;)
The Commentariat -- Nov. 17, 2015
Internal links removed.
Afternoon Update:
Annie Karni of Politico: "Bernie Sanders' ballyhooed speech on socialism is now on indefinite hold. Details about how Sanders would pay for his proposed single-payer national health insurance program to provide Medicare for all Americans have yet to be fleshed out -- even though a July 30 post on his campaign website says the Vermont senator would file legislation on single-payer 'perhaps as soon as next week.'" ...
... Ed Kilgore: "... the planted axiom that a single-payer health care system or a more progressive tax system represents 'socialism' is absurd. Harry Truman proposed a single-payer system seventy years ago this Thursday, a few months before his 'Iron Curtain' speech." CW: Actually, I found the whole article absurd. The gist is that Sanders can't handle the big leagues.
Don Melvin & Matthew Chance of CNN: "The Russian passenger jet that crashed over Sinai, Egypt, was brought down by a bomb estimated to contain 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosives, the head of the Russian Federal Security Service said Tuesday, and the Russian government is offering a $50 million reward for information about those who brought it down."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court's decisions protecting gay rights were not rooted in the Constitution, and their logic could as easily apply to child molesters, Justice Antonin Scalia told a room filled with first-year law students at Georgetown University on Monday. 'What minorities deserve protection?' he asked. 'What? It's up to me to identify deserving minorities?' He said those decisions should generally be made by the democratic process rather than by judges." ...
... CW: Allow me to assist, Nino. If any group of law-abiding citizens is regularly or occasionally subject to discrimination -- via either laws or practices -- based upon some aspect of who they are, then they're easy to "identify" as "deserving." Just to be clear, since you seem to find this concept so difficult, that does not include child molesters, whom you ludicrously describe as a "deserving minority." P.S. Since I know you love to go to the dictionary & often cite it in your hilarious opinions, do look up the meaning of "deserving." Jerk.
Patrick O'Connor of the Wall Street Journal: "Florida Sen. Marco Rubio leveled pointed charges Monday at a pair of Republican presidential rivals who backed efforts to overhaul U.S. bulk collection of phone records. The Florida senator criticized Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky for advocating efforts earlier this year to overhaul the National Security Agency's controversial program to collect the personal communications of millions of Americans, campaign-trail attacks that carry more weight in the aftermath of Paris." (Story is not firewalled.)
Mike DeBonis & Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday called for a 'pause' to the admittance of Syrian refugees into the United States, citing the national security risks in the wake of the Paris attacks. 'Our nation has always been welcoming, but we cannot let terrorists take advantage of our compassion,' Ryan (R-Wis.) said after emerging from a closed door meeting for House Republicans. 'This is a moment where it's better to be safe than to be sorry.'"
Never Let a Crisis Go Unexploited. Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Louisiana's race for governor is set to end on November 21, one week after the Paris bombings. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), the struggling Republican nominee, is trying to make the race turn on one issue: Whether to let Syrian refugees settle in the United States. His closing argument depends on making Democratic nominee John Bel Edwards, a state representative who responded cautiously to the refugee aspect of the crisis, into a refugee-hugging accomplice of President Obama."
Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "Sen. Ted Cruz, who has said that the United States should not allow Syrian Muslim refugees into the country but should provide safe haven to fleeing Christians, plans to introduce legislation that would bar Syrian refugees from entering the country."
Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee have seized on an odd argument to argue against taking Syrian refugees: The U.S. is too cold for them. Huckabee and Trump both cited Minnesota as being too cold for refugees."
Sportswriter Bill Simmons interviews President Obama for GQ. Sports metaphors & comparisons liberally applied.
The Guardian is liveblogging developments related to the Paris terrorist attacks.
*****
Aurelien Breeden, et al., of the New York Times: "The Belgian man suspected of plotting the Paris terrorist attacks was a target of Western airstrikes on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, as recently as last month, according to a European security official. The man, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, a fighter for the Islamic State, is believed to have escaped to Syria after the authorities in January foiled another terrorist plot, which had targeted the eastern Belgian city of Verviers, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details." ...
