The Commentariat -- January 9, 2016

White House: "In this week's address, the President remarked on the incredible progress that has been made in the American auto industry":

Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "President Obama vetoed legislation Friday that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act and stripped all federal funds from Planned Parenthood, writing in his veto message that the measure would 'reverse the significant progress we have made in improving health care in America.'" ...

... Here's President Obama's full veto message. ...

... Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post: "A new CNN-ORC survey of 1,000 Americans finds that the public supports [President] Obama's plan by a 2-to-1 ratio: 67 percent of respondents favored the executive actions, while 32 percent opposed them. Even more striking, a similar share of people in gun-owning households -- 63 percent -- supported the measures. Even more striking: 51 percent of Republicans support Obama's executive action on guns." ...

... Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Senator Richard C. Shelby, the veteran Republican from Alabama up for re-election in November [and] chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Justice Department, has summoned [Attorney General Loretta] Lynch for a Jan. 28 hearing to 'discuss the president's firearms proposals and any potential infringement on law-abiding Americans' Second Amendment rights,' he said in a letter to the attorney general." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Gail Collins: "If every gun owner had to demonstrate the ability to handle a weapon, it wouldn't necessarily stop anyone from eventually acquiring a gun. But it would take some time and trouble, which would cut down on casual sales.... Even Jeb Bush, in his assault on the president's itsy-bitsy loophole-closing initiative, talked about how 'law-abiding citizens that are trained to be able to protect themselves creates a safer America.'" ...

     ... CW: We might even get the NRA behind such a law; they & their friends could make a mint running "education ranges." And making money is what the NRA is all about.

Ron Nixon of the New York Times on the Department of Homeland Security's curtailed efforts to track & gather intelligence on anti-government militia groups & other home-grown extremists. As most of you will recall, Republicans objected to the program. CW: Because so many Republicans are anti-government extremists. Really.

Pamela Constable of the Washington Post: "Despite an uproar from liberal Democrats and Latino advocacy groups, administration officials said Friday that they intend to continue the raids [to capture & deport families who fled Central American violence], hoping to send a signal and prevent a repeat of the huge surge in illegal border crossings. Although the numbers dipped last spring, a new spike saw more than 10,000 children reach the border in October and November alone."

Jad Mouawad of the New York Times: "The Department of Homeland Security has given states an extra two years to comply with federal requirements to issue driving licenses with extra safety features, meaning that residents of noncompliant states will have until January 2018 before having to use a passport or other official identification to board a domestic flight. The extension directly concerns six states and territories that are not in compliance with the law, known as the Real ID Act of 2005. Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico and Washington State and the territory of American Samoa have not yet taken steps to satisfy government officials that the driver's licenses they have issued carry enough security features."

Jonathan Easley of the Hill: "House Republicans reached out to GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson in 2014 about replacing John Boehner as Speaker of the House, Carson told The Hill on Thursday. 'They were looking for an alternative, they were looking for someone strong and courageous who might really be able to add some spine and some backbone,' Carson said.... Carson declined to identify the House Republicans who approached him, but Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) told The Hill on Thursday that he was one of a group of three who did so." ...

... MEANWHILE, Not-Speaker Carson was in Iowa Friday shaming an unlucky fifth-grader.

Brandi Grissom of Trail Blazers: Texas "Gov. Greg Abbott ... said Friday that he wants Texas to lead the call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution and wrest power from a federal government 'run amok.'... Along with the speech, Abbott released a nearly 70-page plan -- part American civics lesson, part anti-Obama diatribe -- detailing nine proposed constitutional amendments that he said would unravel the federal government's decades-long power grab and restore authority over economic regulation and other matters to the states." Grissom lists Abbott's proposed amendments. ...

... Peggy Fikac of the Houston Chronicle: "Gov. Greg Abbott wants to dramatically curtail the U.S. Supreme Court's power and slash federal oversight of states through a national convention to amend the U.S. Constitution. His Friday proposal comes in the wake of Republican outrage over President Obama's actions on issues, including gun control and immigration; Supreme Court decisions on cases involving such matters as gay marriage and health care; and federal agency action on the environment and other issues." ...

... Steve M.: "This comes two days after Marco Rubio wrote in USA Today that he also advocates a convention of states. The idea has been promoted by Koch-affiliated organizations as ALEC and Citizens for Self-Governance. And when you look at the amendments Abbott is pushing, you can see why this would be a pet idea of the Kochs."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "... California teachers have sued [their] union, saying that they are being forced to pay to support positions with which they disagree, in violation of the First Amendment. Their lawsuit, if it is successful, will be the culmination of a decades-long legal campaign to undermine public unions. And there is good reason to think they will win. The Supreme Court, which will hear arguments in the case on Monday, has twice suggested that the First Amendment bars forcing government workers to make payments to unions."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Fifteen years almost to the day since former President Bill Clinton left office, a newly released batch of documents from his library offers a fresh look at his later years in the White House.... The release of the transcripts also emphasized the complications for Mrs. Clinton in her second campaign for the White House. Not only does she have her own record as senator and secretary of state to promote or defend, she is also campaigning against the backdrop of her husband's record -- often to her advantage but sometimes not, as in the last few days when Republicans focused attention on Mr. Clinton's sexual misconduct." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Our "Education" Racket. Will Hobson & Stephen Rich of the Washington Post: "As a reward for making an industry fueled by unpaid athletes more lucrative than ever, the men who run these conferences have enjoyed staggering pay hikes doled out by the leaders of many of America's largest universities." CW: Meanwhile, to actually teach students, universities rely more & more heavily on adjunct professors, who don't make a living wage.

Julie Zauzmer & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A man who plotted to kidnap one of the Obama family's pet dogs was arrested in the District on Wednesday with a cache of weapons and ammunition in his car, the Secret Service said."

Presidential Race

Nick Gass of Politico: "Bernie Sanders has soared to a 13-point lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire in a Fox News survey out Friday, nearly a month to the day that primary voters will make their decision at the polls on Feb. 9. Sanders, who in November held a slim 1-point advantage over Clinton in the same poll (45 percent to 44 percent), this time took 50 percent of the vote to 37 percent for Clinton. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley earned 3 percent." ...

