A hippy landed a flying bike on Washington to call for campaign reform so CNN is debating how much more we should spend on air defense.
— Dan Harmon (@danharmon) April 15, 2015
The guy risked his life in hopes of getting the press to stop shilling for the government for ten seconds and we gave him seven and a half.
— Dan Harmon (@danharmon) April 15, 2015
The NYTimes felt it could afford joviality, since it didn’t happen on their turf:
… Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said that Mr. Hughes’s protest could have ended in tragedy.
“Had it gotten any closer to the Speaker’s Balcony, they have long guns to take it down, but it didn’t,” Mr. McCaul said. “It landed right in front.” He was referring to the House speaker’s office in the Capitol.
The unexpected landing provided a brief moment of excitement in an otherwise quiet day on Capitol Hill. Aides and reporters raced outside the building, and to the windows, to see if they could glimpse the gyrocopter.
But those expecting a giant spectacle found themselves disappointed. “That’s not a helicopter,” one Capitol employee said with a chuckle. “That’s a lawn chair with a propeller attached.”
But their chief numbers wonk, Nate Cohn, was lamenting that “Big Money From Super PACs Is Eroding the Power of Parties“…
Six months ago, I would have told you that April 15, the date when campaigns report their first-quarter fund-raising tallies, could be one of the most interesting early milestones of the Republican primary season.
I think I even told my boss, admittedly with hyperbole, that the Q1 report of a year preceding a presidential election was the most important fund-raising report in American politics.
But this year, April 15 has come and gone without much news at all…
The uneventful passing of April 15 is only the most subtle indication of the way super PACs are transforming the presidential nominating process. They have given candidates the ability to raise colossal sums from small but wealthy bases of support. Along with Internet fund-raising, super PACs are helping to form an alternative campaign finance model that is eroding party control over the primary process. Which types of candidates will benefit remains to be seen…
I’ll take “the ones who agree that the most important voters are those with the most money” for $666, Alex!
***********
Apart from the ongoing irksomeness, what’s on the agenda for the day?
chopper
I still can’t believe some dude crashed an autogyro on the Capitol lawn. what is it, 1933?
MattF
The Zeitgeist uses coconut oil.
Ajabu
I hate to look like the DNC but here it is again for those who missed it previously.
(And to those who’ve already responded. Thanks!)
Very Important (to me) Announcement!
(and with Cole’s blessing…)
Dear BJ family:
I’m a daily continual reader of Balloon Juice — I won’t call myself a lurker
because that sounds vaguely sinister & sleazy — but rarely post anything.
However, I feel like I know you all and have no qualms about asking for your support. Here’s the deal:
I’ve been a working jazz musician all my life and this year marks my 50th year as a professional. Having missed the ‘regular job’ step in my career trajectory I find myself old & broke, working until I fall over my instrument one day which will constitute retirement.
To celebrate the milestone of 50 years I’m trying to do a CD for release around September.
I’ve put up a Kickstarter page to pay for it. (Personally, I can barely afford to pay attention…) The problem is that I’m going to need a shitload of small donations to make this work. The Kickstarter model is that if you fail to meet your funding goal you get nothing. Nobody’s card is charged unless it’s fully funded. And it’s a tight window. 30 days total.
I’d be very grateful if you guys could throw a few dollars my way to get this
done. It’s going to be a really nice project. Nearly all original material performed on vibraphone, marimba and steel pan.
Instrumental jazz music with West Indian roots. You’ll love it!
Thanks for considering me and I’ll make sure that anyone who identifies
themselves as a Balloon Juicer will get something extra along with their CD. (But it won’t be a puppy.)
The link is here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1939410000/50th-anniversary-cd
Thanks again!!
