hater was suspended for a few weeks. Big deal.
So the police chief in Atlanta was suspended and then fired for saying that gays were animals and pederasts. Atlanta, like most cities, has rules about such things and you agree to those rules when you sign your name to the contract. The fact that the city acts when you break the rules you agreed to does not take away your rights. It does, and should, take away your job.
Also, you can say whatever hateful, ignorant, stupid thing comes into your tiny insect brains, but other people have an equal right to whack you for it. This isn't persecution. It's called free speech for others. You want to say stupid shit? Fine. Now defend your position against others who have a different point of view. That's not victimization. That's the marketplace of ideas. If you're selling week-old turds and someone comes along and says "Hey, this guy is selling is selling week-old turds", that's doesn't make you a victim. That makes you a week-old turd seller.
But none of this matters to the Confederates for whom the only speech that matters is their own.
And now those that say the most heinous, hateful things are being rewarded for it.
How very....right-wing.
I'm with all of you that think the word "Homeland" is creepy. To me it either sets up some sort of comparison with the places our immigrant ancestors ACTUALLY called "home" or some sort of old-time Commie phrase from an old Cold War movie. I like the word "Domestic" much better. It's cozy and local...
Love that KKK Wednesday idea. How about they replace it with an ad campaign that says: " We love ISIS!" (Icing Surrounding Incredible Strudel).
That oughta smooth things over. But what happens when a bunch of KKK guys show up at the same time as ISIS terrorists?
Oh, I know. They show each other pictures of their favorite weapons, all while enjoying donuts and strudel. Happy, happy, joy, joy.
@Jeanne Pitz: "Domestic." That's excellent.
Marie
Re: the inherent creepiness of "Homeland" used in the title of a government organization.
It smacks of black hatted nationalism or the kind of thing you'd hear in a song at a bund rally referencing die vaterland:
Lieb Vaterland, magst ruhig sein,
lieb Vaterland, magst ruhig sein,
Fest steht und treu die Wacht, die Wacht am Rhein!
Fest steht und treu die Wacht, die Wacht am Rhein!
Although I suppose if they made it a bundt rally instead, it might not be so bad. Especially if they brought KKK donuts and ISIS strudel.
I also have always thought that "Homeland" had too much of a neo-Fascist ring to it, minus the dictator (oops, that would be Obama now wouldn't it?) It's made even worse given that there's a popular TV show with the same title about the CIA fighting the nasty terrorists.
What surprises me, though, is that according to Wiki even Peggy Noonan didn't like the new name with the reference stating: "In a June 2002 column, Republican consultant and speechwriter Peggy Noonan expressed the hope that the Bush administration would change the name of the department, writing that, "The name Homeland Security grates on a lot of people, understandably. Homeland isn't really an American word, it's not something we used to say or say now"."
I never thought she ever made any sense.
Wingnut First Amendment Exercises:
Excercise 34: Say stupid, racist, and blatantly untrue things with no sense of how your own history might work against you.
Case in point, convicted felon, wingnut liar, and all around moron, but a moron who is considered one of Right Wing World's grandest intellectuals (fill in your own analogy there, it's just too fucking exhausting to keep up...), Dinesh D'Souza, who, rather than spending his time in a jail cell is out behaving like, well, like himself.
So let's start by referring to the president as "boy" and referring to his place of birth as a "ghetto" neither of which are true, but hey, what does that matter? It lights up the twitter machines for wingers like the three brain synapses that still work when they see a picture of gay couples kissing, or poor people having enough to eat.
What's his problem this time? Poor Dinesh, trying hard to make a life for himself after prison, is outraged, OUTRAGED, I tells ya, at the president's funny, hip, and very effective video reminding Americans that the sign up date for health insurance is at hand.
This is unconscionable to D'Souza, which in itself has to be some kind of metaphysical trick seeing as how he doesn't even have a conscience. He borrowed one from Rushbo during his trial in an effort to pretend to have one, but that one didn't work either. In fact, it made him call the judge a feminazi asswipe liberal pig-doodie. Or something.
Anyway, whatever. It didn't work.
But here's the funniest part. He calls the president's funny, hip, and very effective video reminding Americans about the ACA sign up deadline "embarrassing".
Ho-ho-ho...tee-hee...haaaaaa...
Let me get this straight. A guy who has been running around the country for years talking about his own perfection, running a Jesus school, and living in a delusional alternate universe, who was, while running that Jesus school--and at a Christian convention, no less!--schtupping a lady who was not his Christian, Jesus authorized wife, and who ran his career filled with lies and cavalier douchebaggery into the rocks by ignoring campaign finance laws, was taken to court and found guilty by a court of law and sent to some halfway house slammer, thinks that the president of The United States is an embarrassment and calls him "boy" for trying to help make people's lives better.
Sorry doucheclamp. You want embarrassing?
THIS is embarrassing.
(Just an aside. Can anyone here think of anyone remotely this arrogant and ignorant who is considered a hero by progressives? Anyone? Chuck Todd is wrong again. Both parties aren't the same.)
Unwashed. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Granted, that's far more often than Noonan is right, but you get the point.
Anything is possible in the quantum multiverse.
There may even be one in which a Peggy Noonan entity is not lacquered by noon.
So I see where Jeb (My Turn to Fuck Up the World) Bush doesn't want to talk about his brother. Really? I'm pretty sure Dzhokhar Tsarnaev doesn't want to talk about his brother either.
I suppose if my brother threw a Molotov cocktail into the bonfire of the middle east and lied about why he was doing it, I wouldn't want to have to talk about that shit either, never mind defend why I supported his lies and his bomb throwing.
Oh, and while I'm thinking of GOP candidates, "Molotov, Scott Walker"
Heh-heh. At some point I may not think that's all that funny anymore. But not yet. Ha!
Tried to send a longer comment last night but the internet connection at our cabin ate it. Luck you.
Short version: Was particularly taken by the Gov. Bruce Rauner (RKoch) reference. The Guvnor's charming identifier reminded me of the recent RC discussion of acceptable alternatives for Conservative. Since then, Akhilleus has occasionally opted for Confederate for many of the right! reasons, but seems to me Confederate is merely a white's only subset of the complete right wing package and that package--Republican, Conservative, whatever-- today might best described by The Koch Party, KP short.
Which Conservative initiative is not something the Kochs and their oligarch kin are not pushing? Lower taxes for the rich, fewer environmental and consumer protections, less support for the poor, lower funding for public education and other public services (yesterday's Oklahoma frighteningly narrow-minded stand against AP History certainly fits. Don't want the masses to know too much; they might get uppity), and the fewer voters, the better.
Down the line, the Right has shed its avuncular mask; there's no pretense left. The corporate model which they are gradually imposing on our lives and institutions is fundamentally anti-democratic. Unions used to have a say, but those days are swiftly passing. Instead we have privatization rampant, ALEC moles in every state legislature, a Supreme Court in corporate pockets, the TPP and other similar trade deals hovering over our cowering heads, and in each instance all who count are those on top, which the Kochs define as those with the money.
So let's call today's conservatives what they really are, the Koch Party as in Gov. Bruce Rauner (KP--Ill) . The Right's polcies suggest it would have nearly universal application, and if the name fits....
I see that the Little One is getting ready for a stomping mad temper tantrum if the State of Kentucky doesn't do what he says and change their laws to suit his ambitions.
Oh, the pain of being superior and above inconvenient things like rules and laws.
Why do I think that, were a Democratic candidate to try this sleight of hand bullshit, Bad Toupée would be the first one up on the soapbox screaming about precedence and rule of law? But then again, neither of those are concerns if you're a 'bagger.
I did see that he was going to make his announcement to officially flout the law on April 7th. Or was that April 1st?
By the way, Ken, I have been using "Confederates" often to refer to the right-wing haters and moaners and cheaters and tweeters, but I could be convinced otherwise. I'm not entirely happy with "Confederate" for a variety of reasons, even though it has a lot to recommend it, but Koch Party does have seem to be a decent alternative.
I'd like to just say "Assholes" but that's a bit too generic, even if it is accurate.
These people are pains even when it comes down to what to call them!
I agree with all that "Homeland Security" evokes feelings of Brown Shirts, Young Pioneers, and border guards in kepis asking train passengers for "papieren, bitte."
The U.S.' problem is that it already gave away the "normal" names that countries use for the internal police power and public safety (and, "Department of Public Safety" would be even worse than "Homeland" -- that is one translation of China's Gong An (literally Ministry of Public Peace). In our case, we were already using "Interior."
Many countries use "Ministry of the Interior" as the name of the government entity that provides for national police, fire, transport safety, etc. But to most citizens of such countries, "Interior" means "cops."
The British and many of its ex-colonies use "Home Ministry" without using the words "security" or "police" -- but their primary function is internal policing (think Scotland Yard).
When I was an undergraduate, an excellent professor delivered a lecture on European security issues between the wars (1930's) and spoke at length about the internal police and political controls in Europe at the time. I will never forget his comment to us that "You all should feel extremely fortunate to live in a country where the Interior Ministry is in charge of trees."
Now we have an almost-equivalent, in DHS, but the primary police power in the U.S. remains with the States, and for some reason the FBI still works for the Attorney General. So, we have no national gendarmerie, no national police force, and DHS and DOJ still have to fight each other over control of terrorism and internal security.
But -- I predict that we will one day have a national police force, and that DHS will swallow the FBI. They cannot really coexist and cooperate. Something has to give. Around then they will change the new cop department to "Department of Interior" and rename the tree people "Dept of Parks" -- because Dept of Agriculture has charge of forestry/lumbering and we will want to dispel any confusion about who is responsible for which trees.
After watching the video that Akhilleus posted of D'Souza dancing with some star crossed cutie with a swirling skirt I almost lost my dinner of meatloaf and delicious home grown squash. But then in my mailbox I got this from Daily Koos: Texas students flash "White Power" signs at rival basketball team––may have defecated and urinated on rival team's bus. And I think of a conversation I had not too long ago with someone who was surprised that I mentioned the increase of racism being displayed in this country. Racism? they said––"what makes you think THAT?"
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/18/1365143/-Texas-students-flash-White-Power-signs-at-rival-team-defecate-on-their-team-bus?detail=email