The Commentariat -- June 2

I've posted an Open Thread for today's Off Times Square, and added my comment to Linda Greenhouse's post, linked below. Update: Marvin Schwalb has added a not-to-be-missed comment on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. ...

... Linda Greenhouse has quite an interesting column about the background of Brown v. Plata, the California prison overcrowding case that the Supremes just decided in favor of the defendants in a 5-4 split, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing the majority opinion. You can read the opinion & dissents here (pdf). ...

NEW. New York Times Editors: "No matter how they tried to spin it, 318 House members actually voted against paying the country’s bills and keeping the promise made to federal bondholders.... The games that now pass for governing in an increasingly embarrassing 112th Congress are menacing the nation’s future.... What Republicans seem unwilling to acknowledge is that the debt-limit debate is not about future spending. It is about paying for a deficit already incurred because of two wars and tax cuts approved by both Republicans and Democrats at the behest of a Republican president." ...

     ... Karen Garcia commented on the editorial & received 100 or more reader recommendations. Then, in their wisdom, the Times moderators removed her comment. You can read the "disappeared" comment on Garcia's website Sardonicky. ...

     ... Update: I've added a comment on today's Off Times Square on the Times' removal of Garcia's comment. I think my OTS comment is sort of funny, but then I've never stopped being somewhat sophomoric. Okay, 8th-graderish.

With all the noise about the Ryan/Republican Tea Party's budget's "ending Medicare as we know it," you wouldn't think this next story would be news. But it is. People concerned about Medicare are a huge voting bloc; those who receive Medicaid, not so much. So -- the story -- Sam Baker of The Hill: "Cuts to Medicaid are no more palatable than cuts to Medicare, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) told reporters Wednesday. Medicaid advocates and some congressional Democrats are worried that Medicaid could become a more ripe target for funding cuts amid the political firestorm over proposed changes to Medicare. But House Republicans’ proposal to convert federal Medicaid funding into block grants for the states 'is not, in my mind, a plan that will find currency in our caucus,' Menendez said." CW: That's good news. ...

Dr. Aaron Carroll, writing in the Washington Post graphically dispels the Republican meme that tort reform will substantially reduce medical costs. He provides some pretty impressive proofs. ...

... Evan McMorris-Santoro of TPM: "Among conservatives, 54% are opposed [to the Ryan/Republican Tea Party Medicare plan]. Among current seniors -- who would not be affected by the changes in the Ryan Medicare plan -- a full 74% are opposed, even after they're told that Ryan's plan affects Americans 55 years of age and younger. Even Republicans break against Ryan's plan, though only slightly. Fifty percent oppose the plan, while 48% support it." ...

... I'm the death-panel-supporting, socialist, may-not-have-been-born-here President. -- Barack Obama, to House Republicans when they complained about Democrats' "Mediscare demagoguery" ...

Here's Poor Pitiful Paul Ryan, whining after the House Republicans' meeting with President Obama. AFP photo.Kate Pickert of Time: "In a closed door meeting between Obama and Republican House members on Wednesday, GOP Whip Eric Cantor 'pressed' the president to "stop the demagoguery," according to Politico. A GOP aide familiar with the discussion said Ryan himself accused Obama of adopting a Medicare strategy solely focused on being re-elected in 2012." Pickert is not impressed with Republicans' Mediscare charges. ...

      ... Here's the Politico report by Glenn Thrush & Abby Phillip.

Another Sorry-Assed Victim of Bush Fatigue? Matt Bai of the New York Times: "What the country would probably see [in Rick Perry] is another Texas governor with the same Texan talk and Texan swagger, someone who once schemed with Karl Rove and who, as a social conservative, is so reliably dogmatic that he signed a bill that made it explicitly illegal for the state to confiscate your gun in the event of martial law or some kind of federal takeover, or maybe if the British decided to invade again."

Christie Gives New Jersey the Bird. Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, "took a State Police helicopter to see his son play high school baseball on Tuesday. And whether that is important or trivial, it surely did not help the image of a conservative Republican who has won national notice for preaching belt-tightening and berating those who resist.... Throughout Wednesday, Blogrunner, the Web site that tracks online commentary, rated the helicopter story ... as one of the five most influential in the blogosphere." CW: sorry; as long as this story has legs, I'll keep running it. I find it much more interesting than Weiner's wiener, tho Weiner is doing his best to give his story legs by refusing to detail the facts (see Infotainment for the now-foot-long Weiner story). ...