... Edward-Isaac Dovere & Gabriel Debenedetti of Politico: "... White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Friday that [President] Obama would have to review [Bernie] Sanders' record on guns before committing to support the Vermont senator.... Asked about the president's pledge made in a New York Times op-ed Thursday -- that he wouldn't support any candidate who wasn't for common-sense gun control, including the gun manufacturer liability provision that Sanders has voted against -- Earnest said it wasn't intended as 'any sort of secret or subtle signal to demonstrate a preference in the presidential primary.' The Clinton campaign, & Clinton herself, pointed to Sanders' record of voting against gun-control bills. ...

... Hillary Clinton, in a Boston Globe op-ed: "There's a lot at stake in this election. Nowhere is this clearer than in the US Supreme Court.... On Election Day, three of the current justices will be over 80 years old, which is past the court's average retirement age. The next president could easily appoint more than one justice. That makes this a make-or-break moment -- for the court and our country.... Republicans ... see this election as an opportunity to pack the courts with jurists who will turn back the clock.... Those who care about the fairness of elections, the future of unions, racial disparities in universities, the rights of women, or the future of our planet, should care about who appoints the next justices." ...

... Megan Wilson of the Hill: "The State Department has been providing 'inaccurate and incomplete' responses to requests for emails and other documents involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a watchdog says in a new report released Thursday. The 29-page IG report says the leadership of the State Department 'has not played a meaningful role in overseeing or reviewing the quality' of the responses to requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Eliza Collins of Politico: "Charles Koch is 'disappointed' with the line-up of Republican candidates in the 2016 cycle, and is surprised by the lack of influence he and his brother have wielded so far. In an interview with the Financial Times, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist, said he'll eventually support a candidate who he agrees with on some things with, but that it's hard to get excited. He said a list presented to all the candidates about the Kochs' political arm's priorities 'doesn't seem to faze them much. You'd think we could have more influence.'" CW: Yo, Chuck. You've got Marco in your pocket. And the governor of Texas is good, too. (See link to Steve M.'s post above.)

... CW: A week or so I ago, I wondered what would happen if people attended Trump rallies in traditional Muslim dress but did nothing to disrupt the rallies. Well, now we know:

Jeremy Diamond of CNN: "Rose Hamid, a 56-year-old flight attendant ... wearing a hijab [and] ... sitting in the stands directly behind Trump, stood up Friday during Trump's speech when the Republican front-runner suggested that Syrian refugees fleeing war in Syria were affiliated with ISIS.... Despite her silence, Trump supporters around her began chanting Trump's name -- as instructed by Trump campaign staff before the event in case of protests -- and pointed at Hamid and Marty Rosenbluth, the man alongside her who stood up as well. As they were escorted out, Trump supporters roared -- booing the pair and shouting at them to 'get out.'... After Hamid and three others, all wearing stars reminiscent of those worn by Jews during the Holocaust, were escorted out by police and Trump campaign officials, Trump [said]... 'There is hatred against us that is unbelievable... It's their hatred, it's not our hatred.'" Hamid said some people sitting around her, to whom she had spoken earlier, were kindly & said "sorry" when Trump ejected her. Includes video of Don Lemon's interview of Hamid. ...

... Judd Legum of TPM has CNN video of Hamid's ejection as it happened.

Dana Milbank: "Ted Cruz this week made his latest appeal to America's nativist fringe by naming Rep. Steve King of Iowa as a national co-chairman of his presidential campaign.... King raised questions about President Obama's birth certificate, voiced doubts that Obama had been born in America, floated the idea that Obama's birth announcement in Hawaiian newspapers may have been placed 'by telegram from Kenya,' and alleged that Obama 'was not raised with an American experience.' So we're entitled to savor some schadenfreude now as Cruz himself gets caught in the birther web.... Cruz, like Trump, has stoked the fires of resentment and xenophobia, so it's entirely fitting that he gets burned. But however tempting it is, I'm not joining in the Cruz birtherism; it was wrong when done to Obama, and it's wrong now done to Cruz." ...

... Catherine Thompson of TPM: "Cruz's mother's name appears on a Canadian government document, obtained by TPM in 2013, that lists Canadian citizens eligible to vote in 1974.... In 2013, a Canadian elections official told TPM that in the process of compiling the list, enumerators asked people to affirm that they were Canadian citizens." ...

... Nick Gass: "In another attempt to quash Trump-fueled speculation that he is not eligible for the presidency based on his Canadian birth, Ted Cruz's campaign released his mother's birth certificate to Breitbart News on Friday, showing that Eleanor Darragh was born Nov. 23, 1934, in Wilmington, Delaware." ...

... Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "At a stop [in Charles City, Iowa]..., Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) told a crowd in a coffee house that when his 5-year-old daughter Catherine tells a lie, 'she gets a spanking.' He went on to suggest that voters should spank Hillary Clinton for lying about Benghaaazi! CW: But there's nothing sexist about that. ...

... David Graham, in the Atlantic's "Gaffe Track": "The moral: Spare the Rodham, spoil the child."

Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "... Jeb Bush is calling for an end to the federal food stamp program as part of a proposed revamp of the nation's welfare system. Bush would end the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, generally known as food stamps, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Instead, state governments would be able to apply for new federal 'Right to Rise' grants to pay for programs launched to assist lower-income residents." CW: And if voters in your state isn't very, very nice to the administration, the kids will starve. The aristocrats are getting bolder. ...

... Right to Tank. Frank Newport of Gallup: "... Jeb Bush's image among Republicans has steadily worsened over the past 5 ½ months. His current net favorable rating of -1 (44% favorable, 45% unfavorable) among Republicans is significantly lower than his +27 (54% favorable, 27% unfavorable) rating in mid-July." Sometimes having a lot of money doesn't make you popular. Give Charles Koch a call, Jeb! He's lonely & he knows how you feel. Although he too thinks you're a Doofus. (See Eliza Collins' story, linked above.)

Beyond the Beltway

... isn't this the strangest thing that those that are the most fervent fetal protectors seem to be the same ones that besmirch these children once they arrive, whether it be the abuses of the Church, lead poisoning in the water, taking away food stamps---the list goes on. -- P. D. Pepe, in today's commentary

** Charles Pierce: "It's time for Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, and Rick Snyder, the governor of Michigan, to decide to spend more time with their respective families. By their misuse of their offices, they have forfeited the right to hold them anymore. They have left us with a Hobson's Choice of which is the worse malfeasance under the color of law: covering up the riddling of a young man by your rogue police force, or covering up the fact that your policies have sentenced hundreds of young people in Flint to the lives of mental and emotional damage and upheaval to which lead poisoning inevitably leads."

Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "An Iraqi-born refugee charged with attempting to aid Islamic militants made his first court appearance on Friday, telling a judge that he needed a court-appointed lawyer because he could not afford one as federal prosecutors pushed to keep him detained without bond. The refugee, Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, a Palestinian who has been living in a Houston apartment with his wife and child, was charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State, designated by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization. He was also accused of procuring citizenship or naturalization unlawfully and making false statements during an interview with a federal agent."

Texas, Making Sure Guns Get into the Hands of Those Who May Harm Themselves & Others. Rick Jervis of USA Today: "Visitors to one of Texas' 10 state mental health hospitals will be allowed to openly carry weapons into the facilities, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Employees and patients will still be barred from bringing in weapons. The hospitals this week pulled down signs banning guns at its facilities and posted new ones asking people to leave their firearms in their cars or conceal them from patients, said Carrie Williams, a state health department spokeswoman.... A pair of new laws, enacted this year ... allows Texans with a gun license to legally carry a holstered firearm without concealing it and bans state agencies from posting signs telling people they cannot carry guns on property." CW: It ain't just the inmates who are insane. Shouldn't the state legislature be committed en masse?

Luke Hammill of the Oregonian: "Members of a group from outside Oregon arrived on Friday at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to 'secure a perimeter' around the compound and prevent 'a Waco-style situation.'... The group's website says it stands for 'freedom, liberty and the Constitution. We will combat all those who are corrupt.' The website displays the motto, 'When Tyranny Becomes Law, Rebellion Becomes Duty!'... The group's arrival came a few hours after [Ammon] Bundy informed reporters that the militants would not immediately accept Sheriff Dave Ward's offer to peacefully escort the occupiers out of town." ...

... Betsy Hammond of the Oregonian: Why does the federal government own so much land? Because that was the founders' intention: "A 1787 agreement among all 13 founding states -- that every bit of land added to the United States would be owned and controlled by a strong federal government -- was the linchpin needed before delegates went on to write the Constitution. That deal was known as the Northwest Ordinance.... Their determination that the federal government would own every shred of land brought into the new nation and dispose of or manage it as it wished was enshrined in the Constitution, in a short half-sentence in Article IV: 'The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Paul Krugman: "We have people engaging in armed insurrection over the vast oppression of being asked to pay a small fee when grazing their animals on public land; surely an important part of the story is the fact that the perpetrators know that they won't face the consequences that would follow if, you know, some nonwhite group pulled a similar stunt.... Something that strikes me, however -- and which I don't fully understand -- is that when people like this turn to angry rhetoric, with at least a hint of violence, the trigger events tend to be trivial." ...

... Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Joe Oshaugnessy, an Arizona militiaman, has been actively seeking volunteers through social media to join the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. But his friends tearfully announced that Oshaugnessy, who is known as 'Capt. O,' had left the refuge Wednesday and was instead staying at a motel nearby.... Oshaugnessy had kept the money he had raised through social media for himself and had spent at least some of it on a drinking binge." Emphasis added. CW: And you can bet that drunken "soldier" had plenty of guns & ammo at the ready. Luckily, the big tear-jerking "tragedy" here so far is that some militant yahoos wasted their money funding another militant yahoo's binge. ...

... MEANWHILE, if you were planning to go cross-country skiing in the Malheur Refuge this weekend, as is your right, I'd suggest another venue. ...

Philadelphia Inquirer: "While not classifying the shooting as a terrorist attack, police said Friday that the man arrested after shooting and wounding a police officer in an ambush in West Philadelphia Thursday night confessed he acted 'in the name of Islam.'" ...

... CBS Philadelphia: "During a police press conference Friday afternoon, [Philadelphia] Mayor Jim Kenney stated that he believes the shooting of a Philadelphia police officer has 'nothing to do with being a Muslim,' despite the suspect claiming he did it in the name of Islam. Mayor Kenney said, 'In no way shape or form does anyone in this room believe that Islam or the teaching of Islam has anything to do with what you've seen on the screen.'"

Samuel Lieberman of New York: "Sergeant Kizzy Adonis, of Staten Island's 120th Precinct, who was present when Eric Garner died after being put in an illegal chokehold by an officer, was put on modified duty on Friday as part of an NYPD internal review of the July 2014 incident. Adonis has been removed from street enforcement and was required to turn in her gun and badge."

Steve Mistler of the Portland Press Herald: "Gov. Paul LePage responded Friday to the firestorm that erupted after he said drug dealers coming to Maine were impregnating young white girls, admitting to making 'one slip' in the comment before going on to blame the media for implying that the remark was racist.... LePage's comment has once again catapulted the Republican governor into the national spotlight, commanding attention from The New York Times and The Washington Post -- as well as from obscure white supremacist websites. LePage also said his comment about white women couldn't have been racist because Maine's population is predominantly white." ...

... The New York Times story, by Katharine Seelye, is here. ...

... CW: If LePage weren't in a position of power, his denial/blame-the-media/"apology" would be comical. As it is, it further demonstrates what an unreconstructed racist he is. The LePage era is a tragic episode in Maine's history.

Sarah Larimer & Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: Tonya Couch, "the mother of 'affluenza' teen Ethan Couch, was arraigned on felony charges and ordered to surrender her passport in a Texas courtroom on Friday...." ...

... Emily Schmall of the AP: Tonya Couch "has complained about the conditions of her Texas jail cell, a sheriff said Friday. 'She expressed a slight displeasure about her accommodations, and I told her this was a jail and not a resort,' Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said at a news conference."

Way Beyond

Richard Orange of the (U.K.) Telegraph: "Asylum seekers who met in central Helsinki to celebrate New Years's Eve 'had similar plans' to commit sexual assault and other crimes as those who targeted women in the Germany city of Cologne, Finnish Police have reported. Three Iraqi asylum seekers have been arrested for committing sexual assaults during the celebrations in the city's Senate Square, where some 20,000 had gathered. Security personnel reported 'widespread sexual harassment' during the celebrations, police added, with women complaining that asylum seekers had groped their breasts and kissed them without permission." ...

... Alison Smale of the New York Times: "At least 18 asylum seekers are among 31 people who have been identified so far by the federal police as having played a role in assaults on young women in Cologne on New Year's Eve, the Interior Ministry said on Friday. The police chief in Cologne was forced out of his job on Friday amid the growing uproar over the episode, which has ignited calls across the political spectrum for expelling convicted criminals, even if they are seeking asylum from war and persecution at home." CW: Well, yeah.

