The Big Ass Second Term/Politics thread part V

[KevinNYC]

Seems like a good time for a new thread.

Not only is Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel going to be testifying this week about the Bowe Berghdahl swap, we have a new ambassador nominee to Qatar getting a hearing this week.

Qatar being the country where the Taliban 5 are being sent to

[KevinNYC]

The jihadist group ISIS who is fighting in both Syria and Iraq, just took over Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq. (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-city-of-mosul-falls-into-hands-of-isis-jihadists-after-police-army-abandon-posts/)


Islamic militants overran parts of Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul on Tuesday, driving security forces from their posts and seizing the provincial government headquarters, security bases and other key buildings. Gunmen cruised through neighborhoods, waving black banners while residents fled.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pressed parliament to declare a state of emergency.

The fight for Mosul was a heavy defeat in Baghdad's battle against a widening insurgency by a breakaway al Qaeda group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has been trying - with some success - to seize territory both in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Earlier this year, the group captured another Iraqi city, Fallujah, in the west of the country, and government forces have been unable to take it back after months of fighting. The far larger Mosul is an even more strategic prize. The city and surrounding Ninevah province are a major export route for Iraqi oil and a gateway to Syria.

Regaining Mosul poses a daunting challenge for al-Maliki. The city has a Sunni Muslim majority and many in the community are already deeply embittered against his Shiite-led government. During the nearly nine-year American presence in the country, Mosul was a major stronghold for al Qaeda and U.S. and Iraqi forces carried out repeated offensives there, regaining a semblance of control but never routing the insurgents entirely.

[KevinNYC]

ISIS is the group, that is fighting Al Zawahiri's core Al Qaeda for leadership of the jihadi movement. A victory like can mean other groups who have yet to choose sides see them as the stronger group.

[KevinNYC]

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor just lost in the primary to a Tea Party candidate.


Washington reels as House's Eric Cantor loses to tea party challenger (http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-na-pn-cantor-loses-to-tea-party-challenger-20140610-story.html)

In a shocking political defeat guaranteed to upend Republican Party politics, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia lost his primary election Tuesday to a tea party newcomer who hammered the No. 2 leader on immigration reform. It was the first downfall of a congressional leader in a generation.

Establishment Washington reeled from the moment the polls closed as Cantor, the ambitious leader with his sights on becoming the next House speaker, trailed Dave Brat, a local college professor who rustled for tea party support at a time when GOP leaders elsewhere have succeeded in halting the ascent of hard-right candidates.

In the end, Brat claimed an easy victory over the seven-term incumbent in the Richmond-area district.

[KevinNYC]

There was an emerging storyline that this was the year the establishment Republicans fought back the Tea Party. That story is now dead. This was posted on the Washington Post at 5PM today

PRIMARY ANALYSIS: A conservative challenger is expected to fall far short of defeating House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) in Tuesday’s congressional primary in Virginia, reports Rachel Weiner.

He ended up losing by 11 points. I wonder who was polling this. The Tea Party guy campaigned against immigration reform.

[KevinNYC]

This Cantor thing is gigantic. He was probably going to be the next speaker of the House. This reporter is very wired into the House GOP, here's some of his tweets.

[QUOTE]Robert Costa @costareports

[Scoooter]

ISIS. Sounds like something from a James Bond movie.

[KevinNYC]

ISIS. Sounds like something from a James Bond movie.

Their name translates to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant) In additon to Iraq and Syria the Levant includes Lebanon, Israel Palestine, parts of Turkey and other areas. So that gives some sense of their ambition. It's also an old term for the Middle East before the British redrew the maps.

They used to be Al Qaeda in Iraq, but now they are fighting Al Qaeda.

[BasedTom]

The politicians of our day are nothing but glorified aristocrats. They have not reached their seats by the merit of their own talent or skill, but by a tradition of nepotism, populism, and other means of corruption.

I refuse to endorse the puppets and tyrants that claim to represent us. Bring back the monarchy. The rightful rulers of man are not suits who are up for sale to the highest bidder. Qatar is getting the world cup in 2022? Bullshit.

[DeuceWallaces]

Wild that Cantor lost, and to boot he's replaced by a Tea-Bag that will split them even further.

