The Commentariat -- June 16, 2016

Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "By a 85-13 vote on Tuesday, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act for the next fiscal year.... It welcomed women into Selective Service for the first time, starting in 2018, unless that policy is stripped when the bill goes to conference.... Republicans had stopped the female draft provision in the House.... Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a military veteran opposed to women serving in combat, proposed the draft[-women] amendment during mark-up, to make a point. Expecting the amendment to fail, he voted against it, ready to argue that Democrats and other supporters of women in combat were hypocrites. To Hunter's surprise, the draft provision nearly survived." CW: See also Patrick's comment in yesterday's thread re: why drafting women is important to gender equality in the military.

Karoun Demijian of the Washington Post: "Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) ended a blockade of the Senate floor after nearly 15 hours Thursday, announcing Republican leaders had agreed to hold votes on Democrat-backed measures to expand background checks and prevent suspected terrorists from acquiring guns." CW: What is striking about the story is the no-brainer measures Republican senators say they won't support. Confederate voters have left our government in the hands of dangerously irresponsible NRA stooges. ...

...Matt Laslo of The Daily Beast: "Republicans hate terrorists, but they seem to hate gun control measures even more...Even critics argue it's major progress that some in the GOP are even considering potentially banning people on the terrorist watch and no-fly lists from buying firearms." --safari...

... Meg Anderson & Domenico Montanaro of NPR: "In an abrupt shift in message, Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that he might be taking on a Republican tenet: the party's long-standing opposition to gun control. Trump said he would talk to the NRA about not allowing 'people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns.' In typical fashion for the presumptive Republican nominee, the announcement came via Twitter: 'I will be meeting with the NRA, who has endorsed me, about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns.'" -- (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Ashley Parker & David Herszenhorn of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump's stance ... does not necessarily jibe with the positions of the Republican Party and the National Rifle Association, whose endorsement Mr. Trump frequently boasts about on the campaign trail. His tweet could be read to support measures pushed by Democrats and opposed by Republicans in Congress, reflecting the unusual nuances of the issue, which touches on public safety and civil rights beyond the Second Amendment." -- CW ...

... ** BFD. Gail Collins: "On Wednesday, Donald Trump took time out from vilifying Muslims and put some of the blame on gun control [even though Florida has perhaps the most permissive gun laws in the nation]. If the patrons of Pulse ... had been carrying concealed weapons, he said, they could have taken control of the situation.... Trump did not specifically say that we need to uphold Americans' freedom to drink while armed. But there doesn't seem to be any other way to interpret his argument. Also, there actually was an off-duty police officer working in the club who tried to shoot the gunman but failed.... The myth of the cool and steady shooter is one of the most cherished beliefs of the National Rifle Association and its supporters. Trump himself has bragged that if he'd been in Paris on the night of the attacks there, he would have shot the terrorists.... This is an excellent example of delusional gun thinking." -- CW...

Americans for Responsible Solutions (published June 10th): "Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly, the Co-Founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions, today joined with veteran leaders from across the country to announce the Advisory Committee of a new national effort, the 'Veterans Coalition for Common Sense,' to urge our country's elected leaders to do more to prevent gun tragedies." Lots of big names signed on here. --safari

Mark Hensch of the Hill: "Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said Tuesday that anti-LGBT laws across the U.S. are 'motivated' by the same hate behind Orlando's recent massacre at a gay nightclub. 'I think it's important for folks to realize the type of hate and prejudice that motivated this individual is still fed by the discrimination we have in so many states,' Merkley said on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.' 'In Florida, you can be fired from your job if you're gay or lesbian. You can be kicked out of a restaurant or theater. You can be kicked out of rental housing.'" -- CW ...

... Kevin Sullivan, et al., of the Washington Post have a roundup of some things known or alleged about the Orlando shooter & his wife. -- CW ...

... Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "A U.S. law enforcement official confirmed that [Orlando mass-murderer Omar] Mateen posted threatening comments directed at the United States on Facebook before the attack. The account was later taken down.... The FBI confirmed it had interviewed the wife of Omar Mateen, the 29-year-old gunman." -- CW ...

... Malia Zimmerman of Fox "News": "In the hours after he blasted his way into an Orlando gay nightclub, and with his victims lying dead or wounded around him, Omar Mateen took to Facebook to pledge his loyalty to ISIS and threaten more attacks on the civilized world..., [Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)] told FoxNews.com Wednesday." -- CW ...

... Scott Fais of News 13 Orlando: "About 45 minutes after the shooting began, the phone rang inside the News 13 newsroom. 'It was at 2:45 a.m. when I had just received the phone call of someone claiming to be the Orlando shooter,' [producer Matthew Gentili] said. '... 'I heard, "Do you know about the shooting?'" Gentili said he was aware of the shooting.... 'I'm the shooter. It's me. I am the shooter,' the person on the other end said.... 'He did it for ISIS, and he started speaking Arabic,' Gentili said." -- CW

New York Times: "In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the government has disclosed new portions of transcripts from so-called combatant status review tribunal hearings in 2007. The documents focus on torture in the C.I.A.'s black-site prisons before the detainees were transferred to the military's wartime prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba." Transcript follows. A related story, by Charlie Savage, is here. -- CW ...

... First, Do No Harm. Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "Sensitive agency documents, declassified on Tuesday, provide a new level of detail on the intimate involvement of its medical staff during its post-9/11 torture program. Officials assigned to the Office of Medical Staff (OMS) provided precise specifications for enforcing sleep deprivation, limiting the caloric intake of detainees' food, and the proper positions for waterboarding, as outlined in a 2004 document providing 'guidelines on medical and psychological support' for torture." CW: Any licensed professionals on the "medical staff" who drew up or approved these guidelines should be stripped of their licenses, at the very least.

American "Justice" Ctd. Seth Wessler of The Nation: "This year marks two decades since the Bureau of Prisons' privatization experiment began, under the mandate of a Clinton White House and GOP-controlled Congress dedicated to 'reinventing government.' From the start, some BOP officials and lawmakers feared privatization might degrade quality. Congress ordered studies of the BOP's two pilot programs, comparing their operations to similar bureau-run facilities...Taken together, the studies that Congress had ordered showed a clear result: The experiments had failed.... The study concluded that privatization had not saved substantially on costs yet had eroded the quality of care [and] that any cost savings were eclipsed by the financial burdens of oversight.... By fiscal year 2015, the BOP's budget for private contractors was over $1.05 billion." --safari...

... Rupert Neate of the Guardian: "How long prisons will continue to be such money-spinners could depend on who wins the race for the White House. On the campaign trail Hillary Clinton has vowed to 'end private prisons and private detention centers. They are wrong.' Donald Trump, on the other hand, has called for increased outsourcing of prisons.... States spend about $8bn (£5.5bn) a year on healthcare to try and keep prisoners alive. In a bid to cut costs, more state prisons and county jails are adding healthcare to the growing list of services that are outsourced to for-profit companies." Includes stats and graphs. --safari...