Alison Smale: "At least 231 children who sang in a boys' choir led for 30 years by the brother of former Pope Benedict XVI were abused over a period of almost four decades, a lawyer investigating reports of wrongdoing said Friday. The lawyer, Ulrich Weber, who was commissioned by the choir to look into accusations of beatings, torture or sexual abuse, said he thought that the actual abuse was even more widespread. At a news conference in Regensburg, Bavaria, where the choir traces its roots to the year 975, Mr. Weber estimated that from 1953 to 1992, every third member of the choir and an attached school suffered some kind of physical abuse.... Asked whether Benedict's brother, the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, who conducted the Regensburg choir from 1964 to 1994, had known of the abuse, Mr. Weber said, 'After my research, I must assume so.'" CW: I'll bet Brother Benedict knew, too. This does help explain why Benedict didn't give a Rat's ass about priests' abusing children.

News Lede

New York Times: "One of the last survivors of the inner sanctums of the White House during and immediately after World War II, [George] Elsey died on Dec. 30 in Tustin, Calif. He was 97."

The Commentariat -- January 8, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Megan Wilson of the Hill: "The State Department has been providing 'inaccurate and incomplete' responses to requests for emails and other documents involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a watchdog says in a new report released Thursday. The 29-page IG report says the leadership of the State Department 'has not played a meaningful role in overseeing or reviewing the quality' of the responses to requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Fifteen years almost to the day since former President Bill Clinton left office, a newly released batch of documents from his library offers a fresh look at his later years in the White House.... The release of the transcripts also emphasized the complications for Mrs. Clinton in her second campaign.... Not only does she have her own record as senator and secretary of state to promote or defend, she is also campaigning against the backdrop of her husband's record -- often to her advantage but sometimes not, as in the last few days when Republicans focused attention on Mr. Clinton's sexual misconduct."

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Senator Richard C. Shelby, the veteran Republican from Alabama up for re-election in November [and] chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Justice Department, has summoned [Attorney General Loretta] Lynch for a Jan. 28 hearing to 'discuss the president's firearms proposals and any potential infringement on law-abiding Americans' Second Amendment rights,' he said in a letter to the attorney general."

Betsy Hammond of the Oregonian: Why does the federal government own so much land? Because that was the founders' intention: "A 1787 agreement among all 13 founding states -- that every bit of land added to the United States would be owned and controlled by a strong federal government -- was the linchpin needed before delegates went on to write the Constitution. That deal was known as the Northwest Ordinance.... Their determination that the federal government would own every shred of land brought into the new nation and dispose of or manage it as it wished was enshrined in the Constitution, in a short half-sentence in Article IV: 'The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.'"

*****

Chris Mooney of the Washington Post: "A group of 24 geoscientists on Thursday released a bracing assessment, suggesting that humans have altered the Earth so extensively that the consequences will be detectable in current and future geological records. They therefore suggest that we should consider the Earth to have moved into a new geologic epoch, the 'Anthropocene,' sometime circa 1945-1964." A summary of the findings is here. The report itself is Science-subscriber firewalled.

Sarah Wheaton of Politico: "President Barack Obama confronted his critics -- both in the gun lobby and his own party -- on Thursday night as he made the case for stiffening some gun controls in a televised town hall. 'What I've said consistently throughout my presidency is I respect the Second Amendment, I respect the right to bear arms, I respect people who want to have guns for self-protection, for hunting.' Obama said. However, he added, 'everybody agrees that it makes sense to keep guns out of the hands of people who want to do others harm -- or do themselves harm.'" ...

... The New York Times story, by Michael Shear, is here. ...

... Barack Obama, in a New York Times op-ed: "I will not campaign for, vote for or support any candidate, even in my own party, who does not support common-sense gun reform. And if the 90 percent of Americans who do support common-sense gun reforms join me, we will elect the leadership we deserve." ...

     ... Callum Borchers of the Washington Post: President Obama's NYT op-ed was a message to Hillary Clinton. ...

... Gabrielle Giffords, in a Washington Post op-ed: "Today, five years after I was shot, we are making progress. While Congress refuses to act, many state leaders are embracing common-sense change that keeps guns out of the wrong hands. This week, we made even more progress when President Obama announced that his administration will significantly narrow the loopholes that let people buy guns without a background check. It is the right, responsible thing to do." ...

** New York Times Editors: "A president who spoke so movingly about the violent gun deaths of children here has taken on the job of sending mothers and children on one-way trips to the deadliest countries in our hemisphere. Mothers and children who pose no threat, actual or imaginable, to our security."

Frank Rich on Obama's push for small-bore gun control measures, Donald Trump's attacks on (and the press's questions about) Bill Clinton's sexual peccadilloes, & white rage.

Keith Bradsher of the New York Times: President Xi Jinping's efforts to manage China's economy have been haphazard & ineffective. ...

... Paul Krugman: "... while China itself is in big trouble, the consequences for the rest of us should be manageable.... Financial linkages may be part of the story, but one also suspects that there is psychological contagion: Good or bad news in one major economy affects animal spirits in others." ...

... CW: Worth noting, as Krugman does not: if we have another recession in 2016, or even a mini-recession, as a direct or indirect result of China's economic woes, welcome President Trump or Cruz or Rubio. One thing American voters are not: economists. They think if their cousin loses his job or WalMart raises the price on Tostitos, it's the president's fault.

Presidential Race

Abby Phillip of the Washington Post: "The political arm of Planned Parenthood will endorse Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire on Sunday, a Clinton campaign official confirmed. The endorsement marks the first time in the organization's 100-year history that Planned Parenthood Action Fund has endorsed a candidate in a primary."

