The Commentariat -- Feb. 22, 2015

Internal links removed.

Phil Stewart of Reuters: "The United States is considering slowing a planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan to ensure that 'progress sticks' after more than a decade of war, new Defense Secretary Ash Carter said during an unannounced visit to Kabul on Saturday."

Carol Morello & Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration is weighing a new round of sanctions against Russia in response to its continued 'land-grabbing' in eastern Ukraine despite a cease-fire agreement, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Saturday. Speaking to reporters in London, where he met with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Kerry said he expected that the United States and its European allies would impose some 'very serious' sanctions and other steps to punish Moscow after repeated cease-fire violations by Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists."

** William Saleton of Slate explains President Obama's remarks about terrorism & Islam. "He sees the connections but chooses to be careful in how he talks about them. If his language isn't as blunt as yours, maybe that's not because you're more clearheaded about the threat or more courageous in facing it. Maybe he has good reasons, and you should listen to them." CW: You can use Saleton's careful explanation the next time your Crazy Uncle Rudy starts railing about the POTUS. Try this: "Look, Rudy, what you're doing is giving the terrorists what they want. And you're encouraging more Muslims to become terrorists. Obama isn't the danger here; you are." With any luck, Rudy won't even show up at Thanksgiving this year.

** Nicholas Kristof: "Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, a Duke University sociologist, aptly calls the present situation 'racism without racists'; it could equally be called 'misogyny without misogynists.' Of course, there are die-hard racists and misogynists out there, but the bigger problem seems to be well-meaning people who believe in equal rights yet make decisions that inadvertently transmit both racism and sexism." Read the results of the studies Kristof cites. Life isn't fair.

This Climate Scientist for Hire. Justin Gillis & John Schwartz of the New York Times: One of a handful of climate-denying scientists, who is the go-to guy for confederates & oil companies, has taken cash for the papers -- what he calls "deliverables" -- he writes for the fossil-fuel industry. Documents newly-released under a Greenpeace FOIA request "show that corporate contributions were tied to specific papers and were not disclosed, as required by modern standards of publishing.... Though often described on conservative news programs as a 'Harvard astrophysicist,' Dr. [Willie] Soon is not an astrophysicist and has never been employed by Harvard. He is a part-time employee of the Smithsonian Institution with a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering." CW: The irony here is that perhaps the most common argument from deniers (up there with "God is the culprit") is that greed-for-grants motivates most climate scientists' work. I guess the childish taunt, "It takes one to know one" has teeth.

Democrats: We Need a Bumper Sticker!" Mario Trujillo of the Hill: "The Democratic Party lacks a 'single narrative' and must tighten its pitch to voters in order to compete in future elections, an interim report from the Democratic National Committee found. The report released at the party's winter meeting recommended forming a national project to bring together party leaders, activists and messaging experts to hone in on a theme." ...

... CW: Well, yeah, that's true. But the real problem is that Democrats have been running away from their traditional themes -- which pretty much explains why voters don't know what, if anything, they stand for.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Steve M. is fairly furious that the media seem only now to be noticing that Rudy Giuliani is a bigoted ideologue. Rudy's remarks, & his doubling-down on them, is classic Giuliani; it's not a newly-minted Crazy Uncle Rudy. ...

     ... Update. Steve has gone from furious to perplexed: "... it always surprises me when people who have power and clout utter pronouncements that are indistinguishable from the crap your right-wing uncle forwards you every few days.... Giuliani ... may have once been a serious candidate for president of the United States and he may now be a globetrotting international security consultant, but he wallows in the same pool of ignorance as your uncle.... That's what are right-wing elites are like now -- they're ignoramuses with money." ...

... Darren Samuelsohn & Ben Schreckinger of Politico: "Rudy Giuliani says he is getting death threats at his office in the wake of controversial comments that President Barack Obama doesn't love America.... Giuliani didn't tell CNN if he had alerted police to those calls...."

     ... CW: Why would Rudy have to alert the police? He is, after all, a "globetrotting international security expert." He can swat these flies away all by hisself. ...

... CW: If you go back to mid-January & follow Rudy's logic, as he expressed it to fellow-theologian & philosopher Sean Hannity, you will kinda have to conclude that Giuliani thinks President Obama is a Muslim. ...

... Dave Weigel tries to put the Rudy Giuliani media frenzy in context. CW: Weigel is missing one element: by concentrating on Rudy (i.e., beating a dead horse), the media can pretend they're way too busy to pursue Bill O'Reilly's tall-tale reportage. ...

... Lloyd Grove of the Daily Beast tries to explain why O'Reilly gets away with his fake claims. ...

... BUT, Thank You, Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: "The apparent goal of O'Reilly's frenzy was to keep the story from breaking into the next week. A Facebook posting by a former CBS News correspondent, however, appears likely to keep the questions flowing toward the O'Reilly camp. An extensive rant by Eric Jon Engberg, who served as a CBS News correspondent for 27 years, calls into question several of O'Reilly's statements about the reporting -- and O'Reilly's subsequent recollections of it.... Now that a nearly three-decade CBS News correspondent has spoken up, O'Reilly will have to find a new defense." CW: Too bad Wemple's blog doesn't appear in print. ...

