Month: January 2015

Sad Rand

by digby

You’d think that the Kochs and their buddies, big libertarians that they are, would just love rand Paul, wouldn’t you? He’s the guy who wants to deliver their dream agenda, after all: a small government, free market bonanza of no taxes, no regulations and no programs other than some police and military functions to keep their money safe. What’s not to like?

Well, they don’t like him. At this week-end’s ring kissing ceremony, he came in dead last:

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul — who received the least enthusiastic response from donors during a Sunday night forum of prospective candidates that also featured Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — finished last in Luntz’s poll, the source told POLITICO.

They like Ted Cruz better than Rand Paul.

The Politico reporters seem confused about all this:

Rubio got the most votes despite espousing hawkish foreign policy stances that seem to clash with the Kochs’ non-interventionist sensibilities. Paul, meanwhile, finished last despite a libertarian worldview that in some ways seems most similar to the Kochs’ own philosophies — and his loss marks a potential setback in his effort to build a base of wealthy supporters for a presidential bid.

The “non-interventionist” sensibilities are highly exaggerated, both Pauls and the Kochs. In fact, they are downright hawkish themselves if the intervention means more profits and market dominance. They aren’t stupid.

What’s more interesting is the fact that they liked Rubio so much despite the fact that he’s extremely callow and untried. The reason is that he’s a young and he’s Hispanic and the Big Money Boyz are smart enough to know that will be very useful in beating back an old woman. There is a model to draw from.

These are the guys who recognize that they are unlikely to get every single white vote in the country so it would be useful to peel off some Latinos. And knowing the way Republicans think, I’d guess they figure that Marco might make some of the young ladies swoon as well. He makes them swoon anyway.

The Kochs are true believers. But on’t kid yourself about what they believe. They are hard core economic conservatives who are willing to put up with the social conservatives because they don’t care about abortion or gay rights or anything religious, not really. It’s fine with them either way. And while they don’t think that national security should translate into a police state, they aren’t going to get too uppity on that count either since without it they simply cannot win in the United States of America. No, what they care about is the taxing and the regulation portion of the program and in that regard any Republican will probably do — so given the choice they’ll pick the one they think has the best chance of winning the general election.

Ultimately, they’ll go with the Republican nominee. It doesn’t really matter which one it is. In the meantime, they’ll play around in the primary. Unfortunately, it looks like Rand Paul is the guy nobody wants on their team. He just doesn’t look like a president. Why should they waste money on someone like that? Ideology isn’t the game they’re playing.

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How espionage charges multiply like rabbits

by digby

Marcy Wheeler wrote the full rundown of the Sterling trial (aka the trial in which James Risen was tormented for nearly a decade) at Salon this morning.  It’s as depressing as you might expect: a bunch of dicey espionage charges that don’t really add up to a hill of beans.  This was yet another one of those trials designed to “send a message.”  One can only wonder what would happen if they  as eagerly wanted to send some messages to Wall Street thieves and wealthy tax cheats.

Here’s the essence of the problem:

[A[long the way to the conviction of Sterling this week on all nine counts – including seven counts under the Espionage Act — something far more banal yet every bit as dear to D.C.’s economy of secrets may have been criminalized: unclassified tips.

To understand why that’s true, you need to know a bit about how the Department of Justice larded on charges against Sterling to get to what represents a potential 80-year maximum sentence (though he’s unlikely to get that). Sterling was accused — and ultimately convicted — of leaking two related things: First, information about the Merlin operation to deal flawed nuclear blueprints to Iran, as well as the involvement of a Russian engineer referred to as Merlin in the trial. In addition to that, the government charged Sterling separately for leaking a document (one which the FBI never found, in anyone’s possession): a letter Merlin included along with the nuclear blueprints he wrapped in a newspaper and left in the mailbox of Iran’s representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency. So the government convicted Sterling of leaking two things: information about the operation, and a letter that was used in the operation.

Then, having distinguished the operation from the letter, DOJ started multiplying. They charged Sterling for leaking the operation to Risen, then charged him for causing Risen to attempt to write a 2003 New York Times article about it, then charged him for causing Risen to publish a book chapter about it: one leak, three counts of espionage.

Then they charged Sterling for improperly retaining the letter (again, FBI never found it, not in CIA’s possession, not in Sterling’s possession, and Merlin purportedly destroyed his version before anyone could find it in his possession). Then DOJ charged Sterling for leaking the letter to Risen, then charged him for causing Risen to attempt to write a 2003 New York Times article including it, then charged him for causing Risen to publish a book chapter including verbatim excerpts from it (apparently Risen is a better investigator than FBI, because he found a copy): one letter, four more counts under the Espionage Act.