... Missy Ryan, et al., of the Washington Post: "France and Russia launched a punishing wave of attacks against Islamic State targets in Syria on Tuesday, as French leaders invoked an emergency pact to demand European allies join an intensifying military response to last week's terrorist carnage in Paris. The Syrian strikes -- which appeared to include Russian cruise missiles -- took place as French police carried out dozens of additional raids, and investigations in France and Belgium revealed new details of the attackers' movements prior to the coordinated assaults on Friday." ...
... Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "Russia confirmed for the first time on Tuesday that a homemade bomb brought down a Russian charter jet over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt more than two weeks ago, killing all 224 people aboard. 'We can say definitely that this was a terrorist act,' Alexander V. Bortnikov, the head of the Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., said....
Aurelien Breeden, et al., of the New York Times: "President François Hollande of France called on Monday for constitutional amendments to fight potential terrorists at home and for an aggressive effort to 'eradicate' the Islamic State abroad. His call to arms -- 'France is at war,' he said at the opening of his remarks to a joint session of Parliament -- came as security forces in France and Belgium zeroed in on a suspect they said was the architect of the assault that killed 129 people Friday night in Paris. The suspect, a 27-year-old Belgian, has fought for the Islamic State in Syria and has been linked to other terrorist attacks." ...
... Missy Ryan & Daniela Dean of the Washington Post: "France launched new airstrikes on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in Syria Tuesday while French police carried out more than 120 anti-terrorism raids throughout France four days after the devastating terrorist attacks in Paris that killed at least 129 people." ...
... Jon Henley of the Guardian: "In a dramatic escalation of France's war against Islamic State, François Hollande has pledged to intensify his country's airstrikes against the terror group, as the mastermind suspected of organising Friday's carnage in Paris was revealed to be a notorious Belgian-born Isis extremist living in Syria. Unveiling a raft of hardline measures to counter domestic extremism on Monday, the French president told an exceptional assembly of both houses of parliament at the Palace of Versailles: 'France is at war ... But we are not engaged in a war of civilisations, because these assassins do not represent any civilisation.'" ...
... Karen DeYoung, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin met [in Antalya, Turkey,] for the first time since Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris, struggling to get past their strained personal and political relationships and hoping to craft a coordinated response to the crisis in Syria and the rise of the Islamic State. Hopes for the meeting were muted.,,, Obama and Putin met Sunday for about half an hour on the sidelines of the two-day Group of 20 summit at this Turkish Mediterranean resort." ...
... Scott Shane of the New York Times: "In response to the Paris attacks, a top American intelligence official on Monday renewed a debate on government surveillance and privacy, denouncing 'hand-wringing' over intrusive spying and saying that leaks of classified information had made it harder to identify terrorists. John O. Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, appeared to be speaking in part about the National Security Agency's mass surveillance of phone and Internet communications that were disclosed by Edward J. Snowden in 2013. Those disclosures prompted sharp criticism and new restrictions on electronic spying both in the United States and in Europe. Mr. Brennan also seemed to be pushing back against complaints from privacy advocates in light of a growing threat from the Islamic State against Western countries...." With video. ...
... Sahil Kapur of Bloomberg: "A growing political war of words over whether to take in Syrian refugees in the wake of last week's terror attack in Paris may be morphing into the next government shutdown showdown. Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions sent a letter to colleagues Monday urging them to support adding language to the next government spending bill that would effectively block President Barack Obama's plan to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year. Obama on Monday said he intends to go forward with his plan, despite numerous calls from Republican presidential candidates and governors that he scrap it. Sessions is proposing that Congress explicitly prohibit any funding for Syrian refugee resettlement unless Congress approves it and finds money to offset the cost." ...
... Eliza Collins of Politico: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein sharply contradicted President Barack Obama on Monday, disagreeing with his claim that the Islamic State is 'contained.' 'I've never been more concerned,' the California Democrat and Intelligence Committee ranking member told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC Monday. 'I read the intelligence faithfully. ISIL is not contained. ISIL is expanding. They just put out a video saying it is their intent to attack this country. I think we have to be prepared,' she continued." CW: Sen. Feinstein should have watched the video or read the transcript of what President Obama said before she lit her hair on fire. (See yesterday's Commentariat.) ...
