The Commentariat -- August 3, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

Afternoon Update:

Edward Rosenfeld of CNBC: "President Barack Obama unveiled his plan to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants on Monday, potentially kicking off a legal battle between regulators and coal industry supporters. Calling the plan 'the single most important step America has ever taken in the fight against global climate change,' Obama emphasized that the regulation was about the present not just the predictions of forward-looking models." Here's a clip:

... Adam Vaughn of the Guardian: "Hundreds of businesses including eBay, Nestle and General Mills have issued their support for Barack Obama's clean power plan, billed as the strongest action ever on climate change by a US president.... The rules are expected to trigger a 'tsunami' of legal opposition from states and utilities who oppose the plans, which will significantly boost wind and solar power generation and force a switch away from coal power. Republican presidential hopefuls moved quickly to voice their opposition, saying they would be economically damaging. But 365 businesses and investors wrote to 29 state governors to strongly support the rules, which they said would benefit the economy and create jobs."

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "GOP lawmakers in Congress will make their first explicit move Monday to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood after a series of undercover videos raised questions about its practice of harvesting tissue for research from aborted fetuses. The Monday evening procedural vote on a Senate bill to immediately halt funding to the group is expected to fail. Democrats have vowed to filibuster the bill, and Republicans have thus far been unable to peel off enough support to counter it."

Michael Gordon of the New York Times: "Persian Gulf monarchies issued a cautious endorsement on Monday of the accord Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated last month to constrain Iran's nuclear program. 'This was the best option among other options,' said Khalid al-Attiyah, the foreign minister of Qatar, who hosted a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council that Mr. Kerry attended."

Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Sen. Chuck Schumer is teaming up with another Schumer — actress and comedian Amy -- on Monday to push for stricter gun-control laws. The two Schumers held a news conference in New York to unveil a new proposal drafted by the senator meant to prevent violent criminals, abusers and those with mental illnesses from obtaining guns. The push comes in the wake of the shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana, last month at a screening of Amy Schumer's new movie 'Trainwreck,' where two women were killed and at least nine other people were injured." Chuck Schumer & Amy Schumer are cousins. ...

... Adam Gabbatt of the Guardian: "Food safety experts and gun experts have warned against cooking bacon on the barrel of a machine gun, after Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz released a video showing him doing just that."

Oh, Gawker is back. Sam Biddle: "Last month, American reality show entertainer turned American political system entertainer Donald Trump publicized presidential rival Sen. Lindsey Graham's cell number, urging his supporters to 'try it.' In the spirit of open and fair political debate, we now bring you Trump's number." A commenter writes, "He doesn't even have a (212) number? I thought he was rich. Poser."

Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: "Wisconsin governor Scott Walker encountered what looked like a group of young supporters during a campaign stop on Monday at a [Manchester, N.H.,] pizza shop, only to be presented with a fake check from the billionaire Koch brothers by a group of climate activists.... 'I'd like to present you with this check from the Koch brothers for climate denial,' [Tyler] McFarland, 23, told Walker."

Margaret Sullivan, the New York Times' public editor addresses the paper's "tortured history" of coverage of Hillary & Bill Clinton. Times executive editor Dean Baquet told her, "If you look at our body of work, I don't believe we have been unfair." Sullivan noted, "But the Times's 'screw-up,' as Mr. Baquet called it, reinforces the need for reporters and their editors to be 'doubly vigilant and doubly cautious.'" ...

... Erik Wemple of the Washington Post is not impressed with Sullivan's "wishy-washy" column. He notes that the original Times story, 11 days old on Monday, still contains the error that two inspectors general sent the DOJ a security referral; only one of them sent a referral, according to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.). Sullivan has not addressed this likely error. Since Times editors granted Sullivan access which they denied other media reporters, she should have (a) done a better job, & (b) been willing to talk to reporters.

Daniel Strauss of Politico: "Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton turned himself in to law enforcement officials on Monday in the face of felony charges on securities fraud."

*****

Greg Sargent on how President Obama's Clean Power Plan is likely to play out in the upcoming national elections. "Given that this would combine Obummer Mandates with a new effort at international engagement that many GOP primary voters will likely oppose, it could perhaps make Obama's climate push even more ideologically toxic to Republicans, requiring the GOP candidates to outdo one another in their zeal to oppose it." ...

... New Rules. Eric Holthaus of Slate: The Obama administration's climate-change policy is fairly lame.

Two key legislators -- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) & Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) -- have come out in favor of the Iran nuclear deal. Via Greg Sargent.

The New Kochs, Ctd. Ken Vogel of Politico: "Charles Koch, in a Sunday afternoon speech to conservative donors and GOP dignitaries, compared the causes of his conservative political and policy operation to the American Revolution, the abolitionists, suffragettes and civil rights crusaders. 'They all sought to overcome an injustice. And we, too, are seeking to right injustices that are holding our country back,' Koch said on the second day of a summit he and his brother David Koch convened the at the St. Regis Monarch Beach luxury resort, which drew 450 rich conservatives, as well as numerous leading Republican politicians.... For the Koch network, the cause is reforming the criminal justice system, and reducing government spending and regulation that conservatives believe limits prosperity for all Americans. Or, as Koch put it Sunday, 'we aim ... to remove the shackles preventing all Americans, especially the disadvantaged, from pursuing their dreams.'" CW: Yes, the "disadvantaged" should be free to sell arms to Iran, pollute the environment & have offshore accounts, too. ...

... Matea Gold & James Hohmann write the Washington Post story. CW: I'm all dewy-eyed.

