THE NEW NORMAL?

Horrific attacks in Paris -- ISIS claims responsibility

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/14/1449887/-Paris-terror-attacks-French-president-blames-ISIS-which-claims-responsibility

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/many-dead-after-explosion-shootings-in-paris.html

http://www.vox.com/2015/11/14/9734312/paris-attacks-shootings-terrorism-isis
French president calls them an "act of war"

Reactions: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/13/the-lessons-of-paris-they-choose-death-we-choose-life.html
The Lessons of Paris: They Choose Death, We Choose Life

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/13/paris-proves-we-ll-never-kill-enough-jihadists-to-stop-terror.html
Paris Proves We’ll Never Kill Enough Jihadists to Stop Terror

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/14/the-paris-attack-and-the-remarkable-smallness-of-our-politics/
The Paris attack and the remarkable smallness of our politics
 
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_11/the_morning_after_paris_what_d058620.php
The Morning After Paris: What Do We Do Now?

How we helped create ISIS

http://www.vox.com/2015/11/14/9734536/paris-isis-origins-video

In other news . . .

The Rich Guy's attacks against Dr. Ben are killing him with evangelical voters -- and he has no chance in the GOP without them

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/11/donald-trump-insulted-every-evangelical-iowa-last-night

The GOP is still at war with itself

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/13/1449393/-GOP-civil-war-breaks-out-on-immigration
GOP civil war breaks out on immigration

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/the-republican-medicaid-expansion-fan-club
Senate GOP Exposed By Their Flailing Effort To Look Tough On Obamacare

We know what they're against, but not what they're for

http://www.vox.com/2015/11/13/9727132/republicans-economy
Republicans think America is doing terribly, but it isn’t

Stay tuned

http://www.vox.com/2015/11/13/9731550/supreme-court-abortion-texas
Supreme Court takes first major abortion case in nearly a decade

Bonus item: A bit of good news

http://www.vox.com/2015/11/14/9732414/how-many-americans-smoke

Smoking rates in America are now the lowest they’ve been in more than 50 years

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

STUPID

The Rich Guy says, without irony, that anyone who thinks Dr. Ben is qualified to be president is stupid

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/11/13/trump-asks-iowans-how-stupid-are-they-to-believe-carson/?partner=rss&emc=rss

A 95 minute rant: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/best-of-trumps-95-minute-rant-compilation.html

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/11/strain-losing-ben-carson-has-finally-driven-donald-trump-crazy
The Strain of Losing to Ben Carson Has Finally Driven Donald Trump Crazy

Ben Carson claims to have his own super-secret sources of "intelligence" information -- though we might have to reconsider that word

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-armstrong-williams-chinese-in-syria

More: http://on.msnbc.com/1Pr5103

Chris Christie just can't shake BridgeGate

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/as-campaign-crumbles-christie-hit-with-epic-bridgegate-docu-dump

More: http://www.wnyc.org/story/bridgegate-defendants-christies-team-hiding-thousands-documents-including-christie-emails/

The Hillary Clinton who lives inside the Republican brain

https://newrepublic.com/article/123430/hillary-clinton-living-inside-gop-brain 

Why does anyone, ANYONE, care what The Guy Who Was Wrong About Everything says?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/12/dick-cheney-on-hillary-clinton-i-think-shes-in-big-trouble/
Dick Cheney on Hillary Clinton: ‘I think she’s in big trouble’

House conservatives want a new "Contract With America"

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-13/house-republican-hard-liners-drafting-contract-with-america-ii-

Boehner is gone -- will the pressure shift to Mitch McConnell?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_11/another_train_wreck_for_mcconn058594.php
Another Train Wreck
 
The fight over TPP

http://www.vox.com/2015/11/12/9716400/tpp-labor-vietnam

Fox World blames campus protests on . . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/sounds-legit--14

Bonus item: Yes, let's make this campaign all about HAIR

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/theyre-gearing-up.html

More: http://www.salon.com/2015/11/12/donald_trump_noted_haver_of_great_hair_mocks_hillary_clintons_massive_hairdo/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE MENAGERIE

What a bunch of goofs

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-1111-mcmanus-carson-biography-20151111-column.html
Why Ben Carson has no business near the Oval Office

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/11/trump-s-operation-wetback-delusion.html
Trump’s ‘Operation Wetback’ Delusion

What is ‘Operation Wetback’? http://www.vox.com/2015/11/11/9714842/operation-wetback

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/11/trump-carson-duel-title-least-prepared-commander-chief
Trump, Carson Duel For Title of Least Prepared Commander-in-Chief

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/11/whats-jeb-bushs-weird-wonky-totally-wrong-riff-dodd-frank
What's Up With Jeb Bush's Weird, Wonky, Totally Wrong Riff on Dodd-Frank?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ted-cruzs-memory-comes-little-short
Ted Cruz’s memory comes up a little short

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/11/carly-fiorina-creates-whole-new-debate-technique
Carly Fiorina Creates Whole New Debate Technique

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/12/rand_paul_is_just_hilariously_trolling_republicans_now_and_inadvertently_revealing_the_two_words_behind_the_gops_biggest_lie/
Rand Paul is just hilariously trolling Republicans now 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/11/1448719/-Marco-Rubio-is-totally-wrong-about-philosophers-and-welders-fundraises-off-of-it-anyway
Marco Rubio is totally wrong about philosophers and welders

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_11/philosopher_kings_1058583.php
Philosopher Kings

The state of the GOP race

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fourth-gop-presidential-debate-did-little-to-narrow-the-field/2015/11/11/13968642-888c-11e5-be39-0034bb576eee_story.html
More than 10 months of campaign activity have left the Republican Party in a quandary. . . 

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/opinion/waiting-for-the-republican-shakeout.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0

What counts as a "conservative" today?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/us/politics/gop-fight-now-a-battle-over-what-defines-a-conservative.html?_r=0

Bonus item: It's not funny! (but it is)

http://crooksandliars.com/2015/11/larry-wilmore-breaks-down-gop-debate-isnt
Larry Wilmore Breaks Down The GOP Debate: 'This Isn't Funny Anymore. It's Just Stupid.'

http://crooksandliars.com/2015/11/daily-show-fact-checks-gop-fox-business
The Daily Show Fact-Checks The GOP Fox Business Debate

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

UNREAL

Another GOP debate - how'd it go?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/reality-takes-beating-latest-republican-debate
There's always chatter about who "wins" or "loses" at debates, but there was one clear loser last night: reality.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/good-lord-that-was-a-mess
Good Lord That Was a Mess

Highlights: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/election-2016/fourth-republican-debate-highlights

http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2015/11/fox_business_republican_debate_recapped_in_90_seconds_with_trump_rubio_and.html

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/key-moments-fourth-republican-debate.html

More: http://www.vox.com/2015/11/11/9711160/fox-business-debate

Winners and losers

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/10/winners-and-losers-from-the-4th-republican-debate/

http://www.vox.com/2015/11/11/9711082/republican-debate-winners-losers

Tell me again why ANYONE takes Ben Carson seriously?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dan-pfeiffer-ben-carson-analysis
Ex-Obama Adviser's Analysis Of Ben Carson: I Won't Even Waste My Time

More: http://www.salon.com/2015/11/10/trevor_noah_just_destroyed_ben_carsons_credibility_in_30_devastating_seconds/

The Republicans make it harder for Obama to close Guantanamo

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/congress-sends-another-defense-bill-to-obama.html

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/us/politics/senate-passes-military-bill-that-bars-transfers-of-guantanamo-detainees.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Bonus item: Theocracy watch - the war on Starbucks

http://jezebel.com/christians-angry-over-starbucks-minimalist-holiday-cup-1741331453
Christians Angry Over Starbucks' Minimalist Holiday Cup Design

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-starbucks-christmas-cups-20151109-story.html
Starbucks hates Jesus, pastor says

More: http://www.vox.com/2015/11/10/9707034/starbucks-red-cup-controversy

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/11/maybe-conservatives-have-point-about-war-christmas

And that Satanic logo! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hm3k9FpX6g

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

LIARS

Wash Po headline calls it "fibbing." I call it an assault on truth

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/heres-another-way-candidates-copy-donald-trump-shameless-fibbing/2015/11/09/97bb5cd8-8704-11e5-9a07-453018f9a0ec_story.html

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/yarns
It's a bit brutal to watch so many of Ben Carson's self-glorifying stories from his biography turn out to be either wildly exaggerated, completely bogus or as in the case of this Yale exam story, as Catherine Thompson explains here, so utterly byzantine and convoluted as to defy categorization. Adding to the surreal situation is what I noted last week which is that Carson's operation looks very much like a direct mail fundraising scam gone wrong - or actually horribly right. When I was researching this last week, I was struck that not only did Carson's campaign seem like a fundraising scam but that his campaign had attracted a slew of nominally 'pro-Carson' SuperPacs trying to grab some of the tons of money off the Carson phenomenon, run a few nominal ads and pocket the rest as costs.  . . .

So we have come to this. What a way to choose a president

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/qotd-didtootrytoknifethatguy.html
[Dr Ben] I'm not giving any information about who the person was that I tried to knife.  

[Trump] You know, when you say hitting your mother over the head with a hammer, when you talk about hitting a friend in the face with a lock, a padlock. And you talk about stabbing someone and it got stopped by a belt buckle. . . . 

More: http://www.salon.com/2015/11/10/ben_carsons_hilarious_ridiculous_completely_broken_history_a_rare_window_into_the_extreme_rights_fact_challenged_world_view/

The "liberal media" that is out to get Carson

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/that-leftist-rag-politico.html

Well, here we are. We expect the wingnuts to treat "liberal" and "progressive" as attack lines. Now add "moderate" to the list

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/09/1447609/-Ted-Cruz-takes-a-dig-at-moderate-Marco-Rubio

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/10/ted-cruzs-self-serving-analysis-of-the-republican-primary-lanes/

The GOP discovers new gateway drugs

http://crooksandliars.com/2015/11/tom-cotton-people-spiral-downward-heroin
Tom Cotton: People 'Spiral Downward' Into Heroin Addiction Because Of Social Security Benefits

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/carson-connects-addictions-and-political-correctness
Carson connects addictions and ‘political correctness’

The worst political cliches

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/09/the-13-worst-cliches-in-politics/

Desperate for attention, Jeb says he would kill baby Hitler - and in the process unintentionally engages a fascinating debate over time travel and ethics

http://crooksandliars.com/2015/11/jeb-bush-would-totally-kill-little-baby
“Hell yeah, I would!”
 
More: http://www.vox.com/2015/11/9/9698394/jeb-bush-killing-baby-hitler
Here are just a few of the issues you'd need to sort out before even starting to intelligently consider whether killing baby Hitler would be wise.  . .

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/killing-baby-hitler-ethics/412273/
The Ethics of Killing Baby Hitler 

Bonus item: Vis a vis nothing, these are incredible photos

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/09/haunting-photos-show-forgotten-and-forbidden-buildings-in-america/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

NOT A POPULARITY CONTEST

Ted Cruz - everybody hates him

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-lot-of-people-just-dont-like-ted-cruz-how-come-thats-okay-with-him/2015/11/08/b55a0782-7758-11e5-bc80-9091021aeb69_story.html

But: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/11/ted_cruz_could_be_president_the_texas_senator_is_leading_a_smart_ambitious.html
Ted Cruz could be president. . . . [read on]

Jeb's four big problems

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/things-jeb-still-needs-to-fix#.gqyk6o04R

Dr. Ben is getting the kind of scrutiny any front-runner should expect. And he doesn't like it

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/08/ben-carson-isnt-being-treated-unfairly-hes-being-treated-like-a-frontrunner/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/11/09/the-daily-202-first-time-candidate-ben-carson-doesnt-understand-what-running-for-president-entails/

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/carson-outraged-that-media-takes-him-seriously.html

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/08/ben-carson-says-its-time-really-to-move-on-from-questions-about-his-biography/
Ben Carson says it’s ‘time to really move on’ from questions about his biography

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/poor-poor-pitiful-ben.html
I have always said that I expect to be vetted, but being vetted and what is going on with me — 'You said this 30 years ago, you said this 20 years ago, this didn’t exist,' ... I have not seen that with anyone else," the Republican presidential hopeful said in an interview aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." . . .

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ben-carsons-credibility-personal-history-under-fire
But there’s no reason to let Carson off the hook quite so easily. This personal narrative isn’t tangential to his campaign; it is his campaign. If his life story – literally the basis for an inspirational movie – is filled with tall tales, exaggerated to manufacture imagined heroism, there’s not much left to his often bizarre candidacy. . .

And now this

http://politicalwire.com/2015/11/09/carson-blames-co-author-for-inaccuracies/
Ben Carson blamed his co-author for apparent inaccuracies in his book, the Wall Street Journal reports. . . 
 
How Obama saved the U.S. auto industry

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/08/1444619/-Remember-Republicans-ranting-that-Obama-would-ruin-U-S-auto-industry-Sales-now-highest-since-9-11

Miss her?

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/259504-bachmann-jesus-is-coming-soon
Former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) calls in an interview for converting as many people as possible to Christianity because Jesus is “coming soon.”

Can football players bring down a university president?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/missouri-football-players-go-on-strike.html

Why: http://www.vox.com/2015/11/8/9691740/missouri-football-boycott-tim-wolfe

Bonus item: Peanuts - a new movie, and a new reassessment

http://www.vox.com/culture/2015/11/7/9683864/the-peanuts-movie-review
The Peanuts Movie is surprisingly good, but it gets one big thing wrong
 
More: http://www.vox.com/culture/2015/11/8/9690952/peanuts-movie-comic-review
The bleak world of Peanuts, one of the 20th century's greatest works of art, explained

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

BOMBED

The Rich Guy makes the worst mistake possible on SNL -- he just isn't funny

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/08/donald_trumps_epic_snl_fail_at_least_larry_david_played_bernie_sanders_again/
Donald Trump’s epic “SNL” fail

http://www.vox.com/culture/2015/11/8/9690978/saturday-night-live-donald-trump
Donald Trump's Saturday Night Live episode was worse than bad — it was boring

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/08/trump-bombs-terribly-as-snl-host-is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end.html
Trump Bombs Terribly as SNL Host

Dr. Ben calls revelations about his own lies a "witch hunt" -- then defends himself by attacking Obama

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/259438-carson-rebukes-media-for-witch-hunt
In a testy exchange with reporters Friday, the normally soft-spoken Ben Carson repeatedly made clear his contempt for the media. . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/2015/11/ben-carson-unleashes-litany-anti-obama
After listening to 2016 GOP presidential front runner Ben Carson's unhinged rant this Friday, it's apparent that he gets his "news" from wingnuts over at World Net Daily. Now that CNN has been taking a closer look at these childhood stories of his, and he was caught in another lie about being offered a scholarship to West Point, Carson doesn't seem to be handling the scrutiny so well, to put it mildly.  . . .

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/running-for-president-of-bizarroworld.html

Why did Daddy Bush pick the middle of Jeb's campaign to publish his criticisms of Dubya's administration?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/11/jon_meacham_s_new_george_h_w_bush_biography_the_former_president_s_revelations.html

It’s the old family story: A vice president turned president criticizes his former secretary of defense who served as vice president to his son, another president, causing his son, the president, to distance himself from his president father, and also causing his other son, who is not yet president but would like to be, to distance himself, too. . . . Father and son relationships are tricky when everyone is in the same profession, but in a household that is thick with presidents, the awkward moments are inevitable. . . . [read on] 

42 days of work for Congress in 2016

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/07/1444016/-Congress-won-t-be-showing-up-for-work-much-in-2016

More on the "anti-knowledge" GOP

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_11/the_effects_of_antiknowledge_o058524.php

Despite a "stellar" jobs report, here's how Fox World covers it

The real world: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/06/economy-adds-271000-jobs-in-october-unemployment-rate-at-5-percent/

Fox World: http://crooksandliars.com/2015/11/how-much-does-fox-news-hate-obama 

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/08/1446030/-Sunday-Talk-The-truth-is-out-there
NBC Meet the Press: Raging Narcissist Donald Trump (R); Failed CEO Carly Fiorna (R); Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

CBS Face the Nation: Raging Narcissist Donald Trump (R); Egyptologist Dr. Ben Carson (R); Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Roundtable: Guests TBD.

ABC This Week: Raging Narcissist Donald Trump (R); Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Author Jon Meacham; Defense Secretary Ash Carter Rep. Peter King (R-NY); Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).

CNN State of the Union: Raging Narcissist Donald Trump (R); Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY); Roundtable: Former South Carolina State Rep. Bakari Sellers (D), Democratic Strategist Patti Solis Doyle, Republican Strategist Ana Navarro and Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R).

Bonus item: Here's a politician who DOES know how to use humor

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_11/humor_as_an_effective_tool058528.php

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***