Morning Joe's Recap Today!

Good morning everyone! Happy Wednesday to you!
Joining us for today's show, we have: Steve Rattner, Jim VandeHei, Mike Barnicle, Sam Stein, Lisa Green, Katty Kay, Amb. Nicholas Burns, Al Hunt, Chris Jansing, Fmr. Secy. Michael Chertoff, Rep. Darrell Issa, Rep. Joaquin Castro, Nicholas Kristof, Danny Strong, Fmr. Gov. George Pataki, Brian Sullivan, Karen Finerman, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera and more


TripAdvisor Ranks Museum #4 Among the Top Museums in the US and #11 Among the Top Museums in the World.

Sounds like (Mike) Barnicle did some partying last night.
First story on hand is that the former Marine was found guilty late Tuesday of the 2013 shooting deaths of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the author of "American Sniper," and his friend Chad Littlefield. It took an Erath County, Texas jury less than two hours to convict Eddie Ray Routh of capital murder. State District Judge Jason Cashon sentenced Routh to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors had not sought the death penalty in the case. Routh's defense team said they would appeal the conviction. "We have waited two years for God to get justice on behalf of our son," Littlefield's mother, Judy, told reporters outside the courthouse. "And as always, God has proven to be faithful, and we're so thrilled that we have the verdict that we have tonight." Chris Kyle's widow, Taya, was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read. Earlier in the day, she had stormed out of the courtroom in the middle of the defense's closing arguments, whispering an expletive and slamming her hand on the wall as she walked out the door. At the time, attorneys were discussing how useful it would have been for Routh's mother to have told Chris Kyle about her son's history of violence. Routh showed no visible emotion as the verdict was read, while Kyle's brother and parents were among a group of the victims' families and friends who cried and held hands. They did not issue a statement. Jerry Richardson, Littlefield's half-brother, told Routh that he "took the lives of two heroes, men who tried to be a friend to you, and you became an American disgrace." Routh had no reaction. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted "JUSTICE!" in response to the verdict. Routh, 27, had admitted to killing Kyle and Littlefield at a gun range on Feb. 2, 2013 but pleaded not guilty. His attorneys and family members asserted that he suffers from psychotic episodes caused by post-traumatic stress disorder and other factors. But prosecutors said Tuesday that whatever episodes Routh suffers are self-induced through alcohol and marijuana abuse.

In front of a packed courtroom, Erath County assistant District Attorney Jane Starnes and three defense attorneys made their case. "That is not insanity. That is just cold, calculated capital murder," Starnes said. "(Routh) is guilty of capital murder and he was not by any means insane." But defense attorneys contended that Routh could not have realized what he was doing. "He didn't kill those men because of who he wanted to be, he killed those men because he had a delusion," Warren St. John said. "He thought that they were going to kill him." Kyle and Littlefield took Routh, who had deployed to Iraq and earthquake-ravaged Haiti, to a shooting range after Routh's mother asked Kyle to help her son cope with PTSD and other personal demons. Interest in the trial had been partially driven by the blockbuster Oscar-nominated film based on Kyle's life. Routh's attorneys also pointed to the gunman's use of Kyle's pickup truck after the shooting to purchase tacos at a drive-through window and run assorted errands as evidence of delusional behavior. Had Routh been found not guilty by reason of insanity, the state could have moved to have him committed. Routh's attorneys pointed out that they needed only a preponderance of evidence for jurors to conclude Routh was insane at the time of the shootings and therefore not guilty, a standard of proof well below what would be required to convict him of capital murder.

