The Commentariat -- Dec. 3, 2014

Internal links, photo removed.

Helene Cooper & Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Obama has settled on Ashton B. Carter to be the next defense secretary, senior administration officials said on Tuesday, but is not prepared to announce the move because the White House has not completed its vetting of him. A former deputy defense secretary with a long history at the Pentagon -- though no uniformed military service -- Mr. Carter was on a short list of prospective defense secretaries from the moment that Chuck Hagel announced his resignation, under pressure, on Nov. 24." The Washington Post story, by Craig Whitelock & Missy Ryan, is here.

The Yoho Solution. Ashley Parker & Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "House Republicans on Tuesday ... began coalescing around a two-part plan that would allow a symbolic vote to show their frustration with President Obama's executive action on immigration, before funding the government ahead of a Dec. 11 deadline. The proposal, presented by Speaker John A. Boehner, first calls for House Republicans to vote on a resolution proposed by Representative Ted Yoho, Republican of Florida, that says that the president does not have the power to take the executive action he took last month. The resolution, however, would largely be a way for House Republicans to express their displeasure with the president's immigration action. Mr. Yoho said that his measure would be a largely 'symbolic message' if Senate Democrats do not take up his resolution, which they are unlikely to do." ...

... Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: "Congress abandoned efforts Tuesday to craft an ambitious tax plan that would have raised hopes for bipartisan collaboration when Republicans take over in January, opting for a modest measure that would extend a slew of popular tax breaks for just a few more weeks." CW: This is supposed to be a news story, but Montgomery lets us know she's awfully sad about the failure of bipartisanship: "The development offered a stark reminder that, despite pledges from President Obama and GOP leaders to work together in a reshaped Washington, the same old political divisions hang over the Capitol -- and could be complicated by fresh tensions between moderates and liberals in the bruised Democratic Party...." ...

... Michael McAuliff, et al., of the Huffington Post: Not that any plan Boehner comes up with will pass muster with his Tea Party caucus. ...

... Dana Milbank: "Obama has already won the immigration fight." ...

... Jerry Markon of the Washington Post: "House Republicans clashed with the Obama administration over its recent executive actions on immigration Tuesday, with lawmakers blasting the measures as divisive and illegal but a top administration official defending them as a lawful and necessary first step toward fixing the nation's broken immigration system. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, in the first appearance on Capitol Hill by an administration official to defend Obama's actions, said the administration ordered a thorough legal review to ensure their legality." ...

... Dara Lind of Vox: Yes, Obama flip-flopped on immigration reform, though he won't admit it. In fact, during the years he claimed he "couldn't wave a magic wand" to effect relaxation of immigration laws, he was making a political calculation, not a legal case. "... what he was saying in 2011 was wrong. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, president has a lot of authority to decide who to deport and who not to deport -- and what to do with the latter. That doesn't require a change to the law -- no matter what Obama said in Nevada."

Paul Lewis of the Guardian: "The American sporting establishment was accused on Tuesday of presiding over a 'culture of silence' that has enabled professional athletes to commit domestic violence with impunity. Top executives and counsel from the main football, basketball, hockey and baseball leagues appeared before the Senate commerce committee after a string of controversies involving athletes accused of abusing their partners or children."

Greg Sargent: Mitch McConnell roots for the Supremes to overturn ObamaCare. If they do, McConnell says, "... I would assume that you could have a mulligan here, a major do-over of the whole thing -- that opportunity presented to us by the Supreme Court, as opposed to actually getting the president to sign a full repeal, which is not likely to happen." As law professor Nicholas Bagley told Sargent, "McConnell confirms here that the litigation is politics by other means. It sounds like McConnell is treating the Supreme Court as another political institution." CW: Which it is. ...

... Here's the Wall Street Journal interview of McConnell, by Jeffrey Sparshott. ...

... ** Charles Gaba: "Annnnnd there we go: Mitch McConnell flat-out states the SCOTUS is simply a tool for the GOP." Via Greg Sargent. (Who's Charles Gabe? Here's a clue.) ...

... Joan McCarter of Daily Kos: "There might be one member of that court majority of five who won't be too pleased that McConnell has ripped the veneer off of this case and exposed it for the baldly political stunt it is: Chief Justice John Roberts. He does seem to have some concern for his legacy. He might not want that legacy to include being responsible for taking health insurance away from millions of people and gutting the law that is racking up successes and saving lives." CW: This may be wishful thinking on McCarter's part.

Jason Millman of the Washington Post: "Wide-ranging efforts to make hospital care safer have resulted in an estimated 50,000 fewer patients dying because of avoidable errors in the past three years, according to a new report presented by government and industry officials on Tuesday.... They pointed to new financial incentives for hospitals to keep patients healthier -- such as a Medicare penalty on providers that experience excessive readmissions -- and a three-year-old public-private initiative, known as the Partnership for Patients, designed to spread best practices for making hospital care safer. Some health insurers in recent years have also stopped paying for hospitals' mistakes." CW: In other words, you have to pay hospitals not to kill their patients. Nice.