... Carimah Townes of ThinkProgress: "In a growing movement largely going unnoticed by the national media, inmates all over the country are starting to stand up against the brutal conditions and abuses they have faced for decades...[T]he actions are part of a unified prisoner movement that's sweeping the country. And they're gearing up for a bigger protest that could force even Wall Street to take notice...'[W]e prisoners across the United States vow to finally end slavery in 2016,' reads a call to action posted in April. 'Our protest against prison slavery is a protest against the school to prison pipeline, a protest against police terror, a protest against post-release controls. When we abolish slavery, they'll lose much of their incentive to lock up our children, they'll stop building traps to pull back those who they've released.'" --safari

Presidential Race

Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast: "... the first full-blown general-election Electoral College forecast" indicates that the presidential race "could be a blowout for Hillary Clinton." Current polling suggests the Electoral College outcome would be "Clinton 358, Trump 180." -- CW

Sam Biddle & Gabrielle Bluestone of Gawker: "A 200+ page document that appears to be a Democratic anti-Trump playbook compiled by the Democratic National Committee has leaked online following this week's report that the DNC was breached by Russian hackers. In it, Trump is pilloried as a 'bad businessman' and 'misogynist in chief.'... It appears that virtually all of the claims are derived from published sources, as opposed to independent investigations or mere rumor. It's also very light on anything that could be considered 'dirt.'..." The story reprints excerpts of the document. -- CW ...

... The full document is here. -- CW

Much of it is false and/or entirely inaccurate. We believe it was the DNC that did the 'hacking' as a way to distract from the many issues facing their deeply flawed candidate and failed party leader. Too bad the DNC doesn't hack Crooked Hillary's 33,000 missing emails. -- Conspiracy-Theorist-in-Chief Donald Trump, Wednesday ...

... Googling for Dollars. Jesse Singal of New York: "Professional Oppo Research on Trump Basically Just Requires Some Googling...." CW: If you can Google "Trump sucks," you too can be a "professional" oppo researcher! Copy-and-paste skills required. Apply at Democrats.org or call 202-WUT-EVER & ask for Debbie.

Sabrina Siddiqui & Lauren Gambino of the Guardian: "The 'reckless' proposals floated by Donald Trump would have done nothing to prevent the carnage of the Orlando massacre, Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday. Speaking at a national security forum, Clinton ... declar[ed] Trump 'temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified' to assume the role of commander-in-chief. 'Not one of Donald Trump's reckless ideas would have saved a single life in Orlando,' Clinton said. 'A ban on Muslims would not have stopped this attack. Neither would a wall. I don't know how one builds a wall to keep the internet out,' she told an event in Hampton, Virginia." -- CW ...

Some days I expect [Trump] to come out and say, "I'm not an expert on national security, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. Let me tell you what I think." -- Kevin Madden, a veteran GOP strategist and former adviser to Mitt Romney ...

... Yes, Trump Finds Breitbart a Good Source for Foreign Intelligence. Karen DeYoung & Jose DelReal of the Washington Post: "Just two days after Donald Trump implied that President Obama sympathized with terrorists, provoking a backlash that included members of his own party, the presumed Republican presidential nominee declared himself 'right,' based on a published report claiming administration 'support' for the Islamic State. In a post to his Twitter account early Wednesday, Trump said 'Media fell all over themselves criticizing what Donald Trump "may have insinuated"' about Obama. 'But he's right,' it said, linking to a story published by the conservative website Breitbart News. The story was based on a declassified 2012 cable.... But the document appears to be an initial intake of spot intelligence from the early days of the Syrian civil war. That intelligence had not yet been vetted or verified. Trump's embrace of Breitbart's interpretation of the cable fits a pattern of careless handling and circulation of facts, particularly in the realm of foreign policy." -- CW

Trump to GOP Critics: STFU. Eric Levitz of New York: Donald Trump "offered some advice to those Republicans who think the government should not discriminate against citizens on the basis of their religious beliefs. 'Don't talk. Please, be quiet,' Trump said. 'Just be quiet, to the leaders, because they have to get tougher, they have to get sharper, they have to get smarter, and we have to have our Republicans either stick together or let me just do it by myself.'" -- CW

Jamelle Blouie of Slate: "If there's anything consistent in Trump's politics, it's nativism and racial prejudice...Trump's popularity is low. It can get lower...By the time we reach the Republican National Convention, Trump might be a zombie candidate: lifeless but still shambling forward, consumed by his most animal impulses...Between now and November, there's a good chance we'll see something almost unprecedented in modern American politics: a world where the elected officials and elites of a political party are either indifferent to the fate of their party's nominee or outright antagonistic to him." --safari

Tim Mak of The Daily Beast: "The Trump Foundation, Donald Trump's nonprofit organization, is under fire for allegedly operating as more of a political slush fund than a charity. The foundation is accused of violating rules prohibiting it from engaging in politics prompting ethics watchdogs to call for public investigations. On numerous occasions this year, Trump's campaign work and his foundation work have overlapped putting himself at risk for penalties and his charity at risk of being shut down." --safari

Ken Vogel, et al., of Politico: "Donald Trump is relying heavily on the Republican Party to bolster his skeletal operation, but his campaign's relationship with the Republican National Committee is increasingly plagued by distrust, power struggles and strategic differences, according to sources in both camps." -- CW ...

... BUT. Jonathan Chait: "... for all of Trump's erratic and authoritarian impulses, and for all of the long-term brand damage he threatens, Republican insiders have made their peace with the prospect of handing him the nuclear codes" because he has quietly signaled he would give them what they want most -- irresponsible fiscal policy & confederate judges. -- CW

Ovetta Wiggins of the Washington Post: Maryland "Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said emphatically Wednesday that he does not plan to vote for Donald Trump...." -- CW

What? Equal Time? Jesse Byrnes of the Hill: Wednesday, Fox "News," CNN & MSNBC all cut away from a Trump rally to carry -- if briefly -- Hillary Clinton's speech on national security. -- CW

Senate Race

I enjoy my service here a lot. -- Marco Rubio, on his feeling about the Senate, Wednesday

That's peculiar, because for quite some time Rubio said he couldn't stand the Senate and that he'd "given up on it," which was why he didn't show up there often. -- Constant Weader

... Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who pledged for months not to seek re-election to the Senate as he waged an ill-fated campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, said Wednesday that he is rethinking that decision and could enter the race as soon as next week. Rubio said his decision followed a Sunday conversation with his friend Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera (R), who is running to succeed him in the Senate, on the sidelines of the scene of the terror attack in Orlando." ...