... CW: Both Engberg & Wemple conclude that O'Reilly's fabrications don't rise to the level of Williams' "claim[ing] to be the target of an enemy attack." But for some odd reason, Engberg & Wemple ignore O'Reilly's multiple claims & implications that he was reporting in the Falkland Islands, not in Buenos Aires. At least Williams was in the vicinity of where he "claimed to be the target," not 1,000+ miles away.

God News

Where was the Bible written, again? -- Jon Stewart, on Alabama's anti-Sharia Law state constitutional amendment, which, because of a little quirk of the U.S. Constitution, was written to exclude judicial consideration of "foreign law" ...

... CW: Brian Tashman:'s post, linked below, is a bit old, but I think it's helpful in understanding not just where the confederates are going, but whence they come:

... Brian Tashman of Right Wing Watch: "Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore threw his state into turmoil ... when he ordered probate judges to defy a federal judge's ruling striking down the state's ban on same-sex marriage.... Moore, who has a history of making extreme anti-gay statements, insists that the federal judge is the one who is really breaking the law since she violated divine law by ruling for marriage equality. Moore's call for statewide defiance of the federal judiciary's 'tyranny' stems from a belief that the Constitution was made to protect biblical commandments, so that anything that goes against his personal interpretation of the Bible is therefore in violation of the Constitution. Moore shares that belief with a powerful ally: Michael Peroutka, a neo-Confederate activist who is also one of the most influential behind-the-scenes figures in the Religious Right's reimagining of American law." ...

... CW: I found Tashman's piece via Paul Rosenberg, who covers the same topic -- though more extensively -- in Salon. Rosenberg's piece is rather first-drafty, so you'll have to do your own editing. ...

... In case you still think Christian Reconstructionism is just a far-out, fringey thing, here's more evidence of its pervasiveness:

... Dave Boucher of the Tennessean: "That reference to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence isn't enough for Rep. James VanHuss, R-Jonesborough. He wants to change the Tennessee constitution so that it includes the phrase: 'We recognize that our liberties do not come from governments, but from Almighty God, our Creator and Savior.' That's in addition to Rep. Jerry Sexton's bill that would make the Bible the official book of Tennessee."

Jim Yardley of the New York Times: Recent news that James Foley, an American whom ISIS murdered, had converted from Roman Catholicism to Islam, has discomfited some Roman Catholics who viewed him as a Christian martyr.

Presidential Race

Redeemer Boy. Maureen Dowd: "Jeb ... wanted to bolster his negligible foreign policy cred, so the day of his speech, his aide released a list of 21 advisers, 19 of whom had worked in the administrations of his father and his brother. The list starts with the estimable James Baker. But then it shockingly veers into warmongers. It's mind-boggling.... If he wants to reclaim the Bush honor, Jeb should be holding accountable those who inflicted deep scars on America, not holding court with them. Where's the shame?"

Scott Walker still has no idea if President Obama loves the U.S., & he isn't sure if Obama is a Christian, either. As to MSM reporters asking him these questions, he objects. CW: I think he has a point, but it's a weak one. ...

... Here's the story, by Dan Balz & Robert Costa, where the reporters ask him if President Obama is a Christian. "Told that Obama has frequently spoken publicly about his Christian faith, Walker maintained that he was not aware of the president's religion.... Walker suggested that he is being held to a different standard than some Democrats." Later on, Walker's spokesperson Jocelyn Webster changed the story: "Of course the governor thinks the president is a Christian." ...

... CW: So (a) the liberal media are picking on me; (b) ask my spokeslady. This guy should definitely quit doing Q&As because he has no As. ...

... David Atkins in the Washington Monthly: "Conservative media mouthpieces have spent so much time not only denigrating any social policy to the left of Attila the Hun but questioning the President's very allegiance and faith, that conservative candidates looking to win a GOP primary can't help but engage on these most ridiculous of questions. All of which buoys the conventional wisdom that any Republican candidate to emerge from the GOP primary clown car is going to wind up weakened and battered by the process rather than strengthened. Republican primary voters wouldn't have it any other way."

Beyond the Beltway

Today in Responsible Gun Ownership. Chris Michaud of Reuters: "A recently retired suburban New York police office[r] shot and killed his two daughters before killing himself at the family's home.... Glen Hochman, 52, who retired from the White Plains police force last month, killed two daughters, ages 17 and 13, before killing himself in Harrison, an affluent town about 15 miles northeast of New York City.... Hochman's wife and an older daughter were not home at the time." ...

... Steve Barnes of Reuters: "A university professor, his wife and his sister were found shot to death on Friday night in the family's burning home in a prosperous Little Rock suburb, Arkansas authorities said. 'The initial indication is murder-suicide, but it's an open investigation so I can't comment beyond that,' Captain Jim Hansard of the Maumelle, Arkansas police department, said on Saturday."