[KevinNYC]

Wild that Cantor lost, and to boot he's replaced by a Tea-Bag that will split them even further.
Boehner is expected to step down as Speaker next year. That means, right now there is no favorite and it's wide open.

Also, apparently it was an open primary and Democrats could have voted in it. Cantor got 79% last time and there's was a lot more voters this time. I wonder if there was any large switchover.

I don't know how anyone could keep any sort of organized campaign quiet these days.

[Patrick Chewing]

and there's was a lot more voters this time. I wonder if there was any large switchover.


On the contrary. I believe from what I saw there was much less voter turn out.

[KevinNYC]

On the contrary. I believe from what I saw there was much less voter turn out.

Compared to other states Viriginia has low turnout in primaries. This is because for a long, long time Virginia didn't have primaries. The parties chose their candidates in conventions.

But compared to 2012, voter turnout was UP 30%


Mr. Cantor easily defeated a primary challenge in 2012, generally a better year for the Tea Party, by nearly a 60-point margin. Turnout was not unusually low: More than 63,000 votes have been counted so far, up from around 47,037 in 2012.

So it may have been that polling the entire district you had Cantor willing by 30 points. But if you looked at who was going to get out and vote, he was in trouble.

[KevinNYC]

Also, apparently it was an open primary and Democrats could have voted in it. Cantor got 79% last time and there's was a lot more voters this time. I wonder if there was any large switchover.

I don't know how anyone could keep any sort of organized campaign quiet these days.

This doesn't look like it happened. Reviews of polling data (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/11/did-democratic-votes-doom-eric-cantor/) show the Democratic areas had the lowest turnout yesterday while Cantor's support collapsed in areas that went for Mitt Romney in 2012.

[KevinNYC]

Apparently, Cantor helped gerrymander his district to be a very conservative district so it would be safe and he could rack up big wins in the general election.

Ooops.

[KevinNYC]

So it may have been that polling the entire district you had Cantor willing by 30 points. But if you looked at who was going to get out and vote, he was in trouble.

Even the national Tea Party organizations didn't pour money into this race, they weren't expecting this to be close either.

[kentatm]

Apparently, Cantor helped gerrymander his district to be a very conservative district so it would be safe and he could rack up big wins in the general election.

Ooops.


:lol

you reap what you sow

[KevinNYC]

:lol

you reap what you sow

Cantor just resigned as Majority Leader. They vote on a new one next week.

[KevinNYC]

They're not stopping at Mosul (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/insurgents-in-northern-iraq-push-toward-major-oil-installations/2014/06/11/3983dd22-f162-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html)


Insurgents inspired by al-Qaeda pressed ahead Wednesday with an offensive against collapsing security forces in northern Iraq, capturing the cities of Tikrit and Baiji and continuing to advance southward toward Baghdad.

[KevinNYC]

The World's most powerful Jihadist. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/11/how-isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-became-the-worlds-most-powerful-jihadi-leader/)
For all his power and newfound notoriety, there are only two authenticated photos of a man now called the world’s “most powerful jihadi leader.” One shows a serious man with an olive complexion and round countenance. The other, released by the Iraqi government in January, depicts an unsmiling bearded figure in a black suit. The image is cracked and blurry, as though someone had taken a picture of a picture.

Though he’s “the world’s most dangerous man” to Time magazine and the “the new bin Laden” to Le Monde, the man who orchestrated the sacking of northern Iraq’s largest city and today controls a nation-size swath of land, is a relatively unknown and enigmatic figure.
Much of what is known of Baghdadi’s history is unconfirmed, while other information is disputed to such a degree that it’s nearly impossible to discern where fact meets Baghdadi’s rising myth.
Several facts, however, are clear: Baghdadi leads the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. He is a shrewd strategist, a prolific fundraiser and a ruthless killer. The United States has a $10 million bounty on his head. He has thrown off the yoke of al-Qaeda command and just took his biggest prize yet in Mosul, an oil hub that sits at the vital intersection of Iraq, Turkey and Syria. And in just one year of grisly killing, he has in all likelihood surpassed even al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in international clout and prestige among Islamist militants.
“The true heir to Osama bin Laden may be ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” wrote The Washington Post’s David Ignatius. He is “more violent, more virulent, more anti-American,” a senior U.S. intelligence official told the columnist, while the cautious and uncharismatic Zawahiri “is not coping well.” In fact, Baghdadi is now recruiting fighters from other Zawahiri affiliates, including al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch and the Somalia-based al-Shabab.