... Marc Caputo of Politico: Sen. Marco Rubio's friend, Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who has been running for the Senate seat Rubio said he would vacate, told Rubio he should reconsider his decision not to run for re-election. "Bottom line, Lopez-Cantera said in the interview: 'Nothing has changed. I'm still running. Marco isn't.' The filing deadline for the race is June 24, when Rubio is scheduled to hold a fundraiser for Lopez-Cantera. If Rubio decides to run, Lopez-Cantera won't file. Right now, longtime friends of both men believe Rubio ultimately won’t run: The lure of a much bigger paycheck and proximity to his family will outweigh another term in the Senate." CW: They both sound like such fabulous patriots: "This is bigger than me. And this isn't about me. And it's not about you. It's about our country and this election." Lopez-Cantera told Rubio.

The Commentariat -- June 15, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Democrats Have Had Enough. ('bout Time.) Burgess Everett & Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) launched a talking filibuster on the Senate floor -- which was quickly joined by fellow Democrats -- in an effort to pressure Republicans to accept legislation that would deny suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms and require universal background checks.... Murphy, a top gun-control advocate whose home state saw the massacre of 20 school children at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, launched the filibuster, and was immediately backed up by colleagues Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) -- the same day presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with the National Rifle Association." --

     ... CW Note: The link is to an updated (or different but related) story. The lede: "As Sen. Chris Murphy and his Democratic allies held the Senate floor and filibustered into Wednesday evening to force a debate on gun control, negotiations on legislation to prevent suspected terrorists from buying firearms were breaking down behind closed doors."

But if they succeed, it will be Trump who will take the credit: Meg Anderson & Domenico Montanaro of NPR<: "In an abrupt shift in message, Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that he might be taking on a Republican tenet: the party's long-standing opposition to gun control. Trump said he would talk to the NRA about not allowing 'people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns.' In typical fashion for the presumptive Republican nominee, the announcement came via Twitter: 'I will be meeting with the NRA, who has endorsed me, about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns.'"

The NRA, of course, says it's not their policy to sell weapons to terrorists, but that's a lie. In fact, it's their policy to sell assault weapons to anyone with the cash to pay for them. Their current position is that the FBI has to prove that someone purchasing any kind of weapon is a threat and they only have 72 hours to do it. Clearly that would not have prevented the Orlando massacre. One commenter to the NPR story asked how it is that Trump and the Republicans have to go to the NRA to ask permission for any kind of gun control no matter how tepid and ineffectual. Good point. However, if there is the smallest accommodation, due largely to the current Democratic filibuster, Trump will happily take credit since his poll numbers are dropping due to his attacks on the entire Muslim world as well his oral servicing of NRA poobahs. I'm sure he has to wait in line for that honor.

*****

Kevin Liptak of CNN: "President Barack Obama on Tuesday unleashed a blistering verbal assault on Donald Trump...Obama, sounding infuriated at critiques of his foreign policy, pushed back against criticism for not using the term 'radical Islamic terrorism.'... 'What exactly would using this language accomplish? What exactly would it change?' Obama asked during remarks at the Treasury Department. 'Would it make ISIL less committed to try and kill Americans?'...'Would it bring in more allies? Is there a military strategy that is served by this? The answer is none of the above,' he said. 'Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... The New York Times report, by Patrick Healy & Thomas Kaplan, is here. ...

Shouting "Radical Islamists! Aieee!" is probably not a reasonable strategy, but it's all Trump has. Prepubescent caterwauling doesn't stand up very well in the face of rational, adult thought. ...

... John Cassidy of the New Yorker: President Obama's remarks "turned into perhaps the most important address he has given this year. Indeed, historians may look back on it as one of the defining speeches of his Presidency." -- CW ...

... New York Times Editors: "In a speech on Tuesday to update the nation on the battle against the Islamic State, given against the backdrop of the Orlando, Fla., massacre, President Obama gave the most powerful rebuke yet to the increasingly unreasonable and dangerous ravings of ... Donald Trump.... On Thursday, the president plans to travel to Orlando to bring solace to grieving families and a stricken city. It is all but impossible to imagine the Republicans' leading presidential contender offering similar leadership, or having the ability to bring unity from tragedy. Which is a sign of how far the party has fallen, behind the banner of Donald Trump." -- CW (More under Presidential Race below.) ...

... Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are standing apart from their presumptive presidential nominee yet again -- but this time in the aftermath of a major terror attack on the American homeland, an event that historically has brought parties together, not driven them apart.... [Trump's speech Monday] drew fresh condemnations from House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who called Tuesday for 'a security test, not a religious test' for immigrants. 'I do not think a Muslim ban is in our country's interest,' he told reporters. 'I do not think it is reflective of our principles, not just as a party but as a country.'" -- CW ...

... Erica Werner of the AP: "Dismayed Republicans scrambled for cover Tuesday from Donald Trump's inflammatory response to the Orlando massacre, while President Barack Obama and Democrat Hillary Clinton delivered fiery denunciations that underscored the potential peril for the GOP. Republican hopes are fading for a new, 'more presidential' Trump as the party's divisions around him grow ever more acute.... One senior Senate Republican, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, went so far as to suggest Trump might not end up as the party's nominee after all." -- CW

Jonathan Chait: "The post-Bush-doctrine Republican Party is no longer guided by an idealistic and impractical vision for defeating radical Islam. All it has left is a residue of fear and nationalism, ripe for manipulation by a demagogue. The logic of Trump's conquest of the Republican Party is most glaringly obvious when it is splayed against the backdrop of the terrorist threat. He has taken control of an empty vessel and steered it toward its only possible course." -- CW

Rep. Jim Hines (D-Conn.), in a Washington Post op-ed: "Instead of staying in the House chamber Tuesday night, I walked out of the moment of silence, joined by some of my colleagues. Other Democrats who remained in the chamber tried to get Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to act on gun control legislation. To no avail. Congress exists to reflect the will of the people. The vast majority of Americans support measures such as universal background checks, keeping people on the no-fly list from purchasing weapons and limits on how ferocious a weapon a civilian can own. But Congress offers only silence." -- CW ...

... Esther Lee of Think Progress: "... it is much more difficult for immigrants to enter the U.S. than it is for a U.S. citizen -- like the killer -- to purchase the gun they need to commit atrocities." -- CW ...