Today in Stupid. Nicole Garcia of KSAZ Phoenix, Arizona: A prank caller, posing as Circle K corporate security, urged Circle K employees to discharge fire extinguishers inside the store, although there was no fire, then throw the extinguishers through the store's plate glass windows. So they did. "Circle K Corporate asked FOX 10, not to run this story." CW: Oh, thank the Founders for freedom of the press. ...

... CW Sunday Sermon: It would be more fun to laugh at the employees for stupid if I didn't have a powerful suspicion that their corporate controllers had frightened these minimum-wage serfs into unquestioning submission. So the stupid is probably corporate scare tactics imposed by the same yahoos who tried to quash the story. As ye sow, so shall ye reap.

News Ledes

New York Times: "The Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization were found liable on Monday by a jury in Manhattan for their role in knowingly supporting six terrorist attacks in Israel between 2002 and 2004 in which Americans were killed and injured. The damages are to be $655.5 million, under a special terrorism law that provides for tripling the $218.5 million awarded by the jury in Federal District Court."

AP: "A river ferry carrying about 100 passengers capsized in central Bangladesh on Sunday after being hit by a cargo vessel, killing at least 31 people, officials said. A rescue operation was underway, but it was not clear how many people were missing."

The Commentariat -- Feb. 21, 2015

Internal links removed.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The White House on Friday said that lawyers at the Justice Department would seek an emergency order from an appeals court to allow the federal government to issue work permits and provide legal protections to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants while it appeals a judge's ruling halting the programs. The move came in response to a ruling issued by a federal judge on Monday night indefinitely postponing President Obama's sweeping executive actions on immigration." ...

... AND Now a Judicial Whack from the Left. Molly Hennessy-Fiske & Christine Mai-Duc of the Los Angeles Times: "A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction halting the Obama administration's policy of locking up immigrant mothers and children applying for asylum in order to deter others from illegally crossing the border. In a 40-page opinion issued Friday, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington said the government's policy of using deterrence as a reason to detain the immigrants instead of releasing them while their asylum claims were being processed was 'likely unlawful.'" Boasberg is an Obama appointee.

Robert Pear of the New York Times: "About 800,000 taxpayers who enrolled in insurance policies through HealthCare.gov received erroneous tax information from the government, and were urged on Friday to hold off on filing tax returns until the error could be corrected. The Obama administration, under heavy pressure from congressional Democrats, also announced that it would give several million people more time to buy health insurance so they could comply with federal law and avoid tax penalties."

Ron Nixon of the New York Times: "The Obama administration wants a single new agency..., the Food Safety Administration, a colossus that would be housed within the Department of Health and Human Services to 'provide focused, centralized leadership, a primary voice on food safety standards and compliance with those standards,' the administration said in its new budget request. At least 15 government agencies -- from the Environmental Protection Agency to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- have some role in making sure the food Americans eat is safe, according to the Government Accountability Office, a situation that has defied streamlining for decades. And the Obama administration's new push to untangle that web is already running into opposition from some food safety experts, consumer groups and the inspectors who would be most affected."

White House: "In this week's address, the President underscored the importance of continuing to grow our economy and support good-paying jobs for our workers by opening up new markets for American goods and services":

Jim Kuhnhenn of the AP: "Taunting Republicans, President Barack Obama said Friday it's 'not an accident' that the economy is improving under his watch and chided GOP critics for 'doom and gloom' predictions that haven't come true. Obama said he welcomed the attention Republicans have been giving to the middle class, 'but so far at least the rhetoric has not matched the reality.' In a speech at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting, Obama gave a rousing defense of his economic policies and promoted his agenda as the right policy and political prescriptions for Democrats heading into the 2016 elections":

Matthew Lee & Julie Pace of the AP: "In what is becoming an increasingly nasty grudge match, the White House is mulling ways to undercut Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming trip to Washington and blunt his message that a potential nuclear deal with Iran is bad for Israel and the world."

Evan Perez & Wes Bruer of CNN: "A new intelligence assessment, circulated by the Department of Homeland Security this month and reviewed by CNN, focuses on the domestic terror threat from right-wing sovereign citizen extremists and comes as the Obama administration holds a White House conference to focus efforts to fight violent extremism. Some federal and local law enforcement groups view the domestic terror threat from sovereign citizen groups as equal to -- and in some cases greater than -- the threat from foreign Islamic terror groups, such as ISIS, that garner more public attention.​ The Homeland Security report, produced in coordination with the FBI, counts 24 violent sovereign citizen-related attacks across the U.S. since 2010." ...

... CW: And here I just got thru saying that Jeh Johnson doesn't spend any time frightening me.

Rudy the Rudest Party-Crasher Ever. Nicholas Confessore & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Remarks by former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York about President Obama set off an uproar at a reception for Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin on Wednesday. But it turns out that Mr. Giuliani was not scheduled to speak at the event, or even attend.... The gathering, at New York's '21' Club, was meant to give Mr. Walker an opportunity to mix with and impress some of New York's wealthy financiers and [discredited] supply side economists." ...

People find him unemotional except on subjects where he gets emotional. Not the slaughtering of the Christians, not the slaughtering of the Jews, not the slaughtering of the Syrians, but Ferguson. -- Rudy Giuliani, Friday, on President Obama

CW Translation: The POTUS is black, so he only cares about black people.

