Rachel Maddow's Blog, page 3356
August 7, 2013
Decryptomaddowlogical #79
No doubt a CIA agent feels tremendously obligated to the country and the agency and his or her fellow agents, but with an in absentia conviction in Italy and an Interpol warrant hanging over his head, Robert Lady is likely less persuaded by the influence of his colleagues than he is motivated by
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Links for the 8/7 TRMS
Citations for Wednesday night's show are listed after the jump.
Jim DeMint to Become Heritage's Next President
Jason Richwine resigns from Heritage Foundation
U.S. puts Russian officials on visa blacklist
Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (pdf)
Russia bans adoption of orphans by U.S. couples
Russia to deliver arms to Syria as fears rise of proxy war
Russia's Anti-Gay Law Will Impact Foreign Tourists, Possible Olympic Athletes: Report
Statement by the Press Secretary on the President's Travel to Russia
An Open Letter to David Cameron and the IOC
Costa Rica – Panama Border (Paso Canoas)
Ex-CIA station chief in Milan detained in Panama
US: Panama sent ex-CIA officer to US, not Italy
Rome goes public with `transport to torture' case
GLOBALIZING TORTURE CIA SECRET DETENTION AND EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION (pdf)
In Italy, trial of CIA agents begins
Italy Convicts 23 Americans for C.I.A. Renditions
U.S. allowed Italian kidnap prosecution to shield higher-ups, ex-CIA officer says
Ted Cruz will be star speaker at Iowa GOP dinner this fall
Santorum wins Iowa, RPI refuses to acknowledge victory
Santorum wins Iowa, officially
Emails suggest Sorenson ally sought $208,000 to ditch Bachmann's presidential campaign
The Payoff - Details revealed on Sorenson deal with Ron Paul
In his own words: Sorenson confirms payment ofr Ron Paul endorsement
Ahead on the 8/7 Maddow show
Tonight's guests include:
Charles King, professor of International Affairs and Government at Georgetown University and author of "Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams"
Sabrina de Sousa, former CIA officer
Here is tonight's song. And here is executive producer Bill Wolff with a preview of tonight's show:
Imaginary 'scandals' don't need distractions
Associated Press
The "White House rocked by scandals" narrative clearly didn't work out well for President Obama's critics. The Benghazi conspiracy theories proved baseless; the IRS story quickly evaporated (even if most of the political world ignored the exculpatory details); and the AP subpoenas and NSA surveillance programs turned out to be policy disputes -- on which many Republicans agreed with the administration's position. As Jon Chait recently put it, "The entire scandal narrative was an illusion."
But a funny thing happened after Scandal Mania 2013 ended: the right decided to pretend the narrative remained intact.
National Review ran a fairly long piece this week, arguing, "The truth about Benghazi, the Associated Press/James Rosen monitoring, the IRS corruption, the NSA octopus, and Fast and Furious is still not exactly known." The headline read, "Obama's Watergates." (Yes, the president doesn't have a Watergate; he has multiple Watergates.)
Yesterday, Marc Thiessen's latest Washington Post column insisted that the IRS's "political targeting of [Obama's] conservative critics" -- which, let's remember, didn't actually happen -- is "undermining our nation's security" and "has exposed Americans to greater danger."
And on Fox News, Steve Doocy has cooked up a conspiracy theory that addresses his conspiracy theories.
"Remember last week all the talk was about 'phony scandals' and all that other stuff and the NSA and the IRS and suddenly we get this alert that something could be happening in the Arab world somewhere toward western interests, and it is pro-administration. We've heard this a million times. [...]
"Just that they would reveal such detail. They burned a source and a method, and that's the problem. They could still say be careful if you're in these areas. But to be so specific to make it look like the administration is working overtime, look at these fantastic avenues of intel, that is troubling."
So, for Doocy, the White House leaked sensitive national-security information to distract attention from scandals that don't actually exist.
It's awfully difficult to take this line of argument seriously.
Several news organizations learned of the administration intercepting al Qaeda communications -- we do not yet know the source of the leaks -- which led to the closings of many U.S. diplomatic outposts in the Middle East and North Africa. For some on the right, this was part of an elaborate White House scheme.
But that really doesn't make any sense. For one thing, Scandal Mania is over, and there's no incentive for the administration to turn attention away from stories that the political world has largely given up on. For another, the administration doesn't gain anything by leaking news of the intercepted messages.
