Last Call For Operation Turtle Trap

Mitch McConnell's internal polling must still be showing him vulnerable to an upset by Alison Grimes, because he's playing the one real card he has in his hand.  If re-elected, he's going to shut down the government unless President Obama surrenders completely.

Mitch McConnell has a game plan to confront President Barack Obama with a stark choice next year: Accept bills reining in the administration’s policies or veto them and risk a government shutdown. 

In an extensive interview here, the typically reserved McConnell laid out his clearest thinking yet of how he would lead the Senate if Republicans gain control of the chamber. The emerging strategy: Attach riders to spending bills that would limit Obama policies on everything from the environment to health care, consider using an arcane budget tactic to circumvent Democratic filibusters and force the president to “move to the center” if he wants to get any new legislation through Congress. 

In short, it’s a recipe for a confrontational end to the Obama presidency. 

“We’re going to pass spending bills, and they’re going to have a lot of restrictions on the activities of the bureaucracy,” McConnell said in an interview aboard his campaign bus traveling through Western Kentucky coal country. “That’s something he won’t like, but that will be done. I guarantee it.”

So yeah, if you thought Ted Cruz's little test run was fun, wait until enough Democrats stay home to give Mitch the Turtle here control of the Senate.  It'll be the GOP's way or else.

A “good example,” McConnell said, is adding restrictions to regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency. Adding riders to spending bills would change the “behavior of the bureaucracy, which I think has been the single biggest reason this recovery has been so tepid,” he said. 

“He could,” McConnell said calmly when asked if such a tactic would prompt Obama to veto must-pass appropriations bills. “Yeah, he could.”

So yes, this would be the staring point of a Congress controlled completely by the GOP, a standing threat for the next two years to throw a tantrum and shut the country down, causing tens of billions in economic damage, any time they don't get what they want.

Of course, as Steve M. reminds us, voters are too lazy to care about shutdowns.

The fact that voters don't remember government shutdowns helps explain why McConnell's threat might be serious. If you were a Republican and you were looking at this chart, and at other 2014 polls, you'd think: Why shouldn't we shut down the government again, just as long as we don't do it a week or two before Election Day 2016? Voters won't remember. They sure don't remember the last shutdown, otherwise they wouldn't be on the verge of reelecting a GOP House and (probably) a GOP Senate.

Remember, Americans have shown no real appetite when it comes to punishing Republicans for bad behavior in the last 20 years.   And there are tens of millions of Americans who will vote for the Republicans to shut down the government anyway, because they know Republicans won't allow it to hurt their checks from Uncle Sam, just the programs for those people.


That's not governance.  That's lunacy.

But they're convinced they will win, because they're convinced you won't give a damn and will stay home in November.

Of course here in Kentucky you could vote Mitch out totally.

I happen to like that idea.

License To Be Obnoxious

Looks like over the river in Ohio, Cuyahoga County executive Ed FitzGerald is running into more silly errors with the whole driver's license issue that are hurting him in his race to unseat Gov. John Kasich.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer's latest:

As Cuyahoga County executive, Ed FitzGerald has disciplined employees for not holding a valid driver's license – something the former FBI agent and Democratic candidate for governor himself lacked for years. 

In 2013 his administration punished at least eight employees, with penalties ranging from a written reprimand to a five-day suspension without pay, according to documents the Northeast Ohio Media Group obtained through a public-records request. (scroll down to view the records) 

The county's inspector general first began reviewing potential violations of the county's driving policies last year, months after FitzGerald obtained his first permanent driver's license in more than a decade. More than 150 other driving-related infractions involving other county employees remain under investigation and could yet result in discipline. 

FitzGerald's own license lapse came to light this month, after NEOMG reported that police in suburban Westlake found him parked in car with a woman who was not his wife at 4:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2012. FitzGerald was not cited, and he and police maintain nothing inappropriate happened. But the county executive had a learner's permit, meaning he could drive only with a licensed driver 21 or older. He has acknowledged driving home alone after dropping the woman at a hotel.

