;)
The Commentariat -- Nov. 11, 2013
Molly Hooper of the Hill: "The GOP wants to rebuild its political capital and public credibility by solving ObamaCare's implementation problems. This pivot comes after Republicans took major hits in polls following the government shutdown. The House this week will vote on a measure called, 'Keep Your Health Plan Act.' It aims to do what the president promised years ago: If you like your health plan, you can stay on it. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing for a vote in their chamber. That measure has already attracted Democratic support." CW: Hooper presents this as a shift in GOP policy. In fact, it's just one more means to rail against the law. "Solving ObamaCare's implementation problems"? Ha! You know that is the last thing on their minds.
CW: If you'd like to know what a Very Serious Person would do to "salvage" Obama, you need look no further than Bill Keller. Sadly, I think President Obama is only too willing to take all of Keller's advice. ...
... Andrew Rudalevige in the Washington Post: President Obama soon tired of the "team of rivals" structure of advisor input, which probably explains why he never seems to know WTF is going on in his own administration.
Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times: "In the case being argued [before the U.S. Supreme Court] on Wednesday, Unite Here Local 355 vs. Mulhall, an employee of Mardi Gras Gaming in Florida sued Unite Here, asserting that its neutrality agreement with the company was illegal. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in his favor, finding that the agreement was a 'thing of value' that federal labor law bars employers from giving to any union or union official.... Benjamin Sachs, a professor of labor law at Harvard Law School, said the case ... was potentially 'the most significant labor case in a generation.'"
Kevin Sieff of the Washington Post: "A growing number of Afghan interpreters who worked alongside American troops are being denied U.S. visas allotted by Congress because the State Department says there is no serious threat against their lives. But the interpreters, many of whom served in Taliban havens for years, say U.S. officials are drastically underestimating the danger they face. Immigration attorneys and Afghan interpreters say the denials are occurring just as concerns about Taliban retribution are mounting due to the withdrawal of U.S. forces." CW: Really shortsighted & mean. Not only did these interpreters serve the U.S., they also speak English!
Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State John F. Kerry heads home Monday to defend a proposed nuclear deal with Iran in testimony before doubting lawmakers, as the Obama administration is moving to head off rising criticism from Israel. Kerry has already begun making the case that an Iranian agreement to temporarily freeze elements of its nuclear programs in exchange for a partial easing of Western sanctions would be a viable step toward negotiating a permanent end to Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions." CW: While you're here, why not stop in at that State Department review panel (see Kevin Sieff's report above) that is denying visas to Afghan interpreters & tell them to accept those applications -- or be reassigned to Taliban territory.
Bryon Tau of Politico: "Secretary of State John Kerry is declining to further elaborate on his belief that the assassin of President John F. Kennedy was part of a broader conspiracy. Pressed in an interview aired Sunday on NBC's 'Meet the Press' to explain his beliefs that JFK's death was part of a bigger plot, Kerry said: 'I just have a point of view. And I'm not going to get into that. It's not something that I think needs to be commented on, and certainly not at this time.'"
"The Plot against France." Paul Krugman: "S.& P.'s [downgrading France] needs to be seen in the context of the broader politics of fiscal austerity.... For the plot against France ... is one clear demonstration that in Europe, as in America, fiscal scolds don't really care about deficits. Instead, they're using debt fears to advance an ideological agenda. And France, which refuses to play along, has become the target of incessant negative propaganda.... France has committed the unforgivable sin of being fiscally responsible without inflicting pain on the poor and unlucky. And it must be punished."
Kat Stoeffel of New York has a brief post on women getting "all the bad jobs.... According to the National Women's Law Center, 60 percent of women's job gains during the first four years of the recovery came in the ten largest low-wage jobs, versus just 20 percent of men's gains. You are hereby authorized to roll your eyes next time you encounter the term mancession."
Nice post from Charles Pierce on "This Weekend in Responsible Gun Ownership." CW: BTW, I did see a story on this over the weekend & didn't post it, mostly because gun nuts intimidating ordinary citizens -- especially in Texas -- is just not news. But Pierce is right about the Hooters thing.
"Mistakes Were Made"
Adam Martin of New York: "After finally retracting its inaccurate report on the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, 60 Minutes offered [a brief] apology in its Sunday night broadcast.... Many media critics share the impression that Logan's televised apology was thin":
... The New York Times report, by Brian Stelter & Bill Carter, is here. ...
... Jack Mirkinson of the Huffington Post: "Predictably, [Logan's] Sunday mea culpa offered little insight into why Davies was chosen as the key source for the report, and why '60 Minutes' had so fervently defended him, even amid mounting evidence of his unreliability. Also unmentioned was what role, if any, corporate ties played in placing Davies at the heart of the piece. A conservative imprint of Simon and Schuster, which is also owned by CBS, had published a book about Benghazi by Davies. That book has since been recalled." Includes critical tweets from media watchers. ...
