The Commentariat -- January 31

Ezra Klein's view of what should happen if Florida Judge Roger Vinson's opinion that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional prevailed in the Supreme Court is similar to mine: extend Medicare, S-CHIP, etc. to cover most of the population. The problem of course is that we currently have a Congress that would not do so. Klein also notes the absurdity of a "legal theory currently in vogue in conservative circles ... [that] permits the government to establish a single-payer health-care system that every American pays into through payroll taxes and that wipes out the private insurance industry but forbids the government from administering a regulated market in which individuals purchase private insurance plans and pay a penalty if they can afford coverage but choose to delay buying it until they're sick...."

... Klein comments on the nature of Vinson's ruling: "The full ruling has a very Bush v. Gore feeling, as Vinson concedes that his position is activist in the extreme and a break from the court's usual preference for limited rulings, but says, in effect, that he's going to do it just this once." You can read Vinson's ruling here. ...

Steve Benen puts Vinson's ruling into perspective:

... two Republican-appointed federal district court judges have now found that the individual mandate -- an idea Republicans came up with -- is unconstitutional.... Let's not forget two other federal district court judges, appointed by Democratic presidents, came to the opposite conclusion.... Overall, about a dozen federal courts have dismissed challenges to the health care law. ...

... Suzy Khimm of The New Republic: "The Republican attorneys general who brought the lawsuit wanted an unabashedly right-wing judge to rule on the case, so they deliberately filed in a very conservative jurisdiction of the state. Vinson delivered." ...

... Backstory. New York Times: Judge Roger Vinson of Federal District Court in Pensacola, Florida "... ruled on Monday that it was unconstitutional for Congress to enact a health care law that requires Americans to obtain commercial insurance, evening the score at two-to-two in the lower courts as conflicting opinions begin their path to the Supreme Court."

Helena Cobban in Salon: "Pro-Israeli groups and individuals in Congress and the rest of the American political elite have worked hard, for decades now, to demean and marginalize the work of anyone who seeks to understand trends in the Arab world on their own terms. They sowed the wind of our government’s current, stunningly evident impotence regarding events in Egypt. Now we are reaping the whirlwind." ...

... David Kirkpatrick & Mona El-Naggar of the New York Times: in Egypt, "political organizers, many younger than 30, are taking the lead in efforts to topple a regime older than they are." ...

... Nicholas Kulish & Soaud Mekhennet of the New York Times: "For four days now, containers arriving on ships have been stacking up at [Alexandria,] Egypt’s largest port.... With distribution networks barely functioning and the Internet down since Thursday night, much of business in Egypt has nearly ground to a halt.... The political crisis could turn into a humanitarian one if the current economic paralysis continues." ...

... Peter Nicholas of the Los Angeles Times: "A tight-lipped White House is taking an even-handed approach to the crisis in Egypt, suggesting that President Mubarak might be able to hold onto power if he allows competitive elections and restores individual freedoms. But inside the Obama administration, there are signs that officials are preparing for a post-Mubarak era after three decades." ...

... Jeffrey Fleishman of the Los Angeles Times: "The Muslim Brotherhood..., the Arab world's largest Islamic organization..., is muting its religious message amid a popular revolt that is not driven by Islam or politics. The organization's strategy became more apparent Sunday when it announced support for opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei as a transitional president if the Mubarak government is toppled. The move was recognition that ElBaradei, a secularist with Western democratic principles, is the most potent symbol for change in a nation desperate for fresh voices." ...

... NEW. Nathan Brown, director of Middle Eastern Studies at Georgetown U., talks to Justin Elliott of Salon about the history & organization of the Muslim Brotherhood. As Elliott suggests, you won't hear this on Fox.

... Massimo Calabresi of Time: "Political change is not always what it seems in the Arab world.... From the Western perspective it is not clear whether to fret about it or to embrace it. In truth, Washington has to do both, since it has little or no control over the situation, especially in the most volatile of the uprisings, in Egypt." ...

