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The Commentariat -- Sept. 28, 2016
Afternoon Update:
Trial of Alabama Chief Justice, Bible Bigot Roy Moore, Off to a Roaring Start. Kent Faulk of Al.com. "The trial of suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore began this morning before the Court of the Judiciary in Montgomery. The trial pits Moore and his anti-gay marriage stance versus the rule of law. Did a Jan. 6 administrative order by Moore encourage Alabama probate judges to ignore or defy federal and U.S. Supreme Court orders declaring same-sex marriage legal? Or was Moore simply giving a status update or advice to those judges regarding orders by the Alabama Supreme Court banning same-sex marriage licensing prior to U.S. Supreme Court's ruling making it legal nationwide?" Akhilleus: Al.com is doing live updates all day on the trial. Supporters for both sides in attendance but Moore supporters seem particularly exercised. Bigotry never rests.
Congress Overrides 9/11 Bill: Karoun Demirjian & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post. "Congress on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to override President Obama's veto of legislation that would allow 9/11 victims' families to sue the Saudi Arabian government over its alleged support for the terrorists who carried out the attacks. The votes in the House and Senate amounted to a sweeping, bipartisan rejection of the White House's argument that the legislation poses a national security threat because it could expose U.S. officials to similar lawsuits abroad. It is the first time during the Obama administration that Congress has voted to override a veto. 'Overriding a presidential veto is something we don't take lightly, but it was important in this case that the families of the victims of 9/11 be allowed to pursue justice, even if that pursuit causes some diplomatic discomforts,' Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who co-authored the bill with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), said in a statement." ...
... Akhilleus: Pursuit of justice sounds nice but lawmakers left open the very real likelihood that they will walk this back after the election. Drive for show, putt for dough, as they say in golf. Most sane legislators understand the dangerous precedent such an override presents, but right now, they're driving for show. The chance that any 9/11 families will actually be pulling a member of the Saudi royal family into court is close to that of Donald Trump releasing his tax returns.
Another Unarmed Black Man Killed by Police. Eliott C. McLaughlin, Max Blau and Paul Vercammen of CNN. "Activists dismayed by the police killing of an unarmed, possibly mentally ill black man in El Cajon, California, demanded Wednesday that authorities release video of the shooting and that federal authorities probe into the man's death. As of mid-day Wednesday, police had released little information about the incident, aside from a still photograph showing the African-American man, in what authorities describe as a 'shooting stance,' facing off with two officers in a parking lot. Police have not released the man's name. No gun was found. The Rev. Shane Harris, president of the San Diego chapter of the National Action Network, called releasing the photo 'cowardly.' Harris, who said he had spoken to the dead man's family, was one of several speakers addressing reporters in front of the El Cajon Police Department." Akhilleus: I suppose this is the sort of person Trump is demanding we take the guns away from. A black man who actually has no guns.
California Pony Express delivers message to Wells Fargo: Drop Dead. Romy Varghese of Bloomberg: "California, the nation's largest issuer of municipal bonds, is barring Wells Fargo & Co. from underwriting state debt and handling its banking transactions after the company admitted to opening potentially millions of bogus customer accounts. The suspension, in effect immediately, will remain in place for 12 months, State Treasurer John Chiang said Wednesday. 'Complete and permanent severance' between his office and the bank will occur if it doesn't change its practices, he said. The treasurer is also suspending his office's investment in Wells Fargo securities. 'Wells Fargo's fleecing of its customers ... demonstrates, at best, a reckless lack of institutional control and, at worst, a culture which actively promotes wanton greed,' the treasurer said in a statement."...Akhilleus.
The Big Guns Come Out. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post: "[Michelle] Obama was campaigning in Philadelphia -- when she absolutely let loose on Republican nominee Donald Trump and his long-running birther insinuations about her husband...'Hurtful, deceitful questions deliberately designed to undermine his presidency, questions that cannot be blamed on others or swept under the rug by an insincere sentence uttered at a press conference.... If a candidate is erratic and threatening, if a candidate traffics in prejudice, fears and lies on the campaign trail, if a candidate thinks that not paying taxes makes you smart, or that it's good business when people lose their homes. If a candidate regularly and flippantly makes cruel and insulting comments about women, about how we look and how we act, well, sadly, that's who that candidate really is.'" Akhilleus: What I wouldn't pay to watch Sniffles try to take on Michelle Obama. They'd have to have a meat wagon ready to cart off whatever's left.