... Steve M. of NMMNB: " Logan's report was tied to the publication of a book by the now-discredited witness -- a book that was published, two days after the report aired, by Threshold Editions, a right-wing imprint of Simon & Schuster, which is part of CBS, Inc., and which was founded by former Dick Cheney aide Mary Matalin. (The book has since been withdrawn.)" ...
... Jeremy Holden of Media Matters: "Logan's slippery apology glosses over a key question that remains unanswered: why did 60 Minutes&fail to inform its audience during the initial segment that its key eyewitness had told two contradictory accounts of what he did the night of the September 11, 2012, terrorist attacks? ... How CBS News came to the decision to believe his current story is critical since a CBS subsidiary had a clear financial interest in the version of events 60 Minutesaired." ...
... ** Josh Marshall of TPM: "In a narrow sense, Lara Logan did say she was 'sorry.' But the entire 90 seconds was aimed at obfuscating what happened. Logan said 60 Minutes had found out Thursday that they had been 'misled and it was a mistake to include him in our report.' Include him in their report? He was the report. And even in conceding that her team had been 'misled', Logan tiptoed around the real news, which is that it seems clear that Davies' entire story was a fabrication." .
... Media watchdog Jay Rosen grows more outraged with each update to his post -- first written before the lame Logan "apology." ...
... Michael Calderone of the Huffington Post lists some serious, unanswered questions, which -- according to the New York Times report linked above -- are going to remain unasked & unanswered. ...
... CW P.S.: I fully expected Logan to end with, "Why don't you come up & see me some time, Big Boy?" instead of the anodyne promise, "We'll be back next week." The tight knit dress, hands-over-crotch, the breathless, little-girl voice ... laughably obvious. AND/OR one explanation of why Logan is not getting the Dan Rather treatment.
... Simon Maloy of Media Matters: "Following the collapse of CBS News' 60 Minutes report on the 2012 Benghazi attacks, Fox News, which cited 60 Minutes' now-discredited 'eyewitness' for some of its Benghazi coverage, is standing by the accuracy of its reporting. CBS News' withdrawal of the story has been largely ignored by Fox News, even though Fox enthusiastically promoted the 60 Minutes story and boasted that it validated the network's own reporting on Benghazi."
November 2013 Election
George Packer of the New Yorker: "It took a long time for the Republican Party to fall into the hands of Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, and it won't easily extricate itself, as Cuccinelli's near-victory shows. But 2013 might turn out to be the high-water mark of Republican extremism, the year the polarization line finally levelled off." CW: Also, Packer elaborates on the theme Dave S. expresses in today's Comments: that the Christie "mandate" isn't all it's cracked up to be as the majority of voters stayed home. Swooning liberals, take note: ditto for New York City. However, polls showed that the results of both of these elections were nearly foregone conclusions, so I wouldn't make as much as Packer does of low turnout in an off-year election in which one candidate was all-but-certain to win. People who did vote may have done so because they had an interest in some down-ticket candidate or issue.
New Rules. Shades of Bush-Gore. Chris Gentilviso of the Huffington Post: "Already shaping up to be one of the closest races in state history, a last-minute rule change is stirring up the recount to decide who will become Virginia's next attorney general.... According to a report by WTOP radio, the Virginia State Board Of Elections decided Friday to change rules relevant to Fairfax County, banning legal representatives from helping count votes, unless the associated voter was actually present. The board changing the rules is dominated by Republicans. Fairfax County's Electoral Board said Saturday that the modification affects hundreds of voters.... Secretary Brian Schoeneman and Board Chairman Seth Stark expressed disagreement with the ruling."
Congressional Race 2014
Enough with the Tea Party. Alexandra Jaffe & Kevin Bogardus of the Hill: "Business leaders are plotting to take down Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) as part of a broader effort to punish lawmakers over the government shutdown. In a letter obtained by The Hill, prominent Michigan donors request financial backing for Amash's primary challenger, Brian Ellis. Seven individuals, including prominent Michigan businessmen..., signed the fundraising plea. They argue that Amash 'and others have effectively nullified the Republican majority in the U.S. House.'"
Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: Some GOP Congressional primary challenges are coming from business-backed candidates, some from Tea Party adherents. "How such contests resolve themselves could leave the House Republican caucus either more uncompromisingly conservative in 2015 or more committed to governance and compromise. 'It's an offshoot of the decline in competitive districts because of redistricting,' said David Wasserman, a House analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. 'There are fewer fights to pick with the other party, so there are going to be more fights within your party.'"
Presidential Race 2016
** Noam Scheiber of the New Republic has a terrific piece on Elizabeth Warren -- the soul of the Democratic Party & a potential challenger to Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. Thanks to Julie L. for the link.