But prosecutors also noted that Routh had apologized to Kyle's family -- evidence, they said, of a guilty mind. "This defendant gunned down two men in cold blood, in the back, in our county. Find him guilty," Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash said. Kyle made more than 300 kills as a sniper for SEAL Team 3, according to his own count. After leaving the military, he volunteered with veterans facing mental health problems, often taking them shooting. Fox News' Jennifer Girdon and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Joe segues into things by asking how this guy could have gotten a trial after knowing the jury took Sunday off to watch the Oscar Awards and because of all the things surrounding that trial. The victory oif sort is that this guy did not get the death penalty. The bottom line is that he shot these two guys. He knew he did it and yes, I said here a few times the guy was/is delusional in the sense that he actually thought he was going to be able to get back to his neighborhood (in his initial meeting with the cops, he was wondering in so many ways, how his society was going to look at him now afterward). I think it’s a victory all around. He did not get the death penalty. He is not going to be able to be in the general public ever again (ie: and not be able to shoot anyone ever again) and (Chris) Kyle and (Chad) Littlefield and their families get their justice knowing he is gone for life (should be two lifetimes but semantics).

Next, is a story we wrote about after returning home from NYC last night which is that Obama vetoed the Keystone XL. you can read that here (http://donlichterman.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-president-just-vetoed-keystone-bill.html) and I’ll spare you my commentary today unless Joe says stupid things about it, but lets hope he see’s that it was a joke to build that thing and it is not the direction we need to be headed energy wise.

And, you now something man?!? I am so sick and tired of these Islamic State people stealing / Kidnapping other people. Our partner at Sunset Daily (Reuters/Yahoo) is reporting that 150 Christians have been taken from Syria. Richard Engel is on now saying these Christian villages have been defending themselves but the ISIS people entered them by overtaking the defense. They separated the men and the woman and he then reports that dozens of them were taken away with them that day. They (ISIS) are such assholes. Why can’t these people let every be to live their own lives while they get their media hype of whatever the the hell they want and thank you. Joe just asked what do they want? Because I have no clue what the hell they want unless its that end of the world rhetoric and even still, why can’t they live their own lives waiting for the world to end. Why do they have to take other peoples lives to do it or to prove its points? And, most of all and/or fundamentally here, what the hell religion calls to kill people because if that end of the world issue? 

The panel also reported that those three girls from the UK has indeed made it into Syria which Joe brings up the point that none of these three chicks were uneducated or without money. They were not down on their lucks so to speak and they were from upper middle class families. Yet, they did what they do to enter Syria and to join ISIS.

On another note, BB Netanyahu evidently turned down the request for the private meetings with the Dem’s. That beg us all to know that everything he is doing is politically and is to get up this admin’s (Obama) asses. It is a stunt and this is bullshit that he and (John) Boehner, etc., acted this way. I now feel the Dem’s should not show up for this speech. And, the reason is because  that by meeting with them could ‘compound the misrepresentation of partisanship regarding’ his upcoming visit. Hello? Does he not  realize that by denying those meetings with the Dem’s and by him doing a speech for the GOP run Congress is exactly that and besides, (John) is just using this to make it a wedge issue and that’s it and that s what Young Sam Stein I saying the people in the party are feeling about it. It makes no sense to not take on meetings with people in both parties.

And, in the Public Policy Poll for the republican pick for 2016, PPP's newest national Republican poll finds a clear leader in the race for the first time: Scott Walker is at 25% to 18% for Ben Carson, 17% for Jeb Bush, and 10% for Mike Huckabee. Rounding out the field of contenders are Chris Christie and Ted Cruz at 5%, Rand Paul at 4%, and Rick Perry and Marco Rubio at 3%. Walker has more than doubled his support since his 11% standing on our January national poll, and Carson has moved up 3 points.  Bush, Huckabee, Paul, and Perry have largely stayed in place while Cruz has dropped 4 points and Christie has dropped 2 points. Walker is climbing fast in the polling because of his appeal to the most conservative elements of the Republican electorate. Among 'very conservative' voters he leads with 37% to 19% for Carson, 12% for Bush, and 11% for Huckabee. Bush has a similarly large lead over Walker with moderates at 34/12...the problem for Bush though is that there are two times more GOP primary voters who identify as 'very conservative' than there are ones who identify as moderates.