... Karl Vick of Time: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly ordered his government not to comment on events in Egypt, but the headlines in the Sunday morning papers got the main point across well enough: 'A 30-Year Step Backward,' 'What Frightens Us,' 'All Alone.' ... Egypt under President Hosni Mubarak observed the 1979 peace treaty with the Jewish state, helped put pressure on Hamas from Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, nursed peace talks with the Palestinians, worked to thwart Iran and along the way provided Israel with 40% of its natural gas."

... Looks as if the Blue Texan at Firedoglake has been reading the right-wing blogs so we don't have to. Here's her/his post on the five stupidest things right-wingers have written about the Egyptian uprising. Oh, they're stupid. ...

... If you're wondering why you don't get Al Jazeera-English on your cable, Ryan Grim has the answer. Meanwhile, you can watch it here.

Dexter Filkins, now of the New Yorker, on the failure of Kabul Bank. New York Times story by Alissa Rubin & James Risen here. ...

... Joe Klein of Time: "The answer, I think, is bail out Kabul Bank, but only if Karzai steps aside in favor of Abdullah Abdullah, who finished second in the rigged presidential election -- or a respected technocrat like Ashraf Ghani, who could lead a caretaker government until new elections are held."

Whatever happened to Barack Obama's longstanding enthusiasm for curbing global warming? Rick Hertzberg has a very smart, compact comment on the subject.

Kate Brumback of the AP: "A study by the nonpartisan Migration Policiy Institute "examined a program that allows participating local agencies to enforce federal immigration law>," and found that the law was being enforced unevenly. "Several agencies in the Southeast were turning over every illegal immigrant taken into custody ... while others are focused on deporting more violent criminals."

Mark Lacey of the New York Times: "... New York City sent undercover investigators to an Arizona gun show and found instances in which private sellers sold semiautomatic pistols even after buyers said they probably could not pass background checks, city officials said.... Private, unlicensed sellers are not required to run federal background checks, but it is a violation of federal law to sell guns to people if sellers suspect they are felons or mentally ill or are otherwise prohibited from buying.... In two instances, the New York undercover officers specifically said before buying a gun, 'I probably couldn’t pass a background check,' but were still sold guns, city officials said."

Does Connecticut Want to Replace One Preening, Sanctimonious Blowhard with Another? Sean Miller of The Hill: "Liberals want Keith Olbermann to run for retiring Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) seat." CW: just say no, Keith.

CW: I normally pay absolutely no attention to Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post, but since he writes this time on the major flaws of the potential Republican candidates for president, let's have at it. ...

... Jim Fallows says Chinese Amb. Jon Huntsman, a Republican, can't stay on the job if he's contemplating a run against President Obama in 2012, as reports suggest. ...

... CW: I think Ben Smith gets it right: "... if you assume that the primary will be defined by and against Mitt Romney, Huntsman will be to Romney what Obama was to Clinton: A purer, more credible version." ...

... Backstory. Politico: "The White House expects Jon Huntsman, the U.S. Ambassador to China, to resign his post this spring to explore a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, top Democrats said. GOP allies of Huntsman have already begun laying plans for a quick-start campaign should the former Utah governor decide to" run. New York Times Update: "Jon Huntsman, the United States ambassador to China, has informed the White House that he plans to step down in the next few months, further stoking speculation about his presidential ambitions." Washington Post story here.

Steve Kroft of CBS News interviews Julian Assange for "60 Minutes":

     ... You can watch the rest of the interview & link to related content on the "60 Minutes" page here.

News Items

New York Times: "Egyptian opposition groups gathered on Monday for a seventh day in the central Liberation Square, seeking to maintain the momentum of their uprising against President Hosni Mubarak as the army struggled to control a capital seized variously by fears of chaos and euphoria that change may be imminent." ...

... Washington Post: "Egyptian police reappeared on the streets of this embattled capital Monday, after virtually disappearing over the weekend and leaving the military to maintain order in the face of anti-government demonstrations." ...

