;)
The Commentariat -- January 7, 2016
Afternoon Update:
Matt Apuzzo & Al Baker of the New York Times: "The mayor will appoint an independent civilian to monitor the New York Police Department's counterterrorism activities, lawyers said in court documents Thursday as they moved to settle a pair of lawsuits over surveillance targeting Muslims in the decade after the Sept. 11 attacks. The agreement would restore some of the outside oversight that was eliminated after the attacks, when city leaders said they needed more flexibility in conducting investigations. In the years that followed, the Police Department secretly built files on Muslim neighborhoods, recorded sermons, collected license plates of worshipers, and documented the views of everyday people on topics such as drone strikes, politics and foreign policy."
Ross Douthat analyzes Donald Trump's chances of winning the GOP presidential nomination, & says it's not likely to happen. CW: His basic argument is not original, and it is, IMHO, plausible ONLY IF one assumes the party poo-bahs are disciplined enough to get together in a dark room & pick a nominee from among the so-called "moderates" left standing. This is not an assumption I would make inasmuch as the party does not have anything like a boss or even a central organization. (No, Prince Rebus, you are not the boss of them. And neither are you, Ayn Rand Paul Ryan.)
*****
Super Emergency! My mouse expired (nope, not the battery). I'll be back after a trip to BestBuy. I'm just no good at the keypad thing. -- Constant Weader ...
... Update: Got a new mouse just like the old mouse, who has been unceremoniously buried.
President Obama will conduct a townhall-style forum on "Guns in America," to air live tonight at 8:00 pm ET.
... Edward-Isaac Dovere of Politico: "In an email..., Obama chief of staff Denis McDonough echoes [President] Obama's more-optimistic-than-ever theme and lists some of what's likely to be on Obama's brag list: December's budget agreement; the Iran nuclear deal; increased domestic oil production together with new environmental regulations; peaks in high school graduation rates and health insurance coverage; drops in unemployment, crime and incarceration rates." ...
... ** Michael Grunwald in Politico Magazine: President "Obama is often dinged for failing to deliver on the hope-and-change rhetoric that inspired so many voters.... But a review of his record shows that the Obama era has produced much more sweeping change than most of his supporters or detractors realize.... What he's done is changing the way we produce and consume energy, the way doctors and hospitals treat us, the academic standards in our schools and the long-term fiscal trajectory of the nation. Gays can now serve openly in the military, insurers can no longer deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, credit card companies can no longer impose hidden fees and markets no longer believe the biggest banks are too big to fail. Solar energy installations are up nearly 2,000 percent, and carbon emissions have dropped even though the economy is growing." CW: Helpful essay; horrible artwork.
Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Congressional Republicans made good Wednesday on a central campaign pledge from the 2014 midterms, delivering a bill repealing the health care reform law they loathe to President Obama's desk, forcing a certain veto. The bill passed 240 to 181, with one House Democrat supporting the bill and three Republicans opposing it, after passing the Senate 52 to 47 last month. Neither margin is large enough to override a veto.... The bill also blocks Planned Parenthood from receiving federal health care funds.... Meanwhile, the bold agenda [Speaker Paul] Ryan has promised awaits."
** Dana Milbank: "On Wednesday, the first legislative day of the year, House conservatives gathered with reporters for their monthly 'Conversations with Conservatives.' When the questioning turned to the armed rebellion in Oregon against the authority of the federal government, these representatives of the United States stood with the rebels.... Not one of the 10 or so Republican House members on the panel criticized the takeover.... The Republican majority began the year not by governing but with an ostentatious show of its hostility toward government." Read the whole post. As Milbank makes clear, House Republicans, including Speaker Paul Ryan, do not know the difference between civil disobedience & sedition. CW: This is shocking.
Greg Sargent: "With leading Republicans all condemning President Obama's new executive actions on guns, Democrats are gleefully pouncing on video of House Speaker Paul Ryan in 2013 saying that Congressional action to close the loophole in our background check system is 'reasonable' and 'obvious.' Ryan's statement yesterday about Obama's executive actions described them as an effort to 'trump the Second Amendment' and an affront to the nation's founding values.... If only Ryan were in a position where he might help make [a legislative fix] happen right now. Of course, Ryan would likely argue that, even if most House Republicans wanted to close the background check loophole -- which they almost certainly don't -- it would be an impossibility because they Can't Trust Obama." ...
