The Commentariat -- Feb. 25, 2014
Helene Cooper & Thom Shanker of the New York Times: "In shrinking the United States Army to its smallest size since 1940, Pentagon officials said Monday that they were willing to assume more risk the next time troops are called to war. But assuming more risk, they acknowledged, meant that more of those troops would probably die." ...
... Charles Pierce points out that the F-35 fighter jet made the cut. He notes that the jobs creations figures Lockheed attributes to its "Amazing Jet-Propelled Lemon Of The Skies" were likely calculated by "the same people doing the math ... for our old friend, the Keystone XL pipeline. Maybe they, too, are counting the strippers."...
... Nikki Haley: "Obama Was Mean to Us." Zeke Miller of Time: "Republican governors are accusing President Barack Obama of making politically motivated cuts to their states' National Guard funding. Speaking to reporters after a meeting between the President and the National Governors Association, the GOP governors said they were deeply troubled by Obama's tone when asked about planned cuts to the National Guard. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said Obama became 'aggressive' and that his tone 'chilled the room quite a bit. He basically said, "Many people in this room have asked for cuts, and now you're getting 'em,'" Haley said..., adding that her husband, a guardsman, just returned from a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan. She said Obama was trying to 'punish all these people who are asking for debt reduction by cutting the National Guard.'" Rick Perry concurred. ...
... CW: As contributor Kate Madison might say, "Boo-fucking-hoo." Where exactly does Haley think that "debt reduction" should come from? Oh, I know: programs that help ordinary Americans & those under economic stress. Also, especially, "jobs-killing" regulators.
Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Monday that state attorneys general who believe that laws in their states banning same-sex marriage are discriminatory are not obligated to defend them. Mr. Holder was careful not to encourage his state counterparts to disavow their own laws, but his position, which he described in an interview with The New York Times, injects the Obama administration into the debate over gay marriage playing out in court cases in many states. Six state attorneys general -- all Democrats -- have refused to defend bans on same-sex marriage, prompting criticism from Republicans...." ...
... CW: Doesn't everything a Democratic official does "prompt criticism from Republicans"?
Elizabeth Titus & Andrew Restuccia of Politico: "Republican governors say President Barack Obama assured them Monday that he expects to make a decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline within a couple of months. The White House declined to confirm the governors' accounts. But the information contradicts speculation by parties on both sides of the pipeline dispute, who have said Obama could delay the long-awaited decision until after November's midterm elections because of a state court ruling last week in Nebraska."
"Does Not Play Well with Others." Zeke Miller of Time: "Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal launched into a repeated assault on President Barack Obama's leadership in the shadow of the West Wing, in defiance of established bipartisan protocol. Speaking after a meeting of the NGA at the White House, Jindal, the vice chair of the Republican Governors Association, said Obama is 'waving a white flag' by focusing on executive actions with three years left in his term. 'The Obama economy is now the minimum wage economy,' Jindal added.... Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy rose to challenge Jindal immediately after he spoke to reporters, calling his remarks on Obama waving a white flag 'the most insane statement I've ever heard.' Jindal then returned to the microphones to continue his barrage against the Obama administration." ...
... Bobby Jindal misbehaves in front of the White House:
Vice President Biden & President Obama address the governors. Both behave like grownups:
Two Guys Walked into the Supreme Court ...
Dana Milbank: "Monday morning's Supreme Court argument about the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gases went badly for the Obama administration -- so much so that the real question before the justices seemed to be how severe the EPA's loss would be.... Anthony Kennedy, made clear that he agreed with the conservatives that the administration had gone too far in its carbon-dioxide regulations. Even some of the liberal justices voiced skepticism about the Justice Department's position...." ...
... Lyle Denniston: "It was quickly evident that the EPA's initiatives, seeking to put limits on ground sources of greenhouse gases, almost certainly had four votes in support: Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.... Justice Kennedy ... was quite protective of the Court's own decision seven years ago, launching EPA into the field of greenhouse gas regulation, and of a reinforcing decision on that point by the Court three years ago. But neither was close enough to the specifics of what EPA has now done, so he seemed short of just one precedent that might be enough to tip his vote for sure."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times writes a fairly complicated -- but not impossible to understand -- piece on stare decisis -- i.e., precedent -- and Justice Clarence Thomas, who takes a dim view of precedent.