FitzGerald has always struck me as eccentric (not full-blown Dennis Kucinich eccentric, but kind of an oddball anyway) and this is not helping his chances.  As long as the framing is on FitzGerald's driving habits and "do as I say, not as I do" nonsense, the story isn't on Kasich all but closing Ohio's abortion clinics, his fracking public safety problems, and the state's wrecked safety net.  Kasich needs to go, but FitzGerald isn't playing like he wants to win at all.

The polls still have FitzGerald down by 8-10 points, and something big has to change or Kasich will waltz to another four years of wrecking the Buckeye State.

Hagan Holds On

The latest Public Policy Polling numbers for the NC Senate race finds incumbent Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan's lead over Republican NC House Speaker Thom Tillis down to 4 points, but still a lead.

Tillis' slightly improved position is a reflection of Republicans starting to close ranks a little bit more as the election approaches. Last month in the head to head with Hagan he led by 59 points with Republican voters at 72/13, now it's a 71 points advantage at 79/8. And although his favorability numbers still remain very poor at a 28/48 spread, those are also up some from a month ago when they were 24/47. That's also a reflection of improvement with his party base- he's gone from a 39/29 spread with GOP voters up to 52/24.

Nevertheless the recent legislative session continues to be a weight on Tillis. One of the GOP's main goals was to look more moderate on education by increasing teacher salaries, but for the most part those efforts have fallen flat with voters. Only 39% think a good faith effort was made to raise teacher pay this session, compared to 50% who think it was not. Asked to grade the General Assembly's work on education this year 45% of voters give it a D or an F, compared to only 25% who give it an A or a B. The mean grade comes out somewhere in the C-/D+ range. Voters also express overall opposition to the budget that was finally passed, with 29% in support of it to 44% who are opposed. The approval rating for the General Assembly is 21%, with 57% of voters disapproving of it. 

Hagan remains unpopular as well though. She has a 42% approval rating compared to 49% of voters who disapprove of her. Hagan's approval numbers have tracked very closely with Barack Obama's for months now- only 41% of voters are happy with the job he's doing to 54% who disapprove.

So yes, if the Republicans had managed to nominate anyone who wasn't a teacher-hating jackass, Hagan would be in real trouble and probably down by double digits.  As it is, Tillis's problems are enough to outweigh Hagan's -- and President Obama's -- so far.

We'll see if Key Hagan can hold on to this, and the wild card remains Libertarian Sean Haugh, who has 8% of the vote so far.  If Haugh starts taking more of Tillis's voters, Hagan can win, because with Haugh out of the picture, the numbers become 43/42 in favor of Hagan with a healthy chunk of undecided.  Right now, Haugh is costing Tillis the race, and that can't be sitting will with Tillis's campaign people.

Just 11 weeks to go...

StupidiNews!

• Heavy rains near the Japanese city of Hiroshima have caused deadly landslides, killing at least 27 people and leaving at least 10 missing.
• Dozens were arrested in Ferguson, Missouri last night, but police did not use excessive force and State Highway Patrol captain Ron Johnson says the night may have been a "turning point".
• IDF airstrikes killed 11 as Israelis accused Hamas of breaking the latest cease fire first, Hamas responded with news that the airstrikes killed a Hamas commander's wife and baby.
• Militant group Islamic State has released a video purported to show the beheading of captured US journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012.
• With ownership of the LA Clippers now occupying most of his time, former Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer is stepping down from the company's board effective immediately.

Last Call For Holder The Line

I know it seems like this place is rapidly turning into the 24-hour Ferguson protest blog, but frankly it's news and I feel like running stories on it, and things need to be said.  Attorney General Eric Holder had some things to say today too in an op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch entitled "A message to the people of Ferguson".