... Nicholas Kristof: "President Obama shed tears on Tuesday as he called for new gun safety measures, and some critics perceived weakness or wimpishness. Really?.... We should all be in tears that 225,000 Americans have already died of gun violence in his seven years in office.... It's worth a cry that a 'peaceful' America during Obama's tenure has lost roughly as many lives to gunfire as Syria has in civil war.... The states with the most restrictive gun laws have the lowest gun death rates (including suicides).... Republican candidates are politicizing what should be a public health issue, and they are scaring Americans into buying more guns, which magnifies the problem and causes more carnage."
Linda Greenhouse on a 1989 Supreme Court decision that "continues to immunize government from the kind of accountability that common sense and justice would seem to require." The government is not responsible for its ineptitude or indifference to protecting citizens from each other, even if the unprotected citizens are children.
Somini Sengupta, et al., of the New York Times: "The United Nations Security Council condemned North Korea for its nuclear test on Wednesday, but there was no evidence yet that the North's most powerful backer, China, was willing to stiffen sanctions in a way that could push the unpredictable country to the point of collapse or slow its nuclear progress.... White House officials ... said that initial data from its monitoring stations in Asia were 'not consistent' with a test of a hydrogen bomb."
Presidential Race
Yamiche Alcindor of the New York Times: "Using strikingly similar pitches, Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Martin O'Malley tried their best ... on Wednesday to persuade a room full of Nevada Democrats to support their bids to be the next Democratic presidential nominee. The sold-out event, the Battle Born Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner, was hosted by the state Democratic Party and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader.... They each spent time trying to differentiate themselves, but saved their harshest criticism for Republicans."
** Karen Tumulty & Frances Sellers of the Washington Post: "The ghosts of the 1990s have returned to confront Hillary Clinton, released from the vault by Donald Trump and revved up by a 21st-century version of the scandal machine that almost destroyed her husband's presidency.... The fresher case being made is that Hillary Clinton has been, at a minimum, hypocritical about her husband's treatment of women, and possibly even complicit in discrediting his accusers. And it is being pressed at a time when there is a new sensitivity toward victims of unwanted sexual contact, and when one of the biggest news stories is the prosecution of once-beloved comedian Bill Cosby...." ...
... CW: If Hillary Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, she -- and/or Bill -- will have to do better than ignore this matter. It will be difficult to get the women's vote while ignoring the serial sexual abuser in the room.
Hanna Trudo of Politico: "Vice President Joe Biden started off the first week of the New Year with a confession: He regrets not running for president. 'I regret it every day, but it was the right decision for my family and for me,' he told an NBC affiliate in Connecticut on Wednesday."
Sam Wang of Princeton: There are "suggestive implications about who is likely to be the eventual Republican nominee. (Spoiler: rhymes with Grump.)
"Yes, It Works in Practice, But Does It Work in Theory?" Steve Benen: The American auto industry had its best year ever last year -- after nearly tanking completely in 2008. In 2009, "President Obama took a gamble on an unpopular [auto industry bailout] plan, which fortunately worked beautifully.... In 2015, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump all voiced opposition to the White House's rescue policy from 2009. Yes, they know Obama's approach worked. No, they don't care."
... "Trump's Low-Energy Campaign." Ben Schreckinger of Politico: "Trump, who once derided Jeb Bush for lacking energy, has done fewer campaign swings than any of his top-tier rivals -- 100, versus, for example, Bush's 172 -- and while others have only increased the pace, Trump has barely expanded his schedule. Next week, he'll stage a rare Sunday rally." ...