Eli Lake of the Daily Beast interviews DNI James Clapper, & we learn Clapper is a fine public servant.
CW: I don't think I linked this story, published in January, by NBC News reporters & Glenn Greenwald: "The British government can tap into the cables carrying the world's web traffic at will and spy on what people are doing on some of the world's most popular social media sites, including YouTube, all without the knowledge or consent of the companies." Here's the "Nightly News" report:
... CW: If you're shocked, shocked by this story, bear in mind that the British agency has the capability to do this -- something we already knew -- but does not, as far as the reporting shows, actually do so. What brought the story to my attention was this:
... Glenn Greenwald: "... far beyond hacktivists, these surveillance agencies have vested themselves with the power to deliberately ruin people's reputations and disrupt their online political activity even though they've been charged with no crimes, and even though their actions have no conceivable connection to terrorism or even national security threats." CW: Greenwald presents some of the Brit's slides (pilfered by Ed Snowden, of course), parts of which read like something out of junior high school "mean girls" plot, & parts of which seem to come from the British series "House of Cards." If British intelligence is actually doing some of this stuff, targeting innocent (or unindicted) people, it's pretty despicable. ...
... ** As Juan Cole points out, the programs, as described by Greenwald, fit all the criteria identified in the psychopathy of trolling. "To have such institutions, pay for by tax payers, engaging in trolling the internet is highly corrosive of the values of a democratic country. Democratic politics depends on citizens knowing each other and knowing where they stand politically. To have secret government officers manipulating the reputations of people, breaking up their friendships and associations, and entrapping them with sex set-ups creates a situation where it is impossible to trust democratic process.... For when there is no real civilian oversight over invisible government, the opportunity for graft and other criminal behavior is enormous."
Rebecca Shabad of the Hill: "Washington lobbyist Jack Burkman on Monday said he is preparing legislation that would ban gay athletes from joining the National Football League.... 'If the NFL has no morals and no values, then Congress must find values for it,' Burkman said. Burkman's firm, JM Burkman & Associates, signed 70 new clients last year, the most of any K Street firm ...." ...
... CW: Let us set aside for a moment the unconscionable nature of Burkman's proposal to find out from Steve M. what sort of "morals and values" Jack Burkman has elsewise.
David Maraniss of the Washington Post recalls John Dingell's [D-Mich.] career. Dingell, the longest-serving Congressman ever, will retire at the end of this term. ...
... Karen Tumulty & Paul Kane of the Washington Post: Washington "is a city where no one seems to have the clout to make things happen anymore, and where even the most junior members of Congress have the ability to stop those who try. Which is why it is no longer John Dingell's Washington. And why he has decided to hang it up when his term ends." ...
... Alec MacGillis of the New Republic: "... many accounts — even those composed by supporters of stricter gun controls -- tended to gloss over Dingell's most glaring deviation from the progressive cause. There is simply no overstating how destructive Dingell was to the prospects for sensible gun regulation in this country.... Let's not whitewash one of the most enduring legacies of [his six decades of] service."
Niels Lesniewski of Roll Call: "The Senate returned from the Presidents Day recess by reprising one of the chamber's greatest -- and perhaps most ironic -- traditions. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, was recognized for the annual reading of George Washington's Farewell address. In the lengthy speech, the nation's first president warned 'against the baneful effects of the spirit of party.' ... 'The leader's office called and I jumped at the chance because I think it's such a great document. You know who wrote it?' asked King. 'Who Washington had as ghostwriters? Madison and Hamilton. Not bad.' James Madison had initially drafted a farewell speech for Washington in 1792, which Washington used as a basis for the eventual speech. Washington asked Alexander Hamilton to revise what Washington himself drafted from what Madison had provided. The University of Virginia has an online repository of papers related to the address and the various drafts":
Congressional Races
As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "... what is startling to Republicans this year is the sheer number of candidates who are willing to take on the party's most powerful players in Washington, and the backing they are receiving from third-party groups. The primaries are another measure of the internal tensions within the party, and the erosion of allegiance to it, as it seeks to maintain the enthusiasm of Tea Party supporters even as it tries to project a message with broader appeal to swing voters Republicans will need in the fall."