The full resources of the Department of Justice have been committed to the investigation into Michael Brown’s death. This inquiry will take time to complete, but we have already taken significant steps. Approximately 40 FBI agents and some of the Civil Rights Division’s most experienced prosecutors have been deployed to lead this process, with the assistance of the United States Attorney in St. Louis. Hundreds of people have already been interviewed in connection with this matter. On Monday, at my direction, a team of federal medical examiners conducted an independent autopsy.

We understand the need for an independent investigation, and we hope that the independence and thoroughness of our investigation will bring some measure of calm to the tensions in Ferguson. In order to begin the healing process, however, we must first see an end to the acts of violence in the streets of Ferguson. Although these acts have been committed by a very small minority — and, in many cases, by individuals from outside Ferguson — they seriously undermine, rather than advance, the cause of justice. And they interrupt the deeper conversation that the legitimate demonstrators are trying to advance.

The Justice Department will defend the right of protesters to peacefully demonstrate and for the media to cover a story that must be told. But violence cannot be condoned. I urge the citizens of Ferguson who have been peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights to join with law enforcement in condemning the actions of looters, vandals and others seeking to inflame tensions and sow discord.

Law enforcement has a role to play in reducing tensions, as well. As the brother of a retired law enforcement officer, I know firsthand that our men and women in uniform perform their duties in the face of tremendous threats and significant personal risk. They put their lives on the line every day, and they often have to make split-second decisions.

At the same time, good law enforcement requires forging bonds of trust between the police and the public. This trust is all-important, but it is also fragile. It requires that force be used in appropriate ways. Enforcement priorities and arrest patterns must not lead to disparate treatment under the law, even if such treatment is unintended. And police forces should reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.

I'm glad to see Eric Holder openly say that he's backing the people of Ferguson here, and that regardless of the outcome of the shooting of Michael Brown, the Ferguson PD and St. Louis County PD have a lot of work to do to earn back the trust of the people.

For some that will never happen.  There just isn't anything that can make this 100% right again.  But they have to go ahead and do it regardless because it's the right thing to do.

And yes, I wouldn't mind seeing both departments taken over by the feds.  They've lost the trust of whom they serve, and that's enough to pull the plug and reform them wholesale.

Cops Talk Shop, Cops Talk Shock

Former LAPD officer and professor of homeland security Sunil Dutta explains that cops aren't murderers, but boy you will fear and respect them or they will end you.

Working the street, I can’t even count how many times I withstood curses, screaming tantrums, aggressive and menacing encroachments on my safety zone, and outright challenges to my authority. In the vast majority of such encounters, I was able to peacefully resolve the situation without using force. Cops deploy their training and their intuition creatively, and I wielded every trick in my arsenal, including verbal judo, humor, warnings and ostentatious displays of the lethal (and nonlethal) hardware resting in my duty belt. One time, for instance, my partner and I faced a belligerent man who had doused his car with gallons of gas and was about to create a firebomb at a busy mall filled with holiday shoppers. The potential for serious harm to the bystanders would have justified deadly force. Instead, I distracted him with a hook about his family and loved ones, and he disengaged without hurting anyone. Every day cops show similar restraint and resolve incidents that could easily end up in serious injuries or worse.

Sometimes, though, no amount of persuasion or warnings work on a belligerent person; that’s when cops have to use force, and the results can be tragic. We are still learning what transpired between Officer Darren Wilson and Brown, but in most cases it’s less ambiguous — and officers are rarely at fault. When they use force, they are defending their, or the public’s, safety.

Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my badge. Don’t scream at me that you pay my salary, and don’t even think of aggressively walking towards me. Most field stops are complete in minutes. How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?

Believe me when I say that 98% of cops believe the same as Dutta here does.  They are police officers, and you are not.  When they tell you to do something, you do it or else, regardless of what that may be.