CW: Yesterday, I pointed to a Reuters story about how Donald Trump's companies regularly hire low-wage foreign workers under the barely-regulated H-2 temporary visa program. I missed this excellent BuzzFeed investigative piece (July 24) on how the H-2 visa program "works": "The H-2 visa program invites foreign workers to do some of the most menial labor in America. Then it leaves them at the mercy of their employers. Thousands of these workers have been abused -- deprived of their fair pay, imprisoned, starved, beaten, raped, and threatened with deportation if they dare complain. And the government says it can do little to help."

Jack Hitt of Mother Jones: "Police Shootings Won't Stop Unless We Also Stop Shaking Down Black People." CW: Hitt is right about that of course, but what his story inadvertently reveals is a huge flaw in the low-tax libertarian philosophy. Many local governments have chosen to lower property taxes & raise revenue instead via fines for minor vehicle & home infractions -- from failures to signal to cheesy miniblinds (really). Police & code enforcement officials are expected to earn their wages by citing citizens, & for some odd reason, they tend to cite poorer citizens. I don't doubt that the city councilmembers who have developed this flawed structure ran for office on low-tax platforms, & voters chose them for that very reason. As Hitt points out, carried to its logical extreme (and municipalities do carry it to the extreme), it is often more costly to demand payment (by jailing those who can't pay) than it would have been not to fine the citizens in the first place.

Paul Krugman: After writing a post criticizing "crotchety crank" Ron Paul's ever-erroneous wacko economic theories -- which he is now selling in video format! -- "I've received some mail from Ron Paul admirers deeply angered by the suggestion that they are not engaged in deep intellectual argument. By and large the mail reads like this:

Dear shmak, Paul Krugman!
Stop insulting Ron Paul!
You are low level Socialist/Liberal who should be jailed
for Life
your insulting writing style.
Ron Paul is Real Man with Capital M
and you are nobody!

     ... CW: I suspect Krugman is unfair to these writers. I'm sure he cleaned up their spelling.

Paul Krugman in the New York Times Book Review: Don't bother to buy Thomas Picketty's "new" book, because it's really 15 years old & doesn't reflect recent economic changes, new data & revised scholarship, even his own.

Ellen Brait of the Guardian: "Several New York retailers, including Walmart, Sears and Amazon, have agreed to remove realistic toy guns from their shelves and pay $300,000 in penalties as part of a settlement with the state. State attorney general Eric Schneiderman announced on Monday that his office had found over 6,400 toy guns sold from 2012 to 2014 that violated preexisting New York laws, which ban the sale of black, blue, silver, or aluminum toy guns. Instead, these must be brightly colored or translucent."

Presidential Race

Carrie Dann of NBC News: "Days before the first Republican debate, Donald Trump has surged into the national lead in the GOP primary race, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush following, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows. Trump is the first choice of 19 percent of GOP primary voters, while 15 percent back Walker and 14 percent back Bush. Ten percent support retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson." ...

... Steven Thomma of McClatchy News: "... the McClatchy-Marist Poll has temporarily suspended polling on primary voter choices out of concern that public polls are being misused to decide who will be in and who will be excluded. The Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducts the national survey, said the debate criteria assume too much precision in polls in drawing a line between candidates just a fraction apart, presume that the national polls being averaged are comparable, and turn the media sponsoring most of the polls from analysts to participants."

He's the Doofus, Not the Donald. Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump's surge in the polls has been met with barely concealed delight by Jeb Bush and his supporters. Mr. Trump's bombastic ways have simultaneously made it all but impossible for those vying to be the alternative to Mr. Bush to emerge, and easier for Mr. Bush, the former Florida governor, to position himself as the serious and thoughtful alternative to a candidate who has upended the early nominating process.... Mr. Trump has essentially frozen the rest of the field." Trump is peeling off potential Scott Walker voters, in particular.

Kevin Cirilli of the Hill: "Donald Trump is assembling a team of political strategists and campaign staffers charged with sustaining his lead in the Republican presidential polls. While strategists say Trump still got a ways to go to catch up to his rivals for the White House, he is taking aggressive steps to build a political machine, particularly in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire." ...

... Laura Reston of the New Republic: Donald Trump is a candidate in the longstanding American tradition of Know Nothings. CW: Worth nothing [Oops! That was a Freudian typo; s/b "worth noting"]: Reston's little history lesson reminds us anew that the Northeast has never been immune to racist sentiments. ...

... Mistakes Were Made. Emily Atkin of Think Progress: "... Donald Trump said on Sunday that more power should be given to the police. 'It's a massive crisis,' Trump said on Meet the Press, when asked about the concerns of the Black Lives Matter movement. 'Some horrible mistakes are made. At the same time, we have to give power back to the police, because crime is rampant.'" ...

... Black People Are All Alike. Emily Atkin: "In an interview with ABC News on Sunday..., [Donald Trump] said Americans wouldn't elect another black president for a long time because of Obama's 'poor standard.'... ' think that he has set a very low bar and I think it's a shame for the African American people." CW: Okay, no more white presidents because Warren Harding, Andrew Johnson, George W. Bush, etc. Sorry, Donald. I'm going for the best-qualified Inuit. ...

... Ben Jacobs of the Guardian: "The Trump campaign confirmed to the Guardian on Sunday that longtime aide Sam Nunberg had been fired, after Business Insider reported on an eight-year-old social media post. In 2007, a post on Nunberg's Facebook page referring to the veteran civil rights campaigner Al Sharpton read: 'Meeting Rev Sharpton today, no joke -- he will tell him that his daughter is N---!'" CW: Good to hear that Trump won't abide racism.

Zachary Warmbrodt of Politico: "Donald Trump made clear on Sunday that he's not ruling out a third-party run if his bid for the Republican presidential nomination falters. In a phone interview on ABC's 'This Week,' the billionaire businessman-turned-political celebrity said he'd have 'no interest' in running as a third-party candidate if he's 'treated fairly' by the Republican Party but 'would certainly not give that up' if he felt burned." CW: Since the Republican party is essentially impotent, this is more a warning to Roger Ailes & Fox "News" debate questioners. ...