Altogether, seven counts of spying, for one leak.

Here’s the really scary part though: the jury convicted Sterling based entirely on circumstantial evidence: there was not one shred of evidence showing Sterling handing Risen classified information on the operation, the Russian asset, or the letter that Risen found but FBI could not.

I eagerly await the trials of all those who give government sanctioned unclassified tips and classified leaks to the press as part of their propaganda campaigns.

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Legitimate rape: feature not bug

by digby

Jamil Smith at TNR makes an important observation about the latest assault on women’s rights — the push to make abortion illegal after 20 weeks along with a requirement that any exception for rape or incest be officially reported to the authorities.

We all know what this is about, of course, but Smith points out that it’s even more cynical than usual. They insist that women who are the victims of “legitimate rape” must make a report to the police but make no moves to make such a thing easier for victims of rape in general. As he says:

If you’re going to require that pregnant survivors of rape report that crime to law enforcement before getting a late-term abortion, should there not be accompanying legislative (or at the very least, rhetorical) efforts to make it safer for survivors to do so? How about increased federal support for sexual assault support groups and law enforcement initiatives to improve those rape-reporting statistics? There is nothing like that in the Republicans’ bill.

That’s intentional. Republican legislators don’t want to make it less difficult for survivors to report their rapes; they’re counting on it. The bill’s viability depends on that 68 percent number staying right where it is, or even going up, all in the service of preventing late-term abortions.

In a way it’s actually more honest. Many of these anti-abortion zealots truly believe that women and girls should be forced to give birth to their own brothers. They see nothing harmful in that to the person who’s being forced to do it because they don’t see the person who’s being forced to do it as a person. They are merely the “method” by which a fetus is brought to term. It literally does not matter what they think or feel. Once pregnant, by whatever means, they are no longer relevant to the conversation.

Smith’s piece contains a humorously revealing quote from Louis Gohmert, bless his sexist little heart:

“Some of our Republican female members …”

As Smith quipped: “yes, that’s the word he used for women, with a possessive”

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QOTW: stars bursting in air edition

by digby

There hasn’t been much discussion of the right wing freak show’s foreign policy comments in Iowa last week-end. I found them quite interesting. This is from Rick Perry:

Take a look. Think about our friends who have been abandoned, Think about how we have weakened our alliances around the world. Take Israel. When peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians fell apart, did we stand with out greatest ally in the Middle east? No! Unnamed administration sources were quoted as hacking the Israeli Prime Minister! The Secretary of State compared Israel to the apartheid regime of South Africa. That is not the America I know. The America I know stands for freedom. It stands steadfast with Israel.

[Cheers and applause]

Thank you. Thank you. Last year we saw ISIS terrorists enter Iraq using American tanks, American weapons, taking cities, secured through the sacrifice of American blood. This happened because of the president’s inaction in Syria where he led opposition forced to become radicalized. Separately he warned the Syrian dictator that using chemical weapons on his own people was a red line he could not cross. Assad crossed that line without consequence meaning a dictator today remains in power due to this administration’s empty words. When a president makes promises that he won’t back up his statements are not a policy, they are just an opinion. The world pays attention, realizing they can test both our strength and our resolve. These brutal terrorists do not respect talk. They only respect force!

[Cheers and applause]

What is at stake here? What is at stake is no less than the preservation of western values. And what is required is not moral confusion but moral clarity. It matters that we understand all of this. Without confidence in the truth and goodness of our own values, the great moral inheritance of our own culture, how are we going to deal with the falsehood of theirs? What happened in Paris reminds us that this is not a rhetorical question. This is a simple fact. When it comes to the Western world. fighting this great threat, this administration needs to stop bleeding from behind —- leading from behind.

[Cheers and applause]

What is needed at this time in history is a clear vision for the world, with America leading again with freedom on the march again on the most pressing issues of out time. We don’t have to settle for the present state of decline. We can usher in a new era of growth and strength,

I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be a citizen of a country that stands for freedom and befriends freedom around the globe, I am proud to have worn the uniform of the United state Air Force! [cheers and applause]

I am proud of the young men and women who travel to far-flung regions of the world to fight for all that is right in the world {Cheers and applause]. There is nothing wrong in American today that can’t be fixed with new leadership. The next two years are about hope and revival and a vision to restore America’s place in the world! Starting today, let’s give it to them!