Wait, the right responds, the White House now gets to implicitly argue, "NSA surveillance is really important so these programs shouldn't be shut down." But the administration doesn't need to say that -- efforts to stop NSA surveillance aren't going anywhere, at least not now, and the programs were going to continue anyway.
There are no Watergates for the right to play with here.
Liz Cheney's trouble fishing for votes
Associated Press
Liz Cheney's U.S. Senate bid in Wyoming isn't going especially well. When the far-right media personality launched her campaign, it wasn't well received by much of anyone -- in Wyoming or D.C.
Complicating matters, back in the Cowboy State, Cheney's problems are getting worse.
Senate candidate Liz Cheney improperly received a state resident fishing license based on an application with incorrect information, according to Wyoming Game and Fish Department records.
Cheney, who last month announced she will challenge Sen. Mike Enzi in the 2014 Republican primary, received her resident license just 72 days after closing on her Wilson house in May 2012. State law requires residents live in the state 365 consecutive days before they can receive a resident hunting or fishing license, which are cheaper than out-of-state licenses.
Cheney's application also lists her as a 10-year resident of Wyoming.
Apparently, there's a process clerks follow with a series of mandatory questions from a Game and Fish application. If Cheney gave incorrect information -- claiming, for example, to have lived in Wyoming longer than she actually has -- it's a misdemeanor that comes with a $220 fine.
We don't yet know if this was simply a paperwork error -- Cheney is blaming a local clerk, who "must have made a mistake" -- but she did receive a state fishing license before she was eligible to have one, suggesting something is amiss.
And why would she go to the trouble? Because as Salon explained, "Wyomingites do not trifle with fishing. According to census data, nearly 40 percent of Wyoming residents are anglers, who spend a cumulative 5.3 million days a year fishing. Fishing expenditures are worth almost $465 million to the state's economy, with much of that coming from tourists.... The state's tourism website uses words like 'ultimate fishing and fly fishing destination' and fishing 'mecca.'"
In other words, if you're a carpetbagger who's eager to pretend you're a local, you'd go out of your way to get a Wyoming fishing license as quickly as possible -- perhaps even taking a shortcut or two.
Liz Brimmer, a Republican strategist in Wyoming, added, "It's a serious misstep. Allegedly poaching in a state where being a resident sportsman is, by law, an earned privilege. Wyoming people will take this very seriously."
GOP struggles to contain monster they created
When it comes to Republican threats to shut down the government over funding for the federal health care system, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has adopted a you're-either-with-us-or-you're-against-us attitude: "All I'm saying is that you cannot say you are against Obamacare if you are willing to vote for a law that funds it. If you're willing to fund this thing, you can't possibly say you're against it."
It's a sentiment the GOP base has embraced with great enthusiasm.
Watch on YouTubeIn this clip, we see Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.) pressed by a constituent at a town-hall meeting on whether the congressman will go along with the far-right scheme to shut down the government in the hopes of defunding the Affordable Care Act. "Do you want the thoughtful answer?" Pittenger asked. The voter replied, "I want yes or no."
The answer, of course, was "no." The North Carolina Republican considers himself a fierce opponent of "Obamacare," but nevertheless sees the shutdown threat as unrealistic. Indeed, Pittenger tried to explain why the tactic would fail in light of the Democratic White House and Democratic majority in the Senate, but the angry activists didn't care.
"It doesn't matter," one voter is heard saying. "We need to show the American people we stand for conservative values," said another.
The clip was posted to a Tea Party website called "Constitutional War."
Keep in mind, Pittenger is not exactly a Rockefeller Republican from New England. As Greg Sargent reported yesterday, the congressman is a red-state conservative who's not only voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but has co-sponsored a dozen or so bills to destroy all or part of the current federal health care system.
But as far as some Tea Partiers are concerned, Pittenger and other conservative Republicans who see the shutdown strategy as folly are suddenly the enemy.
It appears that Republican officials have created a monster, and like Frankenstein, they aren't altogether pleased with the results.
For the last few years, GOP lawmakers have said, repeatedly, that the base should rally behind Republicans as they valiantly try to tear down the federal health care system and take access to basic care away from millions. And by and large, Tea Partiers and other elements of the party's base cheered them on.