When people are chopping off other people's heads and then we're worried about waterboarding and we can't, because I have no doubt that that works. I have absolutely no doubt.... When you see the other side chopping off heads, waterboarding doesn't sound very severe. -- Donald Trump, on ABC's "This Week with Whomever"

... CW: There really should be more violence against teachers.

E. J. Dionne: Some GOP candidates, like Jeb! & Marco, "talk about the need to restore paths to upward mobility, [but] their underlying proposals remain rooted in the thinking of the Reagan era...: that government can do little about what ails us and that the path to nirvana is still paved with tax cuts and business deregulation. But as progressive economist Joseph Stiglitz noted to me..., it's precisely the rules and policies of the past 35 to 40 years that have helped lead the middle class into its current economic impasse."

Rick Perry Discovers Government Regulation. David Dayen in the New Republic: Rick Perry inherited mortgage-lending regulations that are stricter than what even the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau promotes. Altho he wants to gut the CFPB, Perry is now touting his state's strict lending regulations, which saved Texas from the burst bubble that brought down Florida's economy just after Jeb! left the governorship. In his speech on Wall Street reform, Perry also "endorsed higher capital requirements for the largest banks so they can absorb trading losses rather than pass them on to the government. He also advocated for a firewall between investment and commercial banks, which is not unlike the Depression-era Glass-Steagall reforms now championed by the likes of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.... Even if Perry doesn't make it to the general election [and he won't], he's done the country a service by telling the truth about the value of consumer protection."

Paper Soldier. Craig Whitelock of the Washington Post: "a detailed examination of [Sen. Lindsey] Graham's military record -- much of it obtained under the Freedom of Information Act -- shows that the Air Force afforded him special treatment as a lawmaker, granting him the privileges of rank with few expectations in return. During his first decade in Congress, the Air Force promoted Graham twice even though documents in his military personnel file reveal that he did little or no work. Later, the Pentagon gave the military lawyer a job assignment in the Air Force Reserve that he highlighted in his biography for several years but never performed.... After he became a colonel, Graham began to dedicate more hours to the Reserve. He deployed for brief stints in Iraq and Afghanistan, visits timed to overlap with his travels there as a senator. For nearly a decade, however, Graham gave inaccurate public descriptions of his job assignment...."

CW: For reasons beyond me, Rick Santorum thinks this fake Hillary site, a product of his own campaign, is hilarious. I'm sticking -- so to speak -- with santorum.com

Beyond the Beltway

Hedge Clippers: "Hedge funds and billionaire hedge fund managers have swooped into Puerto Rico during a fast-moving economic crisis to prey on the vulnerable island. Several groups of hedge funds and billionaire hedge fund managers have bought up large chunks of Puerto Rican debt at discounts, pushed the island to borrow more, and are driving towards devastating austerity measures. At the same time, they are also using the island as a tax haven.... Known as 'vulture funds,' these investors have followed a similar game plan in other debt crises, in countries such as Greece and Argentina." Via Think Progress. ...

... Alice Ollstein of Think Progress: “'The reason Puerto Rico has such unsustainable debt has everything to do with the policies of austerity and the greed of large financial institutions,' said [Sen. Bernie] Sanders [I-Vt.]. He additionally noted that just seven years ago, Congress 'acted with a fierce sense of urgency to bail out Wall Street,' yet is now dragging its feet on helping the commonwealth of Puerto Rico." ...

... Paul Krugman: "... too much austerity can be self-defeating. It would, in particular, be a terrible idea to give the hedge funds that have scooped up much of Puerto Rico's debt what they want -- basically to destroy the island's education system in the name of fiscal responsibility. Overall, however, the Puerto Rican story is one of bad times that fall well short of utter disaster. And the saving grace in this situation is big government -- a federal system that provides a crucial safety net for American citizens in times of need, wherever they happen to live." ...

... Or Not. Lizette Alvarez & Abby Goodnough of the New York Times: "On an island where more than 60 percent of residents receive Medicare or Medicaid -- an indicator of Puerto Rico's poverty and rapidly aging population -- the dwindling funds have set off outpourings of concern among patients and doctors, protest rallies and intense lobbying in Washington. And while the crisis is playing out most vividly today, its cause dates back decades and stems, in large part, from a vast disparity in federal funding for health care on the island compared with funding for the 50 states. This disparity is partly responsible for $25 billion of Puerto Rico's $73 billion debt, as Puerto Rico's government was forced to borrow over time to keep the Medicaid program afloat, according to economists."

The Anti-Education Governor. Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post: "Teachers can't hotfoot it out of Kansas fast enough, creating a substantial shortage expected only to get much worse. Why? Well, there's the low pay.... Then there's the severe underfunding for public education by the administration of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, so much of a problem that some school districts closed early this past school year because they didn't have the cash to keep operating.... The Kansas Board of Education decided in July to allow six school systems -- including two of the largest in the state -- to hire unlicensed teachers to ease the shortage.

AP: "The Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, prepared on Sunday to become the latest powerful state official booked on felony charges. But unlike when Governor Rick Perry smiled for his mugshot last year, Republicans are not rushing to Paxton's defense."

AP: "A person of 'interest' was taken into custody in connection with the fatal shooting of a police officer during a traffic stop in Memphis, police said on Sunday." ...

     ... Update: Adrian Sainz of the AP: "Tennessee police officials on Sunday identified a suspect in the fatal shooting of a Memphis police officer, and an intense search for the man is underway. Tremaine Wilbourn, 29, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of Officer Sean Bolton, 33, on Saturday night, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said at a news conference.... Armstrong said Bolton interrupted a drug deal in progress.... The driver [of the vehicle in which Bolton was sitting] later turned himself in to police, and police described him as a person of interest in the case before he was released without being charged."

Way Beyond

Washington Post: "Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Sunday called a parliamentary election for Oct. 19, kicking off an 11-week campaign -- a marathon in Canada -- that is likely to focus on a stubbornly sluggish economy and his decade in power. Polls indicate that Harper's right-of-center Conservative Party, which has been in office since 2006, could well lose its majority in the House of Commons."

Farai Mutsaka of the AP: "Zimbabwe accused a Pennsylvania doctor on Sunday of illegally killing a lion in April, adding to the outcry over a Minnesota dentist the African government wants to extradite for killing a well-known lion named Cecil in early July. Zimbabwe's National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority accused Jan Casimir Seski of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, of shooting the lion with a bow and arrow in April near Hwange National Park, without approval, on land where it was not allowed."

News Ledes

Guardian: "Former City trader Tom Hayes has been sentenced to 14 years in jail after becoming the first person to be convicted by a jury of rigging the Libor interest rate. Hayes, 35, a former UBS and Citigroup yen derivatives trader, was convicted of eight counts of conspiracy to defraud."

New York Times: After being closed for five weeks, the Greek stock exchange reopened today, & prices plummeted.

AP: "Fire officials called for thousands of evacuations as numerous homes remained threatened by Northern California wildfires Monday, while more than 9,000 firefighters battled 21 major fires in the state, officials said. Wildfires were also burning in Washington and Oregon as the West Coast suffered from the effects of drought and summer heat."

The Commentariat -- August 2, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

** Coral Davenport & Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "In the strongest action ever taken in the United States to combat climate change, President Obama will unveil on Monday a set of environmental regulations devised to sharply cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's power plants and ultimately transform America's electricity industry. The rules are the final, tougher versions of proposed regulations that the Environmental Protection Agency announced in 2012 and 2014. If they withstand the expected legal challenges, the regulations will set in motion sweeping policy changes that could shut down hundreds of coal-fired power plants, freeze construction of new coal plants and create a boom in the production of wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources." ...

... Steve Mufson of the Washington Post: Mitch McConnell "has urged states to rebel against the EPA plan, just as he encouraged states to withhold their cooperation with the Affordable Care Act. In the end, ironically, the states trying to assert their opposition will sacrifice the flexibility they have under the Clean Power Plan. The EPA is setting targets, but states can come up with their own strategies. If the states refuse, only then will federal regulators impose a plan of their own. In the end, the Republican resistance to the EPA's Clean Power Plan should find little basis in law. Whatever the quality of the EPA's plan may be, it has a legal responsibility to press ahead."

... Thanks to Victoria D. (oops! did it again) for the reminder. Sadly, Republicans missed the '60s. ...

** William Saletan of Slate covered Congressional hearings about the Iran nuclear deal: "In challenging Kerry and Moniz, Republican senators and representatives offered no serious alternative. They misrepresented testimony, dismissed contrary evidence, and substituted vitriol for analysis. They seemed baffled by the idea of having to work and negotiate with other countries.... The GOP ... seems utterly unprepared to govern." If you don't have time to read the whole article, check out Item 4, an exchange between Ted Cruz & Secretary Moniz. The video below covers Cruz's questioning. Here's his MO: he takes remarks completely out of context or just makes up something, then accuses the witnesses of being ignorant or craven based on his false assertions. On his final attempt to use this pointless technique, John McCain, who chaired the hearing, cut him off:

... ** Heather Richardson, in Salon, goes a long way toward explaining how we got from issues-oriented, reality-conscious senators to Ted Cruz, et al.: "Fox News will air the first Republican presidential debates this week, choosing 10 out of 17 current candidates according to unspecified polls and permitting each candidate just one minute to answer questions. Donald Trump will hold center stage. This scenario, where a TV network calls the shots in a presidential debate and a consummate brand maker is the leading candidate, is the culmination of Movement Conservatism. Politics is no longer about policy or nuance, or even reality. It is simply a storyline designed to appeal to voters' emotions." ...

... CW: I have been debating with myself about whether or not to watch the Fox "News" "debate" or rely on media reports & analysis. What's your plan?

Nicholas Kristof: "... Conservative Republicans, indignant about abortion, are trying to destroy a government program that helps prevent 345,000 abortions a year. Inevitably in politics there are good ideas and bad ideas. But occasionally there are also moronic ideas -- such as the House Republican proposal to kill America's main family planning program, Title X.... Title X isn't directly related to the furor over video footage showing Planned Parenthood staff members speaking cavalierly about fetal tissues; the Republican effort to eliminate Title X goes back much earlier."

Sudhim Thanawala of the AP: "A federal judge in San Francisco on Friday blocked the release of any recordings made at meetings of an abortion providers' association by the anti-abortion group the Center for Medical Progress. Earlier in the week, a Los Angeles County judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the center from releasing any video of leaders of StemExpress, a California company that provides fetal tissue to researchers.... Judge William Orrick ... said absent a temporary restraining order, the federation would likely suffer irreparable injury 'in the form of harassment, intimidation, violence, invasion of privacy, and injury to reputation.' John Nockleby, a professor at Loyola Law School, said California privacy law is stricter than some other states. To record a confidential communication in California, all parties participating in it must agree to the recording."

New York Times Editors: "A recent leak of documents from the Fed shows that its staff economists have forecast more of the same modest growth and inflation for years to come. Nonetheless, the Fed seems determined to raise interest rates before the end of this year.... If it really intends to move ahead soon with interest-rate increases, it needs to explain how an economy in which wages are stagnating is as good as it gets."

Steve Benen: Rather than claim a religious exemption from directly providing contraceptive coverage under the ACA, Wheaton College of Illinois decided to stop providing any health insurance for students. They feel just terrible about it. But Jesus. CW: Yo, Wheaton, Jesus provided healthcare coverage under his trademark Miracle Plan for Believers. The plan also covered believers' family members & gay lovers (see the stories of the Syrophoenician woman & the centurion).

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) in a Huffington Post post: "The Times' Executive Editor has suggested that its reporters could not have done anything differently [in erroneously reporting requests for a "criminal investigation" of Hillary Clinton] because they relied on anonymous senior government officials, which the paper's Public Editor later explained included tips from 'Capitol Hill.' I disagree. The Times could have insisted on seeing the documents they were describing. Or, if the Times spoke with Republicans in Congress, even off the record, they could have checked their facts with me or other Committee Democrats. Unfortunately, this rush to print anonymous, unverified claims against Secretary Clinton is not unique." Cummings pretty much fingers Benghaazi! committee chair Trey Gowdy. as the Times' source.

Presidential Race

Amy Chozick of the New York Times: "Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his associates have begun to actively explore a possible presidential campaign, which would upend the Democratic field and deliver a direct threat to Hillary Rodham Clinton, several people who have spoken to Mr. Biden or his closest advisers say. Mr. Biden's advisers have started to reach out to Democratic leaders and donors who have not yet committed to Mrs. Clinton or who have grown concerned about what they see as her increasingly visible vulnerabilities as a candidate." CW: Okay, MoDo gets her way. ...

... Or maybe not. Karen Tumulty, et al., of the Washington Post: "At this point, however, Biden appears to be far from any decision...." ...

MoDo is desperately seeking Not-Hillary; she flirts with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz -- a candidate with all the credibility of Donald Trump -- then settles on Vice President Joe Biden. Along the way, MoDo compares Hillary to patriots QB Tom Brady & his Ballghaaazi stunts.

All the Candidate's Lawsuits. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge has ordered the State Department to ask Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to certify under penalty of perjury that she has turned over some of the work-related emails she kept on a private server during the four years she served as secretary of state. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan issued the order Friday in connection with a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit the conservative group Judicial Watch filed in 2013 seeking records about the employment status of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, who worked as Clinton's deputy chief of staff but later transferred to a part-time job as a so-called 'special government employee.'... State now faces about 30 lawsuits seeking some or all of the Clinton emails and playing out in front of a variety of different judges."

I will be the greatest jobs president that God every created. I will bring back our jobs from China, Mexico and other places. I will bring back jobs and our money. -- Donald Trump, presidential candidacy announcement

... Mica Rosenberg, et al., of Reuters: "... this month, one of [Donald Trump's] companies, the elite Mar-a-Lago Club resort in Florida, applied to import 70 foreign workers to serve as cooks, wait staff and cleaners. A Reuters analysis of U.S. government data reveals that this is business as usual.... Trump owns companies that have sought to import at least 1,100 foreign workers on temporary visas since 2000, according to U.S. Department of Labor data reviewed by Reuters. Most of the applications were approved.... U.S. government watchdogs have criticized the [work visa] ... programs [the Trump companies use] over the years for failing to protect foreign and American workers alike."

Beyond the Beltway

Ha! Tanya Eiserer of WFAA Dallas-Fort Worth: "A grand jury has indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton [R] on multiple felony charges, according to several sources who are familiar with the complaints. The charges will be unsealed in McKinney on Monday about noon, and a Tarrant County judge has already been appointed to preside over the case, sources told News 8.... All indications are that charge is related to Servergy, a McKinney-based company that has been under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.... This indictment comes after the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice pushed for Paxton to face felony charges beyond the fine he paid to the securities board last year." ...

... Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "In the most serious charges, first-degree securities fraud, Mr. Paxton is accused of misleading investors in a technology company, Servergy Inc., which is based in McKinney, his hometown. He is accused of encouraging the investors in 2011 to put more than $600,000 into Servergy while failing to tell them he was making a commission on their investment, and misrepresenting himself as an investor in the company, said Kent A. Schaffer, one of the two special prosecutors handling the case.... As the state's top lawyer and law enforcement officer, Mr. Paxton has made headlines for challenging the Obama administration on its immigration and environmental policies and for encouraging county clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples on religious grounds after the Supreme Court's ruling upholding same-sex marriage."

News Lede

Los Angeles Times: "The Rocky Fire exploded overnight, burning 47,000 acres as of Sunday morning and threatening 6,000 structures in [California's] Lake, Yolo and Colusa counties. The U.S. Forest Service said "fire activity dramatically progressed" late Saturday, forcing the closure of several state highways in the area. The fire is just 5% contained; about 12,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. Nearly 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze and more are coming into the area."

The Commentariat -- August 1, 2015

Internal links removed.

White House: "In this week's address, the President celebrated the fiftieth birthdays of Medicare and Medicaid, which together have allowed millions to live longer and better lives":

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Trade negotiators from the United States and 11 other Pacific nations were headed toward failure Friday, with difficult talks on the largest regional trade agreement ever breaking down over protections for pharmaceutical companies and access to agriculture markets on both sides of the Pacific. Negotiators will return to their home countries to obtain high-level signoffs for a small number of final sticking points on the agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, with bilateral talks reconvening soon. But the breakdown is a setback for the Obama administration, which had promoted the talks here as the final round ahead of an accord...."

Sam Stein of the Huffington Post: "The White House and allied groups are preparing a robust campaign to protect President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran during August recess.... As a method of persuasion, organizers are choosing a two-pronged message. The vote, they will argue, is not just a choice between war and peace; it is also a moment that could torpedo careers years after the fact. 'This is comparable to the Iraq War resolution vote,' said Zack Malitz, campaign manager at CREDO Action, echoing the group's message to lawmakers. 'If you vote the wrong way, it will haunt you for the rest of your career.'" (Hillary Clinton.) ...