Whatever Happened to the Ebola Panic? (Besides November 4). Steve Benen: President Obama is still working on the problem. Now will Republicans provide the emergency funding the president requested? ...

... Here's President Obama speaking just yesterday at the NIH in Bethesda about the fight to eradicate Ebola. The transcript is here.

John McCain is right.

Suzanne Goldenberg of the Guardian: "The corporate lobbying network American Legislative Exchange Council, commonly known as Alec, is planning a new onslaught on a number of environmental protections next year when Republicans take control of Congress and a number of state legislatures. The battle lines of Alec's newest attack on environmental and climate measures will be formally unveiled on Wednesday, when the group begins three days of meetings in Washington DC. Alec, described by its opponents as a corporate bill mill, has suffered an exodus of tech companies from its ranks recently because of its extreme positions -- especially its promotion of climate denial."

Alan Gomez of USA Today: If Republicans continue down the anti-immigration path their heading, they could lose the Hispanic vote for generations. ...

... BUT. Jeffrey Jones of Gallup: "Since the Republican Party's strong showing on Election Day last month, Americans' political allegiances have shifted toward the GOP. Prior to the elections, 43% of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned toward the Democratic Party, while 39% identified as or leaned Republican. Since then, Republicans have opened up a slight advantage, 42% to 41%, representing a net shift of five percentage points in the partisanship gap." ...

... Bernie Sanders is unimpressed. Here he is on the Senate floor (Tuesday) unveiling his "12-step program" to attack inequailty. CW: I love Bernie:

... John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "In many areas, President Obama has already campaigned for versions of the policies that Sanders is putting forward, and few Clintonites would have any trouble endorsing them. The exceptions are his proposals to break up the big banks and move beyond Obamacare to a 'Medicare-for-all' system of health care." ...

... Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast: "Now that [Elizabeth] Warren and centrist Mark Warner are both in the Democrats' Senate leadership ranks, I think the two of them should sit down and hammer out a Warren-Warner Middle-Class Compact that consists of 10 or however many major points that they know they can get everyone from Bernie Sanders to Joe Manchin to agree on (and of course they also need to be confident that Hillary Clinton will agree to most of them). Hmm. Ten points? I guess that eliminates two of Bernie's points: bank breakup & Medicare for all. ...

... Patricia Cohen of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve says that more than 30 percent of Americans report irregular incomes that sabotage efforts to budget and save. Unreliable work hours are cited most often." And of course "unreliable work hours" most affect those at the lower end of the economic scale.

Lara Jakes & John-Thor Dahlburg of the AP: "Nearly a year after the Islamic State overran key cities in western Iraq, diplomats from more than 60 counties and international organizations gathered in Brussels to plot a way forward against what has since become one of the world's worst terror threats. The mostly Sunni Muslim insurgency now stretches across much of northern Iraq and Syria, and has attracted thousands of foreign fighters from around the world, including Europe. Its elusive leadership is flush with financial support from illicit donations and black-market oil sales."

Annals of "Justice," Ctd.

Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker: "Richard Johnson, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Toledo..., has written that an 'officer's uniform has a profound psychological impact on others, and even slight alterations to the style may change how citizens perceive them.' The traditional uniform, he has found, often evokes impressions of safety and competence. Fatigues, SWAT suits, and other military-issue gear associated with the army, by contrast, suggest increased aggression.... The same cues that signal 'army' and 'conflict' to civilians may affect police officers themselves.... Insofar as the donning of military gear signals a more aggressive stance, and may lead police to engage in more aggressive actions, [President] Obama's desire to circumscribe [the] use [of military gear] holds a degree of promise."

Anthony McCarthy of the AP: "A lawsuit by a woman who claims Bill Cosby molested her when she was 15 years old has moved allegations of sexual misconduct against the comedian from the court of public opinion into the courthouse. Judy Huth's lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles accuses Cosby of forcing her to perform a sex act on him in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion around 1974. She is the latest woman to accuse the comedian of sex abuse, and is the first one since 2005 to file a lawsuit.... Huth's lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court is the first time a woman has gone public claiming Cosby abused her when she was underage." CW: Good luck proving a case 40 years later.

Keith Alexander of the Washington Post: "A former Democratic congressional aide pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually assaulting two women in 2010. Donny Ray Williams Jr., 37, who served as a staff director for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee, pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse, two misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse and one count of misdemeanor threats." CW: So, after raping two women, get this: "As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors said they would seek a suspended prison term and five years of supervised probation. Williams also would have to register as a sex offender for 10 years." Excellent deal for Williams. For his victims, whatever. Date rape is still not so bad. See also Annals of "Journalism," Ctd., up next.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Ravi Somaiya of the New York Times: "An article in Rolling Stone magazine about an alleged gang rape on the campus of the University of Virginia has come under scrutiny for its reporting methods, even as the university and the local police investigate the events the article described." ...