... Josh Gerstein & Nick Gass of Politico: "CIA Director John Brennan said on Monday that officials had 'strategic warning' about the terrorist attacks in Paris that claimed the lives of more than 130 and injured hundreds more, also saying that Islamic State likely has more operations in the pipeline." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... ** Steve Benen: President Obama's critics complain he is 'weak' & 'leading from behind,' etc. "What's puzzling about this is the degree to which the criticisms ignore current events. According to statistics from the Pentagon, since President Obama launched a military offensive against ISIS targets 15 months ago – his 'deep seated aversion to using military force' notwithstanding -- the United States military has carried out 6,353 airstrikes. Every other country on the planet combined has carried out 1,772.... If we narrow the focus to Syria specifically, as of late last week, France had carried out four airstrikes. The United States, acting on orders from President Obama, had carried out 2,658." CW: Useful stats to have at the ready for that Thanksgiving Day discussion about the feckless president. ...
... The Syrians Are Coming! The Syrians Are Coming! ... Robert Costa & Abby Phillip of the Washington Post: "Nearly two dozen Republican governors moved Monday to close off their states to Syrian migrants as leading GOP presidential candidates outlined positions that would discriminate against Muslims seeking refuge in the United States. The efforts come as heightened fears among Republicans, and some Democrats, that the tens of thousands of people flowing from Syria's civil war are sheltering potential terrorists.... Several governors acknowledged that they do not have the ability to stop the federal government from accepting and financing the resettlement of refugees. Non-profit agencies who work with the federal government on resettlement said that while the cooperation of states and localities helps in the process, no governor can impede the movement of refugees once they have legal status." ...
"American Gothic." AP photo. Not photoshopped.
... Kyle Blaine of BuzzFeed: "Several state governors announced on Monday that they will not accept Syrian refugees following the attacks in Paris, citing concerns for security. The governors of Louisiana, Indiana, Massachusetts, Texas, and Arkansas announced measures on Monday to stop or oppose Syrian refugees from resettling in their states. Alabama and Michigan made similar announcements on Sunday." CW: Not even Christian Syrians, Bobby Jindal? I know that the requirement to grandstand for your bigot base makes you stupid, but I'd be pretty surprised if there were "legal means" for a state to kick out a person because of his refuge status. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Update. Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "... there is no lawful means that permits a state government to dictate immigration policy to the president in this way. As the Supreme Court explained in Hines v. Davidowitz, 'the supremacy of the national power in the general field of foreign affairs, including power over immigration, naturalization and deportation, is made clear by the Constitution.' States do not get to overrule the federal government on matters such as this one.... President Obama has explicit statutory authorization to accept foreign refugees into the United States ... under the Refugee Act of 1980.... This power to admit refugees fits within the scheme of 'broad discretion exercised by immigration officials' that the Supreme Court recognized in its most recent major immigration case, Arizona v. United States." ...
... Let's Watch the Clown Car Drive up the Hill. At the end of this post, Steve M. takes a look at a provision of the Refugee Act that ensures Congress will have "an ideal opportunity to prey on voters' fears, they'll do it, relentlessly. So this is going to be a losing battle for the White House." ...
... Laura Clawson of Daily Kos: "That's not saying these profile-in-courage governors -- which sadly include at least one Democrat, New Hampshire's Maggie Hassan -- can't find ways to make it more difficult for the federal government to settle refugees in their states, or make life more difficult for the refugees (think of Gov. Bobby Jindal's promise to send law enforcement after any Syrians who happen to end up in Louisiana). But they can't flat-out refuse." CW: You can bet I sent Miss Maggie a "shame on you" letter. ...