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See also yesterday's Afternoon Update, which is chockful of links to commentary on Monday's presidential debate.
Presidential Race
Arizona Republic Editors: "Since The Arizona Republic began publication in 1890, we have never endorsed a Democrat over a Republican for president. Never.... This year is different. The 2016 Republican candidate is not conservative and he is not qualified. That's why, for the first time in our history, The Arizona Republic will support a Democrat for president. The challenges the United States faces domestically and internationally demand a steady hand, a cool head and the ability to think carefully before acting. Hillary Clinton understands this. Donald Trump does not. Clinton has the temperament and experience to be president. Donald Trump does not.... She has withstood decades of scrutiny so intense it would wither most politicians. The vehemence of some of the anti-Clinton attacks strains credulity. Trump hasn't even let the American people scrutinize his tax returns, which could help the nation judge his claims of business acumen." And so forth. -- CW ...
... John Wagner of the Washington Post: "... Hillary Clinton will score another high-powered Republican endorsement on Wednesday, according to a campaign aide: retired senator John Warner of Virginia, a popular GOP maverick with renowned military credentials. Warner's decision not to support ... Donald Trump, is intended to send a signal in the five-term senator's battleground home state and beyond that mainstream, security-minded Republicans should side with Clinton." -- CW
Greg Sargent: "Top Democrats say they're planning to escalate their attacks on one of the most glaring missteps Donald Trump committed during the debate on Monday night: When confronted over whether he pays nothing in federal taxes, he not only didn't deny it -- he seemed to openly boast about it." -- CW
A Good Time to Pack a Punch. Josef Adalian of New York: "As expected, Monday's opening showdown between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump drew a massive -- and record-breaking -- audience, with at least 80.9 million viewers tuning in across 12 broadcast and cable networks, according to Nielsen data obtained by CNN Money. That makes last night's 93-minute matchup the most-watched presidential debate ever, and represents a roughly 20 percent jump over the 67.2 million viewers who caught the first debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney four years ago. What's more, the 80.9 million figure will tick even higher once PBS is added to the tally, and it also doesn’t include the millions who likely watched online." --safari ...
Jonathan Mahler of the New York Times: "Per instructions from my editor, I was watching with the sound off. Alone.... She looked as if she was having fun. He, not so much.... He delivered 90 minutes of increasingly exaggerated pantomime, announcing the presence of someone who is restless, impassioned, emphatic and at times belligerent.... Even when it was Mrs. Clinton's turn to speak, Mr. Trump 't stand still. He fidgeted. He smirked. He grimaced. He squinted. He adjusted his microphone. He grabbed hold of the sides of his lectern. He rocked back and forth on his heels. He pursed his lips. He threw his opponent a disbelieving sidelong glance, and then an eye roll. He shook his head. He appeared to interrupt her, repeatedly.... Mrs. Clinton had a studied serenity.... She appeared unbothered, even amused, by Mr. Trump's apparent assaults." CW: See also Patrick's comment in yesterday's thread. He listened with the video off & the sound on.
Paul Krugman: "... it seems to be conventional wisdom that Trump did well in the first 15 minutes. And I guess he did if you are impressed by someone talking loudly and confidently about a subject he really doesn't understand. But really: Trump on trade was ignorance all the way." Krugman briefly explains why. -- CW ...