[KevinNYC]

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel going to be testifying this week about the Bowe Berghdahl swap,

Didn't seem like anything big came out of Hagel's testimony, but there was some big news about Bergdahl. Was he going mad?

The Washington Post got hold of Bowe Bergdahl's journal. Apparently friends were concerned about his mental health.
[QUOTE]Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was discharged from the Coast Guard for psychological reasons, said close friends who were worried about his emotional health at the time.
...
The 2006 discharge and a trove of Bergdahl

[GimmeThat]

I think it's generally true that it becomes easy for presidents/governors to lose their agenda when they are faced with the second term.

while some may go overboard in trying to accomplish a legacy, others, try and do nothing until making the nessecary adjustments before they hand it off to the next guy. - unless they have been ambition enough to attempt for a 3rd term.

besides that of FDR. Perhaps the only way for a president to go over 2 terms, or to even have legitimate reasons to go beyond 2 terms. Would be wether or not he/she is capable of identifying the needs/adjustments the public ought to make due to private sectors innovation/investments, even that of before the house of representatives.

[KevinNYC]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-captured-benghazi-suspect-in-secret-raid/2014/06/17/7ef8746e-f5cf-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html?hpid=z1

[QUOTE]U.S. captures Benghazi suspect in secret raid

U.S. Special Operations forces captured one of the suspected ringleaders of the terrorist attacks in Benghazi in a secret raid in Libya over the weekend, the first time one of the accused perpetrators of the 2012 assaults has been apprehended, according to U.S. officials.

The officials said Ahmed Abu Khattala was captured Sunday near Benghazi by American troops, working alongside the FBI, following months of planning, and was now in U.S. custody

[KevinNYC]

The World's most powerful Jihadist. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/11/how-isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-became-the-worlds-most-powerful-jihadi-leader/)

There's a lot of reports out that this is not just ISIS in Iraq. That this is a Sunni Alliance involved not only the jihadi ISIS, but old Baath generals from the Saddam era and the local tribes. (Other than the two jihadist militias ISIS and Ansar al-Islam, insurgents include a coalition of nearly 80 Sunni Arab tribes, known as the Military Council of the Tribes of Iraq. This coalition has strong presence in Sunni areas especially in Fallujah, Ramadi, and in various areas in Nineveh and Salaheddin. According to Arabic news site al-Araby al-Jadid, the coalition is estimated to include about 41 armed groups, among them soldiers and officers from the dismantled Iraqi army of Saddam Hussein.)This, of course is a very unstable alliance and would collapse once they beat back the Shiites.
Other than the two jihadist militias ISIS and Ansar al-Islam, insurgents include a coalition of nearly 80 Sunni Arab tribes, known as the Military Council of the Tribes of Iraq. This coalition has strong presence in Sunni areas especially in Fallujah, Ramadi, and in various areas in Nineveh and Salaheddin. According to Arabic news site al-Araby al-Jadid, the coalition is estimated to include about 41 armed groups, among them soldiers and officers from the dismantled Iraqi army of Saddam Hussein.

Then there is the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order, a group allegedly headed by former Iraqi vice president Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. Formed in 2007, the group consists of thousands of former members of the Baath party, as well Sufi and Muslim Brotherhood-leaning fighters. At least in terms of numbers, the group is a strong rival to ISIS and has strong social roots in the community. In 2009, U.S. officials warned that the order might be more dangerous than Al-Qaeda because its members succeeded in establishing deep roots within Sunni Iraqi society.

The Naqshbandis, who operate mostly in Mosul, downplay their Sunni focus and claim to have Kurdish and Shiite members. Observers of the group say that it also operates under different names primarily provisional military and tribal councils. But it appears that loyalists to the dismantled Baath Party of Iraq dominate the army as they do in many of the Sunni groupings that emerged in the wake of the protest movement of 2011-2013, such as the General Military Council of the Iraqi Revolutionaries (GMCIR).

Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri is the last remaining member of the US most wanted "deck of cards."
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41010000/jpg/_41010220_izzat203bap.jpg

[KevinNYC]

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says that chemical weapons still being used in Syria. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/chlorine-gas-likely-used-in-attacks-in-syria-this-year-international-weapons-inspectors-say/2014/06/18/a7ec09cc-f71d-11e3-a606-946fd632f9f1_story.html) This time they are using Chlorine, a chemical that has other legitimate uses.