... Anderson Cooper interrogates Florida AG Pamela Bondi (R) on her legal fights against LGBT people. CW: She acquits herself fairly well, especially given what may be her actual prejudices & the SOB she works for:

... Speaking of the SOB she works for, here's how Gov. Rick Scott addressed a reporter's question about gun control, posed after he gave a hearts-and-prayers/act-of-terrorism supposed press conference following the Orlando massacre:

Pete Williams, et al., of NBC News: "The Orlando gunman's wife has told federal agents she tried to talk her husband out of carrying out the attack.... Omar Mateen's wife, Noor Zahi Salman, told the FBI she was with him when he bought ammunition and a holster, several officials familiar with the case said. She told the FBI that she once drove him to the gay nightclub, Pulse, because he wanted to scope it out.... Authorities are considering filing criminal charges against Noor for failing to tell them what she knew before the brutal attack, law enforcement officials say, but no decision has been made." -- CW

Emily Crockett of Vox: "One of the best predictors of future violent behavior, researchers say, is past violent behavior. And a crucial warning sign -- one too often ignored -- is domestic violence against intimate partners and other family members.... The majority of what could be called 'mass shootings' are all too predictable -- and many victims are the women and children who find themselves entangled in the lives of violently abusive men." -- CW ...

... Lisa Wade, republished in the New Republic: "... in my mind, [Omar] Mateen's crime didn't displace [Brock] Turner's. Yet the media simply replaced one outrage with another, moving our attention away from Stanford and toward Orlando, as if these two crimes were unrelated. They're not.... Sexual violence [on college campuses] is perpetrated disproportionately by 'high-status' men -- fraternity men and certain male athletes in particular. These men are more likely than other men to endorse the sexual double standard.... They are also more likely to promote homophobia, hypermasculinity and male dominance; tolerate violent and sexist jokes; endorse misogynistic attitudes and behaviors; and endorse false beliefs about rape.... Omar Mateen's crime is related to this strand of masculinity.... Anti-gay hate crimes, like violence against women (Mateen also reportedly beat his ex-wife), are tied closely to rigid and hierarchical ideas about masculinity that depend on differentiating 'real' men from women as well as gay and bisexual men." -- CW

Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "House GOP leaders won't allow a vote this week on a proposal to ensure that federal contractors can't discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity." -- CW

Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "On Tuesday, the Senate approved an expansive military policy bill that would for the first time require young women to register for the draft. The shift, while fiercely opposed by some conservative lawmakers and interest groups, had surprisingly broad support among Republican leaders and women in both parties.... The debate will now pit the Senate against the House, where the policy change has support but was not included in that chamber's version of the bill."...

... CW: The young cavalier Righty-Right-Right Honorable Sir Ted Cruz, Knight Errant, rose to defend the delicate ladies -- and make sure they knew their place. This is odd, because Sir Ted wants to make sure everybody has a gun, including men accused or convicted of acts of violence against women, & terrorist suspects.

Annals of Journalism. J. K. Trotter of Gawker: Billionaire Peter Thiel's vendetta against Gawker (and possibly other media outlets since he's not revealing what lawsuits he's bankrolling) continues: "Last week, Thiel's lawyer-for-hire, Charles J. Harder, sent Gawker a letter on behalf of Ivari International's owner and namesake, Edward Ivari, in which Harder claims that ... [a] story [about Donald Trump's hair] was 'false and defamatory.'" -- CW

Presidential Race

Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "Russian government hackers penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee and gained access to the entire database of opposition research on GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to committee officials and security experts who responded to the breach. The intruders so thoroughly compromised the DNC's system that they also were able to read all email and chat traffic, said DNC officials and the security experts.... The networks of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were also targeted by Russian spies, as were the computers of some Republican political action committees, U.S. officials said. But details on those cases were not available.... Some of the hackers had access to the DNC network for about a year, but all were expelled over the past weekend in a major computer cleanup campaign, the committee officials and experts said." CW: Nice going, Debbie.

Rebecca Traister of New York: "There is no taming of the Republican who ostensibly staked out extreme positions to grab attention in the primary; there is no pivot to the center from the Democrat supposedly pulled to the left by her primary rival. Democrats and Republicans are making issues of identity and inclusion central to their campaigns, both symbolically and in terms of policy. The contest we're entering feels ever more like a civil war." -- CW

Yamiche Alcindor & Patrick Healy of the New York Times: "With little affection or trust between them, Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders met privately on Tuesday night to size each other up as they started exploring what kind of alliance they might build for the general election battle against Donald J. Trump.... Setting the stage for their meeting, Mr. Sanders used a news conference here Tuesday afternoon to call for replacing the leaders of the Democratic National Committee, eliminating the role of superdelegates in the party's nomination process, and allowing independents and last-minute registrants to vote in all Democratic primaries." CW: Okay, now Bernie is being a dick (okay, except for the replacing-Li'l-Debbie part). For the good of the country, he should get out in front & give Clinton a full-throated endorsement now. ...

... Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC News: "The carefully choreographed meeting ran for nearly two hours.... Afterwards, both candidates released nearly identical statements calling the meeting 'positive' and saying they had agreed to work together to defeat Donald Trump.... Sanders will address supporters Thursday on a teleconference.... No matter what, he has earned a place in shaping the future of the Democratic Party. This weekend, many of his top outside allies will convene in Chicago to plot the future of the Sanders movement, with or without the Vermont senator. Sanders' half-alive candidacy has left the rest of the party in a state of limbo." -- CW

** Carrie Dann of NBC News: "Hillary Clinton has won the final primary of the Democratic nomination race in the District of Columbia, NBC News projected Tuesday." -- CW ...

Ruby Cramer of BuzzFeed: "Hillary Clinton assailed Donald Trump for his 'shameful,' 'disrespectful' suggestion after the terrorist attack in Orlando, the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, that President Obama sympathized with terrorists.... 'Even in a time of divided politics,' Clinton said, 'this is way beyond anything that should be said by someone running for president of the United States.'" -- CW

Tim Devaney of the Hill: "A former Republican senator is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president after the mass shooting in Orlando, citing her support for gun control. Former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) called for universal background checks on all gun sales and an assault weapons ban Monday in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. 'I can't believe I'm endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, but I am,' said Pressler...." -- CW

Nazi-in-Chief. Eric Rauchway in the Washington Post: "Donald Trump greeted Twitter on Flag Day with two words in all caps: 'AMERICA FIRST!' He has made this slogan a theme for his campaign, and he has begun using it to contrast himself with President Obama, whose criticism of Trump's rhetoric on Tuesday was answered with a Trump statement promising, 'When I am president, it will always be America first.' He wasn't quite promising 'America über alles,' but it comes close. 'America First' was the motto of Nazi-friendly Americans in the 1930s, and Trump has more than just a catchphrase in common with them.... the general idea of 'America First' remains the same: The United States should arm itself against foreign threats and stay within carefully defined borders, using the might of the state only to defend a very specific, rather white idea of 'America' that excludes certain racial and religious minorities." -- CW

Ben Schreckinger of Politico : "Donald Trump responded to President Barack Obama's criticism of his rhetoric on Islam and terrorism on Tuesday night, accusing the president of directing his anger at him rather than at the perpetrator of Sunday's mass shooting in Florida.... On Monday, Trump repeatedly made vague insinuations about Obama's handling of terrorism, saying, 'He doesn't get it or he gets it better than anybody understands.'... Trump also took on ... Hillary Clinton, calling her 'no friend of LGBT Americans' and unpopular with women." -- CW

The bottom line is that the only reason the killer was in America in the first place was because we allowed his family to come here. -- Donald Trump, in his speech Monday

The bottom line is that the only reason we have Donald Trump in America in the first place was because we allowed his mother to come here. -- Constant Weader

Patrick Healy & Thomas Kaplan: "In his apocalyptic speech on Monday warning that terrorism could wipe out the United States -- 'There will be nothing, absolutely nothing, left,' ... -- Mr. Trump ... said. 'Can you imagine what they'll do in large groups, which we're allowing now to come here?'... Mr. Trump ... has intensified the power of fear in presidential politics by demonizing an entire religious group.... Judging from his speech on Monday, his statements throughout the campaign, and interviews with historians and psychologists, Mr. Trump has committed himself to denigrating, if not steamrolling, the conditioned responses that have long served to help unite the country in times of crisis...." CW: This is a straight news report.