Don Moors
P.S. My personal website (http://www.donmoors.com) is a valuable resource if you’re ever on Jeopardy and the category is ‘aging vibraphonist trivia’.
danielx
Confidently expecting comments from Lindsey Graham (R-pissypants) to the effect that the Capitol should be ringed by Patriot missile batteries. Immediately.
debbie
If this isn’t a powerful argument for gun control, I don’t know what is. When you’ve got people practically jumping at their own shadows…
Belafon
When you read a donation request email from the DNCC or the DSCC or a candidate, think about the alternative: They could be skipping you and running to the Koch’s or Sheldon Anderson.
rikyrah
I heard this on the radio this morning. They ‘transfered’ the folks who brought this to people’s attention and refused to go along with the scam.
UH HUH
UH HUH
Like I’ve said before…
time for this man’s family to SUE SUE SUE!!!
……………………
Sources: Supervisors told to falsify reserve deputy’s training records
Posted: Thursday, April 16, 2015 12:00 am | Updated: 1:01 am, Thu Apr 16, 2015.
By DYLAN GOFORTH World Staff Writer & ZIVA BRANSTETTER
World Enterprise Editor
Supervisors at the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office were ordered to falsify a reserve deputy’s training records, giving him credit for field training he never took and firearms certifications he should not have received, sources told the Tulsa World.
At least three of reserve deputy Robert Bates’ supervisors were
transferred after refusing to sign off on his state-required training,
multiple sources speaking on condition of anonymity told the World.
Bates,73, is accused of second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Eric Harris during an undercover operation on April 2.
The sources’ claims are corroborated by records, including a statement by Bates after the shooting, that he was certified as an advanced reserve deputy in 2007.
An attorney for Harris’ family also raised questions about the authenticity of Bates’ training records.
Additionally, Sheriff Stanley Glanz told a Tulsa radio station this week that Bates had been certified to use three weapons, including a revolver he fired at Harris. However, Glanz said the Sheriff’s Office has not been able to find the paperwork on those certifications.
The sheriff’s deputy that certified Bates has moved on to work for the Secret Service, Glanz said during the radio interview.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/courts/sources-supervisors-told-to-falsify-reserve-deputy-s-training-records/article_a6330f10-a9fb-51e3-ab5e-4d97b03c6c04.html#user-comment-area
The Pale Scot
I’m working the front desk at a food bank, an AA fellow gives me his ID and his name is Robert Lee,
He had a mean momma.
debbie
@rikyrah:
I’m sure I’m late to any police discussions here, but I just read TNC’s latest post:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/the-myth-of-police-reform/390057/
It won’t be getting better any time soon.
rikyrah
and they knew about this before the election. count on it.
uh huh
uh huh
……………..
FBI investigates $20 million no-bid contract and CPS CEO’s role in it
Posted: 04/15/2015, 06:05pm |
BY LAUREN FITZPATRICK, ROSALIND ROSSI AND FRAN SPIELMAN
The FBI is investigating a $20.5 million, no-bid contract awarded by Chicago Public Schools to a Wilmette company and what role CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett played in it, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Byrd-Bennett previously worked for the company, SUPES Academy, which trains school principals, before Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed her as CEO of the financially beleaguered district.
The FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago have been investigating the contract for more than a year, the source said. A grand jury has taken up the probe, the Sun-Times has learned.
Meanwhile, two City Hall sources told the Sun-Times that Byrd-Bennett’s $250,000-a-year contract, set to expire in June, has not yet been renewed nor will it be unless the investigation is cleared up. Hired in the wake of the 2012 teachers’ strike, Byrd-Bennett remained on the job Wednesday, a district spokesman said.
The awarding of the $20 million contract has repeatedly drawn sharp criticism given the perilous finances of the school system, and principals have griped about the quality of the training they received.
Byrd-Bennett did not return messages for comment Wednesday.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/education/7/71/522480/federal-grand-jury-investigates-cps-contract-cps-ceos-role
rikyrah
if the Democrats can’t defend against this, then they don’t deserve anything
………………..
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 4/15/15
VA threatened by conservative privatization push
Rachel Maddow shows how right wing groups have worked to create a political environment where the previously radical idea of privatizing veterans’ health care can be presented as a viable alternative to the VA.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/right-pushes-to-privatize-veterans-care-428863043838
rikyrah
These are the children of Citizens United
………………………
Big Money From Super PACs Is Eroding the Power of Parties
APRIL 16, 2015
Six months ago, I would have told you that April 15, the date when campaigns report their first-quarter fund-raising tallies, could be one of the most interesting early milestones of the Republican primary season.
