Month: November 2015

Dead people don’t care if the bullet that killed them came from a terrorist’s gun

by digby

Ok, we’re really starting to lose it now. Trump isn’t ruling out special ID cards for Muslims and is saying.

“Certain things will be done that we never thought would happen in this country in terms of information and learning about the enemy. We’re going to have to do things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago.”

The right has officially gone nuts.

I wrote about one aspect of their lunacy for Salon today:

I’m really glad I didn’t get tickets on opening day to see Star Wars. Seriously.

I have no confidence in this Administration to keep us all safe, particularly in light of President Obama’s statement today that there’s really no way to stop this stuff.

There are no metal detectors at American theaters.

I think I’ll wait till Star Wars is less a threat scenario.

The Salina Journal reports the theater was evacuated Friday after the handgun went off in the man’s pocket, hitting him in the upper leg. Tim Coleman says he was sitting nearby when he heard a pop, smelled gunpowder and the man said “Oh my God! I shot myself.”

After the “Dark Knight Rises” shooting, I was perfectly happy going on to the theater opening weekend. It was one nutter in Aurora, CO. But now we’re dealing not with crazy people, but with zealots who want jihad. There’s a big difference.

Sanders momentum stalls in union front offices

by Gaius Publius

UPDATE: Despite not endorsing the “Fight for $15” and holding to her $12 minimum wage position, Hillary Clinton has received the endorsement of the national SEIU’s executive board:

The powerful union behind the fast food workers’ wage movement endorsed Hillary Clinton for president Tuesday.

The 2-million-member Service Employees International Union approved the endorsement through a vote by its executive board. …

Clinton now has the support of unions representing about 9.5 million
union members, or nearly two-thirds of the U.S.’ 14.6 million union
workers.

As I noted below, this vote was a front office (“executive board”) vote and not necessarily an endorsement by the members themselves, many of whom preferred Sanders and his $15 minimum wage stand. It would be interesting to hear from local executive boards about this endorsement. –GP
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Despite gathering two national endorsements recently — the nurse’s union and the postal workers union — Senator Sanders campaign is having trouble convincing union leaders to support him instead of Hillary Clinton, despite the fact that many union members support Sanders. I’ve included one article on that below, from the LA Times.

Note as you read that the proffered reason for this disconnect is her assumed greater electability, of which there’s no evidence at all. In fact, there’s ample early evidence that Sanders is at least electable in the general election, perhaps even more so.

I’ve heard many reports that the Clinton campaign is being very “aggressive” in acquiring endorsements. Regarding that, Howie Klein has written of the Clinton campaign’s attempt to round up super-delegates:

Democratic Party insiders– not especially less craven or less corrupt than Republican Party insiders– are completely in the bag for Hillary. Of the 712 Superdelegates– a disgraceful scheme to tamp down the “excesses” of democracy by crooked, power-hungry careerists like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Steve Israel and Chuck Schumer– 359 have pledged to vote for Clinton, whose campaign has been arm-twisting with shocking aggressiveness, while only 8 are pledged to vote for Bernie. 

Back to unions and union leaders’ closeness to Democratic Party machinery, recall this, when 13 local unions decided, in defiance of the national AFL-CIO, to sit out the 2012 Democratic convention, held in Charlotte NC, in a right-to-work state and a city with no union hotels. Ultimately, the AFL-CIO was fine with that.

Clinton, Sanders & Union Endorsements

Now the LA Times story by Evan Halper:

Bernie Sanders’ momentum Stalls in an Unlikely Place: Union Halls

… Despite Sanders’ deep support for labor, the national nurses’ organization that [Glendora nurse Allysha] Almada sought to join is the only major union to endorse Sanders in the race for the Democratic nomination for president. It is dwarfed by much larger labor groups that are lining up with his arguably less committed, less reliable rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

National unions representing more than half of America’s 14.6 million unionized workers are already in Clinton’s corner, and many of the rest are heading in that direction. It is creating significant tension in some of the organizations and raising the question of whether the Sanders campaign is faltering or if union leadership has lost touch with its rank and file, large numbers of whom are turning out to support Sanders with unrivaled enthusiasm.