Jelani Cobb of the New Yorker: "Some Americans are more American than others to [Donald Trump], based on their skin color and religion.... Trump's concept of graduated citizenship coexists comfortably with his insistence that collective responsibility be placed on the communities he considers suspicious.... Aas Trump, as a candidate, exemplifies, the greatest threat to American values may come from someone who was, in fact, born here." -- CW

Anora Mahmudova & Carla Mozee of Marketwatch.com: "U.S. stocks slumped Tuesday as jittery investors grappled with lower oil prices, stronger-than-expected retail sales and geopolitical concerns in Europe. Investors were given a dose of optimism in the form of better-than-expected retail sales but the start of a the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and worries over the threat of the U.K. exiting the European Union dragged stocks lower."-- Akhilleus (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Ylan Q. Mui of the Washington Post reminds us whose undisciplined rhetoric is helping to sink US stocks. Why, it's Mr. Donald J. Trump, himself. "The potential for a British exit from the European Union -- known as 'Brexit' -- and the acrimonious U.S. presidential election are political flashpoints that could feed back into the real economy. Many analysts are predicting the United Kingdom would fall into recession if it leaves the E.U., throwing financial markets around the globe into turmoil along the way. In the United States, some economists say Trump's policies could spark a trade war with China and cost the country jobs."

...Akhilleus: And who is a big supporter of Brexit, an event that could have seriously damaging effects on US and world markets? Oh, you know who it is...This idiot just gets worse and worse.

The Man without a Dog Whistle. Paul Waldman: "What Trump doesn't seem to understand is that politicians clothe their ugliest appeals in subtle rhetoric so they can maintain deniability not just for themselves, but for those who would vote for them as well.... We want to see ourselves as reasonable, informed, and unbiased. Almost no one wants to think they're filled with hatred or prejudice. But Trump doesn't allow you to make a generous interpretation of your own motivations. If you're truly with him, you want to build those walls, keep people who don't look like you out of the country, and turn back the clock to a bygone time.... That could wind up being one of his biggest impediments to Trump winning a majority, even if his unsubtle appeal was why he won the Republican nomination." -- CW

CW: I don't think Ken Burns likes Donald Trump. Speaking at Stanford's commencement, June 12:

Beyond the Beltway (& Over the Bridge)

My e-mails? Oh, that's different. Andrea Bernstein and Max Katz of WNYC: "Gov. Chris Christie's cell phone, text messages and emails from three separate accounts are missing or have been destroyed, Bridgegate defendants allege in a pair of explosive briefs filed late Monday in federal court in New Jersey. They say Christie's taxpayer-funded lawyers are hiding information about his knowledge of the politically-motivated 2013 lane closures at the George Washington Bridge." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

...Akhilleus: Lost e-mails are only a scandal when they're connected to a Democrat, right Chris?

Paul Elias of the AP: "A Northern California judge at the center of a recall campaign after his handling of a Stanford University sexual assault case was removed from a new sexual assault case Tuesday by the local district attorney. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen used a prosecutor's authority to disqualify a judge to block transfer of the new sexual assault case to Judge Aaron Persky." -- CW

News Ledes

AP: "Authorities were searching early Wednesday for a 2-year-old boy who was dragged into the water by an alligator near Disney's upscale Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. -- CW ...

... The Washington Post story is here. ...

     ... Orlando Sentinel Update: "Orange County[, Florida,] Sheriff Jerry Demings said the Nebraska boy missing after being snatched by an alligator at a hotel near Disney is likely dead. The 2-year-old child was attacked and dragged into the water by an alligator on the shores of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa about 10:00 p.m. Tuesday night. Deputies are in the water and air, trying to recover his body." -- CW ...

     ... Washington Post Update: "The body of a 2-year-old boy snatched by an alligator at a Disney resort in Florida has been found, ending a desperate 18-hour search that began as a rescue operation and eventually became a grim recovery effort, officials said late Wednesday afternoon." -- CW

The Commentariat -- June 14, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Kevin Liptak of CNN: "President Barack Obama on Tuesday unleashed a blistering verbal assault on Donald Trump...Obama, sounding infuriated at critiques of his foreign policy, pushed back against criticism for not using the term 'radical Islamic terrorism'...'What exactly would using this language accomplish? What exactly would it change?' Obama asked during remarks at the Treasury Department. 'Would it make ISIL less committed to try and kill Americans?'...'Would it bring in more allies? Is there a military strategy that is served by this? The answer is none of the above,' he said. 'Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away.'" ...

... Akhilleus: Shouting "Radical Islamists! Aieee!" is probably not a reasonable strategy, but it's all Trump has. Prepubescent caterwauling doesn't stand up very well in the face of rational, adult thought.

Anora Mahmudova and Carla Mozee of Marketwatch.com: "U.S. stocks slumped Tuesday as jittery investors grappled with lower oil prices, stronger-than-expected retail sales and geopolitical concerns in Europe. Investors were given a dose of optimism in the form of better-than-expected retail sales but the start of a the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and worries over the threat of the U.K. exiting the European Union dragged stocks lower."-- Akhilleus

Ylan Q. Mui of the Washington Post reminds us whose undisciplined rhetoric is helping to sink US stocks. Why, it's Mr. Donald J. Trump, himself. "The potential for a British exit from the European Union -- known as 'Brexit' -- and the acrimonious U.S. presidential election are political flashpoints that could feed back into the real economy. Many analysts are predicting the United Kingdom would fall into recession if it leaves the E.U., throwing financial markets around the globe into turmoil along the way. In the United States, some economists say Trump's policies could spark a trade war with China and cost the country jobs." ...

... Akhilleus: And who is a big supporter of Brexit, an event that could have seriously damaging effects on US and world markets? Oh, you know who it is...This idiot just gets worse and worse.