So when these guys swing their weight around and go after black men and women and Latino men and women, they expect obedience, respect and fear.  If you are black or brown and the President of the United States, for that matter, and a cop like Dutta pulls you over, it's because he knows he has 100% of the power in the encounter.  It's because he knows he has the power to take your life if he sees fit.  You only continue to draw breath because he allows it.

So yes, black fathers and Latino fathers have "The Talk".  That you assume all cops are Officer Dutta, and you do 100% of what they say, or they will end you.

How difficult is it to cooperate for "that long"?  For a black man, "that long" is his entire lifespan.

Or that lifespan may end.

The Division Hell

Pew Research has unsurprisingly found major racial divisions in how blacks and whites view the case of Michael Brown, the man shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri nine days ago.  The disagreements are very telling nationwide:



Some 80% of blacks say the case raises important issues about race, while a plurality of whites, 47%, say "Race is getting more attention than it deserves."  That actually doesn't surprise me in the least and I'm honestly shocked it's not a full-blown majority of whites who feel this way.

As far as the police response is concerned:





Nearly twice as many blacks, 65%, as whites, 33%, believe the police response in Ferguson has gone too far.   Perhaps it's because black America is actually paying attention to the story: 54% of blacks say they are following this story very closely, where only 25% of whites are.

After last night's police response where both MSNBC's Chris Hayes and CNN's Jake Tapper and Don Lemon were on the ground in Ferguson and tear gassed, maybe these numbers will change.

For his part, Chris Hayes suggested that maybe police should charge Officer Darren Wilson with the shooting of Michael Brown, but that's just going to happen.

StupidINews!

• The death toll in West Africa's Ebola outbreak has reached 1,229 according to the latest WHO numbers, but doctors say the spread in Nigeria is so far limited.
• Police in Pasadena, California have arrested two teenagers suspected of plotting a mass shooting to try to kill as many school staff and students as possible.
• A ninth night of protests in Ferguson, Missouri turned violent as police once again used stun grenades and tear gas to break up the crowd, 31 were arrested.
• President Obama says limited airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq will continue as Kurdish forces retake the cities of Erbil and Mosul.
• Television broadcasters are taking legal action against the FCC's plans to auction off that section of the spectrum to cellular providers.

Last Call For The Response On Ferguson

President Obama spoke this afternoon about the situation in Ferguson, Missouri.

Earlier this afternoon, I spoke with Governor Nixon as well as Senators Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill. I also met with Attorney General Eric Holder.

The Justice Department has opened an independent federal civil rights investigation into the death of Michael Brown. They are on the ground and along with the FBI, they are devoting substantial resources to that investigation.

The attorney general himself will be traveling to Ferguson on Wednesday to meet with the FBI agents and DOJ personnel conducting the federal criminal investigation and he will receive an update from them on their progress.

He will also be meeting with other leaders in the community who’s support is so critical to bringing about peace and calm in Ferguson.

Ronald Davis, the director of the DOJ’s Office of Community- oriented Policing Services, or COPS, is also traveling to Ferguson tomorrow to work with police officials on the ground. We’ve also had experts from the DOJ’s community relations service, working in Ferguson since the days after the shooting to foster conversations among the local stake holders and reduce tensions among the community.

So, let me close just saying a few words about the tensions there. We have all seen images of protesters and law enforcement in the streets. It’s clear that the vast majority of people are peacefully protesting. What’s also clear is that a small minority of individuals are not.

While I understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of Michael Brown, giving into that anger by looting or carrying guns, and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions and stir chaos. It undermines rather than advancing justice.

So, three distinct avenues of attack on this, the investigation, AG Holder on the ground, and COPS director Ron Davis on the ground.  This of course was just not enough for some but at this point, it will never be enough.

Meanwhile, I'll let John Oliver take it away, saying what needs to be said.

Giant Brass Ones, Indeed

Meanwhile, in Cleveland...

A billboard depicting part of the male anatomy is sparking controversy on Cleveland's west side. 

"It's totally inappropriate," said John Sumlin as he passed by the sign, near Pearl and State Roads, Friday afternoon. 