... Krugman: "... it turns out that Trump wasn't saying ignorant things off the top of his head: he was saying ignorant things fed to him by his incompetent economic advisers.... Should we be reassured that Trump wasn't actually winging it here, just taking really bad advice? Not at all. This says that if he somehow becomes president, and decides to take the job seriously, it won't help -- because his judgment in advisers, his notion of who constitutes an expert, is as bad as his judgment on the fly." -- CW
Robert Windrem & William Arkin of NBC News: "Donald Trump's confusing comments about nuclear weapons in Monday night's debate are not the first time during this presidential campaign that his statements have left nuclear experts wondering just what he might do if he gains access to the nuclear football. On Monday, Trump ... called for more nations to join the nuclear club. He ruled out a 'first strike,' but then revealed not just a willingness to use nukes but also a misunderstanding of the high-stakes balancing act the nuclear superpowers have pursued.... Trump ... also ... may not know the difference between 'first use' and 'first strike.' He responded to a question from [Lester] Holt about 'first use' with a statement about a 'first strike.'... 'First strike' refers to a nuclear power initiating nuclear combat and landing the first blow.... 'First use' is an un-official U.S. prohibition on the use of nuclear weapons against enemies who don't have nuclear capability." -- CW
Trolls Prefer Crazy Man. Luis Gomez of the San Diego Union-Tribune: While cable news networks and some news organizations ... declared Clinton a winner in the debate, Trump emerged as the winner based on a number of web polls and online forums like Reddit where the candidate's supporters dominate the conversation. By Tuesday morning, the hashtag #TrumpWon surfaced as the top trending topic on Twitter." -- CW
Amanda Marcotte of Salon: "... apparently, the sexist id is stronger than common sense, as demonstrated by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his legion of piggy defenders.... Watching Clinton kick his ass all over the debate stage last night exposed the raw insecurities of men across this great nation of ours. While Clinton usually gets yelled at by men for not smiling enough, her grinning visage as she watched her male opponent self-immolate caused this pouty reaction from Atlantic editor David Frum: 'Who told Hillary Clinton to keep smiling like she's at her granddaughter's birthday party?'... Whatever position your mouth is in, it's wrong, ladies!.... On Fox, Brit Hume says Hillary Clinton's face was 'not necessarily attractive'..." -- CW
He seemed unable to handle that big stage, and I really did feel that by the end, with the kind of snorting, the water gulping and the leaning on the lectern, that he just seemed really out of gas. -- Clinton campaign chairJohn Podesta, on Trump
He is an imperialistic gringo. -- Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, on Donald Trump ...
Patrick Healy, et al., of the New York Times: "Campaign advisers to Donald J. Trump, concerned that his focus and objectives had dissolved during the first presidential debate on Monday, plan to more rigorously prepare him for his next face-off with Hillary Clinton by drilling the Republican nominee on crucial answers, facts and counterattacks, and by coaching him on ways to whack Mrs. Clinton on issues even if he is not asked about them. Whether he is open to practicing meticulously is a major concern, however, according to some of these advisers and others close to Mr. Trump." -- CW
Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton moved to capitalize Tuesday on a sharp-edged debate performance that exposed vulnerabilities for Donald Trump, excoriating his values and character in an effort to expand her coalition of women, minorities and young voters.... While ... [Donald Trump] insisted that he was not unnerved, he and his advisers grasped at excuses to explain why he did not perform better.... Like Trump's feud this summer with the Muslim parents of a dead U.S. soldier, the [Alicia] Machado episode rapidly emerged as a microcosm of the campaign -- and a test of whether Trump can expand his support beyond his base of aggrieved white voters, most of them men." -- CW ...
... The Drumpf & Rudy Show, Ctd. Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump lashed out on Tuesday in the aftermath of a disappointing first debate with Hillary Clinton, scolding the moderator, criticizing a beauty pageant winner for her physique and raising the prospect of an all-out attack on Bill Clinton's marital infidelities in the final stretch of the campaign.... As Mrs. Clinton embarked on an ebullient campaign swing through North Carolina, aiming to press her newfound advantage, Mr. Trump vented his grievances in full public view.... 'Anybody who complains about the microphone,' she said [to reporters on her campaign plane], 'is not having a good night.'... At a rally in Raleigh, N.C., Mrs. Clinton ... assailed Mr. Trump's comments suggesting he avoided paying taxes and welcomed the 2008 financial crisis as a buying opportunity.... [MEANWHILE, Rudy Giuliani] called Mrs. Clinton 'too stupid to be president.'" -- CW ...
Steve Eder & Patricia Cohen of the New York Times: "'That makes me smart,' Mr. Trump said after Mrs. Clinton brought up how he had paid no taxes more than two decades ago. When she suggested that Mr. Trump was still paying no federal taxes, and had not done so for many years, Mr. Trump offered another retort: 'It would be squandered, too, believe me.'... 'Tell that to the janitor in here who's paying taxes!' Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, said of Mr. Trump's statements. 'It angers me. It angers me.'" CW: The reporters cite records from past proceedings that indicate Trump paid no federal income taxes for at least five years, and his Atlantic City casino losses in the early '90s were such that he might have been able to "eliminate his federal tax bill for years to come." ...