[QUOTE]International weapons inspectors have issued preliminary findings that chlorine gas was used in a

[longhornfan1234]

I haven't been following politics in a couple of months. I need to catch up.

[longhornfan1234]

Fox News host Kelly DESTROYS Cheney.


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2014/06/18/megyn_kelly_to_dick_cheney_time_and_time_again_his tory_has_proven_you_got_it_wrong_on_iraq.html


Fox News is showing why they're fair and balanced.

[KevinNYC]

Wisconsin Governor in trouble

Prosecutors allege Gov. Scott Walker schemed to bypass campaign laws (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/06/19/prosecutors-allege-gov-scott-walker-schemed-to-bypass-election-laws/)

Prosecutors in newly released court documents allege that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) was at the center of a scheme to violate state election law by improperly coordinating campaign activities with outside groups.

The documents, part of a separate ongoing suit but released on Thursday, focus on one individual in particular: R.J. Johnson, who directed and ran the conservative organization Wisconsin Club for Growth, a tax-exempt “social welfare” group, during the 2011 and 2012 Senate and gubernatorial recall elections in that state. Prosecutors allege that Johnson used that group to fund and guide the activities of several other 501(c)4 organizations, the IRS designation for such nonprofit “social welfare” groups, and that he acted as a “hub for the coordinated activities” of Friends of Scott Walker, the governor’s campaign committee, and those groups.

Prosecutors also allege Johnson was coordinating with the Republican State Leadership Committee, the national organization that seeks to elect Republicans at the state level. The documents cite a key May 4, 2011, e-mail from Gov. Walker to political strategist Karl Rove, in which Walker allegedly acknowledges Johnson’s role in running the coordination campaign.

“Bottom-line: R.J. helps keep in place a team that is wildly successful in Wisconsin,” Walker allegedly wrote. “We are running 9 recall elections and it will be like running 9 Congressional markets in every market in the state (and Twin Cities.)”

Johnson provided Walker with notes that August saying that Wisconsin Club for Growth’s efforts were run by “Johnson and Deborah Jordahl, who coordinated spending through 12 different groups,” according to the filing.


....“This is a shocking development,” Mike Tate, the Democratic Party chair in Wisconsin said. You have a Republican prosecutor saying Scott Walker is at the center of a criminal scheme. You’ve got communication between Scott Walker and Karl Rove dictating activity that by all appearances is in violation of Wisconsin law. We’re not New Jersey, we’re not Illinois. We don’t send our governors to jail. This is a shocking development.”

[KevinNYC]

I haven't been following politics in a couple of months. I need to catch up.
Welcome Back, here's some Bridgegate news. (http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/christie-investigation?src=soc_twtr)

Esquire is reporting the NJ Federal Attorney is close to indicted 4 people in the Bridgegate scandal including David Samson who Christie went out of his way to vouch for when this first broke. The article reads very much like a deliberate leak by the prosecutor or his aides to ratchet up the pressure on Samson so that he will flip.


Federal charges in the bridge closures potentially include both intentional interference in interstate commerce and -- in the cover-up that ensued -- obstruction of justice. The use of Port Authority money, raised by issuing bonds, to pay for non-PA projects will likely result in charges of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit same; the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating on this front, along with the Manhattan District Attorney, who’s seeking evidence to support state charges of falsifying business records and official misconduct. Charges derived from David Samson’s numerous conflicts of interest while serving as a PA official could, in Hoboken’s case, include federal charges of extortion under the Hobbs Act, and New York state charges of official misconduct and corruption.

The clearest, quickest road to Christie, both sources agree, runs through David Samson, a former Attorney General of New Jersey who’s 74 years old and reportedly suffers from Parkinson’s disease. So: Will Samson flip?

“They’ve got him cold,” says one source. “He got sloppy, arrogant, and greedy. Samson will want a deal. This way, he’d get one or two years. He’d have a future on the other side. He won’t want to die in jail.”

This part in bold is obviously what they want Samson thinking about.
I wonder what the US Attorney code of conduct says about leaks like these.