... Rebecca Traister of the New Republic: "But do not forget, as we go about what is sure to be the unpleasant business of turning our suspicions on Erdely -- and in turn, on Jackie -- that the swift shift of focus is central to what's so jacked about systemic inequalities (and our impulse to pretend they don't exist) to begin with." ...

... CW: I just reread a good bit of Erdely's report, and the criticisms seem overblown. Erdely did interview -- or attempt to interview -- a number of people who had previous knowledge of Jackie's claims. Erdely also talked to other women who had similar stories. Even if Jackie herself made up the whole story -- which I find doubtful given the change in her personality & activities which others describe -- the article makes a damning case against a university that is extremely tolerant of date rape. Whether or not this particular gang rape happened is almost beside the point, except of course for Jackie. Traister is right.

Radley Balko of the Washington Post: Shaun Parcells, the "professor" & "forensic pathologist" who "assisted" Dr. Michael Baden in the autopsy of Michael Brown, & who has appeared as an "expert" on numerous news shows & in news stories, is a complete phony. Even after media began noticing Parcells' lack of credentials, CNN & other outlets have continued to rely on his "expertise." The CNN Story, by Elizabeth Cohen & Matthew Stucker, is here. Read 'em both. The part where Parcells lost the guy's brain is pretty good. ...

... Beyond the Beltway

AP: "Police are investigating Michael Brown's stepfather for angry comments made to a Ferguson crowd after a grand jury decided not to indict the police officer who fatally shot his stepson. The St Louis County police spokesman, Brian Schellman, said on Tuesday that police want to talk to Louis Head about his comments as part of a broader investigation into arson, vandalism and looting that followed the 24 November grand jury announcement. Twelve commercial buildings were destroyed by fire."

Christine Ferretti, et al., of the Detroit News: "Power was back on by 5:30 p.m. to hundreds of Detroit buildings including hospitals and municipal buildings that went dark Tuesday morning. The widespread power outage that caused evacuations of buildings throughout downtown is 'another reminder of how much work we still have to do to rebuild the city,; Mayor Mike Duggan said. Duggan, speaking at an afternoon news conference, said DTE is in the early stages of paying for a four-year, $200 million plan to upgrade the city's electrical grid, which has not been modernized in decades. When the transition is complete, DTE will run the system and the city will be out of the power business."

Just the Headline & Subhead Will Do. New York: "European Court Rules Out Boner Tests for Gay Asylum Seekers. Should Use Gaydar Instead."

News Lede

Guardian: "Iran's air force has attacked targets of Islamic State (Isis) in eastern Iraq, the Pentagon has said. Tehran has denied carrying out raids and acting in coordination with the US, which is leading a western-Arab coalition to defeat the jihadi group. News of air strikes in Iraq's Diyala province came from the Pentagon in Washington, which said that it was the first time such operations had taken place since Isis captured the Iraqi city of Mosul in June."

The Commentariat -- Dec. 2, 2014

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Obama on Monday announced that he would tighten standards on the provision and use of military-style equipment by local police departments, but he stopped short of curtailing the transfer of such hardware or weapons to the local authorities. After a review of the government's decade-old strategy of outfitting local police forces with military equipment, the White House concluded that the vast majority of these transfers strengthen local policing, but that the government should impose consistent standards in the types of hardware it offers, better training in how to use it and more thorough oversight. Mr. Obama announced the steps at a cabinet meeting that was called to deal with lingering tensions from fiery clashes between the police and protesters in Ferguson, Mo...." ...

... White House: "President Obama met with elected officials, community and faith leaders, and law enforcement officials to talk about how communities and law enforcement can build trust and work together":

... Dana Milbank is extremely unimpressed with President Obama's response to Ferguson. "To take a bolder stand on healing racial divisions would be easy for Obama, both because it doesn't require cooperation from Congress and because he already knows the words." ...

... CW: BTW, I disagree with Milbank. Obama can't "heal racial divisions," specifically because he is black. As Chris Rock said to Frank Rich (linked also in yesterday's Commentariat), "to say Obama is progress is saying that he's the first black person that is qualified to be president. That's not black progress. That's white progress. There's been black people qualified to be president for hundreds of years.... The advantage that my children have is that my children are encountering the nicest white people that America has ever produced. Let's hope America keeps producing nicer white people." That is, "healing race relations" is mostly up to white people. If you want to know how white people are progressing, see the posts by Brendan James of TPM & Ed Kilgore, linked below. ...

... CW P.S.: Yeah, I know Obama is "the first black president," but that's not how I think of him. I think of him as the president. Period. If Milbank, et al., want to do their bit for "healing race relations," they could start by not repeatedly pointing at President Obama while shrieking, "OMG, he's black!" followed by scolding, "He should act more black." Dana Milbank probably voted for Obama, at least in 2008, & I'll bet that vote made Dana feel right progressive & big-hearted. Trouble is, Dana thought he was voting for Stepin Fetchit, not for an extraordinary man. ...

... Monica Davey, et al., of the New York Times: "At colleges and high schools, outside police stations, courthouses, city halls and federal buildings, a series of nationwide protests on Monday maintained the momentum of those seeking justice for the unarmed black teenager who was killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., almost four months ago." ...