CW: If you've been flummoxed as to why Rand Paul has been attacking Bill Clinton & have reasoned the Republican presidential hopeful was making an oblique preemptive strike against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, you may have been looking at the wrong political race. Abby Phillip of ABC News: President Bill "Clinton plans to address some 1,200 people at a sold-out fundraiser in Kentucky today on behalf of Senate hopeful Alison Lundergan-Grimes, bringing his political clout to one of the most closely watched and contentious Senate contests of this election cycle.... n Kentucky, the former president is considered one of their own. He won the state twice and has deep political connections there -- including with Lundergan-Grimes and her father, former state legislator and Kentucky Democratic party chairman Jerry Lundergan. Clinton has advised Lundergan-Grimes and endorsed her candidacy in an early campaign video, and he is considered an uncle figure."
Presidential Race 2016
And Beyond!
Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "For generations, the two major political parties have taken strikingly different approaches to picking their presidential candidates: Republican primaries usually amount to coronations, in which they nominate a candidate who has run before or is otherwise deemed next in line, while the Democratic contests are often messier affairs, prone to insurgencies and featuring uncertain favorites.... But as the early positioning for the 2016 presidential primaries gets underway, the two parties appear to be swapping their usual roles."
Jeb's not ruling out a run. ...
... ** But Wait! What about Jeb's Son? Alex Pareene: "George Prescott Bush, son of Jeb and grandson of George Herbert Walker, is running for Texas land commissioner. Next stop: the White House! ... The Bush family passion for 'public service' increasingly resembles that of the Romney family, in which running for office is viewed as a sort of philanthropic gesture, as if the candidate is offering the masses the experience of being governed by a decent and right-thinking natural leader." The secret to Pee's hoped-for success? Keep his mouth shut so people won't know whether or not he's an idiot. CW: Quite an enjoyable read. Unless you let it get to you.
OR maybe you prefer Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wisc.) for president, who started violating campaign rules -- in multiple instances -- when he was in college.
New Jersey News
Christopher Baxter of the Star-Ledger: "Records turned over to the state legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closings show the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, David Samson, has been 'intimately involved' with day-to-day operations.... 'When you see the intimate level of involvement, it's hard to even come with a rationale why it's not a conflict,' [Assemblyman John] Wisniewski [D] said, noting that the Port Authority was intended to be an independent entity. 'It becomes clear when you look at everything as a totality that the Port Authority really became a subdivision in the governor's office.... When you look at the number of people in that upper echelon with the governor and their routine involvement with the Port Authority, and in particular in some cases with this issue, you just kind of shake your head and say how is that possible?' he said."
Linh Tat of the Bergen Record: Fort Lee "Mayor Mark Sokolich ... voluntarily spoke with the U.S. Attorney's Office, his lawyer confirmed Monday. The Fort Lee mayor met for approximately 3½ hours with federal investigators in Newark on Friday to discuss the September lane closures...."
AP: "A high-ranking New Jersey official has acknowledged for the first time that performance problems are the reason a contractor hired last year to handle applications for the state's biggest post-Sandy housing recovery program is no longer working for the state. Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable fielded questions from lawmakers Monday about Hammerman and Gainer. The New Orleans-based firm stopped doing work for the state in December, though state officials did not say it had been dropped for nearly two months."
Elsewhere Beyond the Beltway
** Laura Bassett of the Huffington Post: "A pregnant woman is just a 'host' that should not have the right to end her pregnancy, Virginia State Sen. Steve Martin (R) wrote in a Facebook rant defending his anti-abortion views. 'I don't expect to be in the room or will I do anything to prevent you from obtaining a contraceptive,' Martin wrote. 'However, once a child does exist in your womb, I'm not going to assume a right to kill it just because the child's host (some refer to them as mothers) doesn't want it.' Martin then changed his post on Monday afternoon to refer to the woman as the 'bearer of the child' instead of the 'host.'" ...
... CW: Martin's rant is a classic gaffe, wherein he reveals what he & his fellow abortion foes really thinks of women. We are not full human beings. We are vessels whose purpose is to serve the "whole" people: white, Christian, propertied, straight men. We perform a variety of functions for the fully-realized humans, and one of those functions is hosting their projeny. When conservatives speak of the "traditional role of women" or the "traditional family," this is what they mean. Throughout history, men have viewed women as lesser beings, and this view has been codified in the laws & enshrined in the cultural mores of most nations. Conservatives hate those who would change that tradition. ...
... Tal Kopan of Politico has more.