[KevinNYC]

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor just lost in the primary to a Tea Party candidate.
Cantor's replacement as majority leader was picked today. A friend of Cantor.
Republicans elevate Boehner ally to No. 2 House job

U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday chose an ally of Speaker John Boehner for the No. 2 job in the chamber, a setback for some conservatives hoping to use a leadership election to boost their influence.

Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, already the third-ranking House Republican, was chosen to replace Eric Cantor as majority leader. He will control the House floor and help decide the party's legislative priorities.

Steve Scalise, a Louisiana lawmaker with backing from Southern Republicans, beat out two other lawmakers on Thursday to replace McCarthy as party whip, drumming up votes for bills.

Tea Party Republicans had pushed for one of their own to join the leadership after a little-known professor defeated Cantor in his Virginia primary by accusing the majority leader of not pursuing a conservative enough agenda. Cantor will leave his position at the end of July. The race brought fresh turmoil to the caucus, as Tea Party favorites argued that Boehner and other, business-friendly leaders gave in too easily to Democrats on spending disputes.

Tea Party-aligned Republicans said after the vote that they were disappointed with the outcome of the majority leader race, in which Representative Raul Labrador of Idaho lost to McCarthy.

But they said Scalise could push leaders to hold their ground on key issues for conservatives, such as immigration reform and spending cuts.

[longhornfan1234]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-immigration-border-20140620-story.html

Obama is doing little for our border control. :facepalm


Our subsidies have undermined NAFTA to the point where we've created a 3rd world environment in Northern Mexico. IMO... before we start taking a hard line on immigration we need to give them a fighting chance to have economic success in their home land. Most of those people don't want to be here... they feel like they need to be either to find work or to escape the cartels. Helping them (not with money... but with more fair trade policies) economically would undermine the authority of the cartels and reduce the number of people feeling like they need to come here.

[longhornfan1234]

Obama said he didn't pull the troops out of Iraq....that it was Maliki that forced them to leave and then implied that he didn't agree with removing the troops and this isn't his fault.:roll: :roll:

[boozehound]

Obama said he didn't pull the troops out of Iraq....that it was Maliki that forced them to leave and then implied that he didn't agree with removing the troops and this isn't his fault.:roll: :roll:
you do realize the withdrawal treaty was signed under bush? Which legally obligated the US to withdraw.

and obama did ask to leave a force there, but the conditions (completely under Iraqi control, etc) were so unreasonable that there was no real chance to do so.

I am no Obama apologist but, damn, people are ridiculous in trying to pin everything on him.

[pastis]

you do realize the withdrawal treaty was signed under bush? Which legally obligated the US to withdraw.

and obama did ask to leave a force there, but the conditions (completely under Iraqi control, etc) were so unreasonable that there was no real chance to do so.

I am no Obama apologist but, damn, people are ridiculous in trying to pin everything on him.

i think there is nothing in the world which the usa care less than the law

[longhornfan1234]

you do realize the withdrawal treaty was signed under bush? Which legally obligated the US to withdraw.

and obama did ask to leave a force there, but the conditions (completely under Iraqi control, etc) were so unreasonable that there was no real chance to do so.

I am no Obama apologist but, damn, people are ridiculous in trying to pin everything on him.

That can be changed. It was a draw down and assess the situation type of agreement. :lol that you are acting like Obama's hands were tied. Don't be naive.

[KevinNYC]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-immigration-border-20140620-story.html

Obama is doing little for our border control. :facepalm

How does the article actually indicate that?

[longhornfan1234]

How does the article actually indicate that?

You didn't read Republicans' responses?:confusedshrug:

[kentatm]

Obama said he didn't pull the troops out of Iraq....that it was Maliki that forced them to leave and then implied that he didn't agree with removing the troops and this isn't his fault.:roll: :roll:


Umm... thats exactly what happened and it was something Bush agreed to do.

how do you not know that?

[longhornfan1234]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/video/economy-shrank-in-1st-quarter-by-most-in-5-years-kYtlkaaUQAu1v1vNG_WLAA.html


This isn't good. :facepalm

[rufuspaul]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/video/economy-shrank-in-1st-quarter-by-most-in-5-years-kYtlkaaUQAu1v1vNG_WLAA.html


This isn't good. :facepalm


It's understandable, especially with the shitty weather we had to deal with in the 1st quarter. There are some positive signs, such as consumer confidence, that bode well for the coming quarters. I think we'll see 3% or so growth for the year.