... there is a big difference between me and everybody else running on both sides. I'm the only person running who says my goal and my pledge is to raise incomes, not raise middle-class taxes. I will not raise middle-class taxes. -- Hillary Clinton, in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 4, 2016

... it's absurd for Clinton to claim that she is the only candidate in either party to have a plan to both raise incomes and not raise middle class taxes. The Republicans all say they won't raise taxes -- and every candidate promises to raise incomes.... This is an example of actually believing your own spin, no matter how absurd. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post

I haven't been able to find a trustworthy comparative analysis of Clinton's plan v. other candidates' economic plans. But there is no question that Democrats' plans are friendlier to low- and middle-income Americans than are any of the Republicans' plans, no matter what the candidates claim. In addition, Sanders has said he would raise taxes -- mostly but not exclusively on the wealthy -- in order to provide services that would increase opportunities for low- and middle-class Americans. (His most substantial tax hike on the middle-class -- to pay for single-payer health insurance -- obviously has a huge offset: it eliminates the cost of private health insurance.) Kessler doesn't bother to analyze any of the candidates' plans; instead, he relies on talking points. To criticize Hillary for her talking point while relying on other candidates talking points doesn't make sense. I give him 4 Pinocchios. -- Constant Weader

Ali Vitali & Andrew Rafferty of NBC News: "After a day's worth of drama over the crowd size at Donald Trump's rally here Thursday, the Republican presidential front-runner's campaign attempted to bar anyone who did not pledge their support from attending his event. But that didn't stop a number of protesters from disrupting the event held just blocks from Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign headquarters. On multiple occasions, pro-Sanders or anti-Trump activists made themselves known to the auditorium, one group even moving towards the stage with a 'dump Trump' sign before being escorted out. Trump said those who made it into his rally at a 1,400-seat auditorium were 'very lucky' after his campaign distributed 20,000 free tickets." ...

... Margaret Hartmann: "Trump responded to the interruptions with his characteristic grace and generosity. He helpfully pointed out the unruly audience members, directed his security to move faster, and diagnosed one protester with a substance-abuse problem. He also had a great suggestion for deterring such goon-ish behavior. 'Throw him out into the cold,' Trump said. 'Don't give them their coat. No coats! Confiscate their coats!"' It's a pretty light sentence, compared to a Trump-endorsed beating." ...

... Dan Carter of the New York Times: "... there are striking similarities between [Donald] Trump and George C. Wallace.... What both share is the demagogue's instinctive ability to tap into the fear and anger that regularly erupts in American politics.... [Running for president in Northern-state primaries,] he was a pioneer in the use of code words to attack African-Americans while seldom mentioning race.... Attacks by the mainstream media only strengthened his support.... The Alabama governor's success in mobilizing white working-class voters forced other candidates -- particularly Nixon -- to adapt a housebroken version of his rhetoric and policies. Mr. Wallace may have begun his career as a New Deal Democrat, but the way he appealed to these predominantly Democratic voters by channeling their frustrations against the federal government did much to pave the way for Ronald Reagan's more genial anti-government ideology." ...

... ** Anne Pluta of 538: "One way to understand Trump's longevity is to look more closely at his supporters. Trump's backers tend to be whiter, slightly older and less educated than the average Republican voter. But perhaps more importantly, his supporters have shown signs of being misinformed. Political science research has shown that the behavior of misinformed citizens is different from those who are uninformed, and this difference may explain Trump's unusual staying power.... The difference between the [misinformed & the uninformed] is stark.... The most misinformed citizens tend to be the most confident in their views and are also the strongest partisans.... Attempts to present corrections and generate counterarguments to the group's beliefs only strengthened their opinions." ...

... Katie Glueck of Politico: "... there's little evidence that the Donald Trump-fueled tempest over Ted Cruz's eligibility to run for president is fading away, forcing the Texas senator to field questions about passports and his parents on national television, just three weeks before the Iowa caucuses." ...

... Nick Gass of Politico: "Ted Cruz fired back at John McCain on Thursday, a day after his Senate colleague had deemed valid questions about whether the Texas senator is eligible for the presidency because of his place of birth. McCain, he declared, is trying to help another senator's run -- Marco Rubio." ...

... About Those Cuban Heels. Jonathan Chait: Marco Rubio's opponents "are trying to make Rubio's boots imply something deeper about his character: that he is a lightweight, unmanly, lacking the angry urgency needed at the moment. The boots are a synecdoche. Sunny and optimistic can be turned into callow, naïve, and even effeminate." CW: The Rubio version of "mom jeans."

Jeb!'s Biggest Backer Thinks He's a Doofus. Jonathan Swan of the Hill: "Former AIG chairman Hank Greenberg is reportedly distancing himself from a $10 million donation made to Jeb Bush's super-PAC. Just hours after The Wall Street Journal reported the large donation from Greenberg -- which would have made him one of the most generous contributors in the 2016 race -- the businessman has reportedly backtracked, attributing the donation to his company and giving less than complimentary assessment of Bush's performance on the campaign trail. 'Listen, I like Jeb Bush. Sorry he's not living up to expectations but that's the reality of it.'" ...

... "Jeb Crow." Neely Tucker of the Washington Post writes an excellent piece on Governor Jeb!'s executive action to end affirmative action in Florida. If you want to know what kind of president Jeb! would be, here's your answer: cunning in his objectives, stupid & nasty in executing them. Why, it's as if he's Dick Cheney & Dubya in one.

Eliza Collins of Politico: "Responding to a question from Fox News' Sean Hannity Thursday night, Reince Priebus said he was confident he could pull his party together even if Texas Sen. Ted Cruz or real estate mogul Donald Trump win the nomination. 'One hundred percent. You know the unifying thing about what I have to do is no matter who you're for everyone can agree that we have to have a national party and infrastructure that has its act together ... everyone is gonna get behind whoever the winner is,' Priebus said.... Earlier Thursday, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declined multiple times to commit to voting for Trump if he was his party's nominee."

Beyond the Beltway

Jenna Portnoy of the Washington Post: "A federal panel on Thursday imposed a new congressional map [on Virginia] that gives Democrats a chance to pick up a seat in the Richmond area in this year's election. The decision stems from the judges' ruling last year that Virginia's map illegally packed African American voters into the district of Rep. Robert C. 'Bobby' Scott (D) at the expense of their influence elsewhere."

Les Zaitz of the Oregonian: "Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, backed up by two other sheriffs, met face-to-face Thursday with protest leader Ammon Bundy to try to bring a peaceful end to a weeklong occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. 'I'm here to offer safe escort out,' the sheriff told Bundy. 'Go back and kick it around with your folks.'... But later Bundy told reporters that the protesters won't leave until federal land in the county is turned over to residents to manage on their own." ...

... Denis Theriault of the Oregonian: Oregon "Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday offered her strongest remarks yet on armed militants' six-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, calling the action 'unlawful' and demanding the group 'decamp immediately.'" ...