... Haaretz, Reuters: "Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has instructed his government to begin talks with the opposition parties.... Mubarak told his new prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, to start talking to the opposition and find out their specific demands.... Egyptian military officers and soldiers promised Monday that they will not hurt any of the protesters in Tuesday's 'million man march'." ...

... Globe and Mail: "Cairo's international airport was a scene of chaos and confusion Monday as thousands of foreigners sought to flee the unrest in Egypt and countries around the world scrambled to send in planes to fly their citizens out." ...

... AP: "Israeli officials say they have agreed to allow Egypt to move several hundred troops into the Sinai Peninsula for the first time since [1979].... Under the 1979 peace treaty, Israel returned the captured Sinai to Egypt. In return, Egypt agreed to leave the area demilitarized. With street protests threatening the Egyptian regime, the unnamed officials say that Israel agreed to allow the Egyptian army to move two battalions, about 800 soldiers, into Sinai." ...

... CNN: "While discontent, resentment and nationalism continue to fuel demonstrations, one vital staple is in short supply: food. Many families in Egypt are fast running out of staples such as bread, beans and rice and are often unable or unwilling to shop for groceries." ...

... New York Times: "While Egypt’s banks and stock market closed Monday because of the chaos there, the uncertainty weighed on markets elsewhere. Most Asian markets fell, although trading was already low ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday this week, analysts said. Shares opened lower across Europe as well, but Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures were flat, suggesting stocks would be little changed at the opening on Wall Street." ...

... AP: "Egypt needs a peaceful transition to democracy, EU foreign ministers urged Monday, warning the country's citizens to be on guard against a takeover by religious militants." ...

... AFP: "Former US president Jimmy Carter, who brokered the existing peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, predicted Sunday that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will have to resign because 'the people have decided....'" ...

... AP: "International Mideast envoy Tony Blair said Monday that a change in Egypt's leadership is inevitable after the week of anti-government protests that have gripped the country."

AP: "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is convening an unprecedented mass meeting of U.S. ambassadors. The top envoys from nearly all of America's 260 embassies, consulates and other posts in more than 180 countries will be gathering at the State Department beginning on Monday. Officials say it's the first such global conference."

New York Times: "Fraud and mismanagement at Afghanistan’s largest bank have resulted in potential losses of as much as $900 million — three times previous estimates — heightening concerns that the bank could collapse and trigger a broad financial panic in Afghanistan, according to American, European and Afghan officials." ...

... Washington Post: "The acting chief financial officer and other Pakistani employees of Kabul Bank have fled Afghanistan amid an investigation into the scope of the bank's reckless lending and allegations that its shareholders paid large bribes to many senior Afghan officials, according to Afghan officials and others familiar with the issue."

The Commentariat -- January 30

Art by Barry Blitt for the New York Times.Frank Rich: "The Republicans, who sold themselves as the uncompromising champions of Tea Party-fueled fiscal austerity, have discovered that most Americans prefer compromise to confrontation." ...

... Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "The outlines of the domestic side of the 2012 election debate came into sharper focus this past week. President Obama called on America to win the future and made government a principal instrument of that effort. Republicans countered by pointing at Washington and its appetite for spending as the single biggest threat to a secure future." ...

... Peter Wallsten of the Washington Post: "Less than three months since his party's major election losses, President Obama has presided over a West Wing makeover designed to help him keep a sharp focus on economic issues heading into his 2012 reelection campaign, while drawing clear lines of distinction with newly empowered Republicans." ...

... Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times: President Obama pivots into the Cheerleader-in-Chief just as he is gearing up his re-election campaign. David Axelrod claims the upbeat State of the Union address was not so much a pivot as "a straight rhetorical line ... from earlier speeches like the heavily biographical 2004 keynote to the Democratic National Convention, in which Mr. Obama spoke of America as 'a magical place.' The State of the Union address, Mr. Axelrod said, was ... a 'matter of returning to first principles' for a president who had to temper his rhetoric when his administration was 'functioning as a triage unit arriving in the middle of an economic calamity.'"