... More White People "Explain" Ferguson. Brendan James of TPM: "MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' panel started the day off on Monday with a segment slamming protestors in Ferguson, shaming the St. Louis Rams football team, and calling slain unarmed teenager Michael Brown a 'thug.'" ...

... Okay, Let's Hear from a Black Person for an Alternate Explanation. Ahiza Garcia of TPM: "Conservative activist and former pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson recently blamed police shootings of black men on the 'Me' generation that grew out of the 'women's lib movement.'" CW: Thanks for setting us slutty girls straight, Dr. Ben. You should run for president. ...

... Ed Kilgore: "I’ve just spent nearly a week back home in exurban Atlanta, and I regret to report that the events in and in reaction to Ferguson have brought back (at least in some of the older white folks I talked with) nasty and openly racist attitudes I haven’t heard expressed in so unguarded a manner since the 1970s." CW: Aah, your elderly, white Southern friends probably don't sound a lot worse than the honkies on "Morning Joe."

Julie Pace of the AP: "The job conditions for President Barack Obama's next defense secretary have already spurred some top contenders to bow out, leaving the White House with a slim list of candidates to fill the post for the administration's final two years. On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson became the latest to tell the White House he wasn't interested in the job, according to people familiar with the process." ...

... BUT What About Joe? He's available! I'm seeing some of that old Joe-mentum. ...

... Hahahaha. Al Kamen of the Washington Post: "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Monday that White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough had contacted him about his thoughts on who should be the next defense secretary. 'I said Lieberman,' McCain told our colleague Steven Ginsberg as he got off the Amtrak Acela from Washington to New York. McCain laughed and said McDonough thanked him for his input, but that McCain did not think his close pal, the former senator from Connecticut, a Democrat turned Independent, would be considered for the job. (After all, he did endorse McCain over Obama in '08.)"

Paul Blumenthal of the Huffington Post: "Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is trying to use a massive appropriations bill to loosen campaign finance rules. The Republican leader's office is attempting to attach a policy rider to the omnibus bill that would effectively end limits imposed on coordinated spending by federal candidates and political party committees."

Sí, Se Puede. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Emory University political science Prof. Alan Abramowitz noticed something in Gallup's weekly assessment of President Obama's approval numbers: His approval among Hispanics has shot up by 14 points over the past two weeks. It's now at 68 percent -- the highest it has been this year, and at a level last seen in early 2013.

Steve Mufson of the Washington Post: "Tumbling oil prices are draining hundreds of billions of dollars from the coffers of oil-rich exporters and oil companies and injecting a much-needed boost for ailing economies in Europe and Japan -- and for American consumers at the start of the peak shopping season. The result could be one of the biggest transfers of wealth in history, potentially reshaping everything from talks over Iran's nuclear program to the Federal Reserve's policies to further rejuvenate the U.S. economy. The price of oil has declined about 40 percent since its peak in mid-June and plunged last week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC] voted to continue to pump at the same rate. That continued a trend driven by a weak global economy and expanding U.S. domestic energy supplies."

Maryclaire Dale of the AP: "Bill Cosby stepped down as a trustee of his beloved Temple University following renewed accusations that he had drugged and sexually assaulted a string of women over many years. The 77-year-old entertainer has been a high-profile booster for his alma mater in Philadelphia and a board member since 1982. 'I have always been proud of my association with Temple University. I have always wanted to do what would be in the best interests of the university and its students. As a result, I have tendered my resignation,' Cosby said in a statement released by the university."

Joe Harris of the AP: "The St. Louis Rams and the NFL will not discipline the five players who stood with their hands raised in a show of solidarity with Ferguson protesters before Sunday's game. Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Monday that it was his players' 'choice to exercise their free speech,' but he would not comment further on their actions." ...

... Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post: Jeff Roorda, spokesperson for the St. Louis Police Association, made "a veiled suggestion that the only thing protecting the Rams and the NFL from mob violence at games is the cops."

The Smoking Gun: "The Republican congressional aide who castigated the Obama daughters for their lack of 'class' and dressing as if they were angling for a 'spot at a bar' was once arrested for larceny during her own 'awful teen years,' court records show.... [Elizabeth] Lauten, then 17, was collared for stealing from a Belk department store in her North Carolina hometown." CW: In Lauten's defense, she was stealing modest, dowdy clothing (which is all they sell at Belk's) & was smiling politely & respectfully while the surveillance cameras rolled. Totally a class act. Thanks to Haley S. for the lead. ...

... Now that the former shoplifter is out of a job, I hope she doesn't have to try to go on food stamps. Her now-former boss, Rep. Stephen Fincher (RTP-Tenn.), who is "one of the largest recipients of [farm] subsidies in the history of the great State of Tennessee." is on a "mission from God" to end the food-stamp program, which he characterizes as "stealing from those in the country to give to others in the country" (which pretty much describes the farm subsidy; only difference: the children of farm subsidy hogs like Fincher aren't going hungry).