... David Neiwert in a Washington Post op-ed: "Not punishing the Bundys for the Nevada standoff led to the occupation in Oregon.... If federal law enforcement authorities had taken their roles as stewards of the rule of law seriously, many of these players would be facing justice in federal courts right now, instead of opportunistically raising hell out in poverty-stricken rural areas. Certainly, there is no small irony in the fact that the tepid response from federal authorities demonstrates how little resemblance they have to the tyrannical thugs the Bundys say they are. But it also shows how just that accusation, when wielded by white conservatives, can cause federal law enforcement to back down." ...

... ** Tim Egan: Ammon "Bundy's not leaving, he says, until land that we own — that is, every American citizen -- is taken from us and given to some unnamed private entity. Yes, it's comical -- white privilege mixed with a 'Hee Haw' parody. The only thing Bundy and his fellow burglars have accomplished thus far is to leave behind enough evidence for prosecutors to file numerous criminal charges against them. But this Gang That Can't Protest Straight is not far removed from a better-dressed crowd in Congress pushing for radical change in the nation's public land endowment. Earlier this year a group led by Representative Rob Bishop, the Utah Republican who is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, announced plans to 'develop a legislative framework for transferring public land to local ownership and control.'" CW: Egan very neatly summarizes the real motivations behind the Bundy Rebellion 2.0.

... Scott Lemieux: Paul LePage, the man for people who feel that Donald Trump's race-baiting is too subtle and dignified:

... Randy Billings of the Portland Press Herald: Maine "Gov. Paul LePage made a racially charged comment in Bridgton on Wednesday night during one of his regular town hall meetings.... LePage responded to a question about how he was tackling substance abuse in Maine. He began talking about how much of the heroin is coming into Maine from out-of-state drug dealers. 'These are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty -- these types of guys -- they come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home... Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road.' LePage's comment drew widespread condemnation, including from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton." ...

... CW: As a white person, I feel much better knowing that when "my people" abuse drugs, it's the fault of badass black dudes, & when innocent white girls accidentally get pregnant, its because these same badass black dudes came up from the big city & knocked 'em up. Thanks, Maine, for bringing us this nostalgic return to classic, extreme early-20th-century racist stereotyping. I'll bet Shifty wears a zoot suit. ...

... Steve M.: At the same time LePage was explaining the "real reason" for his state's drug-abuse problem, "the RNC ... launched a new racial diversity initiative.... Sorry, Reince. You keep buying different brands of diversity lipstick and applying them to your pig of a party, but at the end of the day, your party is still a pig."

Wesley Lowery of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors in DeKalb County, Ga., will seek a criminal indictment of the police officer who in March 2015 fatally shot Anthony Hill, an Afghanistan war veteran who was naked and unarmed when he was killed."

Stephanie Gosk, et al., of NBC News: "Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder refused Thursday to say when he knew the Flint water crisis — children being poisoned by lead from their drinking taps -- was being mishandled.... But an internal email obtained by Virginia Tech researchers shows that the governor's office knew months ago that Flint's families had reason to be worried about the problem and the response." ...

... Ryan Cooper of the Week: "Flint started drinking water from the Flint River -- but ended up contaminating children with a poisonous heavy metal. Governor Rick Snyder has declared a state of emergency, and the federal government is investigating. Why on Earth did they do this? Austerity. Aside from the obvious humanitarian disaster, this is a stark demonstration of austerity's false economy.... Lead poisoning is one of the lesser-known great evils of the 20th century. Most notably it may have even caused a great crime wave, as basically the entire population was subjected to minor aerosol lead poisoning from leaded gasoline, resulting in lower IQs and poorer impulse control across the population -- and therefore higher crime."

News Ledes

Los Angeles Times: "Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, one of the world's most sought-after drug lords, has been captured, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced Friday."

Reuters: "An Islamic State militant executed his mother in public in the Syrian city of Raqqa because she had encouraged him to leave the group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Friday. The woman in her 40s had warned her son that a U.S.-backed alliance would wipe out Islamic State and had encouraged him to leave the city with her."

New York Times: "In an impressive sprint at 2015's end, employers added 292,000 workers to their payrolls in December, the government said on Friday, punctuating a year of healthy growth. The unemployment rate stayed at 5 percent last month, the Labor Department said, but that was mostly because large numbers of people went looking for work."

The Commentariat -- January 7, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Matt Apuzzo & Al Baker of the New York Times: "The mayor will appoint an independent civilian to monitor the New York Police Department's counterterrorism activities, lawyers said in court documents Thursday as they moved to settle a pair of lawsuits over surveillance targeting Muslims in the decade after the Sept. 11 attacks. The agreement would restore some of the outside oversight that was eliminated after the attacks, when city leaders said they needed more flexibility in conducting investigations. In the years that followed, the Police Department secretly built files on Muslim neighborhoods, recorded sermons, collected license plates of worshipers, and documented the views of everyday people on topics such as drone strikes, politics and foreign policy."

Ross Douthat analyzes Donald Trump's chances of winning the GOP presidential nomination, & says it's not likely to happen. CW: His basic argument is not original, and it is, IMHO, plausible ONLY IF one assumes the party poo-bahs are disciplined enough to get together in a dark room & pick a nominee from among the so-called "moderates" left standing. This is not an assumption I would make inasmuch as the party does not have anything like a boss or even a central organization. (No, Prince Rebus, you are not the boss of them. And neither are you, Ayn Rand Paul Ryan.)

*****

Super Emergency! My mouse expired (nope, not the battery). I'll be back after a trip to BestBuy. I'm just no good at the keypad thing. -- Constant Weader ...

     ... Update: Got a new mouse just like the old mouse, who has been unceremoniously buried.

President Obama will conduct a townhall-style forum on "Guns in America," to air live tonight at 8:00 pm ET.

... Edward-Isaac Dovere of Politico: "In an email..., Obama chief of staff Denis McDonough echoes [President] Obama's more-optimistic-than-ever theme and lists some of what's likely to be on Obama's brag list: December's budget agreement; the Iran nuclear deal; increased domestic oil production together with new environmental regulations; peaks in high school graduation rates and health insurance coverage; drops in unemployment, crime and incarceration rates." ...

... ** Michael Grunwald in Politico Magazine: President "Obama is often dinged for failing to deliver on the hope-and-change rhetoric that inspired so many voters.... But a review of his record shows that the Obama era has produced much more sweeping change than most of his supporters or detractors realize.... What he's done is changing the way we produce and consume energy, the way doctors and hospitals treat us, the academic standards in our schools and the long-term fiscal trajectory of the nation. Gays can now serve openly in the military, insurers can no longer deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, credit card companies can no longer impose hidden fees and markets no longer believe the biggest banks are too big to fail. Solar energy installations are up nearly 2,000 percent, and carbon emissions have dropped even though the economy is growing." CW: Helpful essay; horrible artwork.