... Julian Hattem of the Hill: "Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz appeared to break with President Obama on Friday, by denying that congressional Democrats are getting 'squishy' on the nuclear deal with Iran. Instead, Moniz appeared confident the deal would avoid a death knell on Capitol Hill and would go into effect later this year. 'Squishy? I wouldn't use that term,' Moniz told reporters at the White House."

Burgess Everett & Jennifer Haberkorn of Politico: "Republicans are rallying behind a bare-knuckle strategy to strip Planned Parenthood's government support via a must-pass fall spending bill, a momentum shift that dramatically increases the chances of a government shutdown fight this fall. What started out as a push from socially conservative firebrands like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and 18 House members on Wednesday, is spreading to include more centrist members of the Senate GOP. On Thursday, Arizona Republican John McCain, who often tacks to the middle in the Senate, not only backed a plan to link Planned Parenthood defunding with spending legislation, he suggested the move was inevitable.... Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has scheduled a standalone vote on defunding the organization for next week, but it will fail amid Democratic resistance and may only temporarily satisfy the party's right flank." ...

... Laura Bassett of the Huffington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) fast-tracked a bill to defund Planned Parenthood on Friday because of an undercover video of a Planned Parenthood doctor discussing the donation of fetal tissue after abortions. But McConnell was one of many Republicans who voted to lift a ban on fetal tissue donations after abortions in 1993 -- the very move that legalized Planned Parenthood's actions." ...

... Joan McCarter of Daily Kos: "By they way, McCain supported federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, so this must just be him being all mavericky again." ...

... Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "A budget measure that strips funding from [Planned Parenthood] 'is certainly something that would draw a presidential veto,' press secretary Josh Earnest said. 'We have routinely opposed the inclusion of ideologically driven riders' in budget bills, Earnest added." ...

... ** Mark Stern of Slate: "Stem cells hold terrific promise for the treatment -- and, eventually, the defeat -- of ALS. The most useful stem cells are found in fertilized embryos and fetuses, where they haven't yet developed into specialized cells.... The first Food and Drug Administration -- approved clinical trials to treat ALS with fetal stem cells are already underway. Any treatment derived from fetal tissue is many years away at best, but the early research has been a success.... One of the many discoveries researchers made in preparing for the first trial was that fetal stem cells seemed to be the best stem cells for ALS treatment.... a woman's decision to donate her aborted fetus to medical research -- and Planned Parenthood's willingness to transfer the fetal material -- is deeply commendable." ...

... Dana Milbank: Senate Republicans have a plan to increase the number of abortions. "There already is a ban on federal funding of abortion, with rare exceptions, at Planned Parenthood or anywhere else. The federal funds Senate Republicans propose taking away from Planned Parenthood are used largely to provide women with birth control.... If Planned Parenthood were denied funding, this means hundreds of thousands of women, if not millions, would over time lose access to birth control." CW: I find a lot to object to in Milbank's column, but his central point -- that Senate Republicans' overreaction to the sting videos would result in more abortions -- is accurate. ...

... CW: The thread running through all of this is the insane, depraved disregard for human life -- of women, of their male partners, of their families, & of course of people who suffer from or who will later contract debilitating illnesses that embryonic & fetal cell research & treatment has the potential to mitigate or cure. To what end this appalling reckless indifference? Rand Paul gains a percentage point in the GOP presidential polls? Ted Cruz has a "cause" in another fundraising letter?

     ... Makes me realize another great thing about our nation's libertarian beginnings: early Americans were also unfettered by science & technology. Ah, for those happy days of leeches & covered wagons.

Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: "The Justice Department said Friday that the juvenile justice system in St. Louis County, Mo., treats black youths far more harshly than whites, and deprives all low-income youths accused of crimes -- no matter what race -- of their basic constitutional rights. Youths from poorer families who are accused of crimes get little or no chance to challenge their detention, dispute the charges against them, or receive meaningful help from lawyers, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division reported after a 20-month investigation. Its report is based on data on 33,000 cases over three years."

Anne Blythe of the Raleigh News & Observer: "U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder interrupted attorneys numerous times with questions during closing arguments Friday at the North Carolina voting rights trial.... The trial is the first full test of voting measures adopted after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which invalidated Section 5 of the landmark Voting Rights Act. The judge asked state attorneys why lawmakers had curbed or ended programs that had been so popular among black voters.... Schroeder told the attorneys he struggled to find a baseline for measuring what registration should be." ...

... CW: Based on his questions outlined in Blythe's report, Schroeder -- a Bush II appointee -- seems like a dimwitted (or sly) ole white boy unless many of his questions were rhetorical. Here's an example: "He turned challenger arguments on their head, asking whether the previous legislative votes that established early voting and same-day registration might have been discriminatory to white voters." Yeah, if you let all the black people vote, that's so unfair to white slackers. Once you're a judge, you can say whatever ignorant, bigoted things pops into your head.

Of Big Cats & Fat Cats. An Economics Lesson Courtesy of the Carcass of Cecil. Max Ehrenfreund of the Washington Post: How can a neighborhood dentist afford to go around the world slaughtering animals at $55K a pop? "Dentists in some places ... earn more than the average doctor.... The average general dental practitioner took in $181,000 in 2013, according to the dental association, compared to $175,000 for a family doctor, according to WebMD Medscape's annual compensation report.... [These figures take costs into account.] In the rest of medicine, insurers have an important function in limiting costs and promoting quality. The market power of Medicare and major national insurance companies allows them to insist on better rates for their customers when they negotiate with doctors and hospitals." ...