... Ed Kilgore: "... the dumbest reaction we've heard, by far, and it seems to be the most common from Republican governors and presidential candidates, is to treat Syrian refugees as putative terrorists, or worse yet, to distinguish them by religious tests. This last proposal is the signature 'idea' of the Great Big Grown-Up and Establishment icon Jeb Bush. Ted Cruz, more predictably, thinks that's an excellent suggestion as well." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Peter Beinart of the Atlantic: "According to the French government, the Islamic State perpetrated Friday's attacks. [Marco] Rubio, however, said what occurred in Paris is a 'clash of civilizations.' But ISIS isn't a civilization. In parts of Iraq and Syria, it's a self-declared, though unrecognized, state.... Rubio ... is ... doing exactly what the Islamic State wants: He's equating ISIS with Islam itself." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Conservative Michael Gerson of the Washington Post: "Islamic State terrorists have goals ... to discredit the Syrian refugees (whom they hate) and to encourage the perception of a civilizational struggle between Islam and the West. They are succeeding at both.... All our efforts are undermined by declaring Islam itself to be the enemy, and by treating Muslims in the United States, or Muslims in Europe, or Muslims fleeing Islamic State oppression, as a class of suspicious potential jihadists.... If U.S. politicians define Islam as the problem and cast aspersions on Muslim populations in the West, they are feeding the Islamic State narrative. They are materially undermining the war against terrorism and complicating the United States' (already complicated) task in the Middle East. Rejecting a blanket condemnation of Islam is not a matter of political correctness." ...
... Marcus Walker & Noemie Bisserbe of the Wall Street Journal: "Mystery deepened over a Paris attacker who traveled to Europe via Greece and the Balkans, after French officials said Monday that the Syrian passport he had used was indeed a fake.... Whoever the man was, he posed as one of the many refugees fleeing Syria's war -- including the violence of Islamic State -- to enter Europe through its lightly controlled frontier in the Aegean Sea." ...
... Justin Salhani of Think Progress: "All of the attackers from Friday's massacre in Paris so far have been identified as European Union nationals, according to a top EU official. The announcement further casts doubt on the validity of a Syrian passport found near the bodies of a slain attacker. Let me underline, the profile of the terrorists so far identified tells us this is an internal threat,' Federica Mogherini, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs ... of the European Commission, said after a meeting with EU foreign ministers. 'It is all EU citizens so far. This can change with the hours, but so far it is quite clear it is an issue of internal domestic security.'" ...
... CW: While we're busy "taking out the bastards" in this "clash of civilizations," maybe civilization of the Western persuasion should also take account of how it is treating Muslims who live within its borders. Just a thought. If the young perps of the Paris attack were happy campers, we would not be having this conversation, & -- more importantly -- innocent lives would still be lived.
... Hans von der Burchard & Laurens Cerulus in Politico Magazine: "Officials said the Paris plot increasingly looked like it was hatched in the Belgian capital. 'It's likely we're dealing with a network,' said Françoise Schepmans, the mayor of the Molenbeek-Saint-Jean commune [in Brussels]....' The possible presence of a terrorist den, barely a couple kilometers from the city's European quarter, has added sharp urgency to oft-voiced concerns about radicalization within Belgium's Muslim community and the government's track record on counterterrorism." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
A Hero in Lebanon. Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "Adel Termos, a young father, fell on a suicide bomber in Beirut, Lebanon, saving the lives of dozens of intended victims. "The bomb went off, killing Termos, but saving countless others, including his daughter's."
Fred Kaplan of Slate suggests a multi-part prescription for defeating ISIS. "There is more common ground for an active anti-ISIS coalition, among otherwise incompatible actors, than anyone might have thought possible until this overreach. But nothing is inevitable; ISIS is weakening, but it won't be defeated unless the powers all around it act together in ways that would be unnatural, even inimical to national or sectarian interests, in ordinary times. These are not ordinary times, and it's the obligation of the major regional and global powers to act accordingly."
War on Science. Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "Scientists and top officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have agreed to start interviews akin to depositions this week with House investigators, who are demanding to know their internal deliberations on a groundbreaking climate change study.But the interviews may not be enough to placate the chairman of the House science committee, a global warming skeptic who last week stepped up the pressure on the Commerce Department to comply with his subpoena for e-mails that NOAA has refused to turn over."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.