... Birtherism, Ctd. Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "Sen. John McCain questioned whether Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who was born in Canada, is eligible to be president. McCain, who has long clashed with Cruz in the Senate, said on KFYI Wednesday that 'it's worth looking into' whether Cruz is a natural born citizen, a requirement to be president. The assertion comes the day after Donald Trump, whom Cruz is leading in polls in Iowa, told The Washington Post that Cruz's birthplace could be 'very precarious' for the GOP.... McCain said Wednesday the issue is different [from his case -- he was born in the Panama Canal Zone --] because the Canal Zone was a territory and U.S. Military base and there was precedent set when Barry Goldwater, who was born in Arizona when it was a territory, ran for president.... Legal scholars have said Cruz meets the requirement of natural born citizenship, though it is untested in the courts. Sen. Rand Paul, who is also seeking the Republican nomination, also brought up the issue Wednesday, stating Cruz is eligible to be prime minister of Canada." ...
... Alex Griswold of Mediaite: Trump has flipflopped twice on Cruz's eligibility to be president. CW: Yeah, so what? As contributor Marvin S. has remarked, the only real true thing is what Donald says at the moment he says it. ...
He has had a double passport. -- Donald Trump, on Ted Cruz's eligibility for the presidency
There's no such thing, far as we could tell, as a "double passport." We suspect Trump was suggesting Cruz had obtained both one U.S. and a Canadian one--though our requests for factual backup drew no replies from Trump representatives.... Trump didn't provide and we didn't find evidence that Cruz, who relinquished his dual citizenship in 2014, ever carried passports for the U.S. and Canada--nor, Cruz's camp advises, did he ever apply for a Canada passport. -- Gardner Selby of PolitiFact
... Dana Bash & Abigail Crutchfield of CNN: "Sen. Ted Cruz ... on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of wanting to take Americans' guns away despite his assurances otherwise. 'He's not telling the truth,' Cruz said flatly during an interview with CNN aboard his campaign bus.... Cruz defended posting a picture of the President wearing military style garb on his campaign website, with the caption 'Obama wants your guns.' 'It is actually quite accurate. This is the most anti-gun president we've ever seen,' Cruz said." CW: Yeah, except, say, Ronald Ray-gun.
A Pretty Face. Jonathan Chait: Marco Rubio is no moderate Republican, no matter what his friends, his rivals & the press claim. He is a pragmatist (CW: I would say "opportunist") who toes the party line, whatever it may be at the moment. He "is the embodiment of the Republican donor class’s conviction that it needs to alter nothing more than its face." ...
... "Cuban Heels." Tina Nguyen of Vanity Fair: Marco Rubio looks pretty silly in his new boots, especially because he wore them with a Ralph Lauren pullover & black dress slacks, look ridiculous. ...
... Scott Bixby of the Guardian: "A chance tweet from a New York Times political reporter [Michael Barbaro] and former fashion correspondent spurred snark from Senator Ted Cruz's communications director ('A vote for Marco Rubio is a vote for men's high-heeled booties'), teasing from fellow Senator Rand Paul ('Cute new boots!')...."
Beyond the Beltway
David Montgomery of the New York Times: "The state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, the Chicago-area woman who three days later was found hanged in her cell at the Waller County jail, has been indicted on a perjury charge, a special prosecutor here said Wednesday. Hours after the indictment was announced against the trooper, Brian T. Encinia, the Department of Public Safety said that the state police agency 'will begin termination proceedings to discharge him.' The charge against Trooper Encinia, a Class A misdemeanor, was announced at the end of a day of grand jury deliberations. It carries a possible penalty of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, prosecutors said."
Tony Barboza of the Los Angeles Times: "Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered new regulations, including stepped-up inspections and safety measures, for all natural gas storage facilities in California in response to the continuing leak that has displaced thousands of people in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles.... The requirements are part of a series of orders issued by Brown as he declared a state of emergency stemming from a leaking well at SoCal Gas' storage facility in Aliso Canyon. For more than 10 weeks a damaged well has released large amounts of planet-warming methane and emitted sulfur-like odors that have sickened residents with nosebleeds, headaches and other symptoms."
Claire Landsbaum of New York: "In a move that directly defies the Supreme Court's decision last June, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore issued a court order Wednesday that bans lower judges in Alabama from issuing same-sex marriage licenses.... Moore has a long and sordid history of putting his personal beliefs before the law."