I think I even told my boss, admittedly with hyperbole, that the Q1 report of a year preceding a presidential election was the most important fund-raising report in American politics.
In 2007, it was when we learned that Barack Obama could match the supposedly inevitable Hillary Rodham Clinton in fund-raising, and that John McCain wasn’t a real front-runner for the Republican nomination (although he managed to claw back to win it), despite his second-place G.O.P. showing in 2000.
But this year, April 15 has come and gone without much news at all.
Rather than exploratory committees and campaigns, top Republican candidates like Jeb Bush and Scott Walker have started super PACs and other groups allowing them to solicit unlimited contributions. None will have to file disclosure forms with the Federal Election Commission until July.
The uneventful passing of April 15 is only the most subtle indication of the way super PACs are transforming the presidential nominating process. They have given candidates the ability to raise colossal sums from small but wealthy bases of support. Along with Internet fund-raising, super PACs are helping to form an alternative campaign finance model that is eroding party control over the primary process. Which types of candidates will benefit remains to be seen.
The primary season is just underway, but the early super PAC tallies appear to be an order of magnitude beyond what we saw the last time, when Mitt Romney’s super PAC “Restore Our Future” raised $12 million in the first half of 2011.
Some speculate that Jeb Bush could raise $100 million in the first quarter and $500 million by June. Anything near those sums would smash Mr. Romney’s performance.
Ted Cruz more than doubled Mr. Romney’s tally in three weeks. A network of super PACs aligned with Mr. Cruz said it raised $31 million in the weeks after he announced his candidacy, which is more than Mr. Obama did in the entire first quarter of 2007.
There is no precedent for the fund-raising success of Mr. Cruz, a candidate with virtually no support from party elites. My colleague Nicholas Confessore wrote that “the size of the contributions is likely to force backers of other candidates to rethink their budgets for the primary season,” and one can only wonder what the effect might be in another four years. Will the incumbent president raise $4 billion? How much is the presidency really worth? At this point, perhaps we shouldn’t rule out anything.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/upshot/big-money-from-super-pacs-is-eroding-the-power-of-parties.html?wpmm=1&abt=0002&abg=1&emc=rss&partner=rss&wpisrc=nl_wonk&_r=2
cmm
From today’s Tulsa World: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/courts/sources-supervisors-told-to-falsify-reserve-deputy-s-training-records/article_a6330f10-a9fb-51e3-ab5e-4d97b03c6c04.html
Couple of things:
–Kudos to the officers who refused to go along with this and were willing to take the consequences. It’s too bad no one blew the whistle earlier, but it sounds like Bates had a huge amount of clout inside and out of the department. And I wonder how much attention would have been paid by reporters to allegations by disgruntled officers, or even by the public to a newspaper story about special treatment of some reservists before this incident?
–Buried waaaay down in the article: Bates was the current sheriff’s re-election campaign manager in 2012. And was “Reserve Deputy of the Year” in 2011. Huh.
–It appears that Bates got to run around doing whatever he wanted because of his in with the sheriff and his ability to buy neat toys for the department. It is NOT a usual thing for a septuagenarian reserve officer to get to go along on undercover operations and buy/busts. The purpose of a reserve in most departments is to help with lower priority responsibilities like security guard/transport/paperwork stuff to free up regular officers for street duty. In our department, reservists man the metal detectors at court and the security desk in various city offices. Bet there is a lot of resentment among the rank and file about Bates’ treatment in the department. Would not be surprised if more info gets leaked by “multiple anonymous sources”.