Brian Fung of the Washington Post reports on a big win for supporters of Net Neutrality: "A federal appeals court has voted to uphold a series of strict new rules for Internet providers, handing a major victory to regulators in the fight over net neutrality and ensuring that one of the most sweeping changes to hit the industry in recent years will likely remain on the books. The 2-1 court ruling Tuesday forces Internet providers such as Verizon and Comcast to obey federal regulations that ban the blocking or slowing of Internet traffic to consumers." -- Akhilleus

My E-mails? Oh, That's Different. Andrea Bernstein &Max Katz of WNYC: "Gov. Chris Christie's cell phone, text messages and emails from three separate accounts are missing or have been destroyed, Bridgegate defendants allege in a pair of explosive briefs filed late Monday in federal court in New Jersey. They say Christie's taxpayer-funded lawyers are hiding information about his knowledge of the politically-motivated 2013 lane closures at the George Washington Bridge."

... Akhilleus: Lost e-mails are only a scandal when they're connected to a Democrat, right Chris?

*****

Adam Goldman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The FBI investigated the Orlando shooter for 10 months beginning in 2013, putting him under surveillance, recording his calls and using confidential informants to gauge whether he had been radicalized after the suspect talked at work about his connections with al-Qaeda and dying as a martyr. As part of the investigation, Omar Mateen ... was placed on a terrorism watch list and interviewed twice before the probe was closed in March 2014 because agents concluded he was not a threat, FBI Director James B. Comey said Monday in an interview.... Several months later, in July 2014, Mateen surfaced in another investigation into the first American to die as a suicide bomber in Syria, a fellow Floridian. And, again, investigators moved on." -- CW ...

... Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Obama said Monday that while the gunman in the Orlando massacre had declared allegiance to the Islamic State and appeared to have been inspired by extremist information on the internet, there was no clear evidence that he had been part of a wider plot directed by the terrorist group.... Still, Mr. Obama said the attack underscored the Islamic State's power to inspire hateful acts":

... NEW. Palm Beach Post: "A former classmate of Omar Mateen’s 2006 police academy class said he believed Mateen was gay, saying Mateen once asked him out." -- CW

... Mark Hensch of the Hill: "The gunman who attacked a gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday was a frequent visitor to the establishment, according to one regular visitor." -- CW ...

... Tucker Reals of CBS News: "The Orlando gay club gunman's father has well-known anti-American views and is an ideological supporter of the Afghan Taliban. A new message posted by the father on Facebook early Monday morning also makes it clear he could have passed anti-homosexual views onto his son.... The elder Mateen says he was saddened by his son's actions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He then adds: 'God will punish those involved in homosexuality," saying it's, "not an issue that humans should deal with.'" -- CW ...

... Amanda Marcotte of Salon: "... toxic masculinity [is a] ...persistent pressure to constantly be proving manhood and warding off anything considered feminine or emasculating is the main reason why we have so many damn shootings in the United States. Whether it's Islamic terrorism or Columbine-style shootings or, as is the case with some of the most common but least covered mass shootings, an act of domestic violence by a man who would rather kill his family than lose control, the common theme is this toxic masculinity, a desire on the part of the shooter to show off how much power and control he has, to take male dominance to the level of exerting control over life and death itself." -- CW

... Steve Benen at MSNBC demonstrates how Republicans are making hay while the blood's still wet: "GOP officials, including staunch opponents of gay rights, were eager to condemn the mass shooting, but most were silent on the fact that the gunman targeted not just Americans in general, but LGBT Americans specifically.... Republicans in general were loath to mention the role of anti-LGBT attitudes in the Orlando attack, but [Ted] Cruz saw an opportunity -- not because of his sympathies, but because the slayings might be a wedge issue." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

... Akhilleus: Any chance to turn bloodshed to his advantage, Lyin' Ted will hop to it. Despicable is too nice a word. ...

... Words Fail Me. Laura Bassett of the Huffington Post: "One day after the worst mass shooting in American history, Tennessee State Rep. Andy Holt (R) said he plans to give away two AR-15 assault rifles -- the same kind of weapon used in the massacre -- as a 'door prize' at an upcoming political fundraiser. Holt, a self-described conservative Christian, had announced last week that he would give away one AR-15 at ... a barbeque fundraiser on his farm.... But when reporters asked him after the Orlando, Florida, shooting on Sunday whether he still planned to give away the assault weapon, he told reporters that he now wants to give away two instead of one." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link. I guess -- CW ...

... Katherine Krueger of TPM: "After 49 people were gunned down in an Orlando gay nightclub in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, [supposedly Christian] pastors in California and Arizona praised the gunman for massacring 'perverted predators' and 'pedophiles.'" -- CW

... Pete Williams of NBC News: "That suspected terrorists can legally purchase weapons in the U.S. has been a fierce point of contention in Congress and among gun-control advocates.... The Senate voted down an amendment in December that would block suspected terrorists from buying guns and explosives. The amendment, which needed 60 votes to pass due to procedural rules, failed 45-54. Five days later Senate Democrats tried and failed to force consideration of the bill.... U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin [D-Ill.] said Congress 'makes itself complicit' in mass killings by failing to enact change the laws.... Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, said 'we cannot fall into the trap set by the gun lobby that says if you can't stop every shooting ... you should not try to stop any.'" -- CW ...

... Jeff Toobin of the New Yorker: "... the Supreme Court hasn't tied the hands of members of Congress; rather, the legislators have chosen to preserve the status quo -- with the results, in Orlando and elsewhere, evident to all." -- CW ...

... Gene Robinson: "The only reasonable response to the massacre in Orlando is to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons. All else, I'm afraid, is just noise." CW: I would add that it should be a felony to manufacture (in a factory or in one's basement), sell. buy or own devices or kits to convert firearms to semi-automatics or automatics. ...

...Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "[T]he current interpretation of the Second Amendment -- the one held onto by -- [Ben] Carson, and Donald Trump, and practically the entire Republican Party -- is a hoax. Outside of the GOP, this is widely understood. But what we fail to comprehend, as we bury more of our dead in the name of freedom, is that it is a triple-decker hoax: A lie wrapped in a fabrication, lacquered over with a falsehood. That we chose to wrap it around our necks as a symbol of our own liberty is our own fault and shame.... It is a sick joke of our democracy that after every mass shooting we must tell our children that the Framers gave us this precious gift of liberty, more valuable than their lives, and that we are stuck with it. This is the opposite of freedom. It is slavery by choice." --safari...