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Congressional Republicans made good Wednesday on a central campaign pledge from the 2014 midterms, delivering a bill repealing the health care reform law they loathe to President Obama's desk, forcing a certain veto. The bill passed 240 to 181, with one House Democrat supporting the bill and three Republicans opposing it, after passing the Senate 52 to 47 last month. Neither margin is large enough to override a veto.... The bill also blocks Planned Parenthood from receiving federal health care funds.... Meanwhile, the bold agenda [Speaker Paul] Ryan has promised awaits."

** Dana Milbank: "On Wednesday, the first legislative day of the year, House conservatives gathered with reporters for their monthly 'Conversations with Conservatives.' When the questioning turned to the armed rebellion in Oregon against the authority of the federal government, these representatives of the United States stood with the rebels.... Not one of the 10 or so Republican House members on the panel criticized the takeover.... The Republican majority began the year not by governing but with an ostentatious show of its hostility toward government." Read the whole post. As Milbank makes clear, House Republicans, including Speaker Paul Ryan, do not know the difference between civil disobedience & sedition. CW: This is shocking.

Greg Sargent: "With leading Republicans all condemning President Obama's new executive actions on guns, Democrats are gleefully pouncing on video of House Speaker Paul Ryan in 2013 saying that Congressional action to close the loophole in our background check system is 'reasonable' and 'obvious.' Ryan's statement yesterday about Obama's executive actions described them as an effort to 'trump the Second Amendment' and an affront to the nation's founding values.... If only Ryan were in a position where he might help make [a legislative fix] happen right now. Of course, Ryan would likely argue that, even if most House Republicans wanted to close the background check loophole -- which they almost certainly don't -- it would be an impossibility because they Can't Trust Obama." ...

... Nicholas Kristof: "President Obama shed tears on Tuesday as he called for new gun safety measures, and some critics perceived weakness or wimpishness. Really?.... We should all be in tears that 225,000 Americans have already died of gun violence in his seven years in office.... It's worth a cry that a 'peaceful' America during Obama's tenure has lost roughly as many lives to gunfire as Syria has in civil war.... The states with the most restrictive gun laws have the lowest gun death rates (including suicides).... Republican candidates are politicizing what should be a public health issue, and they are scaring Americans into buying more guns, which magnifies the problem and causes more carnage."

Linda Greenhouse on a 1989 Supreme Court decision that "continues to immunize government from the kind of accountability that common sense and justice would seem to require." The government is not responsible for its ineptitude or indifference to protecting citizens from each other, even if the unprotected citizens are children.

Somini Sengupta, et al., of the New York Times: "The United Nations Security Council condemned North Korea for its nuclear test on Wednesday, but there was no evidence yet that the North's most powerful backer, China, was willing to stiffen sanctions in a way that could push the unpredictable country to the point of collapse or slow its nuclear progress.... White House officials ... said that initial data from its monitoring stations in Asia were 'not consistent' with a test of a hydrogen bomb."

Presidential Race

Yamiche Alcindor of the New York Times: "Using strikingly similar pitches, Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Martin O'Malley tried their best ... on Wednesday to persuade a room full of Nevada Democrats to support their bids to be the next Democratic presidential nominee. The sold-out event, the Battle Born Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner, was hosted by the state Democratic Party and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader.... They each spent time trying to differentiate themselves, but saved their harshest criticism for Republicans."

** Karen Tumulty & Frances Sellers of the Washington Post: "The ghosts of the 1990s have returned to confront Hillary Clinton, released from the vault by Donald Trump and revved up by a 21st-century version of the scandal machine that almost destroyed her husband's presidency.... The fresher case being made is that Hillary Clinton has been, at a minimum, hypocritical about her husband's treatment of women, and possibly even complicit in discrediting his accusers. And it is being pressed at a time when there is a new sensitivity toward victims of unwanted sexual contact, and when one of the biggest news stories is the prosecution of once-beloved comedian Bill Cosby...." ...

... CW: If Hillary Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, she -- and/or Bill -- will have to do better than ignore this matter. It will be difficult to get the women's vote while ignoring the serial sexual abuser in the room.

Hanna Trudo of Politico: "Vice President Joe Biden started off the first week of the New Year with a confession: He regrets not running for president. 'I regret it every day, but it was the right decision for my family and for me,' he told an NBC affiliate in Connecticut on Wednesday."

Sam Wang of Princeton: There are "suggestive implications about who is likely to be the eventual Republican nominee. (Spoiler: rhymes with Grump.)

"Yes, It Works in Practice, But Does It Work in Theory?" Steve Benen: The American auto industry had its best year ever last year -- after nearly tanking completely in 2008. In 2009, "President Obama took a gamble on an unpopular [auto industry bailout] plan, which fortunately worked beautifully.... In 2015, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump all voiced opposition to the White House's rescue policy from 2009. Yes, they know Obama's approach worked. No, they don't care."

... "Trump's Low-Energy Campaign." Ben Schreckinger of Politico: "Trump, who once derided Jeb Bush for lacking energy, has done fewer campaign swings than any of his top-tier rivals -- 100, versus, for example, Bush's 172 -- and while others have only increased the pace, Trump has barely expanded his schedule. Next week, he'll stage a rare Sunday rally." ...

... Birtherism, Ctd. Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "Sen. John McCain questioned whether Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who was born in Canada, is eligible to be president. McCain, who has long clashed with Cruz in the Senate, said on KFYI Wednesday that 'it's worth looking into' whether Cruz is a natural born citizen, a requirement to be president. The assertion comes the day after Donald Trump, whom Cruz is leading in polls in Iowa, told The Washington Post that Cruz's birthplace could be 'very precarious' for the GOP.... McCain said Wednesday the issue is different [from his case -- he was born in the Panama Canal Zone --] because the Canal Zone was a territory and U.S. Military base and there was precedent set when Barry Goldwater, who was born in Arizona when it was a territory, ran for president.... Legal scholars have said Cruz meets the requirement of natural born citizenship, though it is untested in the courts. Sen. Rand Paul, who is also seeking the Republican nomination, also brought up the issue Wednesday, stating Cruz is eligible to be prime minister of Canada." ...