Joanna Walters of the Guardian: "New York mayor Bill de Blasio announced an executive order on Wednesday to raise the minimum wage for city employees to $15 an hour in a move he labeled 'a milestone towards a fairer city'. His plan, which will involve a pay increase for 50,000 workers, will phase in the new pay level for the city's public employees and workers at contracted agencies by the end of 2018 and is a step towards the mayor's stated goal of a $15 minimum hourly wage for the whole city."
Paloma Esquivel of the Los Angeles Times: "The man accused of providing two rifles used in the Dec. 2 mass shooting in San Bernardino pleaded not guilty to charges against him in federal court Wednesday. Enrique Marquez Jr. was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, lying about the rifle purchases, marriage fraud and lying on a visa application."
Tom Hays of the AP: "A U.S. citizen already accused of going to Pakistan to train with al-Qaida was charged Wednesday with helping build explosives for a 2009 suicide attack on an American military base in Afghanistan. A revised indictment charges Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh with conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and other crimes. He is to appear Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn; there was no immediate comment by his lawyer. The charges stem from an attack on Jan. 19, 2009...."
Way Beyond
Keith Bradsher & Amy Tsang of the New York Times: "Trading was halted for the day on China's stock market for the second time this week, as stocks plummeted on Thursday over concerns about the country's currency and the health of the economy. Trading stopped after only 29 minutes and didn't reopen, with the main index in Shanghai down 7.3 percent. Other Asian markets slumped as well." ...
... New Lede: "The market turmoil in China spread around the world, as global investors grew more anxious about the country's currency and the health of its economy."
Kate Connolly of the Guardian: "Cologne's mayor has been widely criticised for suggesting that women 'keep at an arm's length' from strangers to avoid sexual harassment, after scores of women were sexually abused and mugged in the city during new year celebrations." CW: Because, yes, ladies, it's all your fault if you go out & about on New Year's Eve & a bunch of thugs rob, sexually assault & beat you.
News Ledes
CBS News: "Two Iraqi-born men were arrested Thursday in Houston and Sacramento in an ongoing terrorism investigation, according to prosecutors. In a statement late Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's office in Sacramento identified the suspect there as Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, who faces a federal charge of making a false statement involving international terrorism."
AP: "13 miners are still stuck in an elevator 775 feet underground at a central New York salt mine near Ithaca and emergency crews are working on a rescue. Four have been rescued and are being evaluated by medical personnel. Emergency management officials say rescue equipment is on the scene and the miners aren't in danger." ...
... CW: Once a Great Nation. I had no idea there were actual salt mines in the Land of the Free. However, "trapped in a salt mine" seems like the proverbial canary in the mine announcing, in its final, weak Tweet, the coming Republican dystopia. ...
... AP Update: "All 17 miners who were stuck hundreds of feet below the surface in an elevator at the deepest salt mine in the western hemisphere have been rescued. Cargill Inc spokesman Mark Klein says the last two miners were raised to the surface by a crane around 8.30am Thursday at the mine in the central New York town of Lansing."
Share Article
Reader Comments (18)
Late yesterday PD Pepe wrote that "Throughout history it is so often women that change the world around them. Ain't that da truth!"
The only Ronald Reagan quote that I consider to be true is to the effect that if it weren't for women, we men would still be living in caves.
But I suspect Nancy told him to say that.
OK, so here is the basis of the entire issue with Oregon, the Tea Party and their supporters. A printed sign at the Oregon preserve:
"BLM another intrusive tyranical goverment entity". They don't have a clue about the Constitution, the concept of democracy, the meaning of republic, history or how to spell.
As I have said before, the land of the free and the home of the dumb.
@Marvin,
They know how to spell. They just don't believe that "to govern" is the root of Government. Note that "goverment" and "piggy bank" have the same number of letters. They see being part of goverment as a way to enrich themselves and their friends while letting "those people" pay for it.
Shocking is right re: these feckless Representatives that are arm in arm with the rebels–––the "cast aspersions" guy, Labrador (one of the members of the Crazie Crowd) takes a line from Louie's playbook and thinks he's hot shit. And Greg Walden whose last name is the same as that other guy who marched to a different drummer and is now looked at as pond scum except for the fact he did write beautifully about nature. The fact that these yokels are taking a stand against their own government when THEY ARE part of the government is what is shocking–-not being able to discern the difference between civil disobedience and sedition makes me furious as well as so frustrated that we have these dolts in Congress.
