The Commentariat -- May 16, 2015

Internal links removed.

Katharine Seelye of the New York Times: "In a sweeping rejection of the defense case, a federal jury on Friday condemned Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings."

Dave Philipps & Emma Fitzsimmons of the New York Times: "An assistant conductor on the Amtrak train that derailed on Tuesday believes she heard the engineer tell another regional train operator in a radio transmission that the train had been struck by something just before the accident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. At a news conference on Friday, Robert L. Sumwalt, the safety board official who is leading the investigation, said that investigators had found damage to the left side of a portion of the windshield and that they had called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look at it. The F.B.I. was called in because it has experience with the forensics expertise needed for the investigation, officials said, but it has not yet begun its analysis."

Martin Matishak & Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "Defying a veto threat from President Obama, the House on Friday passed a $612 billion defense bill in a 269-151 vote. All but eight Republicans voted in favor, along with 41 Democrats who went against Obama's veto threat and their party leaders, who whipped against it. Obama has threatened to veto the bill over its circumvention of spending caps."

Peter Sullivan of the Hill: "House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) said Thursday that he does not support an idea backed by Senate Republican leadership to temporarily extend ObamaCare subsidies if the Supreme Court cripples the law.... On Wednesday, he reintroduced his Empowering Patients First Act, a plan he has also put forward in previous sessions of Congress. The bill would repeal ObamaCare and replace it with refundable, age-adjusted tax credits for buying insurance. It would give grants for high-risk pools as an insurance option for people with pre-existing conditions." CW: It's unfortunately that Sullivan doesn't mention that Price's "plan" is a crock. ...

... Greg Sargent: "... in a way, it's good to have a fleshed out GOP alternative, because it helps clarify the differences between the parties on health reform. GOP reforms would likely translate into lower-quality plans and a coverage expansion that would benefit fewer people. But that would be the tradeoff Republicans would make to achieve their goal of less government spending and interference in the market than that which occurs under Obamacare. The rub is that if somehow we did switch from Obamacare to the Price alternative, there would be vast disruptions.... Of course, even if the Court does gut subsidies, the Price alternative isn't going to happen. Even if Republicans could unite behind the Price plan, or some other alternative, Obama would veto it, and try to pressure Republicans -- in Congress and the states -- to implement a simple subsidy fix." ...

... Joan McCarter of Daily Kos agrees with Sargent, but she's much snarkier. CW: Which I find totally appropriate.

Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: Sen. Elizabeth "Warren may be a convenient foil for [President] Obama, but the path forward on the proposed trade bill, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has been forged largely by the Democrats' legislative policy brains: Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Senator Patty Murray of Washington. The opposition to an agenda that many Democrats and labor groups believe will cost American jobs has been led by Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Chuck Schumer of New York and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Yet away from the Capitol, it is all Elizabeth Warren." ...

... Matt Taibbi has a theory about what Obama is up to: President Obama, in attacking Warren, is purposely "triangulating": "beating up on the ideologues within [his] own party in order to shore up [his] centrist cred and reassure [the Democratic party's] money sources.... Along with a Democratic Party that would love one last chance to prove itself to Wall Street heading into 2016, Obama badly wants this deal passed, perhaps as a way to steer his legacy in a more bipartisan direction.... The part that's really irritating is that the same politicians who whine every chance they get about being unfairly painted as Marxists on Fox and Clear Channel are now cleverly using the animus generated by those news outlets against the Elizabeth Warrens of the world as shortcuts to political gain.... This goes back to Clinton, Al From, Dick Morris, the DLC days."

Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Obama on Friday saluted fallen officers as heroes and called for renewed efforts to support law enforcement, emphasizing the perils and challenges faced by the police as national attention is focused on the tensions between them and many African-American communities":

** Paul Waldman on the myth that 'faulty intelligence' caused the Iraq War. "Today, Republicans act as though the intelligence community burst into the Oval Office and said, 'Mr. President, Mr. President, Iraq is a terrible threat, and if we don't invade we're doomed!' and then [George W.] Bush said, 'Gee, if you say so, I guess we'd better.' But it worked the other way around. Taking out Saddam Hussein was a priority for many of the senior people in the administration from the moment they took office, and after September 11 it was amped up into a public campaign that can go by no other name but propaganda." ...

'Faulty intelligence' didn't produce the deaths of 4,000 American servicemembers and a couple of hundred thousand Iraqi civilians. Faulty intelligence didn't strengthen Iran's position in the region, lead to an exponential increase in anti-Americanism, and give rise to ISIS. It was the delusions, deceptions, and hubris of the Bush administration and its supporters. They got exactly the intelligence they demanded, and used it to ends they had decided on long before.

Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "Republican lawmakers have accused former Guantanamo Bay detainees of taking part in militant activity following their release in a swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl a year ago, and have warned President Obama against allowing the lapse of security restrictions on them. In a letter sent this week to the White House, all Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee urged Obama to ensure that Qatar does not permit the five former Taliban officials to leave the tiny gulf nation when their one-year travel ban expires on May 31. They have been living under government supervision there for the last year."

Chris Mooney of the Washington Post: "It has been a really bad week for the ice shelves of the quickly warming Antarctic peninsula.... The loss of oceanic ice shelves does not directly increase sea level, because these shelves are already immersed in the water. But their collapse speeds the seaward flow of glaciers held behind them. And when ice leaves land and enters water, that's when seas rise."

Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post: "More than 60 Asian-American organizations filed a complaint ... with the federal government on Friday alleging that Harvard University discriminates against Asian-American students in the admissions process and calling for an investigation. The Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper on campus, wrote in this story that 64 groups filed the complaint with the U.S. Education and Justice departments, arguing that the university makes an 'unlawful use of race' in its decisions that hurts Asian Americans."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. The headline writer at TPM writes the most laughable headline of the year: "Judith Miller And James O'Keefe Discuss Ethics In Journalism." ...

... Steve M. elaborates in a post titled "Wow ... Just Wow."

Presidential Race

Maggie Haberman & Steve Eder of the New York Times: "Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband made at least $30 million over the last 16 months, mainly from giving paid speeches to corporations, banks and other organizations, according to financial disclosure forms filed with federal elections officials on Friday.... The disclosure forms ... show that even as his wife has begun her pursuit of the presidency, Mr. Clinton has shown no signs of slowing down." ...

... CW: Because he's gotta pay their bills.

Gail Collins surveys the GOP field. And longs for George Pataki for Veep 2000. CW: Here's a "hypothetical" for you, Jebbie: if your dimwitted brother had selected Pataki as his running mate in 2000, would there have been an Iraq War?

Dana Milbank: Jeb Bush "managed over an extraordinary 72 hours to demonstrate that he is not anything like his older brother, the former president. He showed himself to be indecisive, uncertain where he stands, afraid of his shadow and nakedly calculating.... Answering a question is not a disservice to American heroes who died in Iraq doing what they were ordered to do. Failing to take a stand is a disservice to American voters, who deserve stronger leaders." Bush's equivocation "undermines the very logic of his candidacy. Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, is congenitally cautious, and her campaign goes to great lengths to keep her from saying much of anything to anybody."

Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Sen. Marco Rubio's problem isn't just that his remark this week that he would not have ordered the 2003 invasion of Iraq given the benefit of hindsight seemed at odds with his comments in March that the Iraq war was not a mistake. The broader question confronting Rubio (R-Fla.) is whether his shifting positions -- on this issue, and others -- will hurt his chances of winning the Republican nomination for president."

Christy Hoppe of the Dallas Morning News: "Former Gov. Rick Perry has chosen Dallas to officially declare his second run for the Republican presidential nomination in three weeks." ...

... Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune in the Washington Post: "Unlike when he entered the 2012 race, Perry would be a decisive underdog in the 2016 contest. He has been polling in the low single digits in the early-voting states and still faces an indictment in Travis County on abuse-of-power charges. But he has been working to be more prepared for a presidential campaign than he was in 2011, brushing up on policy and spending more time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina than most other potential candidates." ...

... CW: Hey, y'all. If things work out as they did in 2012, Perry can run for president of Texas.

News Ledes

Al Jazeera: "An Egypt court has sentenced former President Mohamed Morsi to death for a mass prison break in 2011. The court ruled on Saturday that the sentencing of Morsi and 105 others will be referred to the Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in Egypt, for confirmation. Many of those sentenced were tried in absentia, including Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Islamic scholar based in Qatar. The court will pronounce its final decision on June 2."

NBC News: "A Proton-M carrier rocket carrying a Mexican satellite malfunctioned and crashed in Siberia soon after launch on Saturday, the latest in a series of mishaps for Russia's space industry."

New York Times: "F. A. O. Schwarz, the legendary toy store on Fifth Avenue, will close its doors July 15, a victim of rising rents and ultraluxury retailing in New York City's hottest shopping district. New Yorkers will have to make do with the F. A. O. boutiques inside Toys 'R' Us stores or with online shopping. But F. A. O. Schwarz, which has been a fixture in New York City for 145 years and a character in the 1988 Tom Hanks film 'Big,' is actively scouring Manhattan for a new, less costly location."