** Even some of the Arizona state Republican senators who voted for the anti-gay "religious freedom" bill are now urging Gov. Jan Brewer to veto it. Public reaction against the bill has been widespread. ...
... Howard Fischer of the Arizona Daily Star has more. ...
... Dana Bash of CNN: "Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer tells CNN she will make her decision in the 'near future' about whether to sign or veto a bill that supporters say promotes religious freedom and opponents call discriminatory against gays and lesbians.... Brewer plans to return to Arizona Tuesday, and a source tells CNN those familiar with her thinking say she will likely spend at least one full business day in the state before acting. She has until Saturday morning to sign or veto the bill. If she does nothing, the bill automatically becomes law."
Florida, Land of the Blind (Where the One-Eyed Man Has No Advantage). Caitlan MacNeal of TPM: "A blind man in Florida who was acquitted after shooting his friend to death ... got his guns back on Thursday.... Police confiscated both of John Wayne Rogers' guns when he was arrested for shooting a friend in the chest during a fight in his Geneva, Fla. home in March 2012. He was granted immunity after citing Florida's 'stand your ground' law in January.... Judge John Galluzzo reluctantly ordered authorities to return Rogers both of his firearms, a 10mm Glock and a rifle, even though he said he didn't want to. 'I have to return property that was taken under the circumstance,' Galluzzo said. 'I have researched and haven't found case law to say otherwise.' The judge did not let Rogers have his ammunition back, however.... Rogers was also on probation four years ago for shooting 15 rounds at his cousin, according to
A blind man in Florida who was acquitted after shooting his friend to death under Florida's "stand your ground" law got his guns back on Thursday, according to WESH Orlando. Way Beyond the Beltway ** Sally Kohn of the Daily Beast: "The evangelical organization that describes itself as a Christian mafia has been the hidden hand behind Uganda's anti-gay bill, along with Rick Warren, the gay-bashing pastor who presided at Obama's first inauguration." Hillary Clinton is deeply implicated, too. "Uganda's anti-gay law is not just an international disgrace. It is an American disgrace. And the American religious and political figures who played a role in spreading vicious homophobia in Uganda, whether actively or by turning a blind eye, should do more than just denounce the country's law. They should denounce their own role in facilitating it." This isn't news. Jeff Sharlet wrote about it years ago. But it's worth repeating. Again & again. News Ledes New York Times: "President Obama, apparently resigned to President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign a long-term security agreement with the United States before he leaves office, told him in a phone call on Tuesday that he had instructed the Pentagon to begin planning for a complete withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year. But in a message aimed less at Mr. Karzai than at whoever will replace him, Mr. Obama said that the United States was still open to leaving a limited military force behind in Afghanistan to conduct training and counterterrorism operations." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Former Pittsburgh police chief Nate Harper today was sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiracy to commit theft from a federally funded program, and failure to file tax returns. U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon handed down the sentence nearly a year after Harper was indicted following what appeared to be a whirlwind investigation by the FBI.... U.S. Attorney David Hickton, in a news conference this afternoon, said the prosecution of Harper is over, but the investigation of the city is not." Back to the Gold Standard! CNN: "What was once the world's largest trading platform for bitcoins is now a blank page. The Bitcoin-trading website Mt.Gox was taken offline late Monday, putting at risk millions of dollars put there by investors who gambled on the digital currency. The exchange also deleted all of its tweets, and Mt.Gox CEO Mark Karpeles resigned from the Bitcoin Foundation's board of directors on Sunday. The news frightened Bitcoin investors elsewhere, knocking the price down about 3% to $490 -- its lowest level since November." ... ... New York Times: "On Monday night, a number of leading Bitcoin companies jointly announced that Mt. Gox, the largest exchange for most of Bitcoin's existence, was planning to file for bankruptcy after months of technological problems and what appeared to have been a major theft. A document circulating widely in the Bitcoin world said the company had lost 744,000 Bitcoins in a theft that had gone unnoticed for years. That would be about 6 percent of the 12.4 million Bitcoins in circulation." New York Times: "The biggest protests since the death of the longtime leader Hugo Chávez nearly a year ago are sweeping Venezuela, rapidly expanding from the student protests that began this month on a campus in this western city into a much broader array of people across the country. On Monday, residents in Caracas ... and other Venezuelan cities piled furniture, tree limbs, chain-link fence, sewer grates and washing machines to block roads in a coordinated action against the government."
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