Your American Press Corps at Work:
I guess the question is, and if you'll forgive the language, but why can't we take out these bastards? -- Jim Acosta of CNN to President Obama at his press conference yesterday
Well, Jim, I just spent the last three questions answering that very question, so I don't know what more you want me to add.... And so we are going to continue to pursue the strategy that has the best chance of working, even though it does not offer the satisfaction, I guess, of a neat headline or an immediate resolution. And part of the reason, as I said, Jim, is because there are costs to the other side.... When we send troops in, those troops get injured, they get killed; they're away from their families; our country spends hundreds of billions of dollars. And so given the fact that there are enormous sacrifices involved in any military action, it's best that we don't shoot first and aim later. -- President Obama
... if I could ask you to address your critics who say that your reluctance to enter another Middle East war, and your preference of diplomacy over using the military makes the United States weaker and emboldens our enemies. -- Jim Avila of ABC News
If folks want to pop off and have opinions about what they think they would do, present a specific plan. If they think that somehow their advisors are better than the Chairman of my Joint Chiefs of Staff and the folks who are actually on the ground, I want to meet them.... But what I'm not interested in doing is posing or pursuing some notion of American leadership or America winning, or whatever other slogans they come up with that has no relationship to what is actually going to work to protect the American people, and to protect people in the region who are getting killed, and to protect our allies and people like France. I'm too busy for that. -- President Obama
... Steve M.: "... the mainstream media ... doesn't want to fact-check [the right's] characterization of what Obama is doing because the liberal-conservative conflict narrative is such a great news peg." Also, Steve provides the short answer to Jim Acosta's "take out the bastards" question: "The obvious answer is: Because real life is not a freaking Michael Bay movie, you idiot. Armed conflicts don't get wrapped up in a two-hour running time." ...
... John Mirkinson in Slate: "'Take out these bastards.' This is the hyper-macho language of some two-bit action movie, not a foreign policy strategy. It's also evidence of the way that a supposedly 'objective' press can reinforce one very narrow view of the world through its own ideological insularity.... [Jim] Acosta ...was speaking for a press corps whose thirst for an apocalyptic confrontation with ISIS has been let loose by last Friday's attacks in Paris. Ever since [Friday]..., much of the establishment media has eagerly reverted to its default position when it comes to foreign policy: the more hawkish, the better."
Charles Pierce reviews the Sunday showz. Even with Peggy Noonan & the WashPo's Jennifer Rubin in the mix, Pierce gives the House Cup to Marco Rubio, who "put on his largely imaginary soldier's suit and called for other people's children to put on real soldiers suits so we can turn the Turks back at Tours. Or something."
Justin Peters of Slate: "... 'home team' bias has been particularly evident in the Western media's disparate treatment of the Beirut and Paris attacks."
Jason Samenow of the Washington Post: "The El Niño event of 2015-2016 is making history, wreaking weather havoc around the world and forecast to unleash many weather surprises through the coming winter. As of [Monday], the warm ocean temperatures that define El Niño have surged to a stunning three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal in the central tropical Pacific, the highest level ever measured."
AP: "Baseball legends Willie Mays and the late Yogi Berra will be honored with the country's highest civilian award, the presidential medal of freedom. They are among 17 people who will be recognized by Barack Obama at a 24 November ceremony. They are among 17 people who will be recognized by Barack Obama at a 24 November ceremony."
Presidential Race
Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "'I come from the '60s, a long time ago,' Hillary Clinton said at Saturday's Democratic presidential debate, in response to a question about student activism. Supposedly this comment -- an appalling admission that she had the gall to be alive 50 years ago -- was among the biggest missteps of her campaign. Republican strategists went wild.... I confess I don't understand what's all that damning about a politician accurately naming the decade in which she went to college.... Just consider how much conservative rhetoric relies on nostalgia for bygone eras, when men were men and America Was Still Great.... To middle-aged and older voters -- you know, people who 'come from the '60s' -- denunciations of Clinton's supposed gaffe may merely smack of ageism."