[KevinNYC]

You didn't read Republicans' responses?:confusedshrug:

Yes, but that doesn't actual mean there was any change at all with our border control.

[Dresta]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/video/economy-shrank-in-1st-quarter-by-most-in-5-years-kYtlkaaUQAu1v1vNG_WLAA.html


This isn't good. :facepalm
C'mon Obama: print more money, save us all!!! We needz more demand!!!

[longhornfan1234]

The Supreme Court ruled Obama's recess appointments are unconstitutional. There is no legitimate way to claim this doesn't make Obama look terrible. He is supposed to be this brilliant Constitutional expert. If a decision goes 9-0... then the outcome was a slam dunk. He either is an idiot who couldn't see this drubbing coming and thought his appointments were legitimate... or if he did think they were illegitimate... he simply didn't care about making an unconstitutional power grab. As so often happens with the "I just found out about it on the news.... that negligence was someone else's fault, not mine" President... he is at best pathetically inept and in over his head... or at worse pathologically corrupt and malicious.. not to mention a liar. Neither paints a good picture... and it has to be one or the other.

[KevinNYC]

Obama requests $500M for Syria opposition (http://news.yahoo.com/obama-seeks-500m-train-equip-syrian-rebels-185903098--politics.html)

[KevinNYC]

The Supreme Court ruled Obama's recess appointments are unconstitutional. There is no legitimate way to claim this doesn't make Obama look terrible. He is supposed to be this brilliant Constitutional expert. If a decision goes 9-0... then the outcome was a slam dunk. He either is an idiot who couldn't see this drubbing coming and thought his appointments were legitimate... or if he did think they were illegitimate... he simply didn't care about making an unconstitutional power grab. As so often happens with the "I just found out about it on the news.... that negligence was someone else's fault, not mine" President... he is at best pathetically inept and in over his head... or at worse pathologically corrupt and malicious.. not to mention a liar. Neither paints a good picture... and it has to be one or the other.

Yeah, he's gone crazy with power. This is unprecedented. Or maybe not.

http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4674255/Recess_appointments.png

I think you're overstating what happened by quite a bit. The court did NOT invalidate recess appointments in general or all of Obama's appointments. In fact the appeals court decision went much further than this Supreme Court decision. By a 5-4 margin the court rejected the appeals court argument and said Presidents can make recess appointments. (The four in this case were concurring opinions and not dissenting ones, but they wanted, like the appeals court, to go much further than the majority.)

The 9-0 ruling was on a much narrower scope, I believe only applies to the 3 appointments* in this case and they are not longer even in those positions.

(*4 appointments See quote below.)
The Court basically said you can make some recess appointments and not others and the deciding factor is the length of the recess. If the recess is less than 10 days you can't make them.


What are the practical consequences of the ruling? (http://www.vox.com/2014/6/26/5843366/recess-appointments-supreme-court)
There won't be too many near-term consequences from this decision. The controversial NLRB nominees have all since left the board, and though the decisions they issued there may now be invalid, their replacements have since been confirmed by the Senate. And Richard Cordray of the CFPB was confirmed by the Senate last year, so he's in the clear.

Overall, the president's recess power remains mostly intact — but it's less important than ever. With the recent filibuster rules change, Obama can get more of his nominees through the chamber without Republican support. Historically, the recess appointment power has been important during periods of divided government. But the GOP is still requiring pro forma sessions to block official recesses (unless the president promises not to appoint any nominees). So while recess appointments may still be possible, they're looking increasingly like a thing of the past.

[KevinNYC]

And for your analysis here

THe is supposed to be this brilliant Constitutional expert. If a decision goes 9-0... then the outcome was a slam dunk. He either is an idiot who couldn't see this drubbing coming and thought his appointments were legitimate... or if he did think they were illegitimate... he simply didn't care about making an unconstitutional power grab. you act like this is settled territory, but the truth is the Supreme Court has never considered this before, there's simply no precendents on this.