... Here's the original Star-Ledger story, which I have not linked before. Not only did Christie use a helicopter purchased for Homeland Security & patient transfer purposes, he had a car waiting to drive him 100 yards from the bird to the field. Then he left half-way through his son's big game to go meet with Iowans who want him to run for President. ...

... The Blue Texan of Firedoglake: "So Christie, who nixed a rail project that would’ve created 6,000 jobs and declared war on New Jersey’s teachers because he claimed the state was broke — blew through nearly $3 grand of the taxpayers’ money to watch half a high school baseball game." ...

... AND, Lord Christie has a history of spending lavishly at public expense. The U.S. Justice Department's Inspector General was not amused. Via Steve Benen.

I got a note from blogger Carolyn Jackson today, which reminded me to take a look at her blog. Her most recent post is a Memorial Day reflection, but it is good for any day. Jackson doesn't post often, but everything she writes is worth the wait.

Peter Hamby of CNN has a Palin story that actually has a little substance: Sarah Palin met with Fox "News" officials for more than an hour yesterday. If Palin is seriously contemplating a run for president, Fox would likely suspend or cancel her contract as it did with Newt Gingrich's & Rick Santorum's contracts.

News Ledes

President Obama met with the House Democratic caucus this afternoon. Politico Update: "House Democrats pressed President Barack Obama on Thursday to keep his word and stand firm on Medicare as negotiations with Republicans over raising the debt ceiling heat up."

Los Angeles Times: "As Mitt Romney formally announced his presidential bid Thursday, two larger-than-life political personalities [Sarah Palin & Rudy Giuliani] crashed into New Hampshire, stealing the nominal frontrunner's thunder and underscoring that the GOP field is far from settled." ...

... L.A. Times: "The White House and President Obama's reelection campaign have long been treating Mitt Romney as the Republican frontrunner in 2012. And as the former Massachusetts governor was kicking off his campaign in New Hampshire, press secretary Jay Carney was ready with a response to his charge that the president had 'failed America' and prolonged the recession. His answer ... alternately pointed the finger at the Bush administration for driving the nation into recession and defended steps Obama took to reverse it." Story includes text of Carney's full response.

ABC News: "House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is throwing what one Republican calls 'a legal and political hot potato at the President.' In a resolution to be voted on in the House tomorrow, Boehner is giving the president two weeks – until the Pentagon Appropriations bill comes up – to either: a) Ask for authorization for the military intervention in Libya, or b) Figure out how to disengage the US from the NATO operation in Libya.

Politico: "Criminal charges are expected to be filed Friday against two-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, the result of an investigation into campaign cash allegedly funneled to the woman he had an out-of-wedlock child with."

Boston Globe: "Tornadoes tore through Western and Central Massachusetts yesterday, killing at least four people, injuring an untold number, and reducing schools, churches, and homes to splinters along its destructive path. Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency throughout Massachusetts and ordered up to 1,000 troops from the National Guard to help with rescue efforts. He said at least 19 communities had reported damage and he asked officials in those towns and cities to close schools and keep nonemergency personnel home today to allow work crews to clear streets."

Al Jazeera: "Fighting has continued in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, between forces loyal to the president and those allied to an opposition tribal group." AND, an earlier report from Al Jazeera: "At least 41 people have been killed overnight in ongoing street fighting between government forces and opposition tribal fighters in Yemen's capital." Both reports include video. Also, Al Jazeera is running a liveblog here.

** AP: "The Health and Human Services Department rejected changes in Indiana's Medicaid plan Wednesday, saying it illegally bans funding for Planned Parenthood, and sought to make clear that a similar fate awaits other states that pass legislation barring any qualified health care provider. State officials signaled they would not accept HHS' decision. In a letter sent to Indiana's Medicaid director, Medicaid Administrator Donald M. Berwick said Indiana's plan will improperly bar beneficiaries from receiving services. Federal law requires Medicaid beneficiaries to be able to obtain services from any qualified provider." CW: another reason to love Dr. Berwick. His is serving under a recess appointment because Republican Senators have blocked his confirmation.

New York Times: "Google said Wednesday that hundreds of users of Gmail, its e-mail service, had been the targets of clandestine attacks apparently originating in China that were aimed at stealing their passwords and monitoring their e-mail. In a blog post, the company said the victims included senior government officials in the United States, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries, military personnel and journalists."

The Commentariat -- June 1

Wow, what a boom in my neighborhood at 2:28 am ET. I'd say the Space Shuttle Endeavour just returned.

"Non Means Non." Maureen Dowd writes about the effects on French attitudes about gender issues in the wake of the DSK scandal. ...

