The Commentariat -- May 24, 2015
Internal links removed.
Aw, Poor Mitch. As Ye Sow, so Shall Ye Reap: the Misadventures of Mitch. Jennifer Steinhauer & Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: ... as senators raced for the airport on Saturday after a six-week session that ended in disarray, they left behind a wreck of promises made by Mr. McConnell on how a renewed Senate would operate. Mr. McConnell has found himself vexed by Democratic delaying tactics he honed in the minority, five presidential aspirants with their own agendas and a new crop of conservative firebrands demanding their say." CW: Quite an enjoyable read. Steinhauser & Weisman really let McConnell have it. ...
... Dustin Volz & most of the National Journal's reporting staff, though more circumspect than the Times reporters, demonstrate how McConnell screwed up the vote. As Harry Reid remarked, "'That's what happens when you try to jam everything in just a short period of time.'... When asked if anything would change next Sunday, Reid said, 'I don't know, you'll have to ask Rand Paul [and] the Republicans.'" CW: I kind of enjoy the fact that this is an All-Kentucky Show. And, BTW, Li'l Randy's amendments -- for which McConnell refused/didn't have time to schedule a vote -- sound like pretty good ones. They certainly deserved Senate consideration. Also, both stories suggest that Randy is just grandstanding for fun & profit -- and he is doing that, too -- but I think there's a big measure of sincerity here, at least by politicians' standards.
... Julian Hattem & Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "The Senate is preparing for a last-minute attempt to save expiring portions of the Patriot Act, but it may already be too late. The Obama administration is already starting to end the National Security Agency's (NSA) bulk collection of Americans' phone records, after legislative inaction forced the upper chamber to kick the can until next Sunday -- mere hours before the laws expire. Without congressional approval, the White House failed to ask the secretive Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court to renew the program by a Friday deadline." ...
... Salon excerpts a portion of a book titled After Snowden, etc." by Hodding Carter III, in which Carter, a long-time journalist & former Carter (no relation) administration official, reveals that he has changed his mind about Ed Snowden. He blames much of the mainstream media for attacking, rather than embracing, Snowden's contributions.
Anna Palmer of Politico: "Unions are keeping their fight against a trade bill alive. The AFL-CIO and its allies are organizing dozens of events over the Memorial Day recess to keep the pressure on House Democrats and Republicans as the chamber nears consideration of 'fast track' trade legislation."
Campbell Robertson & John Schwartz of the New York Times: A new peer-reviewed report puts most of the blame for the failure of New Orleans' levees during Hurricane Katrina on the Army Corps of Engineers, largely, though not entirely, absolving local politicians, lobbyists & Congress.
Chris McGreal of the Guardian: "A judge in Las Vegas has ruled that a lawsuit involving accusations of graft and organised crime ties to casinos owned by the multibillionaire and Republican party funder, Sheldon Adelson, will be heard in the US. The decision raises the prospect of Adelson facing difficult questions about his business practices following allegations by a former chief executive of his highly profitable casinos in the Chinese enclave of Macau that a well-known triad crime figure was used to bring in high-rolling gamblers and of influence peddling with Chinese officials.... [The case could] have a bearing on the 81-year-old billionaire's considerable political influence." CW: Yeah, because Scott Walker, et al., won't take his money.
God News
Joan Walsh of Salon: Last week was a bad week for the family-values crowd. "The entire Republican field is united on the inferiority of gay families, but hails parents like the Duggars, who let their son prey on his sisters for a year without going to authorities. Meanwhile, Fox News remains silent about the behavior of [Bill] O'Reilly, [who ignored & abused his own family,] because his angry white patriarch shtick is the core of its brand. The NFL is now more sensitive to the concerns of women’s rights advocates than Fox is." ...
... Emma Margolin of MSNBC: Mike Huckabee is standing by the Duggar parents, who covered up their son's sexual abuse of his sisters and other young girls. Akhilleus wrote about this last week. Because god will forgive them or something. CW: I hate that this "news" has crept into the political sphere, but when you have an entire political party that has aligned itself with the fundamentalist right, it seems inevitable.
Steve Benen: The religious right doesn't seem to care about First Amendment freedoms when a minister is arrested & taken into custody by exercising her religious freedom to officiate at a same-sex wedding in Alabama where "a federal judge ruled Thursday that same-sex couples have the right to marry in every Alabama county, but the ruling is on hold pending the Supreme Court's verdict in a related case." Yo, Ben Carson, where are you? (See story linked under Presidential Race.) ...
Presidential Race
Patrick Healy & Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "As President Obama grapples with the unnerving territorial gains of the Islamic State last week, the Republicans eyeing the White House are struggling to put forward strategies of their own. The most detailed ideas have come from [Lindsey] Graham, a United States senator from South Carolina who is on the Armed Services Committee, yet he ranks so low in polls that it is unclear if he will qualify to participate in the coming candidate debates."
Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Ben Carson won the straw poll at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference Saturday, demonstrating his popularity among conservative activists at one of the party's traditional presidential cattle call events. Carson... finished first with 25 percent. He was followed by Scott Walker, who received 20 percent, and Ted Cruz at 16 percent. Chris Christie and Rick Perry tied at 5 percent, with Jeb Bush narrowly behind. Marco Rubio tied with Bobby Jindal and Rand Paul at 4 percent." ...
... Christian Nation. Ahiza Garcia of TPM: "Ben Carson ... told Republicans on Saturday that they shouldn't allow the government to encroach on their religious liberties. Carson's comments came during the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City. 'Don't let the secular progressives drive God out of our lives,' Carson said. 'We have to stop letting them bully us.... We back down too easily. It's an important part of who we are.'"
Beyond the Beltway
Ida Lieszkovszky of Cleveland.com: "A judge ruled Saturday morning that Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo is not guilty of two charges of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 29, 2012 police chase and shooting that ended in the deaths of two people. Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell said that while Brelo did fire lethal shots at Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, other officers did as well. O'Donnell also concluded that Brelo was not guilty of the lesser included offense of felonious assault because he was legally justified in his use of deadly force." ...
... Adam Ferrise of Cleveland.com: "Demonstrators on Saturday reacted with anger after the not guilty verdicts in Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo's trial. Some three to four dozen protestors carrying signs outside the Cuyahoga County Justice Center expressed anger but said they would remain calm following the verdicts." ...
... Patrick Cooley of Cleveland.com has the backstory. ...
... Kimbriell Kelly & Wesley Lowery of the Washington Post write more about how the killings of Russell & Williams went down & on the history of the case. "The Department of Justice began investigating Cleveland police in March 2013 following a string of 'highly-publicized' use-of-force incidents. The investigation ended in 2014, concluding that the department 'engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force.' Officials with Justice and Cleveland are working to develop reforms overseen by a monitor. After the judge's verdict, the Civil Rights Division at Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office issued a joint statement that said they would review testimony and evidence from the trial and 'collaboratively determine what, if any, additional steps are available and appropriate.' That review is independent, the statement said, of the federal pattern and practice investigation."
Timothy Phelps of the Los Angeles Times: "Subtle changes made in the criminal charges against six Baltimore police officers could reflect weaknesses in the hurriedly filed case arising from the death of Freddie Gray, legal experts say. A grand jury on Thursday presented its indictment against the officers. Though it largely mirrored the original charges filed by State's Atty. Marilyn Mosby, the revisions renewed complaints that Mosby moved too quickly and overcharged the officers."
Way Beyond
Danny Hakim & Douglas Dalby of the New York Times: "Ireland became the first nation to approve same-sex marriage by a popular vote, sweeping aside the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church in a resounding victory Saturday for the gay rights movement and placing the country at the vanguard of social change. With the final ballots counted, the vote was 62 percent in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, and 38 percent opposed." ...
... It's worth checking out the front page of the Irish Times.
Sondos Asem, an Egyptian political activist, in a Washington Post op-ed, discusses her work in Egypt & the death sentence which an Egyptian court imposed upon her & others, including former President Mohamed Morsi. Asem is in Britain.
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Reader Comments (5)
What possible effect can a peaceful protest have in Cleveland? The Cleveland police have a terrible record of brutalizing black suspects. Things will change in Cleveland only when it becomes too expensive to support a police department with the mentality of an occupying army.
The Justice Dept. reported December 4th, 2014, the department had "A pattern of unreasonable and unnecessary use of force".
I do not want to be misunderstood, I say directly, riot and damage and the threat of riot and damage are the only tools poor black citizens have that will cause change.
Carlyle, I sadly agree with you, as do all those armed insurrectionists on the right who incessantly claim that second amendment methods are the only solutions to tyrranical and brutal government forces. I am certain that the like minded Bundy posse will be standing shoulder to shouder with the oppressed citizens of Cleveland.
Maybe the best "Because Obama..." so far, tho' I'm sure there will be more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/us/arizona-wife-sentenced-for-vehicular-assault.html?emc=eta1
@Ken: Ho ho. Thanks. I linked to a story about this shortly after the woman ran down her husband because he hadn't voted. I'm just glad she's so into civil responsibility. Too bad she forfeited her own right to vote in the next presidential election; that's probably what's upsetting her most about her jail sentence.
Marie
There is a phrase for a place where citizens can be shot and killed with impunity solely for running away from law enforcement: it's called a police state.
It seems that years of poor choices by those in charge have brought us to this moment where, for example, failure to signal a turn results in two deaths. There are court cases giving police far too much leeway to "defend themselves," there is the militarization of local police courtesy of donations of equipment by the Feds, there is a whole culture of stamp out crime mentality which fails to distinguish between petty and serious offenses.....
How many bullets would Cleveland cops have had to drill into that car before it was too much ? A thousand? Our current mania to enforce every insignificant law and protect police at all costs is getting to be absurd.