Ryan Cooper of the Week takes a fond look back at Republicans' effort to reform the party to be more welcoming to Latino immigrants, more responsive to middle class concerns & more sensible about monetary policy. "On immigration, Republicans have moved from pretending as though immigration reform never passed the Senate, to frontrunner Donald Trump loudly defending his plan to deport 11 million people by favorably comparing it to President Eisenhower's 'Operation Wetback' from 1954.... On middle-class policy, all the candidates have proposed truly awesome tax cuts for the rich.... Ted Cruz went full goldbug during the last debate, and nobody challenged him on it."
Dana Milbank: "The attacks in Paris have inspired a xenophobic bidding war among Republican presidential candidates.... This growing cry to turn away people fleeing for their lives brings to mind the SS St. Louis, the ship of Jewish refugees turned away from Florida in 1939. It's perhaps the ugliest moment in a primary fight that has been sullied by bigotry from the start. It's no exaggeration to call this un-American. Or un-Christian. Among those distressed by the latest turn in the GOP primary is the National Association of Evangelicals.... For all the criticism of [President Obama's] approach to the Islamic State, several supposed alternatives are things that have already been tried: airstrikes, arming the opposition, special forces, social-media propaganda."
... Steve M.: "On foreign policy and terrorism, nearly every Republican -- Establishment or outsider -- talks in Fox-ready (and in many cases Fox-crafted) simplistic soundbites. America must lead!... The president and the rest of the 'Democrat' Party won't say 'radical Islam'...! It's how they talk about everything.... Obama wants to take all your guns! Obama hates capitalism! Obama is deliberately trying to create a dependency culture in which everyone is hooked on 'free stuff'! Black Lives Matter wants to kill cops!... And that's the real reason Trump and Carson are leading the Republican race. If, for years, the vast majority of your party's utterances have been finger-pointing bumper-sticker slogans, then of course your voters are going to be ready to embrace a wealthy rabble-rouser or a beloved holy fool who's incapable of anything beyond simple-minded that sort of demagoguery." ...
... Paul Rosenberg in Salon: "Unable to come up with anything remotely positive for the American people to rally around, [Republican presidential candidates] are eager to take the utmost advantage of fear, forming a blatant de facto partnership with the terrorists by amplifying the terror their acts inspire.... Those who use the phrase ['clash of civilizations'] today escape from this incoherence by adopting another: Western Civilization is both universal and uniquely American, depending entirely on context, mood, and which day of the week (or hour of the day) it is. Hence the GOP candidates near-unanimity in conflating anti-immigrant rhetoric with anti-terrorist rhetoric.... One thing's for certain: if anyone's eager to embrace the 'clash of civilizations' rhetoric, it's ISIS.... As David Shariatmadari pointed out for the Guardian, 'Isis hates Middle Eastern civilisation too.'..."
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump issued another call for more scrutiny of mosques in the United States as fresh fears of terrorism, spurred by the attacks in Paris, dominated the presidential campaign conversation on Monday. Mr. Trump, who said last month that he would be open to shutting down mosques as part of the fight against Islamic State militants, reiterated on Monday that the idea should be 'studied.'" ...
... Kevin Drum: "... Donald Trump is crowing that (a) Obama just told Putin how important the Russian airstrikes against ISIS have been and (b) now we're attacking the oil, just like he said a long time ago. "I TOLD YOU SO!" he tweeted. Except that (a) Obama actually told Putin he would like Russia to start striking ISIS, and (b) we've been attacking ISIS oil convoys all along. According to the Pentagon, we've carried out three or four airstrikes per week against ISIS oil infrastructure. And anyway, didn't Trump actually recommend that we encircle the ISIS oil fields?.... We're now entering a period in which conservatives are going to start playing 'Can You Top This?' on ISIS. A week ago they talked big but were afraid to actually commit themselves to any serious action. Now, we're in a war of civilizations and soon they'll be outbidding each other on how many divisions they're willing to ship overseas and how best to describe the complete and total inaction that the appeaser Obama has been engaged in."
What a Jokester! of ABC News: Ben Carson said he was only kidding when he claimed last week that his intel was better than that of the national security apparatus. That's funny, because "Carson's evidence, which the campaign recently released to ABC News, includes Google satellite images of alleged Chinese-made radar systems and photos of a Syrian fighter standing in front of Chinese made SUVs. Along with the images, his campaign released a brief summary of its evidence." ...