Breyer noting that "presidents have made recess appointments since the beginning of the republic."
"Their frequency suggests that the Senate and president have recognized that recess appointments can be both necessary and appropriate in certain circumstances," he added. "We have not previously interpreted the [recess-appointments] clause, and, when doing so for the first time in more than 200 years, we must hesitate to upset the compromises and working arrangements that the elected branches of government themselves have reached."

[KevinNYC]

The Times has a good explainer of the court issue (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/25/us/annotated-supreme-court-recess-decision.html)
The court rejected the validity of four appointments President Obama made in January 2012, when the question of whether the Senate was in recess was in dispute. While on the surface the ruling was a blow to executive power, on a deeper level it was also a victory for executive power because it rolled back an appeals court ruling that had gone much further in restricting such authority.

[longhornfan1234]

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/dow-breaks-through-17-000-point-barrier-strong-jobs-report-n147346


Finally some good news for the president.

[KevinNYC]

It's understandable, especially with the shitty weather we had to deal with in the 1st quarter. There are some positive signs, such as consumer confidence, that bode well for the coming quarters. I think we'll see 3% or so growth for the year.

It does look like that first quarter is an outlier and I suspect might be revised a bit.

The latest jobs reports is the best in quite sometime (http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/employment-revs-june-economy-creates-288k-jobs-n147276) and exceeded predictions by about 75K.


Job growth sped up in June as the economy created a much-higher-than expected 288,000 jobs and the jobless rate dropped to near a six-year low of 6.1 percent. The Labor Department reported Thursday that data for April and May were revised to show a total of 29,000 more jobs created than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a gain of 212,000 jobs in June. It was the first time since the technology boom in the late 1990s that employment has grown above a 200,000-jobs pace for five straight months.

Unemployment is at 6.1% where it was in September 2008.

[KevinNYC]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-immigration-border-20140620-story.html

Obama is doing little for our border control. :facepalm


Our subsidies have undermined NAFTA to the point where we've created a 3rd world environment in Northern Mexico. IMO... before we start taking a hard line on immigration we need to give them a fighting chance to have economic success in their home land. Most of those people don't want to be here... they feel like they need to be either to find work or to escape the cartels. Helping them (not with money... but with more fair trade policies) economically would undermine the authority of the cartels and reduce the number of people feeling like they need to come here.

You might want to check out this story. The crisis has nothing to do with NAFTA because if the kids came from Mexico, we can simply turn them back. It has to do with the unintended consequences of sex trafficking law that Bush signed in 2008 that applies to all countries not part of NAFTA.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/08/us/immigrant-surge-rooted-in-law-to-curb-child-trafficking.html?_r=2

Originally pushed by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers as well as by evangelical groups to combat sex trafficking, the bill gave substantial new protections to children entering the country alone who were not from Mexico or Canada by prohibiting them from being quickly sent back to their country of origin.

The Bill was passed unanimously in the Senate without a full vote.

[KevinNYC]

New AP story on Benghazi. Military testified that the two attacks should be thought of as separate incidents and might have involved different groups.
Newly revealed testimony from top military commanders involved in the U.S. response to the Benghazi attacks suggests that the perpetrators of a second, dawn attack on a CIA complex probably were different from those who penetrated the U.S. diplomatic mission the evening before and set it ablaze, killing Ambassador Chris Stevens and another American.

The second attack, which killed two security contractors, showed clear military training, retired Gen. Carter Ham told Congress in closed-door testimony released late Wednesday. The assault probably was the work of a new team of militants, seizing on reports of violence at the diplomatic mission the night before and hitting the Americans while they were most vulnerable.
Military also seems to be unaware of the CIA complex

In testimony to two House panels earlier this year, the officers said that commanders didn't have the information they needed to understand the nature of the attack, that they were unaware of the extent of the U.S. presence in Benghazi at the time and they were convinced erroneously for a time that they were facing a hostage crisis without the ability to move military assets into place that would be of any use.

[Brizzly]

Roy Nagin sentenced 10 years in prison.

[KevinNYC]

In the wake of two spies for the US being discovered, Germany just kicked the CIA's chief of station out of the country.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/germany-asks-top-u-s-spy-to-leave-country-lawmaker-says/

[KevinNYC]

Medicaid costs down $50 Billion since 2010 estimates. (http://www.vox.com/2014/7/9/5883843/the-amazing-mysterious-decline-in-medicares-price-tag)
http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4729156/BsG2zuGCQAAzT5G.jpg

They are not sure why, but this article points to some of the cost saving measures in the Affordable Care Act.