... I've posted a comments page for Dowd's column on Off Times Square. Comment on Dowd's column or what you will. I just added my comment.

Neil Irwin of the Washington Post: "The U.S. economic recovery is faltering. Manufacturing — a consistent driver of growth over the past year -- slowed dramatically last month, according to data released Wednesday. Private job creation was exceptionally weak in May, other data showed Wednesday. Adding to that, home prices are falling, consumers are spending less, and companies are laying off more workers, according to other recent reports." CW: who could possibly have known? ...

... Dina ElBoghdady of the Washington Post: "The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index shows that single-family home prices fell 4.2 percent nationally in the first quarter from the previous quarter, leading analysts to conclude that prices have fallen by more than they did during the Great Depression."

** Early Primaries. David Leonhardt of the New York Times: two "... economists estimated that an Iowa or New Hampshire voter had the same impact as five Super Tuesday voters." The early primary system "distorts economic policy in several damaging ways. Most obviously, the federal government has lavished subsidies on ethanol ... partly because candidates pander to the Iowa corn industry.... A recent peer-reviewed study found that early-voting states received more federal dollars after a competitive election — so long as they supported the winning candidate." Iowa & New Hampshire also are "so unrepresentative.... Their populations are growing more slowly than the rest of the country’s. Residents of Iowa and New Hampshire are more likely to have health insurance. They are older than average. They are more likely to work in manufacturing. Above all, Iowa and New Hampshire lack a single big city.... So the presidential calendar becomes another cause of what Edward Glaeser, a conservative-leaning Harvard economist, calls our 'anti-urban policy bias.'”

Zachary Goldfarb of the Washington Post: "President Obama on Tuesday nominated former electric utility executive John E. Bryson as his next Commerce secretary. ... Bryson spent nearly two decades as the head of the largest utility in North America, Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, and today serves as a senior adviser to the private-equity giant Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts. He also is a director of Boeing and Walt Disney, a former energy regulator in California and a noted environmentalist who co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council.... Senate Republicans immediately vowed Tuesday to block the nomination in a dispute with Obama and Senate Democrats over outstanding free-trade agreements."

S.E.C. = Swindlers & Excrement Collaborators. Louise Story & Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times: "How [Fabrice] Tourre [of Goldman Sachs] alone came to be the face of mortgage-securities fraud has raised questions among former prosecutors and Congressional officials about how aggressive and thorough the government’s investigations have been into Wall Street’s role in the mortgage crisis. In the fall of 2009..., his lawyers drafted private responses to the S.E.C., maintaining that Mr. Tourre was part of a 'collaborative effort' at Goldman.... Now, however, as criticism has grown about the lack of cases brought by regulators, the scope of the inquiries appears to be widening. The United States attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., has said publicly that his lawyers were reviewing possible charges against other Goldman officials...."

In a Washington Post op-ed, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner touts the success of the auto industry bailouts.

Sorry to be so late on this, but I've been preoccupied. Paul Krugman has a terrific response to Jared Bernstein's post (see yesterday's Commentariat) on Krugman's last column. Krugman offers a brief laundry list of the Obama Administration's misjudgments about the stimulus and the jobs crisis.

I'm literally behind the Times here, too. Robert Pear of the New York Times: "The administration plans to establish “Medicare spending per beneficiary” as a new measure of hospital performance." ...

     ... Krugman writes, "I do believe that many people in the commentary business can manage to read stories like this, tut-tut about the difficulties, and then — in the very next breath — complain that Obama is doing nothing to limit the growth of health care costs. The point is that this is what cost control looks like. Things like the Ryan plan, which just shift the cost of care onto seniors, are fake; this is the real thing." ...

... Anecdotal Evidence. A friend writes, "A transfer service charges $1,500 a day, three times a week, to take my sister-in-law from a nursing home to a dialysis center ten miles away. No wonder Medicare is in trouble." ...

... Mediscare Claims Redux. Roger Simon, in the Chicago Sun-Times: "The Republicans have wrapped their arms around the Ryan plan, and public opinion be damned, they are hugging it. The Democrats are delighted. They are planning to turn that hug into a death grip." Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link.

We Voted against It before We Voted for It. Adam Sorensen of Time: "The House of Representatives voted 97-318 against increasing the federal borrowing limit by $2.4 trillion without preconditional spending cuts on Tuesday night. The Republican leadership designed the vote to fail: They used a procedural trick to require a 2/3 majority for passage and convinced every last member of their caucus to oppose it. The idea, they said, was to prove ... that raising the debt ceiling won’t happen without a package of accompanying spending cuts.... Tuesday’s failed vote only served to provide political cover for members of Congress who will eventually have to back the incredibly unpopular increase in borrowing capacity."