Dylan Stableford of Yahoo! News: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says Time magazine's depiction of him as an elephant doesn't bother him. 'If I'm bothered by jokes about my weight, it's time for me to crawl up into a fetal position and go home," Christie said on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos' on Sunday. 'The fact is, that, you know, if they think it's clever, great for them.' ... Some critics called it a cheap shot." ...
... Jeff Zeleny of ABC News: "Gov. Rick Perry of Texas credited Chris Christie for his re-election in New Jersey, but he pointedly questioned whether the 22-point victory by Christie held any greater meaning for the Republican Party. 'Is a conservative in New Jersey a conservative in the rest of the country?' Perry said in an interview with 'This Week.' 'We'll have that discussion at the appropriate time.'"
Everybody gets to go out and do their thing. That's his thing. My thing is governing. -- Rick Perry , on Ted Cruz's role in the federal government shutdown ...
... Katie Glueck of Politico: "Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Rick Perry are both angling to run for president. And the prospect of a clash between the two Texas-sized egos who represent different eras of the GOP -- and who aren't openly rivals but haven't betrayed warm fuzzies for one another, either -- has tongues wagging." CW: This story is characterized as an analysis of a "clash of the Titans." Probably "Titan" is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Perry or Cruz (also the spawn of Zeus did overthrow the mythological Titans).
Local News
Rick Hertzberg on New York City's mayors: "Mike Bloomberg has been unlike any mayor we have ever had. He has governed New York (ruled it, really) less as a standard elected official, a grubby pol beset by grubbier pols, than as a Roman consul or a Roman emperor -- one of the better emperors, too: a basically public-spirited type like Augustus or Vespasian, as opposed to a Nero or a Caligula." CW BTW: As far as I know, New York City still does not have Vespasians (street toilets), which is a bummer.
Nick Madigan in the New York Times: "In the most dire predictions, South Florida's delicate barrier islands, coastal communities and captivating subtropical beaches will be lost to the rising waters in as few as 100 years... Four counties there -- Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach, with a combined population of 5.6 million -- have formed an alliance to figure out solutions. Long battered by hurricanes and prone to flooding from intense thunderstorms, Florida is the most vulnerable state in the country to the rise in sea levels."
News Ledes
The New York Times has a list of charitable organizations that are assisting in aid to the Philippines, with links to the sites where they are accepting donations.
New York Times: "After an avalanche of criticism at home and abroad, the German government announced late Monday it will establish a task force to investigate, 'as quickly and as transparently as possible,' the provenance of a cache of more than 1,400 artworks that are suspected of being traded or looted during the Nazis' reign and that are now in the hands of authorities in Bavaria."
New York Post: "A musician furious over being thrown out of a rock band extracted bloody revenge in an early morning attack in Brooklyn Monday -- using a military-style rifle to fatally shoot three people believed to be bandmates, wound another person and then take his own life, law enforcement sources said."
Washington Post: "To accommodate [Amazon.com]..., the Postal Service said it will for the first time deliver packages at regular rates on Sundays."
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Reader Comments (11)
Just for the record:
Christie is hanging his hat on that 62% majority without mentioning that this election saw record low turnout. A 38% turnout means that 62% majority represents 24% of registered voters. Hardly a mandate.
Both the Krugman piece and the Scheiber piece pretty much defined the next presidential election, i.e., the struggle will be between those who wish to continue concentrating wealth among the very few and those who believe in an equitable society. Obama has been co-opted by the former group - perhaps because he didn't feel knowledgeable enough and doesn't feel strong enough to go up against them - and I think Clinton has also become hostage. But folks like Warren and Sanders seem to have a genuine commitment to reigning in greed. So does Robert Burns 'A Man's A Man For A' That' resonate deeply enough with voters today? Or, out of fear, will we continue to doff our caps and touch our forelocks, hoping their Greatnesses will allow us to be one of their bag carriers?
http://www.nationalmemo.com/excerptbreach-of-trust-how-americans-failed-their-soldiers-and-their-country/
My man Andrew Bacevich has a new book out "Breach of Trust.' The National Memo has an excerpt (link above). Basically, the way the US now wages war is for someone else to do it. No sacrifice on the part of the citizenry required, including paying for it. Obviously, he doesn't care much for GW Bush.
Of course, today being Veterans' Day, I'll be greeted with "Thank you for your service." With many, it's just a rote formality, but with others,, it''s truly sincere.
@Marie: Why is your soldier saluting with his left hand? Is it because RC leans left?
We know what gerrymandering has done to the House: made seats so safe for many R's (and some D's) that no extent of public lunacy is likely to pry them from their position. Frustrating, even maddening for us out here on the receiving end of their boneheaded behavior, certainly, but this morning I wonder what it must feel like to live in a district where gerrymandering guarantees no close contests ever, no real competition of people or ideas?