The words 'separation of church and state' is [sic.] not in the U.S. Constitution, but it was in the constitution of the former Soviet Union. That's where it very, very comfortably sat, not in ours. -- Rick Santorum

So, we're a Christian nation? Or dupes of the Communist party? Or what? Did Thomas Jefferson, who repeatedly implored the Founders to include a bill of rights in the Constitution, misunderstand the First Amendment? Do explain, Rick. -- Constant Weader

... Speaking of the Constitution. Sahil Kapur of TPM: "An alternative [to impeachment] that has gained some traction among Republicans is to 'censure' the president.... But there's one big problem with this plan: censuring the president might be unconstitutional.... '[A] censure resolution is obviously punitive both in purpose and in effect and would thus appear to constitute a kind of "trial by legislature' outside the ambit of impeachment and accordingly might be deemed a "Bill of Attainder" forbidden by Article I, §9, Clause 3,' [law professor Laurence] Tribe said in an email."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Heidi Moore of the Guardian: "The newsroom of the New York Times was tense Monday as staffers marked the departures of several senior editors and speculated about which of their colleagues would take early exit packages and which could be laid off. The job reductions, which will come first in the form of buyouts, appear likely to continue a generational shift at the paper as veteran reporters and columnists accept lucrative offers to leave." CW: Please, Tom Friedman, take the deal. ...

... No, the New York Times did not publish Darren Wilson's home address. Margaret Sullivan, the Times' public editor, has the details.

Beyond the Beltway

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Rams vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff, reached late Monday evening by the Post-Dispatch, denied that he issued an apology to the St. Louis County Police Department for the 'Hands Up' gesture on Sunday.... St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar sent an email Monday night to his staff, alerting them that the executive vice president of football operations for the Rams, Kevin Demoff, had called him to apologize for the actions of several players on the field Sunday." ...

... Thanks to Citizen625 for pointing out the Jeff Roorda, the spokesman for the St. Louis Police Association, has a history of being a proven liar & apparently other bad stuff, all of which caused him to be fired from his job as a police officer in Arnold, Missouri. Here's a report of the proceedings against him. CW: I think we have to assume the St. Louis-area police knew this history before hiring Roorda & wanted a spokesperson who was comfortable with being blatantly untruthful.

Presidential Election

Dan Sewell of the AP: "Ohio Sen. Rob Portman says he will not run for president in 2016, choosing instead to seek a second term in the Senate over the Republican nomination for the White House."

Shane Goldmacher of the National Journal: [CW: Oxymoron Alert!] "Rand Paul's brain trust has spent months developing an exhaustive political and legal battle plan to ensure he can run for both Senate reelection and the White House in 2016 -- despite a Kentucky law that suggests otherwise.... The path remains murky, but Paul will take the first step on Tuesday, when he will formally announce he is running for reelection, even as he lays the groundwork to launch a presidential bid next year."

Shushannah Walshe of ABC News: "In an address to an environmental group that fiercely opposes the Keystone XL pipeline Monday evening, Hillary Clinton made no mention of the project. At a fundraising dinner for the League of Conservation Voters, Clinton spent most of her speech expressing support for the president's environmental policies, the need to stay vigilant in combating climate change and the risks around natural gas drilling, but she ignored the pipeline.... Earlier Monday evening she appeared at a New York City fundraiser for Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu who is in a tough run-off in Louisiana. Landrieu strongly supports construction of the Keystone XL pipeline...." CW: I read some while back that when she was Secretary of State, & before environmental groups got up & running against the pipeline, Hillary planned to approve it (no link).

News Ledes

Washington Post: "U.S. officials have designated 35 hospitals around the country to care for Ebola patients, part of the Obama administration's effort in the past two months to improve domestic preparedness to cope with the deadly virus that has ravaged West Africa."

Guardian: "The Obama administration will ask a federal appeals court to overturn a judge's ruling that it must disclose videos depicting its controversial tube feedings of hunger strikers at Guantánamo Bay. The long-expected decision from the Justice Department, filed in court on Tuesday, comes two months after Judge Gladys Kessler of the Washington DC federal district court ruled that the government did possess a compelling rationale for preventing the public from viewing the forcible feedings and detention cell removals of a Syrian detainee."

New York Times: "In a far-reaching deal that helps reunite Iraq in the face of a bitter war with Islamic extremists, the [Iraqi] central government agreed on Tuesday to a long-term pact with the autonomous Kurdish region to share the country's oil wealth and military resources. The deal settles a long dispute between Baghdad and Erbil, the Kurdish capital in the north, over oil revenues and budget payments. It is also likely to halt a drive -- at least in the short term -- by the Kurds for an independent state, which appeared imminent this past summer after a violent territory grab by Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL."

New York Times: "In a decisive move after days of intense political bickering, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel fired his centrist finance and justice ministers on Tuesday and called for the dissolution of Parliament and early elections. Mr. Netanyahu excoriated Yair Lapid, the finance minister, and Tzipi Livni, the justice minister, for attacking his government and its policies from within in recent weeks, declaring in a statement, 'I will no longer tolerate opposition from within the government.'"