CW: Worth noting: Contra Rudy, reporters & pundits suggested President Obama was not at all emotional in his comments about the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Giuliani is so twisted by racial animus that he has no touch with reality. Thus, in Rudy's imagination, anything Obama says about bias or crimes against blacks is over-the-top socialism, & everything he says about other injustices is insincere at best. Giuliani is one crazy, vicious pipsqueak. And I don't feel one bit sorry for him.

... Arlette Saenz of ABC News: "Press Secretary Josh Earnest said today that he feels 'sorry' for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is under fire for recently questioning President Obama's love for America.... 'It's sad to see when somebody who's attained a certain level of public stature and even admiration tarnishes that legacy so thoroughly,' Earnest said of the former Republican mayor. Earnest said the president has expressed his love for America on numerous occasions and highlighted the last line of this year's State of the Union address when President Obama said 'God bless this country we love.'" ...

... "What Rudy Knows about Love." Wayne Barrett, who has written a book on Rudy, wrote a nearly-perfect takedown in the Daily News of Mr. 9/11-a-Slur-&-a-Lie. CW: I linked Barrett's commentary in yesterday's Comments. Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link. ...

... Steve M. "Barack Obama's grandfather fought in World War II. Rudy Giuliani's was barred from military service because he was a felon. Yeah, maybe Giuliani's right. Maybe we really are formed by the character of the people who raised us." ...

... Jonathan Chait: "As Wayne Barrett points out, Giuliani's father was a mob enforcer, and he and his five brothers all avoided military service during World War II. What about this upbringing in any way suggests it conveyed some deeper patriotism than Obama's?... Any attempt to salvage an idea from Giuliani's gaseous smear invariably fails. His dark insinuation that this liberal Democratic president hates America in a way unlike other Democratic presidents is under-girded by nothing but a generalized suspicion neither he nor his supporters can define." ...

... Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Mr. Giuliani’s road to and through City Hall was punctuated with racial controversy. From his 1993 campaign challenging David N. Dinkins, the city's first African-American mayor, during which Mr. Giuliani stood with rowdy protesting police officers -- some of whom carried signs suggesting that voters should 'Dump the washroom attendant!' because Mr. Dinkins had proposed a commission to look into police misconduct -- to his writing off a black New Yorker killed by the police as 'no altar boy' (though he actually was), Mr. Giuliani has had a complicated relationship with African-Americans." ...

... Laura Clawson of Daily Kos: "Rudy, Rudy, Rudy. If you're going to claim you're not being racist, you first have to start by using an actual dog whistle instead of whatever it was you used in the "loves America" comments, because maybe you thought that was a dog whistle, but people could totally hear it. Then, you have to do better than 'but his mother was white.' It's a funny thing, but turning to completely racially based logic is about the least convincing possible way to rebut charges of racism."

... Jamelle Bouie of Slate: "Crude as he is, Giuliani isn't wrong to sense a difference between Obama and his predecessors. Previous presidents have been profuse with their praise of America's perceived exceptionalism. And they've done so without question or reservation.... Barack Obama's view is a little different. Compared with the visions of his predecessors, his is less triumphant and informed by a kind of civic humility.... Why does his praise come with a note of reservation?... By choice as much as birth, Obama is a black American. And black Americans, more than most, have a complicated relationship with our country...." ...

... CW: One need not be black to share Barack Obama's view of "American exceptionalism." One need only look to Giuliani himself to see our flaws.

Arturo Garcia of the Raw Story publishes the transcript of Bill O'Reilly's non-responsive response to the Mother Jones story, linked here yesterday. Turns out Mother Jones reporter David Cohn is a liar. Al Franken, too! Sen. Franken is never mentioned in Corn's Mother Jones story. O'Reilly's just can't get over the author of Lies & the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. ...

... CW: C'mon, WashPo & NYT: you all knocked yourselves out tracking down Brian Williams' exaggerations & fabrications. Can't you throw O'Reilly a bone? He's, like, the most popular star on cable "news"! ...

... Steve M.: "The folks in the mainstream press won't hold O'Reilly to the same standard [as they hold Williams] because he and his defenders will shout and bray and beat their chests, and the MSM will shrink back from this dominance challenge.... This kind of thuggish behavior seems to have worked extraordinarily well for Murdoch for decades...." ...

... Dylan Byers of Politico: "The editors-in-chief at Mother Jones have written a letter to Fox News requesting that Bill O'Reilly apologize for saying that journalist David Corn deserved to be 'in the kill zone.'..."

Presidential Race

** Dana Milbank: "What Rudy Giuliani did this week was stupid. What Scott Walker did ought to disqualify him as a serious presidential contender." Read the whole post. ...

... "Spineless." Washington Post Editors: "On two occasions in recent days, [Walker] has proved himself incapable of saying basic truths that might offend some of his potential voters: First, that evolution is real, and second, that an honorable politician riticizes his opponent's policies, not his patriotism." ...