Right Wing World *

... if someone is attending speeches from someone who is promoting the violent overthrow of our government, that’s really an offense that we should be going after — they should be deported or put in prison. -- Rand Paul

Alex Seitz-Wald of Think Progress: Rand Paul, staunch defender of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, obviously isn't too keen on the First Amendment.

Alex Altman of Time. Former Republican governors Jon Huntsman & Tim Pawlenty face questions about their prior expressions of support for the dreaded individual mandate. CW: If they weren't running away so fast from their original sensible support for the mandate and other Republican base bugaboos, their presidential candidacies would be more credible. ...

... As Verum Serum highlights in this terrific RINO video, Huntsman's reasonable stances on a number of hot-button issues make him radioactive among the nut jobs of his party's base:

"The $7 Trillion Lie." Judd Legum of Think Progress: "Sarah Palin, in the only interview she’s granted during her 'One Nation' bus tour, claimed that the U.S. federal debt had grown more under Obama than 'all those other presidents combined.' [whoever they were; she's not sure] ... When Obama took office the debt stood at $10.6 trillion. After inheriting two wars and the worst economy since the Great Depression, the debt has grown by $3.7 trillion since Obama has been in office. Palin is off by about $7 trillion.... The deficit ... has increased less under Obama than our last president, George W. Bush. Under President Bush..., the deficit increased by $4.9 trillion." With video.

* Where facts are sometimes hard to hide, but it's always worth a try.

Local News

Tax-Free Texas. Zaid Jilani of Think Progress: "In Texas, state lawmakers — overwhelmingly conservative Republicans — ... passed a bill that would tighten sales tax rules and force many online retailers to begin collecting sales taxes just like any other business. This morning, [Gov. Rick] Perry quietly vetoed the bill, protecting Amazon and other large retailers’ tax-dodging...."

Austerity, Christie-Style. Anahad O'Connor of the New York Times: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hopped in a state helicopter on Tuesday afternoon and headed for an event that is not exactly considered important business: His son’s baseball game.... A rising star in the Republican party who some consider presidential material, Mr. Christie has ... tak[en] a hard line on state and local spending, forcing deep budget cuts and proposing budget reforms to eliminate waste.... The Star Ledger reported that Mr. Christie had no public events on his schedule Tuesday. But he did have an event scheduled at 6:30 p.m. at the governor’s mansion..., a meeting with a group of Iowa donors looking to persuade him to run for president in 2012." CW: Sometimes a governor just has to do a little something for himself.

Patrick Marley & Emma Roller of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "State election officials on Tuesday approved recall elections against three Republican senators but put off decisions on certifying recall petitions against three Democrats." That puts the number of recall elections at six for Republicans and, as yet, zero for Democrats. Naturally, Republicans are crying foul. The election board, which all state Republicans voted to create four years ago, is nonpartisan.

Pugilistic Politicians. Kevin McDermont of the Political Fix: "Illinois' rough-and-tumble politics took a turn for the literal late Tuesday, as a northern Illinois Democrat allegedly punch[ed] a Metro East Republican on the Senate floor after a debate over utility legislation. The altercation took place during a lull in the long final day of the legislative session Tuesday, with no reporters around to witness it." Oh, shoot, it would have been so much better if we'd had a video.

News Ledes

President Obama will meet with House Republicans this morning. Should be fun. AP story here. Washington Post Update: "Republican lawmakers demanded Wednesday that President Obama produce a detailed plan to cut government spending in return for agreement to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. But there was no indication that the White House meeting resulted in any progress on the issue, despite an Aug. 2 deadline to increase the federal debt limit or risk defaulting on obligations."

AP: "Space shuttle Endeavour and its six astronauts returned to Earth early Wednesday, closing out the next-to-last mission in NASA's 30-year program with a safe middle-of-the-night landing. Endeavour glided down onto the runway one final time under the cover of darkness, just as Atlantis, the last shuttle bound for space, arrived at the launch pad for the grand finale in five weeks."

AP: "Government media said the daughter of a prominent Iranian dissident died of a heart attack while attending her father's funeral Wednesday, but opposition websites said she died in a scuffle with security forces. Haleh Sahabi, 54 and a prominent activist and rights campaigner herself, collapsed and died Wednesday at the funeral of her father. He died on Tuesday."