I'd imagine in such circumstance a minority party member would lose all sense of agency or efficacy. If your vote never counted, why would you ever vote? Deliberately induced hopelessness is likely the most effective voter suppression tool of all, whether intended or not.
Maybe an odd thought to have on Veterans' Day, when we rightly honor those who traveled abroad and risked so much to defend freedoms that others are working so hard to erode here at home.
@Barbarossa: I would say it's because I'm left-handed & can't tell the difference. Or because the soldier's right arm was injured. If you look closely at the photo, however, you'll see that you're looking at the soldier's back, & he is saluting with his right hand.
Marie
Oh me, oh my. Election funny business in Virginia. Whoever could it be?
Why, it’s the Republicans, of course. I think I predicted something like this the other day, that in an election which, even with all the previous rigging and higgledy-piggledy on the part of the Grand Old Pilferers, was still close enough to go to the Democrat, some additional legerdemain might be in the offing. Sure enough, here it is.
Ta-da! A rule change. Not before the election, but AFTER the election. Too low down and dirty? Nah…not for these guys.
Remember the Virginia GOP rammed through a redistricting bill affecting every district in the state during Obama’s second inauguration. Even though the VA senate is split 20-20, they took advantage of the fact that Sen. Henry Marsh, a civil rights veteran, had gone to DC for the president’s inauguration. While they had the one vote advantage (and without informing Marsh), they redrew the entire state in their favor. Cute, in’it? But to change election rules after the election to make sure your side wins is worse than dirty. It’s criminal. Why don’t they just come out and say “Hey, guys, we made a new rule. Our guy wins. No matter what.”
The GOP realizes that they have maneuvered themselves into a second rate off-brand which a plurality of Americans hate. They are intellectually dead, morally bankrupt, ethically moribund. They hawk sleazy policies catering to the ultra wealthy, they spit on the poor, the middle class, minorities, women, unions, and large swaths of average Americans. They support robber barons, gun nuts, racists, and rapists. The only way they can stay in power is to steal elections. And that’s what this is. Daylight hijacking of an election.
But that doesn’t stop wingnuts from screaming that it’s Democrats who are playing dirty in Virginia. How? Well, according to several right-wing websites, Democrats jimmied the gubernatorial election by “letting” a Libertarian candidate run. Not only that, but a Libertarian PAC gave the guy, Robert Sarvis, a huge bundle of money: $150,000! Holy shit! Those must have been some magic semolians to have beaten the millions handed the Cooch by his GOP bundlers. One donor actually gave Sarvis $11,000! ONE GUY! Can you believe it? This helped Sarvis grab 6% of voters and constitutes, in the feverish brains of wingnuts, a Democratic dirty trick.
I guess this is one more example for the MSM “both sides do it” idiots. Let’s see. One party gets millions of dollars in one race, steals another by changing the rules to ensure that they win. The other has nothing to do with a third party candidate armed with about $3.54 who was able to get a few thousand people to vote for him, but it’s a Democratic dirty trick.
Brilliant, ain’t it?
Ken,
The gerrymandering is only one part of a multi-pronged attack on democracy by the GOP. Again and again, they've demonstrated their complete contempt for the democratic process, but jiggering with election districts only gets you so far. It's a good start though, making sure that millions of votes around the country will count for nothing. In addition to vote suppression and election stealing, the plan also calls for routine misdirection away from their actual goals, character assassination of their "enemies" (ie anyone who thinks differently), and demoralizing voters by injecting massive doses of cynicism into the body politic. They've got their media outlets and manqués who carry out the dirty work assigned them by billionaire puppet masters.
It's all a muddled michegas designed to subvert democracy.
And it's working.
But before I get a razor blade, get into a tub and do my Marat impersonation, here's a little humor to stave off the vague ennui (and the not so vague exasperation).
Funniest spot of the week.
Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s news/humor quiz show, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, did a spot for this weekend’s show in which he featured Toronto’s Rob (Crackhead) Ford. In making a comparison between Canadian and American cultures and expectations, Sagal declared that Ford’s admission that he smoked crack--but only when he was “hammered”--is like the mayor of New York City admitting that he’s a serial killer.
By far the most interesting race last Tuesday was the Virginia AG Match of the Marks--Herring for the Dems and Obenshain for the Reps. Results have been see-sawing back and forth ever since the polls closed. At the moment, it looks like its a win for Herring and the Dems, but nothing is certain--in politics or otherwise. Results to be certified Nov. 25 (I think that's right), but a recount is all but guaranteed to follow.
Barbarossa. The soldier appears to be saluting with his left hand because his image was photoshopped into the graphic but was first flipped L-to-R so he would be facing into the graphic rather than out of it. Think focal point.
Barbarossa. No, one second thought, I think Marie is right. For some peculiar reason the GI is looking at the back of the graphic, not the front.