... Paul Krugman: "For many years conservatives have insisted that the problem with health costs is that we don't treat health care like an ordinary consumer good; people have insurance, which means that they don't have 'skin in the game' that gives them an incentive to watch costs. So what we need is 'consumer-driven' health care, in which insurers no longer pay for routine expenses.... As it turns out, many fewer people have dental insurance than have general medical insurance; even where there is insurance, it typically leaves a lot of skin in the game. But dental costs have risen just as fast as overall health spending, and it may be that the reduced role of insurers actually raises those costs.... more skin in the game is not just useless but actually counterproductive." ...

     ... CW: Almost makes you wonder if capitalism is awesome. ...

... Darryl Fears & Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: "On Friday, officials in Zimbabwe said they intended to press ahead with a request to extradite Palmer for killing a lion known as Cecil just outside a sanctuary where the animal was protected. Later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it had finally contacted Palmer, a dentist who had shuttered his practice in Minnesota a few days ago and disappeared. The Fish and Wildlife agency's law enforcement office said that a representative for Palmer 'voluntarily reached out to the service' Thursday afternoon and that its 'investigation is ongoing.'... [Palmer] "may have trouble avoiding extradition."

... Adam Raymond of New York: Dr. "Paul Broun, "the former Republican representative for Georgia's tenth congressional district and 2014 senatorial candidate not only killed a lion, but he ate it.... In a 2010 Roll Call video ... he takes viewers on a tour of his office, which is decorated like an animal graveyard. Among his trophies are a Kodiak brown bear, eland, water buffalo, and yes, a lion." CW: In the video, Broun says, "Hunting is what started my political activism." That's the best anti-hunting argument I've ever heard. As Raymond reminds us, "... Broun was such an unrepentant nut-job -- he once said, 'Evolution, embryology, Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell'..."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Steve Benen: The New York Times' bogus Hillary Clinton criminal story is part of a pattern that journalists should recognize by now: "We've already documented one recent instance in which the Benghazi committee leaked deceptive information to Politico, which ran an article that had to be corrected. We've also reported on several instances in which House Republicans, in the name of congressional oversight, have also leaked information to news organizations that turned out to be deliberately misleading -- some related to Benghazi, some not."

Presidential Race

... Matea Gold & Anu Narayanswamy of the Washington Post: "More than 50 individuals and entities have shelled out at least $1 million apiece to big-money groups backing presidential candidates -- with close to half of the big donors giving to a super PAC aligned with former Florida governor Jeb Bush. With 15 months to go before Election Day, donors have already contributed $272.5 million to independent groups supporting the large Republican field, more than four times the $67 million raised through their official campaigns, according to a tally by The Washington Post.... Never before has so much money been donated by such a small number of people so early." ...

... Jeremy Bowers, et al., of the New York Times: "Today is the deadline for the outside groups known as 'super PACs' to file fund-raising reports for the first half of 2015. For the groups that have filed so far, here are the individuals and corporations that have given $1 million or more." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Janell Ross of the Washington Post: Mike Fernandez disagrees with Jeb Bush on the Affordable Care Act & on normalizing relations with Cuba. Maybe that's why Fernandez gave Jeb! only $3 million.

Ken Dilanian & Lisa Lerer of the AP: "Dozens of emails that traversed Hillary Clinton's private, unsecure home server contain national security information now deemed too sensitive to make public, according to the latest batch of records released Friday. In 2,206 pages of emails, the government censored passages to protect national security at least 64 times in 37 messages, including instances when the same information was blacked-out multiple times. Clinton has said she never sent classified information from her private email server.... There were no obviously stunning revelations in the emails released Friday.... Some of the documents could reflect favorably on Clinton.... There was no indication from emails released so far that Clinton's home computer system used encryption software.... Current and former intelligence officials have said they assume the emails were intercepted by foreign intelligence services." ...

... Dan Roberts of the Guardian : "A third of Hillary Clinton's top backers made their money from the financial services industry, according to Guardian analysis of new campaign finance disclosures released on Friday.... Separately, Clinton disclosed on Friday evening that she and her husband earned $28m in personal income last year and have paid nearly $44m in federal taxes since 2007." ...

... Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign released a letter from her doctor on Friday attesting to her health and fitness for office, on a day marked by a deluge of other disclosures about her finances and a new batch of emails from her time as secretary of state." The letter is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: "Hillary Clinton on Friday called out her Republican rivals for approaching foreign policy 'through an outdated cold war lens'. In a speech that advocated for greater diplomatic engagement with Latin America, the Democratic presidential frontrunner also called on Congress to lift the 50-year US embargo on Cuba.... On Friday, Clinton publicly argued her case in detail for the first time in Miami -- the original home of the Cuban exile community and the backyard of two of her chief Republican opponents, former Florida governor Jeb Bush and US senator Marco Rubio." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Dave Weigel, et al., of the Washington Post: "Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton took a swipe at Republican rival Jeb Bush [in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,] Friday before a mostly African American crowd.... Speaking ahead of Bush, Clinton delivered a speech in which she invoked the Black Lives Matter movement, cited Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland and others whose deaths set off controversies. Clinton went after Bush without naming him, saying his policies would not help people trying to improve their lives. 'I don't think you can credibly say that everyone has a right to rise and then say you're for phasing out Medicare or for repealing Obamacare,' she said. 'People can't rise when they can't afford health care.' 'Right to Rise' is the name of the pro-Bush super PAC operated by his top allies." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: Clinton's remarks caught Jeb! off-guard, & he didn't rebut them when he spoke about an hour later. "Mr. Bush's aides, however, could barely hide their disgust over Mrs. Clinton's remarks, which they spoke of, bitterly, as uncivil and uncalled-for.... Despite the broadsides from Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Bush's speech was well received.... The conference Friday had offered a chance for Senator Bernie Sanders ... to appeal more directly to black voters. But his speech highlighted just how much work he still has to do." ...