Bush is really struggling with conservative voters. Among 'very conservative' voters on this poll, just 37% rate Bush favorably to 43% with an unfavorable opinion. By comparison Carson is at 73/2, Walker at 68/3, and Cruz at 68/8 with those folks.

You can really see the divide between Walker and Bush's support on issues like global warming and evolution. Among primary voters who believe in global warming 37% support Bush to only 2% who favor Walker. The problem for him is that only 25% of GOP voters say they do believe in global warming- and among the 66% who don't Walker has the 35/10 advantage over Bush. It's a similar story on evolution. Among voters who believe in evolution Walker and Bush run pretty much even at 24/23. But that's just 37% of primary voters, and with the other 49% of them who don't believe in it Walker has a substantial advantage over Bush at 28/13. The struggles Bush is having with some Republican primary voters don't seem to have anything to do with his brother's legacy. George W. Bush has a 74/21 favorability rating with them, and the closest any of this year's candidates get to that is a 56% favorability for Mike Huckabee. And the former President has plenty of credibility with conservatives- among those rating themselves as 'very conservative' his favorability is 81/14 compared to his brother's 37/43. It's Jeb's record on certain issues rather than his last name that is causing his issues.

Morning Papers: No one was killed in a Natural gas Explosion in new Jersey and there is footage of the blast from a cop car. Its startling and like Mika, Mike and Joe says, it is amazing no one is dead from it. A house was decimated. And, a tunnel was found a tunnel they refer to as a ‘mystery tunnel’ built or dug out near where they are having the Pan American games. I wonder what that was going to be used for. Maybe for a bomb to be blown up in it during the games. I am glad they found it. There were a few drones found flying above the Paris city in France. No one knows who’s they are and they say that ager leads to heart attacks which I thought we have known that since the 70’s. I am glad I do not get angry any more and since I quite smoking pot last fall (it has been over 6 months since I smoked and since I quit). Some Hungarian town is being rented to normal people to use to become the mayor and to use the facilities in that town. What else? A judge in an infamous insider trader case acknowledges that he was driving a Porsche sports that was seized. Now that is a problem. He says he was moving that car into a an enclosed garage. that’s very nice of him to do for everyone.
Actually, that Judge that was driving the seized car was driving the Defendants car. Wow. Now that’s great news.

Now, we must get that funding set in place for the Department of Home security (DHS). The (DC) Post and Dana Milbank says that (Mitch) McConnell is finding it hard to govern his own party. he had stated a few days ago that we need to split the bills (DHS and Immigration) to have a clean bill for that funding and I agree. They can hash out the Immigration issue over the next few months. But these ploys by adding things into bills is so (George) Bush Jr. / (Dick) Cheney like. And, (Mike) Barncicle is correct ion that all this is showing is that these people either cannot do their jobs and /or they won’t do them.
And, in typical GOP fashion of them being so hypocritical and linear in their thoughts, is that the WSJ says that Obama of all people, is going to be known as an obstructionist. Now, after 5 years of them (GOP and the Wall Street Journal writes) stopping and obstructing everything and after Obama vetoes his THIRD (3rd) bill ever, he is now an obstructionist.
As far as the Keystone XL, no one ever mentions the fact that these oil people that build the pipeline are dealing in illegal ways. They are using private land to do it and without the permission from them to do it. And, yes, it will only create 34 jobs with a few K permanent gigs over 2 years but do NOT call this a way to create jobs. That is not a way to create jobs. If whomever wants construction gigs, get an infrastructure bill done. That would create endless amounts of jobs and for endless amounts of time. That would create jobs that would last decades because we need so much infrastructure work that it is not even close to being normal. Whatever about the Keystone XL. we need to find other ways to deal with our energy and making money from it. We need an infrastructure bill as a way to create those construction jobs.