The Commentariat -- Dec. 1, 2014

Photo removed.

Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "Sales, both in stores and online, from Thanksgiving through the weekend were estimated to have dropped 11 percent, to $50.9 billion, from $57.4 billion last year, according to preliminary survey results released Sunday by the National Retail Federation. Sales fell despite many stores' opening earlier than ever on Thanksgiving Day. And though many retailers offered the same aggressive discounts online as they did in their stores, the web failed to attract more shoppers or spending over the four-day holiday weekend than it did last year, the group said. The average person who shopped over the weekend spent $159.55 at online retailers, down 10.2 percent from last year." ...

... Dear Retailers (and Other Corporate Bigwigs): Maybe if you paid your employees a living wage, they would splurge on stuff they don't need. -- Constant Weader

Kendall Breitman of Politico: "President Barack Obama is holding three meetings on Monday to discuss issues relating to unrest in Ferguson, Missouri."

Carl Hulse & Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "As Congress returns from recess on Monday facing a Dec. 11 deadline for funding the government, Mr. Boehner and his fellow Republican leaders are working to persuade the rank and file -- furious over President Obama's executive action on immigration -- that engaging in a spending confrontation is the wrong way to counter the White House. That would set the wrong tone, they argue, as Republicans prepare to take over Congress and fulfill promises to govern responsibly." ...

... Jake Sherman & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Inside Republican leadership, senior aides and lawmakers freely admit that the executive order -- no matter how unpopular it is -- will likely stand and there's little Congress can do about it. So Boehner, McCarthy and Scalise need to craft a process that will allow conservatives to vent, but prevent a shutdown." ...

... Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Republicans in and out of Congress are urging GOP leaders to move quickly on immigration reform in response to President Obama’s executive actions." CW: Love the photo the Hill decided to go with this story. ...

... Peter Shane -- a Constitutional scholar -- in the Washington Monthly: "The President's actions [on immigration] respect, even advance, the rule of law in at least five ways."

David Atkins: Congressional Republicans, following their "intellectual" leader Paul Ryan, are determined to introduce "fantasy-based budgeting." We'll be hearing more of this. CW: I'm wondering if the CBO will revolt.

Brian Beutler is thankful for a Republican Congress. He lays out six reasons why.

Peter Schroeder of the Hill: "President Obama's nomination of Antonio Weiss to serve as the Treasury Department's top domestic finance official is drawing fire from ... his fellow Democrats. Liberal lawmakers like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have been quick to oppose Weiss, a major investment banker with Lazard.... An underlying thread to the Democratic opposition is a fatigue with filling top-ranking administration spots with officials that have spent significant time working for or on behalf of Wall Street titans." ...

... Juan Williams in the Hill: "The 2014 winner of my annual award for 'Member of Congress of the Year' goes to the politician who had such a good year she now defines her party's future -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)."

E. J. Dionne: President "Obama and progressives should spend the next two years accomplishing as many useful things as they can, blocking regressive actions by Congress, and clarifying the choices facing the nation's voters. And they'll get much further by doing all three at once." ...

... Dan Roberts of the Guardian: "From the wreckage of his party's defeat, a president appears to have been reborn. This is a president who bears much more in common with the firebrand elected in 2008 on a message of hope and change than the frustrated figure who had governed ever since."

Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "A year after the Obama administration temporarily shelved an unfinished part of HealthCare.gov intended for small businesses, it has opened with reports of only modest technical flaws -- but with doubts that it will soon benefit the millions of workers at little companies with inadequate health insurance or none at all.... In the two weeks since the marketplace's health plans went on sale for 2015, interest within the niche they are intended to help seems scant."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Peggy Young v. UPS. Young was laid off without pay from her job as a delivery person when she became pregnant & could not lift heavy packages, a task that was not part of her normal duties. She sued UPS under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act & lost in the lower courts. ...

... New York Times Editors: Young's "case, which has implications for millions of American women and their families..., is an opportunity for the court to strike a blow against discriminatory treatment and the resulting economic harm that are too often imposed on women who get pregnant -- as the vast majority of women entering the work force eventually do. Although many women can work through an entire pregnancy without job modifications, some -- especially those in low-wage jobs requiring long hours, prolonged standing and heavy lifting -- may require temporary help to safeguard their own health and their pregnancies." ...

... CW: Oops, the Times editorial board said the wrong thing. The conservatives on the court are dedicated to making life harder for the working poor -- so they'll know their place. The Times should have argued that ruling for Young would somehow help rich, white men.

Kathianne Bonniello of the New York Post: "Shopping at a Washington, DC, bookstore Saturday, President Obama spotted a copy of 'Meet the Press' host Chuck Todd's new book about his presidency. 'Oh, Chuck Todd!' Obama exclaimed. 'Let's see what Chuck has to say here!' 'How is he writing a book already?' asked his 16-year-old daughter, Malia. 'Sad.' 'He's just sad,' the president joked in response. Obama's off-the-cuff pan was no surprise, considering what Todd thinks of the president. The book, titled 'The Stranger,' blasts Obama as a flip-flopping policymaker whose detached temperament has prevented him from implementing his ideas." ...