... Here's another good rebuttal of Carson's (revised) claims, by Zack Beauchamps of Vox. CW: Not that Google satellite images aren't dispositive. They're maybe half as good as those grainy photos Colin Powell showed the U.N. to "prove" Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction.
Daniel Strauss of Politico: "Sen. Rand Paul announced Monday that he was introducing legislation calling for an 'immediate moratorium' on the United States issuing visas to refugees from about 30 countries with a 'significant jihadist movement.'"
Profiles in Scaremongering Cowardice, Ctd. Let the Scary Babies Die. Sophia Tesfaye of Salon: "In an apparent reversal of his position from two months ago, [Chris] Christie now says that the United States is not capable of accepting any Syrian refugees for fear of importing terrorism, not even 'three year old orphans.'... 'We saw the image of that 4-year-old little boy drowned in Syria,' Christie said back in September, referring to the harrowing image of a young child laying [sic.] motionless on a beach shore. 'We can't have those kinds of things.'"
Crackpot Rep. Steve King (RTP-Iowa) endorses crackpot Sen. Ted Cruz for president. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
Amy Forliti & Kyle Potter of the AP: "More than 50 people were arrested during the second day of protests in Minneapolis over the shooting of a black man by a police officer during an apparent struggle." ...
... Ciara McCarthy of the Guardian: "The mayor of Minneapolis has asked the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into the police shooting of Jamar Clark, a young black man whose potentially fatal injuries have led to protests. Mayor Betsy Hodges made the request following a day of demonstrations by activists who say that Clark, 24, was unarmed and in handcuffs when a police officer shot him in the head. Protesters made a series of demands including an independent federal inquiry."
AP: "A Utah judge who had ordered a baby girl taken away from her lesbian foster parents and placed with a heterosexual couple has removed himself from the case as criticism mounted into calls for his impeachment. Judge Scott Johansen reversed his order last week to remove the nine-month-old baby from the home of April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce and allowed the girl to stay with the married couple. But there were concerns he could still have the baby removed from their home ... during a custody hearing set for 4 December."
AP: "Authorities say six people have been killed at a Texas campsite, with one woman surviving the murders and calling 911.Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor says a suspect has been arrested in the weekend homicides. The bodies were found in rural Anderson County, southeast of Dallas. Thirty-three-year old William Hudson is charged with one murder count 'for the moment,' the sheriff's office said...."
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Reader Comments (13)
I'm confused. Are the Republicans actually working for ISIS or are they so immoral that they have no problem helping ISIS if it will get them one vote.
Marvin - yes.
We seem to let the opposition dictate language to our detriment. Everyone agrees that daesh is excellent at propaganda - why aren't we?
I am listening to world leaders (e.g. Hollande) calling the terrorists cowards. What a wasted opportunity. We should use more effective tags, some that will hurt and work against their paradigm. Instead we give them recruiting soundbites, like saying we are at war with ..... I'm not sure with whom or what. I'm certainly no Islamic expert, but calling them cowards is just stabbing them in the belt buckle. Describing them with words like "unbelievers" and "apostates" discredits their muslim identity. Defining them as "criminals" reduces the glamour. I'm sure experts could suggest better examples. I also wish people would stop calling them Islamic State, according them the status of both religion and territory that they crave.
The Good Guys are too compliant with language, whether it's the Democrats or pro-choice or sundry other groups, we seem to let the other guys choose the words. Smart words, as Daesh and the Confederates well know, shape people's thinking and motivate them to action. Words are weapons, to be used ruthlessly and with surgical precision. It's time we caught up.
"... CW: While we're busy "taking out the bastards" in this "clash of civilizations," maybe civilization of the Western persuasion should also take account of how it is treating Muslims who live within its borders. Just a thought. If the young perps of the Paris attack were happy campers, we would not be having this conversation, & -- more importantly -- innocent lives would still be lived."