... CW: Here's something I didn't know. According to Eder & Cohen, Mitt "Romney and his wife, Ann, even gave up $1.75 million in charitable deductions that they were entitled to, in order to make their tax return consistent with Mr. Romney's earlier claim that he had paid at least 13 percent of his income in taxes." That is, had he not been running for president, the Romneys' tax rate would have been considerably lower -- and much lower than mine.
** Adam Gopnik of the New Yorker: "Obviously there was something cheering and even comforting in the reality that Trump had 'lost.' But there was something disturbing in seeing Trump once again being normalized by being made part of an ordinary contest in coherence and 'presentation' and 'preparation.' In truth, that was the least of it, because what was really outside any norm of decency was what he thought even after you had dutifully distilled away the incoherence and the manic improvisations.... This was not a bad performance. This is a bad man." -- CW
Peter Beinart of the Atlantic: "Commentators are declaring Trump's answers a tactical mistake. But they're more than that. They show how unmoored he is from conservatism's conception of America.... America's most prominent conservative thinkers and politicians have called for both reducing government's power over the individual and strengthening traditional morality. They've squared that circle by emphasizing personal responsibility.... Donald Trump never talks this way.... For more than a half century, conservatives have put families and communities at the center of their conception of a better America. For Trump, by contrast, the heroes are self-interested businessmen and a brutally powerful state. Profit is good; law is good; culture doesn't matter.... The fact that [Trump's rhetoric] has proven so appealing to so many Republicans shows how weak conservatism's traditional message now is, even in the precincts where it was thought to be strong." -- CW
Shitstain Leaves Permanent Stain: Rachel Bade of Politico: "House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday gave a robust endorsement of Donald Trump's debate performance -- even as other Capitol Hill Republicans said he missed opportunities and could have done better. The Wisconsin Republican, who has been highly critical of Trump's controversial comments in the past, said the GOP nominee gave a 'spirited argument' for Republican priorities, 'passed a number of thresholds' and showed 'he could go toe-to-toe with Hillary Clinton.'" -safari note: These full endorsements cannot be forgotten in history as the GOP tries to sell us Putin-lite. If it hadn't already been declared, "reasonable" GOP officials are an extinct species.
Lucia Graves of the Guardian: "Alicia Machado became an American citizen just in time to vote against Donald Trump. It's a vote that has been a long time coming. In May 1996, the Venezuelan beauty queen was just 19 years old when she was crowned the winner of the Miss Universe pageant, which had recently been bought by the Manhattan business mogul.... But when she put on weight soon after winning, Trump turned what should have been a golden year into the most traumatizing one of her life." --safari...
...**Jonathan Chait: "Before the first presidential debate, the defining confrontation of the general election was an inspiring speech by Khizr Khan, a Muslim-American Gold Star father.... During the closing moments of Monday night's debate, Clinton provided another Khan moment, and Trump, once again, could not help but reveal his own ugliness.... You can easily see why Clinton's campaign decided this was the perfect anecdote to display his grotesque personal qualities. It contains several elements all at once.... Life rarely works out in such a simple and dramatically perfect way. Terrible human beings usually know how to conceal their terribleness. Even a villain as impulsive and egotistical as Trump has the benefit of an entire political party and associated media apparatus throwing itself behind the task of concealing his hideous character through Election Day." --safari
Other News & Views
Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi struck a deal late Tuesday to deliver federal aid to address the water crisis in Flint, Mich., potentially removing a major flashpoint in negotiations to keep the government fully operating past Friday." -- CW
Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times: "As John G. Stumpf, the chief executive of Wells Fargo, prepares to face a congressional tribunal on Thursday for the second time in two weeks, questions are intensifying about the bank's sham accounts scandal and its lethargic response to it.... Late Tuesday..., the company's directors ... announc[ed] an investigation into the bank's sales practices, the board said Mr. Stumpf would forfeit approximately $41 million worth of stock awards, forgo his salary during the inquiry and receive no bonus for 2016.... The Wells Fargo board also announced the immediate retirement of Carrie L. Tolstedt, the former senior executive vice president of community banking, who ran the unit where the fake accounts were created. She will forfeit $19 million in stock grants, will receive neither a bonus for this year nor a severance, and will be denied certain enhancements in retirement pay, the board said.... These actions by the Wells Fargo board, while welcome, were slow in coming." CW: I guess the board were shocked, shocked to find that thievery was going on in their casino.