... Exceptional America. Kevin Quealy & Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times: "Gun homicides are a common cause of death in the United States, killing about as many people as car crashes.... This level of violence makes the United States an extreme outlier when measured against the experience of other advanced countries. Around the world, those countries have substantially lower rates of deaths from gun homicide." -- CW

Samantha Bee takes on American gun culture --safari

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "If the next president and Congress repeals Obamacare -- as many Republican elected officials want to do -- there could end up being more people without health insurance than before the law went into effect, new study says. A total of 24 million more people would lose health coverage by 2021 if the Affordable Care Act was repealed, according to the study issued Monday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute. As a result, the uninsured rate would nearly double, to 19.4 percent of the U.S. population by 2021, according to the study." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Akhilleus: What a victory that would be for Republicans. I'm sure they'd all be so proud. Those nasty moochers would be back waiting to gasp their last breath on an emergency room gurney. The Republican Way.

NEW. Cecilia Kang of the New York Times: "High-speed internet service can be defined as a utility, a federal court has ruled, a decision clearing the way for more rigorous policing of broadband providers and greater protections for web users. The decision from a three-judge panel at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday comes in a case about rules applying to a doctrine known as net neutrality, which prohibit broadband companies from blocking or slowing the delivery of internet content to consumers.... The court's ruling was a slam-dunk for the F.C.C." -- CW

Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Monday left intact a key Obama administration environmental regulation, refusing to take up an appeal from 20 states to block rules that limit the emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants that are byproducts of burning coal. The high court's decision leaves in place a lower-court ruling that found that the regulations, put in place several years ago by the Environmental Protection Agency, could remain in effect while the agency revised the way it had calculated the potential industry compliance costs. The EPA finalized its updated cost analysis in April." CW: Pity the poor polluters & their pimps.

Adam Liptak & Mary Walsh of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an effort in Puerto Rico to allow public utilities there to restructure $20 billion in debt, striking down a 2014 Puerto Rico law. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority in the 5-to-2 decision, said the law was at odds with the federal bankruptcy code, which bars states and lower units of government from enacting their own versions of bankruptcy law.... In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said the majority's approach was too mechanical and failed to take into account the purpose of the bankruptcy law and the impact of its decision." -- CW

Adam Liptak: "How unusual is the Republican blockade of the nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland, President Obama's pick for the Supreme Court? After a comprehensive look at every past Supreme Court vacancy, two law professors [-- Robin Bradley Kar and Jason Mazzone --] have concluded that it is an unprecedented development.... The Senate has never before transferred a president's appointment power in comparable circumstances to an unknown successor, they said -- an argument that many Democratic lawmakers have also made. In every one of the 103 earlier Supreme Court vacancies, the professors wrote, the president was able to both nominate and appoint a replacement with the Senate's advice and consent. This did not always happen on the first try, they wrote, but it always happened." -- CW

Presidential Race

Democrats hold the last primary election of the season today in Washington, D.C., which should mean our long national nightmare is close to over. ...

... Yamiche Alcindor & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "What will Mr. Sanders ... do next? Thus far, the only certainty is that he and Mrs. Clinton plan to hold a private meeting on Tuesday.... Several people close to the senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity..., say he will try to get assurances from Mrs. Clinton that she will fight for many of his campaign policy proposals, including a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, a jobs program tied to repairing the country's infrastructure, and tuition-free public colleges and universities. At this point, Mr. Sanders is refusing to concede defeat and release his delegates to vote for Mrs. Clinton, which some think could avoid a sense of disunity at the Democratic convention. His refusal could be a negotiating tactic for winning concessions on the party's platform." -- CW

Amy Chozick & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump said on Monday that the massacre in Orlando justified his call for a ban on Muslim immigration and warned that if Hillary Clinton were elected president, thousands of potential Islamic terrorists would flood into the country with the intention of slaughtering innocent Americans. Mrs. Clinton, meanwhile, warned that Mr. Trump's anti-Muslim stances were damaging efforts to defeat terrorism and vowed to step up airstrikes against the Islamic State while working with the private sector to root out so-called lone wolf terrorists who are often recruited or inspired online." -- CW...

... NEW. Kyle Cheney & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Donald Trump’s combative anti-terrorism speech Monday flouted the typical post-tragedy script and left Republican insiders fretting that the business mogul is unprepared to play a crucial presidential role: national healer. Some wondered whether he failed to harness a moment to elevate himself and pass what one Republican called the 'desk test' -- the ability to picture Trump in the Oval Office in a time of crisis. And on Capitol Hill, his renewed call for a ban on Muslim immigration drew quick condemnations from GOP lawmakers, even as they struggled to stand by their presumptive nominee." -- CW ...

... ** NEW. Greg Sargent: Even Republicans agree: Trump failed his first leadership test miserably.... That is striking: The Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee wondered aloud whether the GOP standard bearer's high profile response to a major terrorist attack might actually exacerbate terror recruitment. And the Number Two Republican in the House flatly declared the GOP standard bearer's main policy proposal on terrorism to be an unacceptable religious test that would never make it to the House floor." -- CW ...

... Brian Beutler of the New Republic: Even when he "sticks to the script," as he did in his speech yesterday, Donald Trump's "performance Monday was remarkably demagogic.... Mitch McConnell has expressed his frustration with Trump explicitly as a matter of his undisciplined conduct. Trump, he says, needs to use 'prepared texts' and 'get on message.'... His ... speech Monday ... showed he can be just as odious as when he ad-libs. His scripts, it turns out, are sometimes just transcribed versions of the improvised comments McConnell finds so politically damaging." -- CW ...

Her plan is to disarm law-abiding Americans, abolishing the Second Amendment, and leaving only the bad guys and terrorists with guns. No good. Not going to happen, folks. Not going to happen. -- Donald Trump, in his speech Monday

Jesus H. Christ on a firing range, how many times is he going to say this before someone hits him with a polo mallet for being such an absurd man? Presidents cannot abolish constitutional amendments. -- Charles Pierce

The bad news -- Trumpolini might actually abolish any number of Constitutional provisions. -- Constant Weader

David Graham of The Atlantic: Obama Involved in Orlando Nightclub Shooting. "In an almost entirely unprecedented moment, Donald Trump ... suggested in interviews Monday morning that President Obama may have somehow been involved in Sunday's massacre in Orlando. Trump's suggestion came by implication, but the message is unmistakable: The president may have somehow known about or been involved in the shooting." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Akhilleus: Off the rails, into the woods, and over a cliff. You might as well vote for the guy on the subway who talks to himself. ...

     ... Constant Weader: The difference between Trump& the guy on the subway is that Trump doesn't take the subway. ...

... digby: "This is demented, taking things way beyond anything we've seen before in a presidential candidate.... This is a straight-up madman." -- CW ...

... Benjy Sarlin & Katy Tur of NBC News: "Donald Trump waded into the fever swamps on Monday, suggesting in two interviews that President Obama may have a secret agenda that prevents him from combating Islamic terrorists. The comments added to a long list of conspiracy theories from the presumptive GOP nominee about the president's religion, birthplace and worldview. They also sent a clear message to Republicans who have begged Trump to soften his rhetoric that he's not changing his ways anytime soon." -- CW ...

... Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "Donald Trump said people can figure out for themselves what he meant when he said Monday morning that 'there's something going on' when President Obama talks about Islamic terrorism.... 'There was certainly not a lot of passion,' continued Trump. 'There was certainly not a lot of anger. You know, I'll let that, we'll let people figure it out. But it's very, very, it's a very sad situation when we have the kind of a tragedy that we had and we have a president that gave a press conference and talks about gun control. This was a licensed person, who could have had a gun anyway.' [CW: That's the point, Lunkhead.] Earlier in the interview, Trump said President Obama was angrier with him than he was at ISIS." -- CW ...

... Hey, Max Ehrenfreund of the Washington Post Figured it Out! "... during that [Fox 'News"] interview, Trump repeated a four-word phrase that has come to define his conspiratorial campaign.... 'There's something going on,' Trump said. "It's inconceivable. There's something going on.' That phrase, according to political scientists who study conspiracy theories, is characteristic of politicians who seek to exploit the psychology of suspicion and cynicism to win votes.... [Trump] said the same thing with reference to the deadly attack in San Bernardino last year at a debate in January. 'There's something going on there,' Trump told MSNBC's Morning Joe in November when asked whether Islam is a violent religion. 'There's something definitely going on.'... Polling during the primary showed that Trump was especially popular with Republicans who endorsed conspiracy theories." -- CW ...

... As have a number of other reporters and pundits, Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post wrote yesterday, "Donald Trump seemed to repeatedly accuse President Obama on Monday of identifying with radicalized Muslims who have carried out terrorist attacks in the United States and being complicit in the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando over the weekend.... On the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly stated as fact conspiracy theories about the president, his rivals and Muslims, often refusing to back down from his assertions even when they are proven to be false." ...

     ... SO THEN ... Ed Kilgore: "Team Trump did reach a new and hilarious low today by banning ... the Washington Post ... from coverage of his events or direct receipt of his propaganda ... because the paper tried to make sense of rambling Trump remarks about President's Obama's reaction to the Orlando massacre...." -- CW ...

     ... Gabrielle Bluestone of Gawker recalls other news outlets & reporters whom Trump has banned. -- CW ...

... Los Angeles Times Editors: "Donald J. Trump, the loose cannon who would be president, hinted Monday that President Obama might be complicit in terror attacks by Islamic extremists, including Sunday's bloodbath in Orlando, Fla. That accusation by innuendo marks a new and repugnant low for Trump, who along with his surrogates is engaged in a smear campaign reminiscent of the dark days of McCarthyism." -- CW

... ISIS-Recruiter-in-Chief. Dana Milbank: "... exploiting the weekend's massacre in Orlando, Trump is claiming 'thousands' of American Muslims, protected and hidden by their coreligionists, are prepared to commit even greater carnage.... If that were too subtle, Roger Stone, Trump's confidant and informal adviser, said on Sirius XM that Huma Abedin, a Muslim who is a top Hillary Clinton adviser, could be a Saudi spy or a 'terrorist agent.' Trump also floated, again, the notion that President Obama is in cahoots with the terrorist enemy -- thus accusing the commander in chief of the capital crime of treason.... Trump has long floated versions of Obama-as-Muslim-traitor conspiracy theories.... Trump warned Monday that the terrorism seen in Orlando 'is going to get worse and worse' -- and, thanks to him, that's probably true." -- CW ...

... David Ignatius of the Washington Post: "Even by Donald Trump's standards, his comments about the Orlando shooting have been reckless and self-serving. They are also dangerous for the country.... Trump's polarizing rhetoric ... may be the best thing the Islamic State has going for it, according to some leading U.S. and foreign counter-terrorism experts.... The strongest remaining force that propels the Islamic State is the Islamophobia of Trump and his European counterparts, argue senior intelligence strategists for the U.S.-led coalition.... It's breathtaking that a serious presidential candidate would call on a sitting president to resign following a terrorist attack, because 'he doesn't get it or he gets it better than anybody understands.' What's that supposed to mean, if not a slur against Obama's loyalty?" -- CW ...

... Not to put too fine a point on it, William Saletan of Slate: Donald Trump is "an ISIS stooge." -- CW

New Clinton Trump E-Mail Scandal! Paul Singer of USA Today: "In 2006, when a judge ordered Donald Trump's casino operation to hand over several years' worth of emails, the ... The Trump Organization [said it] routinely erased emails and had no records from 1996 to 2001. The defendants in a case that Trump brought said this amounted to destruction of evidence, a charge never resolved.... Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld was stunned.... 'If somebody starts to put forth as a fact something that doesn't make any sense to me and causes me to have a concern about their credibility in the discovery process, that's not a good direction to go, and I am really having a hard time with this.'" Trump has called Clinton a "criminal" and "guilty" of deleting e-mails when she was secretary of state. -- CW

** Trump could become a dictator. -- CW

CW: Assuming there will never be a President Trump, I am looking forward to "Trump, the Opera Buffa."

Capitalism is Awesome

Adam Edelman of the Daily News reminds us that gun manufacturers win no matter what: "Shares of gunmakers shot up Monday as investors anticipated a new wave of weapons purchases in the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.... The spikes came one day after a lone gunman who pledged allegiance to ISIS opened fire inside an Orlando nightclub killing at least 49 people and injuring 53, sparking renewed fears among gun owners of future gun control measures." ...

... Akhilleus: After each new atrocity (they coming with increasing frequency), the gun knobbers get the Red Alert: Horrible Nee-Groe sending black helicopters and beret-wearing UN Frenchies to grab your guns! Danger! Those in dire need of brains panic and race out to purchase more firepower than on display at Bastogne during the height of the Battle of the Bulge. After the rush on guns and ammo, Republicans kill any attempt at gun control and everyone settles in to fondling their new weaponry until the next atrocity when it's DANGER! all over again. Mass murder or not quite mass murder, or just a simple case of road rage or wife killing, the gun lobby wins and the gun manufacturers take it to the bank.

Beyond the Beltway

American "Justice" Ctd. Les Zaitz of The Orgegonian: "A deputy protected his relatives from blame in a random shooting by arresting the 911 caller who reported it, resulting in a foul-up that raises fresh questions about embattled Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer. The district attorney didn't pursue a case, instead rebuking Palmer and his deputy. The county quietly paid the caller $12,000 from its insurer to fend off a lawsuit. 'This incident is the most egregious abuse of power I have ever seen,' said attorney Edie Rogoway, who represented the arrested man." Via RawStory--safari

Way Beyond

Angelique Chrisafis of the Guardian: "President François Hollande has convened crisis talks after a man convicted for terrorist offences and claiming allegiance to the Islamic State stabbed a French police commander to death in front of his house outside Paris, then killed his partner who also worked for the police." -- CW