Comments

[Akhilleus]

James O'Keefe and Judith Miller pretending to have a serious discussion about journalistic ethics is about on a par with John Gotti and Sheldon Adelson considering the finer points of good citizenship. Biggest laugh I've had since Mitch McConnell criticized Harry Reid for trying to block the president's agenda.

[Akhilleus]

The Stephanopoulos Teapot Tempest (apologies to Robert Ludlum)

So George Stephanopoulos gave some money to the Clinton Foundation. Wingnuts are dipping the torches in tallow and getting the pitchforks out of the garage (where they're kept hanging next to the rakes and shovels--just in case!).

Confederates won't like this, but let's look at this logically, shall we?

(NOOOO Burn him!) Hey, put a sock in it, Hannity. You too Geraldo.

The general complaint is that GS contributed $75,000 to a charitable organization with the Clinton name attached to it and now deserves to be kicked out of pundit land forever. Geraldo Rivera is whining that ABC booted him in 1985 for giving $200 to the campaign of a Republican politician and now demands that ABC give him a pound of GS's flesh in compensation. But the difference, besides the amount, is vital. Rivera contributed to a political campaign. Stephanopoulos to a charitable foundation. That's not an excuse, that's a big difference.

But let's look at this in a way that Fox never would, for good reason.

Money is nice, but other things are a lot better. Non stop, 24/7/365 support for a specific political party and its causes and ideological foundation is more beneficial by far than money. You can give any candidate money for them to use as they see fit, advertising, administrative expenses, whatever. But how much money would you need to purchase non-stop television support, not just support, but a guarantee that an entire television network, newspapers, radio networks, websites, and pundits, will also trash anyone who sets up against you? Could you buy that for $75K? You'd be lucky to buy a 30 second ad on Bill O'Reilly's All Spin Factor for seventy five grand.

But no one is suggesting, least of all Fox, or Geraldo, that Fox (which, as Marie pointed out the other day, also gave money to the Clintons) should recuse itself from all upcoming political battles for the foreseeable future.

And let's not even mention the fund raising and cheerleading for rightwing pols that Fox hosts do on a regular basis. How much is that worth? The type of hugely biased propaganda barely disguised as "news" that Fox and Limbaugh and Beck and the whole array of Confederate media supply is beyond reckoning in terms of cash. I suppose I should be supplying links to document my claims, but I don't think that's necessary at this point. But if anyone thinks I need to give them some proof, I will be happy to bury them with evidence.

The Federal Election Commission, expresses it this way: "The Commission defines "contribution" to include any gift of money or "anything of value" made for the express purpose of influencing a federal election." As Media Matters makes clear, an exemption for media has been in place for years, but this was done under the assumption that coverage would be largely balanced. No one had the foggiest that an entity as baldly partisan and viciously one-sided as Fox would ever come along. Does anyone believe that what Fox does for the Republican Party does not meet the FEC definition of "anything of value"?

Value? Christ, it's a lifetime ticket to the Polo Grounds (if it still existed).

The idea of paid members of the Republican propaganda media arm whipping up the loonies over a piddling contribution to a charitable organization--not a political campaign or candidate--and demanding that this guy not be allowed to have anything to do with the upcoming campaign is like creationist imbecile Ken Ham declaring that reputable scientists who subscribe to National Geographic not be allowed to say anything about climate change or the age of the universe.

And a couple of other points. The Clinton Foundation makes its donors' names public which is why GS thought it wise to get out ahead of that information. Thanks to Citizens Fucked, there is no way of knowing how much Geraldo Rivera or Bill O'Reilly give to right-wing political campaigns. One of Fox's biggest contributors, Karl Rove, makes a living off providing money for Republican political campaigns! And don't give me any bullshit about how other networks are no better than Fox. That is an provable lie. If NBC were the same as Fox, Brian Williams would still be on the air. Instead, it's looking like, for the same things (only not quite as bad) as Bill O'Reilly, Williams' career as a major player in the mainstream media is done.

Did O'Reilly spend a single minute off the air for his proven lies and self-aggrandizement?

The argument that what GS did is beyond the pale, especially coming from anyone in the Confederate media bubble, zooms past ridiculousness to insulting.

I mean, what's better? You give a few bucks to the favorite charity of a guy building a house, or a broadcast network rounds up thousands to come help him build it, bully the building inspector to look the other way on every zoning infraction, put that inspector's picture and address on national TV and invite viewers to call him up and scream at him, then show up to sand, paint, decorate, tile the kitchen floor, sod the yard and make sure the guy never has to pay a dime in property taxes for the first 75 years?

That's the difference.