“There is no incentive for elected officials to support working-class values if union leaders are going to then say, ‘We need someone more conservative because they will win,’” said Larry Cohen, a former president of the Communication Workers of America who is advising Sanders. “That is what we are getting here. … Secretary Clinton is fine. But she is a corporate Democrat. That hasn’t worked.”

So, national unions “representing more than half of America’s 14.6 million unionized workers” are already in Clinton’s pocket, despite this:

About 80,000 union members have enlisted in the Labor for Bernie campaign, through which they are pressuring the heads of their various unions not to endorse Clinton. They launch social media campaigns denouncing their union leadership when they are ignored. Local chapters of unions in key early states have gone rogue and thrown their support behind Sanders. Many of them parrot Sanders’ call for massive change — the kind union leaders have been demanding for decades — and they are resentful that their organizations would back the establishment at a time the insurgency finally has so much momentum.

Do union leaders represent their members, or do they represent, as Howie implied above, their own, personal careers?

Next Up, SEIU?

The next union endorsement to watch is the very large SEIU, the Service Employees International Union. In the Times article, Halper wrote:

Even so, the next major union poised to make an endorsement — the Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million workers — is expected to throw its support behind Clinton.

Halper says that union leaders say that internal polling shows 75% support for Clinton. Might even be true. But others are saying that union leaders are endorsing based on the best deal they can get:

“Union leaders are negotiators by nature,” [Cornell University Law professor Lance] Compa said. “They understand
you can’t get everything they want. You get the best deal in the end.
That is what they are looking at now” as they weigh whom to endorse.

Which always invites the question, best deal for whom, the leaders, the members, or both? Against this backdrop, look for an announcement from the  SEIU soon; at least, that’s what Politico says:

WILL SEIU ENDORSE CLINTON TUESDAY?: Officials at the two-million-member Service Employees International Union have been told to clear their calendars Tuesday [November 17]. Will this be SEIU’s long-expected Hillary Clinton endorsement? “Everyone is saying the endorsement happens on the 17th,” an SEIU insider tells POLITICO. A final vote from the union’s executive board has not yet taken place, but it will have the chance to hold one at its Tuesday meeting. (The announcement could take place at a planned event with low wage workers also scheduled for Tuesday.)

SEIU spokesperson Sahar Wali confirmed that the executive board will meet Tuesday but said no endorsement decision had been made. SEIU executive committee Member David Rolf told us the same.

Joe Biden’s decision not to run cleared the path for a Clinton endorsement, the SEIU source tells POLITICO. Some staffers were less than thrilled when Hillary balked at endorsing a $15 minimum wage (she opted for $12 instead). But Clinton was the only presidential candidate to appear (albeit by phone) at SEIU’s Fight for $15 conference in June, and she’s shown up repeatedly alongside SEIU-represented home health care and child care workers during the past several months.

And don’t forget the unspoken obvious, implied by this in the Politico piece:

There are also some personnel ties between the campaign and the union: SEIU’s former deputy national political director, Heather Stone, became Clinton’s chief of staff in August.

Insiders helping insiders stay in charge? You decide.

Insiders Protecting the Insider Game

I’ve said before that Sanders’ problem, which is also his solution, is that he threatens to take apart the “insider game,” the one where people who run things for their own benefit keep each other in charge, despite the damage done to us “small people,” who will never be in charge if “big people” — insiders — can help it.

The most important thing to consider when thinking about the Sanders campaign is this. Everyone else who’s running, on both sides, is an insider playing within — and supporting — the “insider game,” the one that keeps insiders wealthy and outsiders struggling, the one where the wealthy and their retainers operate government for their benefit only. What sets Sanders apart is his determination to dismantle that game, to take it apart and send its players home (back to the private sector) or to jail.

There are examples at the link. Or consider this, from the LA Times again:

Sanders is not the first labor absolutist to confront this kind of betrayal. Other similarly positioned Democrats have been through it, including former presidential candidates Tom Harkin and Dick Gephardt.