[Wild applause]

Here’s Palin:

We need to get honest on national security. We need to give hope to the people we need not, we will not, succumb to evil. And we call it as it is. We address it. That must be, that 800 pound elephant in the room of the White House the radical left won’t even name, won’t even name the threat to our way of life today,k we will hit it and name it. It is any Muslim who would choose evile, whose loyalty to a death cult perversion is so darkened and has deceived their souls that they actually think they are welcome here to transform here,

No. What we do, we strengthen our military, we respect our troops. We let the, our troops and gatekeepers, le let them tell Jihadists: “this is our house, get the hell out!”

[wild applause]

The crowd loved this stuff more than anything else as far as I could tell by the applause. I’ll transcribe some more over time just to get a baseline of what they are saying to the faithful. I’m not getting a sense that they are in an isolationist mood …

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I happen to have Ben Nelson for you right here …

by digby

This would be funny if it weren’t such a perfect illustration of how nuts the conservatives are:

The challengers in the latest Supreme Court battle over the Affordable Care Act point to former Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson as evidence of their claim that Congress intended that tax credits go only to qualified recipients in states that had established their own insurance exchanges.

Nelson, a Democratic holdout as Congress debated the bill, insisted that states take the lead in establishing the exchanges. And the challengers use that to support their theory that Congress was using the tax credits to induce states into establishing the exchanges, rather than having the federal government do it.

But Nelson, who announced his retirement in 2011, speaks for himself in a brief filed by Democratic congressional leaders and others.

“I always believed that tax credits should be available in all 50 states regardless of who built the exchange, and the final law also reflects that belief as well,” Nelson wrote in a letter to Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) who sought Nelson’s view.

The question of “what-does-Ben-Nelson-want” has always been a part of the ACA controversy. To win his vote in 2009, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered Nelson a deal that would give Nebraska full federal funding of a proposed Medicaid expansion indefinitely.

During the Supreme Court’s 2012 arguments over the constitutionality of what has become known as Obamacare, Justice Antonin Scalia mentioned the controversy over the “Cornhusker Kickback.” Scalia was apparently unaware that the deal had become so controversial that it was removed from the bill before passage.

The current Supreme Court case, King v. Burwell, which will be argued March 4, is different, but Nelson still figures prominently in the briefs.

It’s impossible to believe that they would use Nelson’s thoughts as part of their reasoning when the man is still alive and kicking and can testify to what he thought! Are they going to argue that he’s lying? That’s he’s senile and doesn’t know what he’s saying? They’d have to. It’s been central to the arguments they’ve presented to the court.

This case is daft from start to finish. But the fact that the Supremes even took such a looney case in the first place is why everyone is so nervous about it.

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Alas, poor derrick: Obama drills “Graveyard of the Atlantic”
by Tom Sullivan

Oil rigs in the “Graveyard of the Atlantic“? Someone tell the president April 1st isn’t for two months yet:

(Bloomberg) — The Obama administration proposed opening to offshore drilling an area from Virginia to Georgia in a policy shift sought by energy companies but opposed by environmentalists worried about resorts such as the Outer Banks or Myrtle Beach.

The offshore plan for 2017-2022 marks the second time President Barack Obama has recommended unlocking areas in the U.S. Atlantic for oil drilling, and it drew a swift retort from allies who say the payoff doesn’t justify the risk of a spill along the populated coast. The agency said Atlantic leases won’t be auctioned for at least six years and drilling wouldn’t start for several more years.

Well, that’s a relief. Plus, you know, with the Gulf Stream and all, a massive oil spill 50 miles offshore of the Outer Banks might never reach Cape Hatteras.

“Offshore oil spills don’t respect state boundaries,” said Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts. “A spill in North Carolina could affect Massachusetts.”

Heads up, Nantucket.

The proposal is still preliminary, officials suggested:

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told reporters the proposal was a “balanced” approach, but she stressed that it was only a draft.

“It is not final, we’re in the early stages of what is a multi-year process,” Jewell said, cautioning that some regions listed in it “may be narrowed or taken out entirely.”

That caveat and the timing make the announcement a mite suspect. Days ago, the Obama administration had Alaska livid over its request “to designate parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a wilderness area” off-limits to oil drilling. The request left Sen. Lisa Murkowski fuming. Something about decisions on federal land made Outside being a violation of state sovereignty. Other Alaska legislators were similarly put out:

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker was “outraged” at the timing of the announcement, which comes amid low oil prices and declining production “despite having more than 40 billion barrels of untapped resources, mostly in federal areas where oil and gas activity is blocked or restricted,” the joint statement said.

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, called the plan “callously planned and politically motivated” in the same statement.

On the heels of the Alaska announcement, the Atlantic drilling proposal is generating predictable howls from East Coast environmentalists:

“This proposal sells out the southeast fisheries, tourism, and coastal way of life,” says Sierra Weaver, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “This is an area that has never been drilled for oil production. These are places and communities that rely on natural resources like clean air and clean water for the quality of life and the lifestyle that they know.”