... Maureen Dowd: David Axelrod departs the White House. "Asked about the cascade of 'exclusive' exit interviews he was giving, he warned drolly: 'Don’t turn on the Shopping Network!'” AND here's another "exclusive" exit interview, this one with Jack Tapper of ABC News:

Fareed Zakaria on Egypt:

Zakaria interviews Mohamed ElBaradei:

Massimo Calabresi of Time: "... Secretary of State [Hillary Clinton] took the U.S. position on the situation in Egypt a tonal step further, calling for an 'orderly transition', suggesting that the administration is beginning to view embattled President Hosni Mubarak's days as numbered.... The U.S. will have a better chance of influencing a slow handover of power over the next six to nine months than trying to drive fast changing events on the ground. Clinton's statements suggest that's the developing American strategy." CW: see today's Ledes. ...

... David Sanger & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "President Obama’s decision to stop short, at least for now, of calling for Hosni Mubarak’s resignation was driven by the administration’s concern that it could lose all leverage over the Egyptian president, and because it feared creating a power vacuum inside the country, according to administration officials involved in the debate. In recounting Saturday’s deliberations, they said Mr. Obama was acutely conscious of avoiding any perception that the United States was once again quietly engineering the ouster of a major Middle East leader." ...

Justin Elliott of Salon talks with Stanford historian Joel Beinin about the history of the U.S.'s alliance with Egyptian leadership -- a very useful shortcourse. ...

... Here's Juan Cole's take on Egyptian class conflict. ...

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman. European Pressphoto Agency photo.... Michael Slackman of the New York Times profiles Omar Suleiman, whom Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak named vice president yesterday. ...

... AND Jane Mayer of the New Yorker: Suleiman "was the C.I.A.’s point man in Egypt for renditions — the covert program in which the C.I.A. snatched terror suspects from around the world and returned them to Egypt and elsewhere for interrogation, often under brutal circumstances." ...

... Scott Shane of the New York Times on the role of Web tools in revolutionary uprisings. ...

... Christopher Beam of Slate surmises how Egypt shut down the Internet. ...

... AND the Huffington Post has a page with suggestions for how Egyptians can get back online. Of course, if they're not online, I don't know how they'll read it. Oh, and it's all in English. ...

.. Tweets from Egyptian journalist Waal Abbas here. Most are in Arabic; a few in English. Related Los Angeles Times story here.

... Howard Schneider & Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post: "Egypt's military, built with tens of billions of dollars in American technology and training, is facing its biggest test in decades.... The arrival of tanks and troops in Cairo's streets seemed to calm a tense situation, suggesting that the Egyptian military will play a key role as the country navigates its way out of the current crisis. On Saturday, soldiers seemed largely to sympathize with the throngs of protesters. The massive amounts of defense aid -- which have made Egypt's military one of the more effective forces in the region and yielded a relatively stable and wealthy officer class -- will probably give the United States some critical leverage, Middle East analysts said."

WTF. Who -- besides the Newt -- knew that Gingrich wrote a book published in 2005 titled Winning the Future? Kasie Hunt of Politico writes that Newt's little polemic has shot up in sales since President Obama used the phrase "win" or "winning the future" nine times in his SOTU & Gov. Classy S. Palin thought she should call attention to the acronym. Naturally, Newt has been tweeting about it.

John Curran of the AP: "Bolstered by billions in federal stimulus money, an effort to expand broadband Internet access to rural areas is under way, an ambitious 21st-century infrastructure project with parallels to the New Deal electrification of the nation's hinterlands in the 1930s and 1940s. President Barack Obama emphasized the importance of Internet access in his State of the Union address last week."

John Donnelly of CQ: "For the second year in a row, the U.S. military has lost more troops to suicide than it has to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Palin Retreats. Andy Barr of Politico: in a speech before a gun club in Reno, Sarah Palin retooled "Don't retreat, reload," to "Don't retreat, stand tall."

Body Size Matters. (Just Thought This Was Interesting.) Amelia Reyno of the Washington Post: "... thin women are paid significantly more than their average-size counterparts, while heavier women make less. Skinnier-than-average men, on the other hand, cash smaller paychecks than their average-weight peers. Experts say it's just another sign that as a society, we've internalized the unrealistic, media-driven physical ideals that show up in the workplace -- and therefore the pocketbook."