... Alex Griswold of Mediaite: Trump has flipflopped twice on Cruz's eligibility to be president. CW: Yeah, so what? As contributor Marvin S. has remarked, the only real true thing is what Donald says at the moment he says it. ...

He has had a double passport. -- Donald Trump, on Ted Cruz's eligibility for the presidency

There's no such thing, far as we could tell, as a "double passport." We suspect Trump was suggesting Cruz had obtained both one U.S. and a Canadian one--though our requests for factual backup drew no replies from Trump representatives.... Trump didn't provide and we didn't find evidence that Cruz, who relinquished his dual citizenship in 2014, ever carried passports for the U.S. and Canada--nor, Cruz's camp advises, did he ever apply for a Canada passport. -- Gardner Selby of PolitiFact

... Dana Bash & Abigail Crutchfield of CNN: "Sen. Ted Cruz ... on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of wanting to take Americans' guns away despite his assurances otherwise. 'He's not telling the truth,' Cruz said flatly during an interview with CNN aboard his campaign bus.... Cruz defended posting a picture of the President wearing military style garb on his campaign website, with the caption 'Obama wants your guns.' 'It is actually quite accurate. This is the most anti-gun president we've ever seen,' Cruz said." CW: Yeah, except, say, Ronald Ray-gun.

A Pretty Face. Jonathan Chait: Marco Rubio is no moderate Republican, no matter what his friends, his rivals & the press claim. He is a pragmatist (CW: I would say "opportunist") who toes the party line, whatever it may be at the moment. He "is the embodiment of the Republican donor class’s conviction that it needs to alter nothing more than its face." ...

... "Cuban Heels." Tina Nguyen of Vanity Fair: Marco Rubio looks pretty silly in his new boots, especially because he wore them with a Ralph Lauren pullover & black dress slacks, look ridiculous. ...

... Scott Bixby of the Guardian: "A chance tweet from a New York Times political reporter [Michael Barbaro] and former fashion correspondent spurred snark from Senator Ted Cruz's communications director ('A vote for Marco Rubio is a vote for men's high-heeled booties'), teasing from fellow Senator Rand Paul ('Cute new boots!')...."

Beyond the Beltway

David Montgomery of the New York Times: "The state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, the Chicago-area woman who three days later was found hanged in her cell at the Waller County jail, has been indicted on a perjury charge, a special prosecutor here said Wednesday. Hours after the indictment was announced against the trooper, Brian T. Encinia, the Department of Public Safety said that the state police agency 'will begin termination proceedings to discharge him.' The charge against Trooper Encinia, a Class A misdemeanor, was announced at the end of a day of grand jury deliberations. It carries a possible penalty of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, prosecutors said."

Tony Barboza of the Los Angeles Times: "Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered new regulations, including stepped-up inspections and safety measures, for all natural gas storage facilities in California in response to the continuing leak that has displaced thousands of people in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles.... The requirements are part of a series of orders issued by Brown as he declared a state of emergency stemming from a leaking well at SoCal Gas' storage facility in Aliso Canyon. For more than 10 weeks a damaged well has released large amounts of planet-warming methane and emitted sulfur-like odors that have sickened residents with nosebleeds, headaches and other symptoms."

Claire Landsbaum of New York: "In a move that directly defies the Supreme Court's decision last June, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore issued a court order Wednesday that bans lower judges in Alabama from issuing same-sex marriage licenses.... Moore has a long and sordid history of putting his personal beliefs before the law."

Joanna Walters of the Guardian: "New York mayor Bill de Blasio announced an executive order on Wednesday to raise the minimum wage for city employees to $15 an hour in a move he labeled 'a milestone towards a fairer city'. His plan, which will involve a pay increase for 50,000 workers, will phase in the new pay level for the city's public employees and workers at contracted agencies by the end of 2018 and is a step towards the mayor's stated goal of a $15 minimum hourly wage for the whole city."

Paloma Esquivel of the Los Angeles Times: "The man accused of providing two rifles used in the Dec. 2 mass shooting in San Bernardino pleaded not guilty to charges against him in federal court Wednesday. Enrique Marquez Jr. was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, lying about the rifle purchases, marriage fraud and lying on a visa application."

Tom Hays of the AP: "A U.S. citizen already accused of going to Pakistan to train with al-Qaida was charged Wednesday with helping build explosives for a 2009 suicide attack on an American military base in Afghanistan. A revised indictment charges Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh with conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and other crimes. He is to appear Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn; there was no immediate comment by his lawyer. The charges stem from an attack on Jan. 19, 2009...."

Way Beyond

Keith Bradsher & Amy Tsang of the New York Times: "Trading was halted for the day on China's stock market for the second time this week, as stocks plummeted on Thursday over concerns about the country's currency and the health of the economy. Trading stopped after only 29 minutes and didn't reopen, with the main index in Shanghai down 7.3 percent. Other Asian markets slumped as well." ...

     ... New Lede: "The market turmoil in China spread around the world, as global investors grew more anxious about the country's currency and the health of its economy."

Kate Connolly of the Guardian: "Cologne's mayor has been widely criticised for suggesting that women 'keep at an arm's length' from strangers to avoid sexual harassment, after scores of women were sexually abused and mugged in the city during new year celebrations." CW: Because, yes, ladies, it's all your fault if you go out & about on New Year's Eve & a bunch of thugs rob, sexually assault & beat you.

News Ledes

CBS News: "Two Iraqi-born men were arrested Thursday in Houston and Sacramento in an ongoing terrorism investigation, according to prosecutors. In a statement late Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's office in Sacramento identified the suspect there as Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, who faces a federal charge of making a false statement involving international terrorism."

AP: "13 miners are still stuck in an elevator 775 feet underground at a central New York salt mine near Ithaca and emergency crews are working on a rescue. Four have been rescued and are being evaluated by medical personnel. Emergency management officials say rescue equipment is on the scene and the miners aren't in danger." ...

... CW: Once a Great Nation. I had no idea there were actual salt mines in the Land of the Free. However, "trapped in a salt mine" seems like the proverbial canary in the mine announcing, in its final, weak Tweet, the coming Republican dystopia. ...

... AP Update: "All 17 miners who were stuck hundreds of feet below the surface in an elevator at the deepest salt mine in the western hemisphere have been rescued. Cargill Inc spokesman Mark Klein says the last two miners were raised to the surface by a crane around 8.30am Thursday at the mine in the central New York town of Lansing."