And speaking of dolts: the Donald will be speaking tonight in Vermont and has given away (via internet) hundreds of tickets but many, many more than the place where he is to speak can hold. The mayor has asked that Trump do something about this, but so far he hasn't. The community leaders in Burlington are nervous as to the possibility of large crowds getting out of hand, especially if they are not let into the place where the speech will take place.
My other beef this morning is the audacity of Trump unleashing the Bill Clinton liaisons as though Trump, himself is clean as a whistle. To me it's dirty pool. To compare Clinton's peccadilloes to Cosby's raping, as some have done, is outrageous.
And when I hoped , after Obama's tearful gun speech, that people wouldn't make fun of the tears––they better NOT––I said–-Fox fiends took up the gauntlet and managed to show us how despicable human beings can be. One woman even went as far as suggesting Obama must have had an onion under the podium.
I need to get some fresh air and breathe deeply.
From Milbank's column: "Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), in a Wednesday news conference, said he would eventually come up with an alternative to Obamacare and something else resembling a legislative agenda in 2016. “We are just beginning this decision-making process,” he said. “Nothing’s been decided yet.” "
The Republicans have had almost six years to come up with an alternate plan (the ACA was signed into law in March 2010). This sounds suspiciously like the Republican version of "The check's in the mail." I really do hope the press calls them out on this fraud being perpetrated on the American public.
Also, I'd like to see some ads using footage of idiot Republican congressmen such as this gem from Mo Brooks of Alabama: “We had health care six years ago, and it was the best, and that’s where I want to go as a starter.....” For a starter, that would leave 22 million folks without health coverage and drive up the cost of health insurance according to the CBO.
These people are truly lacking in humanity.
@Victoria D.
Paul Ryan said in December they were going to put forward a replacement plan for the ACA. It was urgent!
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/261968-ryan-vows-to-offer-obamacare-replacement-plan-in-2016
Many of the quotes in here are gems that don't really shine a month later. My favorite is this:
"Do we have the best ideas? If so, then I don’t see any reason why we should hold back.”
And yet, the only thing they can send to the president is a bill that says "We don't like your policy!"
One would think that people willing to lay down their lives defending Americans against "tyranical goverment" could learn to spell it. Morans!
Marie
Bateman clears up historical antecedents and the actual meaning of "militia".
The expression of tolerance for these imbeciles in Oregon is more like a bizarro world vision. AMC's "TURN" springs to mind as a template for how they see themselves. A drama in their minds.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a41007/history-lesson-oregon-militia/
@Marie: Congratulations on getting your new mouse. May this one last longer and fare better. I understand that if you cradle them softly, sing "Merrily we roll along" every once in awhile while using, and try your darnest not to get them all sticky with Dorito grease, they will reward you with a long life (less turds, too).
Correction: My reference to Greg Walden's last name the same as Thoreau was meant for the pond, not Henry (just in case anyone wondered).
Carly was on Hannity last night snarling about North Korea being that audacious in-your-face- country (the possible launching of a Fusion bomb) and whose fault is it ? Hillary's! "She was the absolute worst Secretary of State ever." What would Carly have done, one wonders, if she had been in charge? Oh, I know––she'd have given the little fat dictator two choices: One: Stop with the bomb making or we will invade your country; Two: Stop the bomb making or I will order my good friends in China to bomb you to smithereens.
Diplomacy at its best––no doubt about it!
Marie,
I usually flush my dead mice down the toilet to avoid the stink as they start to decompose in the garage bin. Probably not a good idea in your situation to avoid a call to your plumber.
PD,
You wondered what Liarina would do faced with North Korea's latest exercise in dick waggling.
I wonder what they'd do about anything anywhere in the world. I'm sure, somehow, the execution of a Shiite cleric wildly popular (or so it would seem) in Iran by the House of Saud is Hillary's fault too. The problem is, I wonder how much any of the current crop of presidential frauds on the right understands about the complicated history that underlies and informs every action in the Islamic world. Remember that Bush didn't even know there was a difference between Shiites and Sunnis! That would be comparable to someone having no concept that there might be a difference between Teabaggers and Progressives, or between Yankee fans and Red Sox fans. All the same, right?