The White House surely knew its twin decisions would raise firestorms from both the left and right.

A head fake in advance of a Keystone pipeline veto? Or a sop?

The big secret

by digby

James Fallows:

Israel doesn’t have the military capacity to “stop” Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and neither does the United States, at least not in circumstances short of total war.

Why does this matter? As a question of negotiation, I think it’s fine for U.S. officials from the president on down to act as if they might seriously be considering a military strike. George W. Bush and Barack Obama alike have consistently said that “all options are on the table” when it comes to Iran, and that’s fine too. It can be shrewd to keep an opponent guessing about what you might do if provoked.

This negotiating stance could be useful, as long as it doesn’t spill over from fooling the Iranians to fooling ourselves. (A la, “we’ll be greeted as liberators!”) Letting Iran’s leaders think the U.S. is contemplating a strike might pay off. Actually contemplating it could be disastrous.

So true in so many different ways.

But I heard Chris matthews tell his audience just a couple of days ago that Iran will never be allowed to build a nuclear bomb No. Matte. What. People believe this.

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Another casualty in the war on the mentally ill

by digby

A 16 year old girl with a knife was shot by three cops in the lobby of the police station:

When Officers arrived they were confronted by a white female who threatened them. The suspect brandished a weapon, made threatening movements toward the officers and was shot. The suspect was transported to Good Shepherd Medical Center where she were pronounced dead by a Justice of the Peace. The Texas Rangers have been called in to investigate this shooting.

Coignard had been living with her aunt, Heather Robertson, who told ThinkProgress that the girl struggled with depression and bipolar disorder and had previously attempted suicide several times. “I think it was a cry for help,” said Robertson about her niece’s actions. “I think (police officers) could have done something. They are grown men. I think there is something they are not telling us.”

Yes, there is undoubtedly something else they could have done. This was a mentally disturbed teen-age girl with a knife. They could have retreated, called for some help to try to talk her down or even used a taser if they really felt afraid for their lives. But why should they bother? This is easier.

Remember, these cops have very tough jobs. We can’t second guess their actions even when it might seem obvious to anyone with half a brain and the tiniest common sense that there might be other options besides opening fire on a disturbed teenage girl inside a police station.

Authentic nonsense

by digby

Greg Sargent has a nice piece today on the “authenticity” nonsense that political strategists and Villagers peddle to the public. Worth reading in its entirety.

I thought I’d just put this quote from a week or so ago back up to illustrate how dumb it really is. This is about Chris Christie:

Chris Matthews: I sort of liked his style in the beginning before I realized it was for real, you know this Jilly Rizzo thing, this tough guy thing. Not exactly attractive when you realize it’s for real it’s not a feint.

I contrasted that with one of his thousands of insults toward Hillary Clinton in 2008 about her phoniness and inauthenticity.

Hobgoblins, small minds, etc.

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See no evil overseers

by digby

I wrote a piece for Salon today about Senator Richard Burr the new Intelligence Committee chairman who is charged with “overseeing” the CIA. I’m sure you’ll be surprised to find out that he thinks they can do no wrong:

[I]t’s an understatement to say that Sen. Burr is a very curious choice to be an “overseer” for the CIA if the Republican Party is now our greatest champion of civil liberties. He’s never seen a CIA program he didn’t think was just ducky. And it looks as though he’s not just going to continue to turn a blind eye to CIA perfidy, he may have a plan in place to ensure that the torture report is thrown into the memory hole never to be seen again.

Katherine Hawkins of OpenTheGovernment.org explains that going all the way back to December of last year Burr was making an arcane argument that the classified report is part of the congressional record and therefore exempt from request under the Freedom of Information Act and Guantánamo defense attorneys (an argument supported by the administration as well). Through a series of letters from Dianne Feinstein and the White House and subsequent letters by Sen. Burr, those who wish to deep-six the torture report have engaged in various actions that will challenge the ability of any judge or any government official who wants to release the full report. Hawkins believes this will not work, although she is less sanguine about other gambits having to do with the so-called Panetta Review that would likewise shine a light on the full scope of the torture regime. This is also based on some very byzantine reading of the law in which Burr and his allies in the administration assert that the Congress should have never seen the report in the first place, so it should go back to the CIA where they will presumably burn it in the same bins in which they burned the tapes of the CIA torture sessions.

This is what we call “congressional oversight.” It works so well, everyone is clamoring for more of it.

If you thought Dianne Feinstein was a pushover for the intelligence community, get ready. We’ll be lucky if Burr even bothers to call a meeting of the committee.

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