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "On the subject of the Obama girls’ supposedly disrespectful behavior at the Thanksgiving turkey pardoning: not even close to unpardonable.... I thought the girls did fine.... If there was a soupcon of eye-rolling and a stretch of get-me-outta-here arm-crossing, well -- they were props at a turkey pardoning, for heaven's sake." ...

... Andy Borowitz: "Republican congressional aide Elizabeth Lauten said on Sunday morning that she 'deeply regretted' her attack on Sasha and Malia Obama because it 'completely overshadowed the vicious insults I hurled at their parents.'" ...

... CW: Here's what Lauten said about Barack & Michelle Obama: "... your mother and father don't respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter, so I'm guessing you're coming up a little short in the 'good role model' department." She never did mentioned she was sorry for that. BTW, I should have highlighted this: Lauten used to work for former Rep. Joe Walsh, "a tea party freshman noted for calling President Obama a 'tyrant' and engaging in legal battle over his child support payments." (Via Adam Weinstein, in Mother Jones, September 2012.) Compared to refusing to feed your own children, dissing someone else's kids doesn't seem so bad. ...

... ** UPDATE. Erin Ryan of Jezebel: "Elizabeth Lauten, the Republican Congressional staffer who over the weekend found herself in hot water over comments she made about the Obama girls looking like bar floozies with bad attitudes, has announced today that she's resigning." CW: What a shame. But now she'll have time to pursue her dream of writing an advice column for teens.

Paul Krugman: Europe is an economic disaster, & it's Germany's fault.

Stanley Kutler in the (Madison, Wisconsin) Capital Times: "The Pentagon has hijacked the history of the Vietnam War, magically transforming it into a memory to honor and cherish. George Orwell never imagined better. The Pentagon omits any discussion of the deception and misdirected policies which sucked us into that quagmire. It ignores failures of both civilian and military leaders. The widespread breakdown of military command and discipline is glossed over and the military effort was led only by medal winners. The rending of the American social and political fabric which marked the 1960s and '70s is not acknowledged. Most of all, the Pentagon is unwilling to face the painful truth: We lost. The Pentagon has launched a 50th anniversary commemoration of the war to provide 'historically accurate materials' for schoolchildren. Get 'em young." ...

... Charles Pierce: "... in concocting an elaborate historical deceit to mark the 50th anniversary of the bloodiest foreign-poiicy blunder in the country's history, and the most divisive period of domestic politics since the Civil War, the Pentagon is accidentally memorializing Vietnam much better than it realizes." ...

... Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times (October 9): "... the extensive website, which has been up for months, largely describes a war of valor and honor that would be unrecognizable to many of the Americans who fought in and against it. Leading Vietnam historians complain that it focuses on dozens of medal-winning soldiers while giving scant mention to mistakes by generals and the years of violent protests and anguished debate at home.... The glossy view of history has now prompted more than 500 scholars, veterans and activists -- including the civil rights leader Julian Bond; Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the top-secret Pentagon Papers; Lawrence J. Korb, a former assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan; and Peter Yarrow of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary -- to join [Tom] Hayden in demanding the ability to correct the Pentagon's version of history and a place for the old antiwar activists in the anniversary events."

Marie's Sports Report

Ken Belson of the New York Times: "N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell did not lie. That was the message that Jeff Pash, the league's general counsel, relayed to team executives Friday after an arbitrator overturned the indefinite suspension of Ray Rice, the onetime Baltimore Ravens running back who was caught on video knocking out his fiancée in a hotel elevator. On Friday, Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge who heard Rice's appeal of his suspension, ruled that Rice had not misled Goodell about his confrontation with his fiancée, Janay Palmer, who is now his wife." CW: Um, I guess Goodell just "misunderstood" Rice. Maybe he doesn't know what "I punched her" means. I don't know.

Lindsey Bever of the Washington Post: Kosta Karageorge, an Ohio State wrestler & football player, apparently killed himself, likely as a result of concussions he suffered.

Dan Good of ABC News: "The St. Louis Police Officers Association was 'profoundly disappointed' after players with the Rams entered the field Sunday with their arms raised, showing support for nearby Ferguson, the association said in a statement. Players Jared Cook, Kenny Britt, Stedman Bailey, Chris Givens and Tavon Austin stopped near the tunnel and raised their hands during introductions Sunday, acknowledging the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9. A grand jury declined to indict Wilson in the shooting one week ago.... Despite that intention, the St. Louis Police Officers Association released a statement Sunday night decrying the players' display. 'The SLPOA is calling for the players involved to be disciplined and for the Rams and the NFL to deliver a very public apology,' the statement read in part." ...

... CW: I wish there had been more than five players joining in the protest.

Beyond the Beltway

Paige Cunningham of Politico: "... the GOP victories in the statehouses and governor's mansions ... are priming the ground for another round of legal restrictions on abortion."