OK. the Ukraine/Russian issue is a huge story. Talks, agreements and treaties are useless. More sanctions will not stop further aggression. Exclusion from all international sporting events would be noticed by Russia’s population but full implementation of America’s proposed anti-missile system in Poland, plus 100,000 Nato troops (drawn from all EU countries) with heavy armour permanently stationed along the Union’s eastern border and in the Baltic Sea, are essential. Defense budgets must be implemented to their agreed level of GNP. The “peace dividends” taken since the end of the cold war have now ceased. The person on being interviewed from Russia calls Putin rationale. Wow. I have never seen that yet and I find him to be a lair. he may be rationale to agree to whatever on paper but executing it and carrying anything out is a crap shoot when dealing with Putin. We shall see if more  sanctions can work.

I agree with Joe and the panel that the Bill O’Reilly issue and now the Kieth Oberman issue are much a do about nothing. Honestly, I don’t even know what those issues are and again, I just do NOT care about it.

Back to the DHS issue and whats u this AM regarding it. It seems that the Senate Republicans have made key concessions in the battle over funding the Department of Homeland Security ahead of a deadline looming at the end of this week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced at a press conference Tuesday he is willing to allow a vote on a so-called "clean" DHS bill that would fund the agency through the end of September prior to a vote planned for Friday on blocking President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration.

Would average Americans feel the impact of a shutdown?
For most, not immediately. Communities that are home to a particularly large number of DHS staffers, including border towns where border patrol stations are located and some areas just outside of Washington with a heavy government contracting presence could take an economic hit. In those areas, thousands of workers could be furloughed or forced to work without pay, and in some of the smaller communities that can make a big difference to local businesses. Local fire departments and law enforcement operations could also lose staff that were funded by DHS grants, slowing emergency response efforts. Business owners looking to process immigration documents for their workers will have to wait till the shutdown passes, potentially affecting hiring. And officials have warned that low morale for DHS staffers could translate to slower service for Americans, particularly at airport security checkpoints.

Some DHS employees would be furloughed — but most won't.
Two kinds of government staffers are required to work during a shutdown: Employees whose salaries are paid for by funds outside the appropriations process, and those "whose work is necessary for the preservation of the safety of human life or the protection of property," according to the Congressional Research Service. Unsurprisingly, that latter part covers quite a lot of DHS' workforce. During the 2013 government shutdown, around 200,000 DHS employees were required to report to work, many of them without pay.

McConnell makes concessions in DHS funding fight
Those that are required to work include 50,000 TSA screeners, 40,000 active duty Coast Guard members, 13,000 immigration law enforcement officers, 40,000 border patrol and customs officers, and 4,000 Secret Service agents. But there would be some — around 30,000 or so — furloughs, mainly hitting the department's management and administrative functions. It's possible, though, that staffers furloughed could be called back to work in case of an emergency — and immediately re-furloughed after they handled the issue.

That doesn't sound like it would be pleasant for DHS employees.
It's not — and the potential hit to DHS morale is a serious problem with the possible shutdown. A third-party review of federal employees found DHS ranked dead last in employee satisfaction and commitment over the past two years, and morale actually declined in 2014. It's a challenge for the Department, which struggles to retain and recruit employees, and a shutdown wouldn't help.

But it does sound necessary for, well, homeland security...
Exactly. Many of DHS' most fundamental operations won't be impacted. A number of DHS programs are funded by fees, rather than congressional appropriations, and would continue to operate even if funding lapses. Those include the bureau's cybersecurity operations and the Federal Protective Service, the law enforcement agency that oversees federal buildings. Border security efforts, the TSA and intelligence gathering efforts, among others, are all key DHS activities that would remain. FEMA's disaster relief operations and the national flood insurance program would continue to operate. And most U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services operations, including the visa program, immigrant naturalization and asylum claims, would continue — except for the E-Verify system employers use to verify workers' visas, which would pause in case of a shutdown.