Something profound here. As we have learned Isis recruits young males whose lives are in the pits. You don't join a group like that if you are happily making a good living and are prospering in your private life. So here in the US we have the outrage––states saying they will refuse any Syrian refugees (don't think legally they can refuse) and isn't that a recipe for disaster. These refugees have been traumatized and will display all kinds of psychological problems. They will need so much help and those that refuse to help will not be forgotten and then there will be those that will retaliate. Think Iraq. Bad moves come back to bite you.
From my understanding our vetting process, although long and tedious, is extremely thorough.
I realize that a democracy imposes an extraordinary intellectual responsibility upon ordinary people. Our system is finally determined by what our citizenry thinks. This can be both thrilling and terrifying. Given the climate of today it is terrifying–––the thrill, I'm afraid is gone.
The core problem in our internal politics of terrorism is the fact that the vast majority of Americans have no idea who is at war in Syria, no idea that Islam is actually two religions that are seriously at war with each other, no idea who the Syrian refugees are running from and no idea where ISIS stands in all of this. Also note that we already have a fair number of ISIS supporters called Americans.
So its easy for the Republican POTUS candidates to use this event for their game (with the exception of Trump and Carson who have no idea). The thing that annoys me the most is that they have no idea the extent to which what they are doing is exactly what ISIS wants. So thanks to Republicans ISIS is winning this game.
The land of the free and the home of the dumb.
@Gloria. I agree in re: the rhetoric. We seem to be be incapable of stepping outside our own frame of reference to understand the language and visuals that would hit at the heart of the fanatics, Islamic or otherwise. I would like to see a cadre of dancing Ms Piggies streaming across those fanatic's propaganda videos, doing the high step and shouting Blah...Blah...Blah...
More ironies:
A xenophobic Indian-American governor of a state with a documented history of racism, who at least has some excuse to have forgotten the distinctly American history he and his never experienced.
But how 'bout those others whose mostly white lineage occupied these shores while we imported Mafioso from Italy, revolutionaries from Ireland, and anarchists and syndicalists (who had some bomb-making skills of their own) from Germany and Central Europe?
And from England's point of view, turned out that the dissenters and criminals they (good riddance!) exported to these shores were consummate trouble-makers, too.
Looks like the poor vetting has gone on for centuries.
It looks to be a great new years celebration in Canada this year as we are apparently serious about accepting 25,000 refugees by years end. Some provincial premiers have expressed reservations but none are refusing to accept refugees and across the country preparations to receive their quota are well under way down to the community level.
I wonder where Steve M gets his statistics (US 6353 missions, every one else 1772 missions) when , as the Guardian reports, Canada's mighty force of 6 F-18s has flown 1121 missions. Doesn't leave much for everyone else.
@Cowichan: The writer was Steve Benen (whose name I misspelled), not Steve M. Benen gets his stats from the Pentagon; the source is linked in his post. He also writes, in the part of the post I cited, that he got the numbers from the Pentagon.
Marie
In my rush to meet a plumber about a slow drain, I forgot to mention this continent's most horrendous vetting error. Most of the North East coast Natives met the invading Europeans as friends.
What was wrong with those people?
Marie and Gloria: Thank you very much for Gloria's reference to the Kennedy School discussion and to the Pew Research report. Another source for a thorough discussion of the real dimensions of the problems in France is George Packer's lengthy New Yorker article on French Muslims in the banlieues of Paris in the August 31, 2015 edition of the New Yorker. Packer brings this article up to date today in a posting “French Muslims In A Time of War”. http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/french-muslims-in-a-time-of-war
In a new article in the NYT about Dr. Idiot:
"The candidate’s remarks on the Middle East and national security have raised questions about his knowledge of the subject, and advisers say tutoring is having little effect."
I think that might finally do it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/us/politics/ben-carson-is-struggling-to-grasp-foreign-policy-advisers-say.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&click
@Ken––Even more Ironies:
A Texas state legislator, one Rep. Tony Dale (R), a fervent gun-right's advocate ((A rating), wants the U.S. to stop any Syrian refugees into the country because it's too easy to get guns!
Now don't that jest take the cake.
http://www.getbriefme.com/s/4ZnL/http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/11/17/3722968/nra-texas-rep-no-syrians-gun-access/