Unnecessary readmissions — when someone turns up at the hospital a second time because something went wrong on the first visit — are bad for patients and for budgets.

The good news on unnecessary readmissions is they're becoming less frequent among Medicare patients, a drop that started at just about the same time as CBO began revising downward the cost of covering a Medicare patient....

Obamacare changed the way doctors get paid

The health care law included lots of changes to the way that doctors get paid within the Medicare program, all aimed at getting doctors to provide better care at lower costs. That's true, for example, with readmissions: Obamacare now penalizes hospitals when their patient shows up for a second visit that didn't need to happen, if everything had gone right the first time.

There are dozens of changes like this that could be playing a role in explaining why Medicare may cost significantly less than initially expected.

[KevinNYC]

New England Journal of Medicine estimates that 20 Million people (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMhpr1405667)are covered through the Affordable Care Act. Note that doesn't mean 20 million newly ensured.
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/images/publications/in-the-literature/2014/jul/1759_blumenthal_coverage_under_aca_progress_report _nejm_07_02_2014_bar_chart_web.jpg

[GimmeThat]

good, seems like social security is up next.

-tips on sleeping at nights-

[Shade8780]

worst. thread. ever

[KevinNYC]

The latest jobs reports is the best in quite sometime (http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/employment-revs-june-economy-creates-288k-jobs-n147276) and exceeded predictions by about 75K.

Unemployment is at 6.1% where it was in September 2008.

Good news on new unemployment applications. (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/us-unemployment-aid-applications-fall-304000-24501598) Lowest since before the Great Recession began. Sept 2008 end was when the economy totally tanked, but it later determined that it was in recession since December 2007 and we are now seeing numbers that we have seen since August 2007.


Weekly applications for unemployment aid dropped 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 304,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's not far from a reading of 298,000 two months ago, which was the lowest since 2007, before the Great Recession began.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dipped 3,500 to 311,500, the second-lowest level since August 2007. Applications are a proxy for layoffs, so the low readings indicate that employers are letting go of fewer workers.

The figures are the latest sign that the job market is steadily improving. Employers are adding jobs at a healthy clip and the unemployment rate is at a 5 1/2-year low.

"The ... data remain extremely encouraging," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. The four-week average is down from last year's average of 343,000, he noted.

[KevinNYC]

New AP story on Benghazi.
More testimony on Benghazi has come out (http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=10277036)showing Darrell Issa and Josh Chafetz have been lying about the "stand down order."

Among the lies.
A. They could not have gotten to Benghazi in time
B. They were given a different mission in Tripoli and ended up saving at least one life there
C. Their mission of guarded a perimeter who have done nothing to prevent against a mortar attack.

[QUOTE]The testimony of nine military officers undermines contentions by Republican lawmakers that a

[GimmeThat]

are the US really that incompetent in dealing with the issues at Iraq?


the UN for that matter

[KevinNYC]

are the US really that incompetent in dealing with the issues at Iraq?


the UN for that matter

Which issues are you speaking of?

[KevinNYC]

The Mitt Romney comeback begins

http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/53bfe2f1ecad049b2763f3e0-739-473/screen%20shot%202014-07-11%20at%209.02.08%20am.png

In a poll of New Hampshire voters, Republican voters show Mitt Romney would dominate other Republicans. Once they added Romney's name to the list, no other Republican candidate tops 10%

[KevinNYC]

Good news on new unemployment applications. (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/us-unemployment-aid-applications-fall-304000-24501598) Lowest since before the Great Recession began. Sept 2008 end was when the economy totally tanked, but it later determined that it was in recession since December 2007 and we are now seeing numbers that we have seen since August 2007.

More good news on the job front.

Jobless claims fall to lowest level since early 2006


The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in nearly 8-1/2 years last week, suggesting the labor market recovery was gaining traction.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 for the week ended July 19, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

That was the lowest level since February 2006, and confounded economists' expectations for a rise to 308,000.

The prior week's claims were revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported.

The four-week average of claims, considered a better gauge of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 7,250 to 302,000, the lowest level since May 2007.
......

Employment has grown by more than 200,000 jobs in each of the last five months, a stretch not seen since the late 1990s.