... Also, too, Walker is sleazy, sneaky & "doesn't love American workers": Patrick Marley & Jason Stein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "After saying in his re-election bid that he wouldn't push so-called right-to-work legislation, Gov. Scott Walker committed Friday to signing it, acting after GOP leaders fast-tracked the proposal for a Senate vote next week. Walker as a lawmaker sponsored the labor legislation two decades ago and as governor was careful never to say he would veto it, but as recently as September he said he wouldn't be 'supporting it in this session.'" ...

... Charles Pierce provides an overview of Walker's budget proposal for the state of Wisconsin: "Where it is not actively hostile to the interests of anyone except his state's plutocrats and out-of-state mining interests, there is in the budget a low-running contempt for the concept of the government's obligation to do much of anything except protect the wealth of the wealthy and throw the right people in jail. His idea of 'going big and bold' is to be petty and small-minded. His budget is a melange of childish vandalism, cut-rate empire building, and the construction of a Potemkin record for the consumption of oligarchical moneybags and hayshaking god-botherers in Iowa and elsewhere."

Charles Pierce: "As a presidential candidate in 2016, [Rand Paul] has enough problems, and he's picking up new ones almost by the day, and he's going to have to answer for his father's lifelong devotion to, among other things, the oldest form of American sedition." ...

     ... Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed has video of Ron Paul's remarkable speech advocating for nullification & secession.

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: Hillary Clinton has hired a self-oppo research firm.

Beyond the Beltway

Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "Maureen McDonnell was sentenced Friday to a year and a day in federal prison after an emotional, hours-long hearing in which the former first lady of Virginia apologized publicly for the first time since she and her husband were first accused of public corruption."

Today in Responsible Gun Ownership. AP: "Police say a 55-year-old southwestern Michigan woman who died after accidentally shooting herself in the head in January was adjusting a handgun in her bra holster at the time." Thanks to Barbarossa for the lead.

News Ledes

Reuters: "Yemen's ousted president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi appeared to rescind his resignation and attempt to reclaim his position in a statement on Saturday after escaping house arrest by the Houthi militia in the capital Sanaa and fleeing to Aden. The statement, signed 'president of the republic of Yemen' and read out on al-Jazeera news channel, was his first public comment since he resigned last month when the Houthis overran his private residence and the presidential palace."

Weather Channel: "Hypothermia has been blamed for the deaths of at least 20 people as an arctic blast, known as the Siberian Express, continues to push through the central and eastern parts of the U.S. The toll includes nine people in Tennessee, six in Pennsylvania, two in Illinois and one each in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Several other deaths suspected of being related to the cold are still being investigated."

The Commentariat -- Feb. 20, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

Jim Acosta of CNN: "In his scheduled speech to the Democratic National Committee's 2016 winter meeting on Friday, President Barack Obama is expected to reclaim some ownership over an issue that is suddenly a hot topic among top Republicans -- income inequality."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Obama on Thursday called on nations around the world to expand human rights, religious tolerance and peaceful dialogue as they struggle to combat a spate of terrorism that has recently struck places as far afield as Australia, Canada and Europe":

... Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times: "Muslim leaders [in the U.S.] and elsewhere have already started organizing or expanding prevention programs and discussions on countering violent extremism, often with assistance from law enforcement officials and trained counter-recruiters who emphasize that the Internet's dangers for young Muslims now go far beyond pornography."

Dominic Rushe of the Guardian: "American and British spies hacked into the world's largest sim card manufacturer in a move that gave them unfettered access to billions of cellphones around the globe and looks set to spark another international row into overreach by espionage agencies. The National Security Agency (NSA) and its British equivalent GCHQ hacked into Gemalto, a Netherlands sim card manufacturer, stealing encryption keys that allowed them to secretly monitor both voice calls and data, according to documents newly released by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden." ...

... Jeremy Scahill & Josh Begley write the story for the Intercept.

... Dustin Volz of the National Journal: "Google is warning that the government's quiet plan to expand the FBI's authority to remotely access computer files amounts to a 'monumental' constitutional concern. The search giant submitted public comments earlier this week opposing a Justice Department proposal that would grant judges more leeway in how they can approve search warrants for electronic data."

Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "Buffeted by a tightening job market, high employee turnover and scrutiny of its labor practices, Walmart, the largest private employer in the country, said on Thursday that it would increase wages for a half-million employees. The retail giant, which for years has been the target of widespread criticism over its low pay structure and increasing reliance on part-time workers, said that all of its United States workers would earn at least $9 an hour by April." ...

... Laura Clawson of Daily Kos: "This means around 40 percent of Walmart workers will get a raise. It's a start. But only a start, and Walmart can afford to pay more, without raising prices. An infographic accompanying McMillon's letter also noted some improvements in scheduling practices, including that 'some associates' (no word on how many, so this may well be window dressing) will get fixed schedules rather than struggling with schedules and hours that fluctuate wildly week to week, that schedules will be set two and a half weeks in advance, and that 'associates who want more hours can view open shifts in their store.' But the company will not be changing its balance of full-time and part-time workers." ...