–How sweet is it that the damning video of the incident was captured by a “sunglasses camera” that Bates bought for the department? If they had paid more attention to the basics and less to nifty toys…
cmm
@debbie: Wha? I’m certainly in favor of more gun control than we have, but good lord, if there is a place for security personnel with “long guns”, it’s the Capitol (and the White House)! The guy could easily have been a terrorist with a bomb ready to blow himself up, and flown into the side of the building instead of the lawn. And now that one person did it, the next one very well could have more sinister intent.
cmm
Oops one more thing on my list of Tulsa observations:
–Sheriff’s Department is gonna have to write a BIG check to the family of the guy who was killed. GOOD. Unlike a lot of the people being killed by police, it appears this suspect was a genuine criminal and it SHOULD hurt that instead of locking him up, they have to give a bunch of money to the family. Honestly, concern about legal liability (aka being sued) is a major incentive for the people in charge in police departments to maintain a lot more control policy-wise and in terms of supervising and getting rid of bad actors. Many in law enforcement bemoan this and it occasionally really does hamper actions in a negative way, but most of the time it’s absolutely necessary.
Betty Cracker
@cmm:
Seconded. Cops get a lot of criticism for remaining silent about bad apples. They should be recognized when they don’t.
Frankensteinbeck
Really? Because I’m going for ‘fruitcakes’. The ultra-rich willing to plow millions upon millions into PACs aren’t the greedy masterminds. They’re the Koch Brothers and Adelson and FristICan’tSpellHisName. They’re nutcases who fund nutcases that agree with their favorite radical positions. They’re arrogant SOBs who go for PACs because they want things done their way, and fuck established candidates. They’re sparkle unicorn demanding bully pulpit believing paranoid purity ponies with enough money to front candidates who cater to their unrealistic whims. Remember, the Kochs funded the Tea Party and chose their candidates.
Chris
@Frankensteinbeck:
Are there even any greedy masterminds left? Seems to me the entire party’s gone fruity as a nutcake. Lex Luthor checked out a long time ago, it’s the Joker’s party now from top to bottom.
Tree With Water
Charles Pierce noted this about the woman and her campaign: “That Rodham Clinton elides this middle step when talking about what happened to “small business” during the crisis strikes me as more than a little significant. Credit got tight because of the deliberate crimes and frauds of the financial services industry, not because of some mysteriously natural market forces, or because of the workings of some vaguely understood economic “cycle.”
Clinton supporters will overlook her refusal to utter the words ‘crimes and frauds’ in the same breath as ‘Wall Street’, just as they overlook her bald faced lie of a claim that good people were misled by faulty intelligence in the run-up to the Bush Cheney War. Just why that is, I don’t know. I mean, Hillary I understand. What I don’t understand is the willful blindness of Clinton democrats. I don’t understand them, at all.
jl
This goofball’s gyrowhatevver flight leads to my agenda today: watch amusing nonsense about it on Fox and CNN.
Maybe I will get to see Graham nattering away that the guy should have been shot out of the sky (so far I have only heard that he said it, but hearing Himself say it will be fun).
Probably some ‘expert’ will explain the gyrocopter, or autogyro, could easily have been turned into a fusion thermonuclear bomb.
Check it:
Step 1. the frame of the autogyro is full of explosives and uranium, cleverly designed to implode into the pilot’s belly on detonation.
Step 2. Pilot swallows a uranimum sphere he has cleverly hidden in a lead box
Step 3. Piliot pushes button
Step 4: Bye bye Maryland, Washington DC and Northern Virginia!
Everything has changed now. Everything. Prohibiting possession of autogryos (on pain of Gitmo-ing violators) and creating a new enforcement agency is critical.
Tree With Water
Digby Says: “.. Unfortunately for the conservatives, inequality is becoming impossible to ignore and the people are starting to wake up to what is happening. The confusion on the right about how to handle it is a sign that it’s verging out of their control..”.
It’s little different in the democratic party, where the former senator from Wall Street enjoys extraordinary popularity with a rank an file otherwise unwilling to support republican politicians or their policies.
Ajabu
@Belafon:
Good point. And as I said the other day when somebody commented that I’m a “random guy asking for money” I could be over there on the RWNJ sites chasing funding but they probably wouldn’t like my music and definitely wouldn’t like my politics.