White Supremacists Explain Ferguson:

(1) Igor Volsky of Think Progress: "... former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday that the black community is more responsible for the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police than the officers themselves."

(2) Heather of Crooks & Liars: Rich Lowry of National Review: "If you look at the most credible evidence, the lessons are really basic. Don't rob a convenience store. Don't fight a policeman when he's stopped you and try to take his gun and when he yells at you to stop with is gun drawn, just stop and none of this would have happened."

(3) Manny Fernandez & Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "... the Oath Keepers ... who are sometimes described as a citizen militia -- but do not call themselves that [have taken up armed positions on rooftops [in Ferguson] on recent nights.... But on Saturday, with the county police said to be threatening the Oath Keepers with arrest, the volunteers decided to abandon their posts and instead protest against the authorities." Sam Andrews, who organized the Oath Keepers in Ferguson, says, "... we have a moral obligation to protect the weakest among us. When we see these violent people, these arsonists and anarchists, attacking, it just pokes at you in a deep place." ...

... A Better Explanation:

Wilson's answer [to the Ferguson police department's 'relationship with the residents'] is an excuse. An excuse for the failure to protect victims in that neighborhood. An excuse for not providing the same level of services and respect and protection that other communities receive. And he does it through guilt by association. He conflates the community and the residents with so-called gangs. And once he does that it's as if we're being told that his excuse for not treating Michael Brown as a child and a resident and someone who he is paid by the taxpayers to protect and care for instead that he's entitled to conflate Michael Brown because of the color of his skin and the neighborhood in which he lives with known criminals. In our system of criminal justice, you're supposed to be innocent until you're proven guilty.... The idea that Wilson wouldn't even consider Michael Brown to be one of his charges and one of his constituents and instead immediately associate him with criminals goes to the heart of why we see incidents like this occur. -- Alexandra Natapoff, Loyola Law School

Irresponsible Father-to-Be Walks Off Job, Loses Severance. Alan Zagier & Jim Salter of the AP: "The mayor of Ferguson, Missouri, says police Officer Darren Wilson will not receive a severance package as part of his resignation from the police force."

AP: "The Republican party county chair who came under fire for comments about Muslims on his Facebook page has resigned. Big Stone County [Minnesota] GOP Chair Jack Whitley called Muslims 'parasites' and wrote 'FRAG 'EM!' when they travel to Mecca.... Those comments were condemned by Muslim community leaders and [Minnesota] GOP party Chairman Keith Downey. Whitley told the Associated Press Friday he had no plans to resign but was asked to do so by other board members. His resignation was effective Friday. Whitley was also fired from his hardware store job in Ortonville."

Frank Rich interviews Chris Rock about everything.

Presidential Election

CW: As Kate M. & I Always Say.... Paul Waldman: "Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, there is probably no single issue you ought to be more concerned about in the 2016 campaign than what the court will look like after the next president gets the opportunity to make an appointment or two. The implications are enormous."

No Clinton. No Bush. We Can Dream. Steve Rose in the Kansas City Star: "Charlie Cook, one of the most respected political experts in the country, believes Hillary Clinton has only a 25-30 percent chance of running for president, and in any case he thinks she is either 'rusty' or 'she has lost her fastball.' He bases that on her disastrous book tour, in which she said some very inappropriate things and also did not sell many books. The author of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report newsletter for almost 30 years also disappointed a local audience when he did not give Jeb Bush much of a chance of gaining the Republican nomination." ...

... Update. Wake-up Call. Steve Yaccino of Bloomberg Politics: "Columnist Steve Rose did not specify exactly when or where the private vent took place, but said Cook knew he was in attendance and that the statements were on the record. But Cook, who could not be reached by phone or e-mail for comment, took to Twitter and denied making the claim."

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Larry McQuilliams had 'let me die' written in marker across his chest when he fired more than 100 rounds in downtown Austin[, Texas,] early Friday morning. McQuilliams, who Austin Police officials called a 'homegrown American extremist' with ties to a Christian identity hate group, was shot dead on Friday by a police officer outside the department's headquarters. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters on Monday that officers who searched the gunman's home found a map with 34 targets, including two churches. McQuilliams had fired bullets into Austin police headquarters, a federal courthouse and the Mexican consulate in downtown Austin on Friday. He also tried to set the Mexican consulate building on fire." ...

... Washington Post: "Police in West Virginia said on Monday night that the suspect in a series of fatal shootings has been found dead. The body of Jody Lee Hunt, a 39-year-old man from Westover, W.V., was discovered in his truck, hours after a shooting spree left four people dead and prompted police to launch a manhunt."

New York Times: "Pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong suffered a setback on Monday, when their attempt overnight to besiege government offices collapsed and the police thrust into the protesters' biggest street camp. The reversal came after a night of seesaw clashes in the political heart of the city, ending weeks of anxious calm at the protesters' main street camp...."

New York Times: Officials in Eastern European countries believe Russia & its state-controlled energy behemoth Gazprom are behind anti-fracking protests.