... Annie Karni & Eli Stokols of Politico on why Jeb! didn't need to hit back at Clinton. Also, it would have been stupid to do so before the Urban League.

... Tom Hamburger, et al., of the Washington Post: "The State Department concluded this year that Huma Abedin, one of Hillary Rodham Clinton's closest aides, was overpaid by nearly $10,000 because of violations of rules governing vacation and sick leave during her tenure as an official in the department. The finding -- which Abedin has formally contested -- emerged publicly Friday after Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) sent letters to Secretary of State John F. Kerry and others seeking more information about an investigation into possible 'criminal' conduct by Abedin concerning her pay."

Jennifer Senior of New York theorizes that Americans don't really want "authenticity" in a president: "... what voters truly want are candidates ... with a polished public persona, who actually believe their performing selves, to the point that they play those people even in private." Ergo, the steady slide of Rand Paul, "the most interesting man in politics." Senior predicts Donald Trump won't survive the primaries, either: "... he's a pathological personality, yanked straight from the pages of the DSM-5. He always speaks his mind, but the things he says are inappropriate in any context -- public, private, on the moon. He may speak to a certain portion of the GOP primary base, but in time, he too will combust ... because the electorate can tolerate screwball, unpredictable behavior for only so long." ...

... Mike Levine of ABC News: "Presidential candidate Donald Trump wants a prominent chef to pay $10 million in damages after the food star bailed on plans to open a new restaurant inside Trump's latest project in the nation's capital. A group owned by Trump -- Trump Post Office LLC -- filed a lawsuit today in federal court.... After Trump made controversial remarks in June suggesting illegal immigrants from Mexico are criminals and 'rapists,' [chef Jose] Andres backed out.... 'Mr. Andres' offense is curious in light of the fact that Mr. Trump's publicly shared views on immigration have remained consistent for many years, and Mr. Trump's willingness to frankly share his opinions is widely known,' the lawsuit states." CW: Hmmm. Apparently, that's an accurate point. Read on. ...

... ** Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Long before [Donald] Trump announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination..., he had proved himself in New York as an expert political provocateur with an instinct for racially charged rhetoric." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Jeremy Borden of the Washington Post: "The man accused of gunning down nine African Americans inside a historic black church known as 'Mother Emanuel' has told his lawyers that he currently plans to plead guilty to federal hate crime charges, attorney David Bruck told a federal judge Friday. However, Bruck said that because federal officials have not decided whether to seek a death sentence for some of these charges, he did not want to enter a guilty plea yet. As a result, the judge said he would enter a not guilty plea." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Oliver Laughland of the Guardian: "Two officers who witnessed the shooting of unarmed 43-year-old Samuel DuBose in Cincinnati will not face criminal charges, despite seemingly corroborating a false claim that DuBose's vehicle dragged officer Ray Tensing before he was fatally shot.... On Friday [county prosecutor Joseph] Deters' office announced that a grand jury had declined to bring any charges against the other two officers, after hearing testimony from both of them.... Deters said on Friday he was in full agreement with the decision." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Anne Saker of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "The union representing the University of Cincinnati police force has filed a grievance on behalf of Raymond Tensing demanding that he get his job back as an officer because the university fired him this week without due process, a union official said Friday.... [Union rep Thomas] Fehr said that Tensing was notified that the union was filing the grievance on his behalf. 'He wanted it done,' Fehr said." ...

... Yesterday Akhilleus asked, "What in the hell are University police officers doing making traffic stops in the first place?" I wondered that, too. So here's the answer: Jason Williams of the Cincinatti Enquirer (July 29): "According to UC's agreement with the city, university police officers have the authority to investigate minor traffic offenses that occur outside the boundaries of the campuses.... [BUT NOW] University of Cincinnati police officers are no longer allowed to patrol off-campus streets -- fallout from this week's officer-involved fatal shooting several blocks from the main campus. President Santa Ono and other UC leaders ... said they also are reviewing an agreement between university police and Cincinnati police regarding how the departments patrol streets near UC's campuses." ...

... Zandar in Balloon Juice: "And I say 'No, no, no' to this Cincinnati Enquirer article on how Officer Ray Tensing, the UC cop that shot and killed Sam DuBose, is such a nice guy."

Antonio Olivo of the Washington Post: "A federal judge ruled Friday that Virginia can stop issuing specialty license plates that show the Confederate flag, following a recent Supreme Court decision that said such a ban does not violate the 1st Amendment. U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser said he will issue a written order to address whether the nearly 1,700 Confederate license plates currently in use in Virginia may be recalled by the state." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell should lose his pension because of his felony conviction, the state's attorney general said Tuesday. In an advisory opinion sought by Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) said that under a law McDonnell signed in 2011, the ex-governor must relinquish his benefits because he was convicted of a felony related to on-the-job conduct."

AP: "A federal judge said he would dismiss a lawsuit filed by a pregnant prisoner who sought an abortion after the woman told him during a hearing on Friday she had changed her mind and now wants to deliver the child, a reversal called 'highly suspicious' by one of her lawyers. The woman's change of heart came as a prosecutor said separately the state was shelving an effort to strip her of parental rights over the fetus and delaying prosecution on two drug-related charges while the woman enters in-patient addiction treatment at a state-certified facility."

News Ledes

USA Today: "Staggered by a $72 billion debt load, Puerto Rico was likely to miss a debt payment due Saturday, setting the stage for what could be one of the largest U.S. municipal debt restructurings. Puerto Rico's government said Friday it would not make a $58 million bond payment due over the weekend."

CNN: "Three members of Osama bin Laden's family were among four people killed in a small plane crash in southern England, British police said."