... Joe Pinsker of the Atlantic: "This isn't an isolated act of corporate social responsibility -- it's a response to the current realities of labor economics that will likely inform the behavior of other American employers.... First, the company is giving in to mounting criticisms about its pay practices.... Second..., the American economy's recovery in the past few years has led to an increase in the number of jobs and a decrease in the unemployment rate -- both of which mean that companies will have to start paying their employees more in order to get them to stick around." ...

... Hamilton Nolan of Gawker: "Walmart CEO Doug McMillon wrote that the company decided to give employees raises to $9 an hour this year, and $10 an hour next year, because of corporate conscience: 'We're always trying to do the right thing and build a stronger business. We frequently get it right but sometimes we don't. When we don't, we adjust... When we take a step back, it's clear to me that one of our highest priorities must be to invest more in our people this year.' Doug McMillon is lying.... In fact, Walmart is so committed to holding down the wages of its workers -- keeping them in poverty -- that it consistently fights any attempts of employees to organize, even as the company's owners have grown to become some of the richest people in the world. Dozens and dozens of current and former Walmart employees have explicitly described to us how Walmart is a bad place to work."

Jim Kuhnhenn of the AP: "State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki will become President Barack Obama's new communications director, filling a key slot as Obama embarks on the final two years of his presidency, White House officials said Thursday. She replaces veteran Democratic media strategist Jennifer Palmieri, who is leaving the White House to join Hillary Rodham Clinton's likely presidential campaign. Psaki will step into her new role April 1. In a statement, Obama embraced Palmieri as a 'good friend' and praised her as a 'brilliant and effective communications director and trusted adviser.'"

Peter Whoriskey of the Washington Post: "A new report by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which convenes every five years, says that ... the American diet is having devastating effects: about two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. And maybe worse, about half of American adults - about 117 million people - have preventable chronic diseases related to poor diet and physical inactivity, the group said."

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Obama on Thursday offered a hearty White House embrace to his friend and former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who is running for re-election as mayor [of Chicago] and faces voters next week."

Richard Wolf of USA Today writes a straight report that suggests the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell have a weak -- or nonexistent -- case. Lovely to see this POV get coverage in a medium that gets to people not into Washington's weeds. ...

... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "Though the lawyers seeking to gut Obamacare are telling the justices that it will be no big deal if they support this effort [by ruling for the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell], because the states can step into the gap and restore what the justices took away, these lawyers' key allies are already making plans to ensure that the states will do nothing of the sort."

Eric Posner in Slate explains, in detail, why Judge Andrew "Hanen, in seeking to restrain the supposedly out-of-control executive branch, exceeded his own authority [re: possible (or probable) future actions of immigration officials]. The deeper problem with Judge Hanen's reasoning is that, as he explicitly acknowledges, the president really does have the constitutional authority to decide to go after violent felons and leave everyone else alone. That is what presidents have done for decades."

Tim Egan: "So long as judges do their dirty work, Republicans don't have a problem with politicizing the judiciary."

Monty Python Comes to Capitol Hill. Fernando Espuelas of Univision, in the Hill, takes down John Boehner. "... both maneuvers -- the attempt at mass deportations by national security crisis and killing ObamaCare by causing a global financial collapse -- share a basic similarity: Republicans have threatened with different versions of Armageddon if they can't get their way." Espuelas provides a lovely list of Boehner's screw-ups.

     ... Comedy & Consequences. CW: I have to admit that last fall, I did not predict that Republican "control" of Congress would turn out to be such a circus. I thought they would knuckle down & pass a bill a week for Obama to veto. Instead, it's all been slapstick, with consequences.

Rudy Denies Dogwhistles, Says Contempt Meant for Obama's Mother, Grandparents. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York on Thursday defended his assertion that President Obama did not love America, and said that his criticism of Mr. Obama's upbringing should not be considered racist because the president was raised by 'a white mother.'" Unfuckingbelievable. ...

... ** Paul Waldman: In a Fox "News" segment, Giuliani "clarified" his remarks of Wednesday night. "He's not questioning Obama's patriotism, he's just saying he doesn't love America. Got it -- thanks for clearing that up. I'm not saying Rudy is foolish and immoral, I'm just saying he's a cretinous dirtbag. So no offense." Read the whole post.

The Clown Car Continues Down the Road to Absurdity. Matthew Daly of the AP: Republican Congressmen are "outraged" that President Obama is designating three national monuments "under the 1906 Antiquities Act, which grants presidents broad authority to protect historic or ecologically significant sites without congressional approval.... Obama should 'cut it out,' said Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo. 'He is not king. No more acting like King Barack.' Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., said he was outraged by what he called 'a top-down, big-government land grab by the president that disenfranchises the concerned citizens in the Browns Canyon region' in central Colorado...." ...

... Charles Pierce republishes portions of Daly's report: "This has been a paid political announcement from the Committee To Stop Electing Morons."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Bull O'Reilly. David Corn & Daniel Schulman of Mother Jones: "Bill O'Reilly has his own Brian Williams problem.... For years, O'Reilly has recounted dramatic stories about his own war reporting that don't withstand scrutiny -- even claiming he acted heroically in a war zone that he apparently never set foot in.... Fox News and O'Reilly did not respond to multiple requests for comment." Corn & Schulman cite several instances of Bull O'Reilly's tall tales. CW: I'll bet you're shocked. ...