Terrorists in the Heartland? (Bowling Green, Kentucky) Daily News: "Two Iraqi refugees living in Bowling Green were arraigned today on federal terrorism charges -- including accusations of attempting to kill U.S. troops with explosive devices in Iraq. Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 23, are charged in a 23-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Bowling Green on May 26. The men made their initial federal court appearance today in Louisville."

The Commentariat -- May 31

I have an Open Thread up on Off Times Square. Sorry, I'm having connection problems with my new, useless iPod. ...

     ... Update: Karen Garcia has a terrific comment on Nocera's column, which as of this writing, the Times moderators have chosen not to publish. Wait, wait; the Times just plunked Garcia's comment in at #51 & mine at #53. ...

     ... Also, if you'd like to know "Why I Bother to Write about Brooks," see my response (#6) to Anonymous Adam (#5).

Creeps on Parade. CNN: "Hours before President Barack Obama led the nation's Memorial Day observances at the Tomb of the Unknowns, three members of the Westboro Baptist Church were challenged by others who disagreed with them -- including members claiming to be from the Ku Klux Klan." Here's the video. See, I didn't make this up:

More later. No, actually, I'm just not posting a thing until I can get my damned Internet service working properly again. Arrrgh! I hate technology.

Okay, here are a few links:

Gene Robinson: "My advice to Sarah Palin, not that she would take it, is that she’d better be careful. If she keeps pretending to run for the presidential nomination, people might take her seriously.... The fact that Palin’s ego trip so easily stole the spotlight from the actual Republican candidates shows what a challenge the party faces in trying to deny President Obama a second term." ...

... Jason Horowitz of the Washington Post: profiles Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain: "... it is far too early to accept [Herman] Cain’s typically brash view of himself as a serious contender. History says he isn’t. But while his supporters like to talk about 'Raising Cain,' his momentary blip is, more than anything, raising some serious questions for the GOP. Who’s calling the shots in the Republican Party — the elite establishment or the grass-roots activists?"

A Republican You Can Love. Really. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Justice John Paul Stevens is 91, and he retired from the Supreme Court last year. But he seems to be more active than ever. He is making speeches, writing a book and commenting on the news. He is telling people how he would have voted in recent cases, and he is singling out former colleagues for praise and criticism."

David Rogers of Politico: "House Democrats are showing real unity for the first time in pressuring President Barack Obama on Afghanistan — with influential moderates now expressing their impatience alongside the anti-war left that drove the early Iraq war debate. There’s no immediate threat to war funding, but the shift in the president’s party can’t be ignored by the White House going into the 2012 elections."

Jared Berstein, late of the Obama Administration, explains why there aren't any serious jobs programs -- it's the politics, stupid. CW: as I did in my comment to Krugman's column, Bernstein gives Krugman a homework assignment. But Bernstein emphasizes the "could's," while I think Obama should shoot for the "should's," which will never pass but will be winners in the political season.

Tom Dickinson of Rolling Stone has another fascinating profile of Roger Ailes, the despicable head of Fox News. Even Rupert Murdoch thinks Ailes is crazy. Ailes makes the Hearst character is "Citizen Kane" look like a choir boy.

News Ledes

President Obama announces John Bryson will be his nominee to replace Gary Locke as Secretary of Commerce. The President is nominating Locke to be Ambassador to China:

Washington Post: GOP House leaders timed a vote for tonight on raising the debt ceiling to prove that raising the debt limit will never pass ... just "before all 241 members of the Republican conference visit Obama on Wednesday."

AP: "Angered by civilian casualties, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he will no longer allow NATO airstrikes on houses, issuing his strongest statement yet against strikes that the military alliance says are key to its war on Taliban insurgents. The president's remarks follow a recent strike that mistakenly killed a group of children and women in southern Helmand province. He said it would be the last.... NATO says it never conducts such strikes without Afghan government coordination and approval."

Reuters: "Pakistani warplanes attacked Taliban positions in the northwestern Orakzai region on Tuesday, killing 17 militants, a senior regional government official said.... The strike came a day after a local newspaper reported that Pakistan will launch an offensive in North Waziristan, a known sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban militants."

New York Times: "A Spanish judge issued arrest warrants on Monday for some of the top military leaders of El Salvador’s civil war, accusing them of meticulously planning and carrying out the killings of six Jesuit priests in 1989."

I Guess He Doesn't Read the Papers. AP: "A former chairman of one of Egypt's major banks faces charges of sexually abusing a maid at a luxury Manhattan hotel.... Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar was arrested on Monday and is accused of sexually abusing the maid at The Pierre, a luxurious hotel near Central Park and Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side, police said."