And:

Ironically, it is now Harkin, a former Iowa senator now supporting Clinton, who is trying to rally laborers for the establishment candidate. He took a swipe at Sanders this week during an interview on Boston radio, heard in New Hampshire, where Democrats are threatening to disrupt Clinton’s march to the nomination by voting for Sanders.

Ironic indeed. Also, it makes the point perfectly. Over to you, SEIU.

Blue America has endorsed Bernie Sanders in this race. If you like, you can help him here; adjust the split any way you wish at the link.

(A version of this piece appeared at Down With Tyranny. GP article archive here.)

GP

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Coming next to kill us in our beds: pigs
by Tom Sullivan

Oops, wrong terror. Daesh sleeper agents hiding among refugees is the least of our worries:

Medicine’s final line of defence against deadly disease has been breached, raising the spectre of a global epidemic, scientists say, after finding bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotics.

The discovery could herald a virtual return to the Dark Ages, with doctors unable to control common germs like E. Coli, rolling back centuries of medical progress.

We could be headed for a period when even the smallest infections could prove lethal, say reports:

… British scientists have discovered that pigs and meat sold in China are infected with bacteria carrying a new gene which makes them resistant to these rearguard antibiotics.

The MCR-1 gene is in a part of the DNA which can be easily copied and transferred between bacteria leading experts to conclude that ‘pandemic resistance is inevitable.’ The mutated forms were also found in 1322 hospitalised patients in China and is thought to have already spread to Laos and Malaysia.

British scientists and health experts described the discovery as ‘worrying,’ ‘disturbing’ and ‘alarming.’

It gets better:

Dr David Burch, veterinary surgeon and an independent member of the Ruma (Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture) Alliance, said: “The report of a new resistance gene (mcr-1) against polymixins (colistin) found in Escherichia coli from pigs in China, which can be potentially plasmid transferred between bacterial species and potentially to man via meat, is indeed disturbing and disappointing.”

He pointed out that China’s pig farming industry is the largest in the world, more than twice the size of Europe’s. The use of generic antimicrobial drugs in animals is not normally under veterinary control in China.

The risk of the resistance gene spreading was heightened by increased trade and tourism bridging China and the West, said Dr Burch.

Call me cynical, but I’m not thinking the threat of a global pandemic will even tap the brakes on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. And John Kasich’s Radio Free Jesus is unlikely to stop a zombie superbug apocalypse either.

But one can imagine that somewhere they’re trying to figure out how to hang swine from the launch rails of an F-16 even as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi echoes Indiana Jones: “Pigs, Why’d it have to be pigs?”

That tears it. Jeb is dumb as a post.

by digby

This comment is just too much:

Jeb Bush on Tuesday dug in further on his position that the United States should prioritize bringing in Christians from among the refugees of the Syrian civil war — and he insisted that people can even prove that they’re Christians.

“Well you’re a Christian,” Bush started off saying to reporters. “You can prove you’re a Christian. It’s—”

“How?” a reporter asked.

Bush gave a shrug: “I think you can prove it — if you can’t prove it then, you know, you err on the side of caution.”

Fergawdsakes. Are these people even remotely aware of history? Do they think these Islamic fundamentalists aren’t?

In 1478, the Spanish Inquisition was established with the papal approval of Pope Sixtus IV. The reform and extension of the ancient tribunal which had existed from the thirteenth century was mainly to discover and eliminate Jews and Muslims secretly taking up their beliefs in private.

They had an interesting way of “proving it” — what we might call “taking the gloves off” or a “no brainer.”

Obviously, Jeb has no intention of doing such a thing but his brother certainly had no problem using some of those tried and true Inquisition techniques against suspected terrorists. It’s just a very bad idea to talk about making people prove they are true Christians when you are fighting a group of medieval fundamentalists. It’s just ignorant and dumb.

*In fairness, he doesn’t seem to know what the hell he really believes about all this other than he wants the president “to lead.” All I can say is I’m glad Jeb’s not in office. I thought W was in over his head but he’s Winston Churchill compared to his little brother.

by digby

I’ve been aghast at the panic stricken bellowing coming from mainstream US media in the wake of Paris and needless to say, Fox News has been worse than most.  But once in awhile someone surprises you. Here’s Fox’s Shep Smith:

In the face of terror, will we panic or be calm and deliberative in approach?” Smith asked in a 90-second monologue. “Confronted with those who want to change our way of life, will we abandon our freedoms and the rights granted to us by the creator, or will we welcome huddled masses, yearning to breathe free? Will we take extreme measures to fundamentally alter who and what we are?” 

“Our shining city on a hill is vulnerable,” he continued. “We’ve always known that. If we change it to accommodate the savages, have they won? And what then would be left to protect? We profess to stand as an example for all the world. Our unique experiment in freedom, tolerance, openness, and equality, is our gift to societies and peoples everywhere. Come, join us. Enjoy a chance at the American dream.” 

He concluded, “Today we mourn but we cannot allow ourselves to become like those who want to destroy us. We cannot resort to tactics of the barbarians. We must fight for what we believe in and who we are. Guard our freedoms faithfully for the generations to follow. And we must not let the rhetoric of potential and political extremists among us lead us to self-destruction. When there’s panic, we show resolve. When there’s calm for extremism, we resist. We are America. We must lead.”

I keep hearing others demand that President Obama “lead” without saying what they mean by that. In fact, they mean escalating the war and exacting revenge. Smith’s understanding of leadership in a time of crisis is the correct one. The last thing we need is for our president to panic or to use the crisis as an opportunity to expand America’s global military empire. We did that already. It didn’t turn out well.

To get a flavor of the responses to his comments, I think this one captures it pretty well:

by tristero

WaPo:

Despite heavy French bombardment of the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa this week, damage to the extremist group appears to be minimal, according to analysts and Syrian activists. 

The airstrikes — retaliation for Friday’s attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Paris — hit such targets as a command post and militant-training center in and around the Syrian city, French officials said. 

But after over a year of U.S. coalition airstrikes, the Islamic State has learned to secure its weapons, communications systems and fighters in fortified bunkers or densely populated residential areas where bombing would inflict intolerably high civilian casualties, analysts and activists said.

And every single civilian casualty radicalizes an entire family and wide network of friends.

But for some people boy, oh boy, does it feel good. Never mind that that good feeling is utterly delusional if not downright self-destructive.

We’d prefer to create our own terrorists, thank you

by digby

Michael Cohen makes a good point in this column about the various myths surrounding the Paris attacks and US policy toward ISIS:

Myth No. 1: America Is Next

From the pages of Politico to the CBS news program “60 Minutes,” this argument has been made repeatedly since Friday night, and it demonstrates a glaring ignorance about the differences between the U.S. and Europe when it comes to vulnerability to terrorism.

The biggest difference is that the United States simply doesn’t have a radicalized Muslim population, as is the case in France and elsewhere in Europe. That matters a lot because foreign terrorists operating in the United States, especially in a post-9/11 environment, would need local assistance, safe houses, access to weapons and explosives, logistical support and more. In short, they would need Americans, or people who know American culture and who can operate in the country freely. Yet, in the 14 years since 9/11, there’s been no serious emergence of radicalization among American Muslims. The Fort Hood shooter and the Boston Marathon bombers are obvious exceptions, but exceptions nonetheless.

Europe is a very different kettle of fish than the US. They have large Muslim populations with long-standing social unrest and cultural alienation. It’s quite possible that the radicalization, at least among some of them, has as much to do with their own issues as Europeans as it has with their religion or solidarity with the aims of ISIS.

We have not had this in the US. But from the way the Republicans are acting, it appears we’re jealous and would like to get some. At the very least they seem petulant that we aren’t in the center of the  fight. Treating Muslims like aliens and talking about closing mosques and rounding up and interning or deporting them is one way to get there.