I was not on the Falkland Islands and I never said I was. I was in Buenos Aires... In Buenos Aires we were in a combat situation after the Argentines surrendered. -- Bill O'Reilly, Thursday

... Dylan Byers of Politico: "Bill O'Reilly says a new Mother Jones report alleging that the Fox News host made false claims about his Falklands War experience is 'a piece of garbage' and that its principal author, David Corn, is 'a liar.' In a telephone interview with the On Media blog, O'Reilly called Corn a 'despicable guttersnipe' who has been trying to take him down 'for years.' 'It's a hit piece,' O'Reilly said. 'Everything I said about what I reported in South and Central America is true. Everything.'" ...

... Dylan Byers: "David Corn, the lead author of a new report alleging that Bill O'Reilly lied about his Falklands War experience, says the Fox News anchor is hiding behind name calling and refusing to account for legitimate discrepancies in his statements." ...

... It's an MSNBC Plot! Lisa de Moraes of Deadspin: "The bigger picture is this political outfit Mother Jones,' O'Reilly said. '[post author] David Corn works for MSNBC,' he said of Corn, who is a contributor for that cable news network. 'We're killing them in the ratings. We're taking millions of dollars away from them; any damage they can do to me damages the Fox News Channel. Damage the tentpole, damage the main guy -- everybody knows this.'" ...

... This is super-enjoyable (but please read Corn & Schulman's article, because there's plenty more where this comes from):

... Digby explains O'Reilly's confusion. She is just not taking this seriously.

Ahiza Garcia of TPM: "Fox host Lisa 'Kennedy' Montgomery suggested getting rid of the nation's public schools during a discussion on Thursday's 'Outnumbered.' 'There really shouldn't be public schools, should there?' Kennedy said. 'I mean we should really go to a system where parents of every stripe have a choice, have a say in the kind of education their kids get because, when we have centralized, bureaucratic education doctrines and dogmas like [AP US history], that's exactly what happens.'" (See also Beyond the Beltway below.)

Brendan James of TPM: "Tucker Carlson, the editor-in-chief of the conservative news site The Daily Caller, told TPM on Thursday that a 'hungover' editor was to blame for a headline on the site's 'Guns and Gear' section that included the phrase 'Kill All The Jews.' The post, originally headlined, 'Kill All The Jews And When That Is Done Kill Those That Refused To Defend Them,' was published on Tuesday."

Margaret Sullivan, the New York Times' public editor backs Times reporter James Risen's "epic rant" (via Twitter) against the Obama administration & Eric Holder in particular. ...

     ... CW: I'd like to see Risen go into an "epic rant" against the guy whose reporting ruined the life of Wen Ho Lee. Oh, wait, that was Risen.

Presidential Race

Paul Krugman: "Scott Walker ... on Wednesday, he did what, these days, any ambitious Republican must, and pledged allegiance to charlatans and cranks.... [An economic] doctrine that even Republican economists consider dangerous nonsense has become party orthodoxy.... Across the board, the modern American right seems to have abandoned the idea that there is an objective reality out there.... Along with this denial of reality comes an absence of personal accountability."

Maggie Haberman & Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times: "As a half-dozen other candidates aggressively raise money and chase endorsements in Iowa and New Hampshire, friends and detractors alike say [New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie's view of his status and pre-eminence within the Republican field is increasingly at odds with the picture outside his inner circle.... Friends say Mr. Christie is both understaffed and too controlling. They also say he is convinced that his raw talent and charisma can overcome the political obstacles in his way.... The governor and his advisers have dismissed some defections with an air of almost imperious unconcern.... Mr. Christie has also alienated onetime supporters by seeming to take them for granted, [former New Jersey Gov. Tom] Kean said...." ...

     ... CW: I believe the New York Times just implied Chris Christie is insane. ...

... Matea Gold & Robert Costa of the Washington Post focus on the big donor shift from Christie to Jeb, & don't hint Christie is insane, as do the Times reporters.

Gene Robinson: "Jeb Bush's highly anticipated speech on foreign policy reminded me of the joke in which two senior citizens complain about a restaurant. 'Terrible food at that place,' says one. 'Yes,' says the other, 'and such small portions!'"

Catherine Thompson of TPM: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said on Thursday he won't comment on whether President Barack Obama 'loves America,' but he'll certainly tell you that he loves America. CNBC's Becky Quick asked Walker on Thursday morning to respond to a report that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) dissed the President at a private dinner, which the governor also attended." ...

... Ben Brody of Bloomberg Politics: "Scott Walker's new specialty: punting." ...

... Hunter of Daily Kos: "As with each of the questions Walker valiantly hurls himself off balconies to avoid, this isn't a particularly challenging one. Asking someone if they think the president of the United States loves America is a throwaway question." ...

... Scottie Finds Another Kook to Hang With. James Hohmann of Politico: "Scott Walker met with Donald Trump in Trump Tower for 45 minutes on Thursday. Trump told Politico that Wisconsin's Republican governor requested the meeting, and that it was an 'enjoyable' discussion...." ...

... Jonathan Chait: "When Rudy Giuliani, speaking at a Scott Walker event last night, declared, 'I do not believe that the president loves America,' it might have been mildly uncomfortable for Walker, who may or may not want his campaign message to be defined by xenophobic racist dog whistles.... The figure most discomfited by this turn of events was not Walker but Bobby Jindal, a rival candidate. Racially tinged dog whistles are Jindal’s thing.... So Jindal released a statement to the media that he would not condemn Giuliani's statement. Nobody even asked him...."

Jennifer Epstein of Bloomberg Politics: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will address a major United Nations gathering on women's rights next month, just as the Clinton Foundation releases a major report on women and girls more than a year in the making. Clinton is scheduled to be the keynote speaker on March 10 at the Women's Empowerment Principles gathering in New York."

Nate Cohn of the New York Times: "... there is no equivalence between Mrs. Clinton's strength [in 2008] and now. She was never inevitable eight years ago. If a candidate has ever been inevitable -- for the nomination -- it is Mrs. Clinton today.... No candidate, excluding incumbent presidents, has ever fared so well in the early primary polls as Mrs. Clinton. She holds about 60 percent of the vote of Democratic voters, a tally dwarfing the 40 percent she held this time in the last election cycle." ...

... Ron Fornier of the National Journal: "This is sleazy and stupid. Just as Hillary Clinton is getting ready to run for president again, her family's charitable foundation secretly lifted a ban on accepting money from foreign governments. The Wall Street Journal discovered the ethical breach during a search of donations of more than $50,000 posted on the foundation's online database. 'Recent donors include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Australia, Germany, and a Canadian government agency promoting the Keystone XL Pipline,' reported James V. Grimaldi and Rebecca Ballhaus." ...

... CW: Fornier is stupid & sleazy himself, but I think he's right on this. ...

... Update. Gabriel Debenedetti of Politico: "The Clinton Foundation will reconsider its policy of accepting new donations from foreign governments if Hillary Clinton runs for president as expected, the organization said on Thursday after two days of controversy over its funding from international sources."

Beyond the Beltway

Mark Berman of the Washington Post: Under a judge's order, "a clerk in Texas issued a marriage license to a same-sex couple from Austin on Thursday, granting what is thought to be the first such legal license issued in the state since voters banned gay marriage a decade ago. In response, the state's attorney general asked the Texas Supreme Court to halt any same-sex marriage activity, and the court issued an emergency stay on Thursday afternoon. The Texas attorney general also declared the historic marriage license void on Thursday." ...

     ... Update: Eva Moravec & Paul Weber of the AP: "Defying Texas' longstanding ban on gay marriage, a lesbian couple wed in Austin after being granted a marriage license on Thursday under a special court order because one of the women has cancer."

There is now 1 same-sex married couple in Texas for every 6.4 million uninsured Texans. Guess which "problem" the GOP is trying to solve.

— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) February 19, 2015

Tresa Baldas of the Detroit Free Press: A Detroit-area pediatrician refused to treat the daughter of a gay couple. "After 'much prayer,' [the doctor] decided that she couldn't treat their baby because they are lesbians.... Currently, 22 states have laws that prohibit doctors from discriminating against someone based on their sexual orientation. Michigan is not one of these states.... Attorney Dana Nessel, who is handling the Michigan same-sex marriage case that's about to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, believes the laws need to change. If not, she said, more families ... will be mistreated by the medical profession."

Tulsa World Editors: "Members of the Oklahoma Legislature shouldn't try to write school curriculum. It politicizes the classroom and leaves their own ignorance on the table. That's certainly what happened earlier this week when a state House committee OK'd a bill that would bar the use of state money to pay for Advance Placement U.S. history courses. Rep. Dan Fisher, R-Yukon, an ordained minister and a member of the Black Robe Regiment, says AP history should be kicked out of Oklahoma schools because it emphasizes 'what is bad about America' and omits 'American exceptionalism.' False and false. Rep. Fisher fails today's exam and so does the Common Education Committee, which approved his House Bill 1380 on a 11-4 vote." ...

     ... Via Charles Pierce: "Rep. Fisher is a preacher, and a member of something called the Black Robe Regiment, a gathering of hooting theocratic loons concerned about the increasing disinclination of our nation's youth to believe that the Constitution was written in golden ink by Jesus."

Ryan Parker & John Glionna of the Los Angeles Times: "The man suspected of fatally shooting a Las Vegas[, Nevada] woman after an apparent road rage incident last week has been taken into custody, police said." CW: Read the rest of the story. Both sides had guns & there was a shootout. It's the Wild West, coming to a neighborhood near you. See also Gail Collins' column, linked yesterday.

News Lede

New York Times: "European leaders agreed on Friday to extend Greece's bailout for four months after weeks of tense negotiations. The deal, reached at an emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers here, paves the way for Greece to unlock further financial aid from a 240 billion euro, or $273 billion, bailout deal -- provided the country meets certain commitments laid out by its creditors."