The picture is seen under the words "DOES ANYONE IN CONGRESS HAVE A SET OF THESE." The opposite side of the sign shows an unflattering caricature of President Obama and reads, "IMPEACHMENT NOW." 

"Sometimes you've got to put things out there in order to make a point and get people to turn their heads," said Nancy Sysack, who owns the sign. "There's more graphic stuff in the art museum."

Republicans are betting that they can get away without impeaching like their rabid base insists.  This would mean that the GOP was going to stand up to the crazies that control their party.  Of course that's not happening.

You created the monster.  You live with the monster.

Six Of One, Half-Dozen Bullet Wounds In The Other

The NY Times has released the results of the private autopsy requested by the family of slain Ferguson resident Michael Brown, and it shows uncommon brutality, if not a full-blown execution, as he was shot at least six times.

One of the bullets entered the top of Mr. Brown’s skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when it struck him and caused a fatal injury, according to Dr. Michael M. Baden, the former chief medical examiner for the City of New York, who flew to Missouri on Sunday at the family’s request to conduct the separate autopsy. It was likely the last of bullets to hit him, he said.

Mr. Brown, 18, was also shot four times in the right arm, he said, adding that all the bullets were fired into his front.

The bullets did not appear to have been shot from very close range because no gunpowder was present on his body. However, that determination could change if it turns out that there is gunshot residue on Mr. Brown’s clothing, to which Dr. Baden did not have access.

Six shots, including two in the head.  The amateur CSI clowns on the right are claiming this exonerates Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, as it somehow "proves" Brown was charging the officer.  But Brown was supposedly shot as he was allegedly going for Wilson's gun while in the back of Wilson's police cruiser, and yet there are no indications he was shot at close range.

The story keeps changing, and people wonder why nobody believes the Ferguson cops besides the loonies on the right looking to justify Brown's murder.

Meanwhile, Gov. Jay Nixon has called the National Guard on the people of Ferguson.

Gov. Jay Nixon signed an executive order deploying the U.S. state militia, saying demonstrators had thrown Molotov cocktails and shot at police as well as a civilian, a description of the night's events diverging widely from some eyewitness accounts.

“Tonight, a day of hope, prayers, and peaceful protests was marred by the violent criminal acts of an organized and growing number of individuals, many from outside the community and state, whose actions are putting the residents and businesses of Ferguson at risk," Nixon said in a statement on his website.

Exactly who does Nixon mean here?  Organized individuals from outside the state?  Does he mean the media, who were threatened with violence yet again if they kept recording for the world to see?  Because it looks like to me that the cops fired unprovoked.

A midnight curfew was imposed for the second night in the tense St. Louis suburb hit by racially charged demonstrations, violence and looting since Michael Brown, 18, was shot to death on Aug. 9 by white police officer Darren Wilson.

At around dusk on Sunday, hundreds of protesters in Ferguson including families with young children fled to safety after police wearing gas masks and body armor fired tear gas and smoke canisters to scatter them hours ahead of the curfew.

"The smoke bombs were completely unprovoked," said Anthony Ellis, 45. "It (the protest) was led by kids on bikes. Next you know they're saying, 'Go home, Go home!'"

And now the National Guard will show up.  Will they bring actual tanks, I wonder?

All to protect a cop who executed an unarmed man.

America.

StupidiNews!

• Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has deployed the National Guard to Ferguson after another night of protests broken up by tear gas, armored police vehicles, and sonic crowd control weapons.
• A report released by the Dallas Morning News finds construction workers in Texas are 22% more likely to die on the job than in any other state.
• Russia says it has worked out a deal to send humanitarian aid to Russian-occupied Crimea, but ceasefire talks between Moscow and Ukraine in Berlin are still stalled.
• US airstrikes have allowed Kurdish forces to take Iraq's Mosul Dam as peshmerga forces say they will gain total control as "just a matter of time".
• Germany's foreign intelligence service is claiming that recordings of Secretary of State John Kerry and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were made by accident, and have been deleted.