Keep it up boys. This demagoguery may very well keep out Syrian refugees but if you want to create some American homegrown Islamic radicals you’re doing a heckuva job.

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Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup, Tennessee style

by digby

I would bet money that Trump will be endorsing this within days:

A top Tennessee Republican lawmaker believes the time has come for the National Guard to round up any Syrian refugees who have recently settled in the state and to stop any additional Syrian refugees from entering Tennessee.

“We need to activate the Tennessee National Guard and stop them from coming in to the state by whatever means we can,” said House GOP Caucus Chairman Glen Casada, R-Franklin, referencing refugees.

“I’m not worried about what a bureaucrat in D.C. or an unelected judge thinks. … We need to gather (Syrian refugees) up and politely take them back to the ICE center and say, ‘They’re not coming to Tennessee, they’re yours.’ “

If you don’t know what the Vel’ D’Hiv Roundup was, click here. I picked the French example for obvious reasons. But as everyone knows, the policy was Europe wide.

Update: Will the mayor of Roanoke be the last to suggest internment or just the first?

Right wing xenophobia has been building for a long time

by digby

I wrote about the latest in the refugee panic for Salon this morning:

Thanks to Ebola, some xenophobic attitudes have been on full display recently. Last month, a cover of Newsweek used a chimp to illustrate a story about how bush meat imported from Africa could be a “back door for Ebola.” Lawmakers have suggested that Ebola-infected people may stream across the Mexico border. A community college in Texas stopped accepting perfectly healthy students of Nigerian and Liberian descent. Liberian immigrants who live in Texas are getting refused service at restaurants. There are a lot of comparisons being made to AIDS, the last scary disease to come out of Africa that gave rise to similar racial fears and stereotypes.

I go on to discuss the current congressional machinations which are interesting in terms of the presidential race. It’s unknown whether they can keep up this level of paranoia, but they’ll do everything they can . Right now, the refugee question provides a wonderful way for them to avoid having to address the truly difficult national security question while feeding their base the red meat it craves.It’s possible that they can simply get away with saying “I’d bomb the shit out them” but one assumes that they’ll have to have something more after a while. For now, this is scratching that xenophobic bloodlust itch just fine.

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Bullets have no ideology

by digby

Eric Erickson, brave and true:

The Left has not only spent a day calling me a coward for not wanting to go to Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening night after Paris, but also implying that I want Barack Obama to protect me.

Heck no. I not only think the President does not want to keep any of us safe, I don’t think he or his Administration is able to keep us safe.

The point is that the opening night of the biggest movie premiere in history is a soft target of masses of Americans in dark theaters that have no-gun policies and no metal detectors. Most law abiding citizens won’t take their guns with them, but the bad guys would. Honestly, given the TV cameras that will already be present, etc. opening night of this movie is an obvious target. It has nothing to do with cowardice and everything to do with common sense.

After the Dark Knight Rises shooting, I was perfectly happy going on to the theater opening weekend. It was one nutter in Aurora, CO. But now we’re dealing not with crazy people, but with zealots who want jihad. There’s a big difference.

There’s no difference to the dead people, I’m afraid.

This is the dumbest thing anyone has said since Paris and that’s something. Apparently, he believes that crazy people killing at random in a movie theatre is somehow less deadly than jihadi terrorists killing people at random in a concert hall. It is self-evidently ridiculous

Perhaps he’s really afraid because jihadi terrorists have a political motive and so they will somehow take over the government and force him to live by sharia law. In that case he’s got bigger emotional and mental problems.

As for being afraid to go to the Star Wars premiere, I have to agree with him. But not because of terrorism, because of this:

But, my caveat is, I’d feel perfectly comfortable going to the theater with my gun. In fact, I suspect many Americans will show up with their guns concealed anyway.

The odds of being killed accidentally by some armed moron panicked that the movie theatre is crawling with terrorists is way higher than a terrorist threat. I think I’ll wait for the DVD.

Update: If you think that’s unlikely, read this post by Dennis Hartley