But seriously, folks...
So far, the most salient (and sadly predictable) foreign policy stance I've heard from any of these intellectual Pygmies are variations on "bomb the shit out of 'em", "make the sand glow", "build a wall", did I say "bomb them"?...and the usual American Exceptionalism bushwa. "Of course we're better than everyone and the rules don't apply to us--Jesus says so--and if anyone thinks differently, fuck 'em, we'll bomb 'em back to the stone age." Because that plan has worked so well in...oh, let's see....Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq...
But we'll try it again and again and again if one of these jamokes gets elected. One of these Republican administrations, they'll get that All Out War thing down pat. Just a few more tries. They'll get it fer sure.
Because why worry about diplomacy and smarts if you have nuclear weapons you can whip out and use to frighten the world? Hmmm....who does that remind me of...short guy, a bit on the chubby side, dad was a dictator, pals around with Dennis Rodman...Oh yeah....Kim Jong Un. He'd make a great Republican candidate: paranoid, fact-free existence, surrounds himself with like-minded toadies, makes shit up at the drop of a hat, lies like a dog on a hot day, screws his own people in order to take care of the military and fat cat supporters, torture fan, loves to strut around in uniform making manly gestures, funky/weird haircut.
A natural.
Here's Charles Pierce's response to Carly's "Iran conducts nuclear test. Because Hillary":
"North Korea would have conducted a nuclear test if Iran were absorbed by Rhode Island and granted an NFL franchise.... This is because North Korea is led by a second-generation loon. He cares no more about what happens in Iran than he does about what happens in the damn Yukon. How do these people think the world works, anyway?"
Personally, I find it ironic that Carly Fiorina thinks Li'l Kim would act rationally in regard to world events when neither she nor her fellow GOP candidates acts rationally in regard to world events. Is she arguing that Kim is better qualified to run a world power they she & they are? If so, I might buy her argument -- as Akhilleus points out, the similarities between Li'l Kim & the GOP candidates are many.
Marie
@Marie: Happy New Year to you and to all the diligent readers and commentators at your instructive website.
For any readers puzzled as to why the Porter Ranch gas leak might take months to fix, there is a quite thorough (to a non-engineer) and well illustrated article in the January 2 edition of the LA Times. The comments from an official with the California Department of Conservation quoted in the article suggest that there are serious infrastructure problems, even in a well regulated state like California. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-porter-ranch-delay-20160102-story.html
Re: Ross Douthat's considered opinion on the chances of one orange-headed asshole.
Is that little twerp still around? I've gleefully given up paying attention to his smug, semi-ecclesiastical and overly contrived teleological twerking.
But hey, Rossie-poo is not a complete loser. Humping a blow-up doll while saying the Rosary at the same time requires at the very least a certain level of concentration and coordination.
Keep at it, boy.
I received the following from a fellow Noo Yawker.
Since I pay no mind to The Daily "Rag", I welcomed - and was astonished - seeing this:
<< "Terrific Front Page"
Wow – check out the cover of yesterday’s NY Daily News (for you non-New Yorkers, it’s a rather conservative tabloid):
https://twitter.com/NYDailyNews/status/684699933048455169
One of their covers a few weeks ago said “God Isn’t Fixing This” >>
More in today's gun news:
Today in Claremont, New Hampshire
"Trump presented with custom AR-15 rifle before N.H. rally,
The weapon is inscribed with the Black Op Arms logo, an American flag and New Hampshire's 'Live Free or Die' motto."
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/01/07/trump-presented-with-custom-ar-15-rifle-before-n-h-rally/
Robin Wright gave an outstanding 'tutorial' on Saudi Arabia and Iran today on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. She (Wright) has reported on the Middle East for 43 years and it shows. I'd vote for her for president!
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=462250478&m=462278598&live=1
Only Akhilleus can help me end my reading, with laughter, of R.C. at the end of the day with the image of Ross Douthat humping a blow-up doll while saying the rosary. I'll sleep well tonight just thinking about that. Thanks, Bud, takes the place of all those sheep.