The scheme was, for the most part, a rather cruel con -- Republicans almost certainly realized that their last chance to repeal "Obamacare" was the 2012 presidential election, which they lost badly. But they kept fanning the flames anyway, telling right-wing activists to keep fighting -- and more importantly, keep writing checks.
Party leaders may have winked and nodded to one another, realizing that they'd never be able to fulfill their dream of heath care destruction, but therein lies the problem: conservative activists thought the party was serious, and saw neither the winks nor the nods.
The result, as Robert Pittenger noticed in North Carolina, isn't pretty. The GOP base seems to be waking up and saying, "What do you mean you're not willing to shut down the government over Obamacare funding? If Rubio, Cruz, and Lee have a plan, why are you betraying us by rejecting their idea?"
Republicans had an opportunity after the 2012 elections to shift gears. Party leaders could have subtly and understandably made clear that the repeal crusade had fallen short, and the GOP would have to begin focusing on other fights.
But the party did the opposite, telling easily fooled donors supporters that this was a fight Republicans could win. Now the GOP finds itself stuck in a hole they dug for themselves. Republicans were gleeful when the August recess meant Democrats getting yelled at over health care; they may be less pleased when they're on the receiving end of right-wing ire.
Morning Maddow: August 7
NBC News
Pres. Obama tells Jay Leno, "We dont' have a domestic spying program."
Imagine Rep. Paul Ryan running the tax-policy-writing House Ways and Means Committee.
Wisconsin's AG says hospitals can't deny admitting privileges to abortion doctors.
Clarksville, AR school district defies state AG to continue its plan to arm teachers.
One House Republican didn't follow the memo about how to talk about Obamacare at town halls.
CIA Director John Brennan makes public his letter to CIA employees about cooperating with Benghazi investigators.
Live Chinese panda cam!
August 6, 2013
Links for the 8/6 TRMS
Citations for Tuesday's show are listed after the jump.
March 21, 1996 - ARMY TASK FORCE REPORT ON EXTREMIST ACTIVITY
Shooter's odd behavior did not go unnoticed
Cracking Wisconsin Gunman's Secret Racist Tattoo Code
The murder of Alan Berg in Denver: 25 years later
Shooter's ex-girlfriend had ties to white-power group
What brought Wade Michael Page to Milwaukee?
Oak Creek officer shot during Sikh temple rampage retiring
Tamerlan Tsarnaev had right-wing extremist literature
Boston Bombing Suspect Was Steeped in Conspiracies
The Killing of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's Would-Be Accomplice Wasn't So Simple
Man Tied to Boston Suspect Is Said to Have Attacked Agent Before Being Shot
Sources: Ibragim Todashev was unarmed when FBI agent killed him
The F.B.I. Deemed Agents Faultless in 150 Shootings
Letter to Florida Department of Law Enforcement regarding the death of Ibragim Todashev (pdf)
OUR OPINION: Transparency is essential in officer-involved shootings
FBI must explain shooting of suspect in Waltham murders
Editorial: Time for FBI to talk
White House Schedule - July 14 to July 20, 2013
Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US (pdf)
State Department Orders U.S. Citizens Out Of Yemen
Drone Kills 4 Alleged Al Qaeda Members In Yemen
Yemen released names of 25 wanted al-Qaeda men
Kent Sorenson, Bachmann's Iowa chair, defects to Paul
Top Bachmann Aide in Iowa to Support Paul
Iowa Senate ethics panel asks Iowa Supreme Court to appoint investigator in Sorenson case
Guidebook for Complainants and Respondents on the FEC Enforcement Process (pdf)
Iowa ethics panel asks for investigation into former Bachmann aide
The Payoff - Details revealed on Sorenson's deal with Ron Paul
FBI investigating Bachmann campaign, including alleged Sorenson payments
Kentucky: Mitch McConnell Hires Jesse Benton as 2014 Campaign Manager
Imagine: the internet as viewed from 1981
This story was broadcast by KRON San Francisco thirty-two years ago. I'd say the only thing they got wrong is that the home computer was ever turned off in the first place.
(ht to Win Rosenfeld)
Ahead on the 8/6 Maddow show
Tonight's guests include:
Rep. Bill Keating, (D) Massachusetts, member of the House Committee on Homeland Security
Andrea Mitchell, NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent and host of MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports”
Here is tonight's song! And here is executive producer Bill Wolff, who will explain the rundown of tonight's show:
