10:05 PM: Sanders certainly getting some traction here on the nature of political contribution.
10:11 PM: Okay, I think Hillary got off to a much stronger start than Sanders. The dynamics of this debate are very different. But as time went on I think he did better and everything was more evenly matched. When they came back to financial regulation and Wall Street contributions, that’s a very hard piece of territory for her to hold. He’s always going to have her on the ropes with that … As a general matter, when she presses him on specifics of his plans he almost always comes back to what you could either call his fundamental critique of the political economy or his talking points. A key question is whether that works, thematic goals versus addressing policy specifics.
10:16 PM: I will say this again. Just the debate itself, the moderators, quality of the questions, so so much better.
9:38 PM: “Hardly anyone believes that they have …” I find that sort of a startling statement to be treated as simply accepted by everyone. Clearly the issue of race and discrimination has become a higher profile issue in the mainstream political dialog. And by some definitions there is more racialized contention in society. But she seems to be buying into the idea that everything was pretty good on this front before Obama became President. I would say that a more coherent way of looking at this is that Obama’s very presidency is in part a product of growing minority populations and rising expectations of equality. I won’t say this is a simple question: but the assumption that Obama made race relations worse is fairly offensive, not to say factually inaccurate.
9:43 PM: Clinton is referring to this study on rising mortality among middle aged whites, largely driving by overdose and chronic substance abuse.
9:47 PM: Just as a general matter, this debate – format, questions, lack of derp – is just so much better than any of the other debates on either side. On both sides this cycle, you’ve had an even greater glitzification of the debates, ratings drivers for the hosting networks.
9:06 PM: Sanders weaves prison and criminal justice reform into the lead in which has heretofore been pretty tightly focused on his economic critique. But again, nothing but coherence.
9:11 PM: This debate has an altogether different feel to it than all the debates this year. Much more old-school and civics-y, sort of the like the ones the League of Women Voters used to put on in the old days.
9:13 PM: I’m sort of curious that Sanders wasn’t willing to answer that question – the percentage size of government question. OTOH, the health care program would expand the government by 40%? That sounds too high.
9:17 PM: Admittedly not the most important issue in this campaign, by why have ‘akrit’ and ‘inakrit’ not become a thing yet?
9:19 PM: Clinton’s getting the better of Sanders here on the health care exchange – in part because he’s falling back on generalities and she’s hitting points that I think are basically accurate.
9:21 PM: “Secretary Clinton, you’re not in the White House yet.”
9:25 PM: I have to confess I find the continued pressing of Clinton over losing the women’s vote a bit gross. I mean, if she wins the male vote, is Bernie unmanned somehow? I mean, he had a big big win. A huge victory. When you win by 22 points you win basically every demographic. It’s almost like shaming at this point.
9:29 PM: Shorter Sanders: If a seventy-something Jewish socialist wins the presidency, it’ll be a breakthrough too. And how.
Marco Rubio announces he cracked a molar on a Twix Bar.
Despite the death of militant leader LaVoy Finicum, it is well worth stepping back to take stock of what the FBI managed to accomplish here, especially after what was often or often seemed to be a very drawn out process of seeing a clique of violent and entitled yahoos thumbing their noses at the law with impunity. The FBI video showed pretty clearly that Finicum essentially forced Oregon State Police to shoot him. At all the other key points, the FBI and local law enforcement managed to de-escalate confrontations and end the entire siege not only with no loss of life but not even any violence.
Gotta love America. While the Oregon standoff was finally coming to a relatively peaceful end, scientists were announcing the first ever direct detection of gravitational waves. So from wannabe 18th century revolutionaries to the leading edge of 21st century physics. Want to understand gravitational waves? A physicist friend posted this comics explainer on Facebook. Feel free to geek out.
One of the Oregon occupiers is resisting surrendering to authorities and could be heard on a live audio feed saying, “I am actually feeling suicidal right now.” We profiled him here.
We can by no means take this as a disinterested claim. And no specific names are mentioned. But a high-ranking Iranian government official, who is an appointee of reformist President Hassan Rouhani, says that Republicans asked the Iranians to delay last months prisoner exchange deal until after the Presidential election.
Final four militants fail to surrender at appointed time, now demanding right-wing Nevada legislator and Franklin Graham come to escort them out.