Beyond the Beltway
Time for an Impeachment in Trenton. Kate Zernike of the New York Times: "Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey was told about the George Washington Bridge lane closings -- and that they were done to punish a mayor who had declined to endorse him for re-election -- during a Sept. 11 memorial service two days after they began..., [former ally David Wildstein] testified in federal court [in Newark, N.J.] on Tuesday. Mr. Christie, the witness recalled, laughed at the news. The closings of the access lanes in September 2013 continued for two more days, creating a catastrophic traffic jam.... But Mr. Christie made no effort to reopen the lanes and end the gridlock. Instead, his former ally said, the governor was clearly delighted and seemed to savor the scheme. And after learning that the Fort Lee mayor's persistent and urgent calls for help were being ignored, Mr. Christie said in a sarcastic tone, 'I imagine he wouldn't get his calls returned.'" -- CW
Travis Andrews of the Washington Post: "Police in El Cajon, Calif., about 15 miles northeast of San Diego, fatally shot a black man ... in a strip mall after responding to a call Tuesday afternoon that he was acting in an 'erratic' manner. In a press release, El Cajon police said the man, who remained unnamed, pulled an unidentified object, which was not a firearm, from his pants pocket and assumed 'what appeared to be a shooting stance.' At this point, officers fired on the man. He has 'passed away as a result of his injuries.'... A crowd gathered in the parking lot to protest the shooting, which follows fatal shootings this month of black men by police in Tulsa and Charlotte. -- CW
Tonya Alanez of the [Orlando] Sun Sentinel: Two former police officers in Lauderhill, Florida, were fired from their jobs after allegedly "coercing two women into performing sex acts." Now it "will cost the two fired cops $6.2 million, a federal judge has ruled.... Jane Doe 1, who claimed she was raped by [Officer Franklin] Hartley on the hood of his patrol car, was awarded $4.5 million in damages. Jane Doe 2, who said [Officer Thomas] Merenda coerced her into indulging his predilection for sexual pain by punching him in the testicles, was awarded $1.7 million in damages.... The federal verdict ... may amount to nothing more than a symbolic victory if the women are unable to collect from Hartley and Merenda. The pair continue to fight criminal charges resulting from the same incident in Broward Circuit Court." --safari
Way Beyond
** Marilyn Berger of the New York Times: "Shimon Peres, one of the last surviving pillars of Israel's founding generation, who did more than anyone to build up his country's formidable military might, then worked as hard to establish a lasting peace with Israel's Arab neighbors, died on Wednesday in a Tel Aviv area hospital. He was 93." -- CW
Jon Henley of the Guardian: "A top-secret cold war US military project and the toxic waste it conceals, which had been thought buried forever beneath the Greenland ice cap, are likely to be uncovered by rising temperatures within decades, scientists have warned. Camp Century was excavated by the US army engineering corps in 1959 around 200km (124 miles) inland from the coast of Greenland, which was then part of Denmark." --safari
Capitalism is Awesome, Ctd. Nick Davies & Oliver Holmes of the Guardian: "Officials at the highest level of an Asian government have been helping wildlife criminals smuggle millions of dollars worth of endangered species through their territory, the Guardian can reveal. In an apparent breach of current national and international law, for more than a decade the office of the prime minister of Laos has cut deals with three leading traffickers to move hundreds of tonnes of wildlife through selected border crossings. In 2014 alone, these deals covered $45m (£35m) worth of animal body parts and included agreed quotas requiring the disabling or killing of 165 tigers, more than 650 rhinos and more than 16,000 elephants." --safari
Luke Harding of the Guardian: "Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine [in July 2014] by a Buk missile brought across the border from Russia and fired from a village under the control of pro-Russian rebels, an international criminal investigation has said. In a press conference on Wednesday in Nieuwegein, in the Netherlands, the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) said there was conclusive evidence that a Buk 9M38 missile hit the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, killing all 298 people on board." -- CW: Another reminder to Vlad fanboy Drumpovich on what a "strong leader" Putin is.
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