Wait — so Obama's executive action on immigration, which started this mess, would still be implemented?
Yep. It turns out defunding the agency that's implementing Obama's executive action delaying deportations for millions of immigrants won't prevent the executive action from taking effect. Republicans haven't given up, though. They're looking to add a policy rider to the bill extending funding for DHS that would block the executive order from taking effect — which remains a sticking point for Senate Democrats, who say they'll only vote for a clean funding bill. And even if House and Senate Republicans were able to pass a DHS funding bill that blocked Obama's immigration move, he would likely veto it. That's caused the current showdown. And Boehner's comments this weekend indicate there's no clear compromise yet.

Then what DHS operations would take a hit?
State law enforcement could feel the pain of a shutdown the most. Johnson has previously warned that, if DHS funding lapses, "we cannot engage in new starts, new spending, new initiatives, new grants to state and local law enforcement to fund homeland security missions." Many local law enforcement operations, including training, hiring of new staff and purchasing new equipment, are funded through DHS grants, and those would be discontinued during a shutdown. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said that disaster recovery grants — even those being used to respond to lingering impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy — would stall, and no new applications would be processed in case of a shutdown. Fugate said that while any urgent natural disasters would be attended to, because of the shutdown, the response could be sluggish or delayed. "If we have a no-notice event — a terrorist event, some kind of technological disaster or an earthquake, I'll be calling staff back in the same time we're responding," he said. FEMA head: DHS shutdown could impact terror, disaster response. And it could impact the nation's ability to respond to future threats. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, said during a hearing this week that a DHS shutdown would halt "research and development work on countermeasures to devastating biological threats." Civil rights and civil liberties complaint lines and investigations would shut down as well.
Anyway, there seems to be lots of posturing by people with lots of ego driving this issue today. Let’s see who is up next. None other than Darryl Issa. The man that could not impeach Obama and that just got a dig in at Harry Ried in the first sentence. I am not really sure what the debate is anymore. Everyone is agreeing seemingly, to doing an immigration bill straight up along with having this clean bill to fund the DHS. (Darryl) Issa is discussing not paying illegal people here in the US or people that are here legally which is not answering the question what the house would do after a clean bill is passed by the Senate. I can’t figure out what the debate is today. It seems like everyone is on the same page so to speak. I assume we are waiting for (John) Boehner to say it. I guess that is what it is now. Like Joe just said, (John) Beohner is going to have a few rough days while dealing us (general public) and his own party. But at the same time, he digs himself into these situations constantly by not controlling and dealing with his own party.

As far as the decline of Unions in America, you can all blame President Ronald Reagan for that happening or coming full circle today. I went over that in my second book (Diary of a Ram Fan) and I am not getting into that today. That’s a non story that we all know where that derived from and we knew that by today, there would be way lesser unions than we had in the 80s.

The guy creates and produces that Empire show (he writes too) is on now. I have yet to see that show. It seems to be a bit grandiose for me but it’s a hit show on TV. Over 13 million viewers last week. Good for them. He says was inspired by watching Kanye West interviews. Makes perfect sense to me. There are never any shows about the music industry and breaking that down to the HipHop part of it is probably smart. Its been crazy since the 80’s and early 90’s so why not make a show about it.

Regardless of Empire, House Of Cards is being released in two days. I am so psyched about it.

Tom and Tom are on now. Tom Brokaw and Tom Hanks. They are discussing the World War II Museum in NOLA. I think that is why them and (Mike) Barnicle were out raging last night.

The show is ending discussing the Hilary Clinton Q&A and speech from yesterday (in northern CA and in Silicon Valley) which i found to be great and then they are discussing the Ralm Manual election in Chicago. Both of which we posted last night so again, I'll spare everyone those redundancies while I let them talk without my great opinions about what they say. Just kidding (about the great opinions or I mean great in boisterous way and not that my opinions are great per se....). And, overall, as they said on the Grateful dead Hotline for years back in the day, Please stay in touch!