Last Call For The Unleashed Dogs

Here's a collection of tweets from Ferguson, Missouri tonight where cops have once again used armored vehicles, tear gas, and now sound projectors to break up the crowd hours before curfew (h/t Little Green Footballs)

Police are moving in, firing more tear gas #ferguson #mikebrown pic.twitter.com/1wVi3w1JFa
— Christina Coleman (@ChristinaKSDK) August 18, 2014

Right now in #Ferguson https://t.co/FNXwoUbkWF
— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 18, 2014

This is America, and the people of Ferguson are trapped in hell.

Shooting Stars Get Engaged

The WNBA's Brittney Griner has been one of the most dominant players on the court for the Phoenix Mercury over the last two seasons, and she made a lot of waves announcing she was gay when joining the league.

Now Griner and her girlfirend and fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson have announced their engagement, in a reminder that the world of sports has always been a catalyst for social change.

Griner, a star player for the Phoenix Mercury, wrote on the post: “Last Night was a Night to Remember I became the happiest person on this earth! (almost pass out but when that one word came out I came back to life) Me and my baby @missvol25 are in it for Life!”

Johnson, who plays for the Tulsa Shock, later posted a photo on her Instagram account showing Griner lying down with a ring resting on her shoulder.

Griner and Johnson haven't said publicly when or where they plan to get married. Arizona and Oklahoma have gay marriage bans that are being contested in court. Oklahoma's ban has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after anappeals court ruled in July it was unconstitutional.

The 6-foot-8 Griner announced she was gay in April 2013, shortly after finishing a stellar career at Baylor. At the time of her announcement, Griner told Sports Illustrated that going public with her sexuality was something she had to do.

Something tells me Griner and Johnson aren't going to have to wait long to have their marriage in either Arizona or Oklahoma as the Supreme Court will almost certainly take up the issue this fall, with a prospective ruling next June at the latest.

Congratulations are of course in order.

Sundown Town

Ferguson, Missouri is now under curfew as things are decidedly getting worse.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced an order declaring a state of emergency and a curfew to be in effect in Ferguson, Missouri in order to curtail looting in the wake of protests over the shooting of an unarmed black teenager, one week ago.

The curfew will be in effect from midnight to 5 a.m., said Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol.

"The eyes of the world are watching. This is the test of whether a community, this community, any community, can break the cycle of fear, distrust and violence, and replace them with peace, strength and, ultimately, justice," Nixon said in remarks made at a church near Ferguson.

After another night of racially charged protests and looting in Ferguson, the governor had said he was going to meet with local and state law enforcement on Saturday to craft a plan aimed at quelling further violence. 

That plan, apparently, resulted in the establishment of the curfew.

"It was a rough time last night. There was a lot of looting and there were a lot of people arming themselves in their storefront to guard their businesses," said Al Nothum, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol earlier in the day.

That's nice.  Nixon's choices have been terrible at every turn in this situation, and he's only making things worse now.  Military hardware on the streets, a dead teenager, a refusal to defend the city from looters and now curfew?

Nixon's 2016 chances are laughable.

In Missouri, Nixon faces a Republican-dominated state legislature and said the key to success is personal relationships — fostered by walks on farms or watching college sports together, he said. Nixon, a term-limited governor, signaled that he’s aiming to stay in the political arena after his time in Jefferson City concludes.

“I enjoy being in public service,” he said. “I think I understand folks and think I have some skills and some ability to get things done. I don’t spend as much time in self-promotion as some. My shoulders have not been hurt from patting myself on the back as much as some politicians, but I gotta tell ya, we roll up the sleeves and get work done.”

Asked whether he could imagine himself coming to Washington, Nixon added, “I’m not going to rule things out,” but noted he’s still focused on a range of issues in the statehouse.

You're not going anywhere.