News Items

Firedoglake: "Twenty-five protesters were arrested in Rancho Mirage, California today, at a protest in front of the Rancho Las Palmas resort, site of the 'Billionaire’s Caucus,' an annual meeting put on by the Koch Brothers and other corporate entities and conservative movement operators. Riverside Sheriff’s deputy Melissa Nieburger ... estimated between 800 and 1,000 activists at the 'Uncloak the Kochs' event." New York Times story here.

AP: "Southern Sudan's referendum commission said Sunday that more than 99 percent of voters in the south opted to secede from the country's north in a vote held earlier this month.... If the process stays on track, Southern Sudan will become the world's newest country in July. Border demarcation, oil rights and the status of the contested region of Abyei still have to be negotiated."

Fox "News": "The United States wants to see steps taken to transition Egypt to a democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday in remarks that avoided stating a U.S. preference about Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's fate but offered several positive marks for Egypt's army." Updates: New York Times story here; Politico story here. ...

... New York Times: "As President Hosni Mubarak struggled to maintain a tenuous hold on power and the Egyptian military reinforced strategic points in the capital with tanks and armored vehicles, the United States said on Sunday it was offering evacuation flights for American citizens, including diplomatic dependents and non-essential staff." Story had been updated. The lede now reads, "The Egyptian uprising, which emerged as a disparate and spontaneous grass-roots movement, began to coalesce Sunday, as the largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, threw its support behind a leading secular opposition figure, Mohamed ElBaradei, to negotiate on behalf of the forces seeking the fall of President Hosni Mubarak." See Fareed Zakaria's interview of ElBaradei in the left column. ...

... New York Times: thousands of tourists are trapped in Egypt. Also, "about 90,000 Americans live and work in Egypt. There have been no reports so far of plans to evacuate them, though some American companies were ordering workers’ families to leave."

The Commentariat -- January 29

Common Cause, in association with several other organizations including MoveOn.org, CREDO & the Courage Campaign, is hosting a "Koch Busters Rally"  in Rancho Mirage, California on Sunday, January 30, "to counter an exclusive gathering of corporate billionaires, organized by the Koch brothers, who are meeting to plot strategy on how to dominate the 2012 elections! The rally will take place from 1:30-3:30pm...." For more information -- map, directions, busses to the rally, etc. -- go here. Hey, you just might get to see some Supreme Court justices, too. Thanks to reader Jeanne B. for the info.

Exports! Sara Wali & Deena Sami of ABC News: "Egyptian riot police are firing tear gas canisters bearing the label 'Made in U.S.A' against street demonstrations in Cairo, according to protesters who provided ABC News with pictures of the canisters." ...

... David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times examines the role of "Mohamed ElBaradei, an Egyptian who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work to promote nuclear disarmament, in the Egyptian revolution.... Since his arrival [in Egypt] in February, Dr. ElBaradei has said he would be a candidate for the presidency but only if the Constitution were revised to allow for a free and fair election.... Dr. ElBaradei, whose doctorate, from New York University, is in international law, directed much of his anger at the West, faulting the United States administration and others for what he described as a hesitant response to a popular uprising demanding freedom, human rights, and the rule of law." ...

... Steve Coll of the New Yorker: "The future of the Mubarak family’s grip on Egypt now appears to be a matter for the Egyptian Army to decide.... There is no way to predict how the generals will react to the dilemmas and opportunities of a revolt of this character." ...

... Brian Katulis of the Center for American Progress: in the Middle East, "the United States should seek to use all of its leverage to achieve progress on core security interests while encouraging pragmatic reform. Otherwise, staying the course in a path dependency on current U.S. policy could lead to greater instability." ...

... AND according to Matthew Lee & Erica Werner of the AP, "The White House suggested U.S. aid [to Egypt] could be at stake." ...

... BUT. Marcus Baram of the Huffington Post: "In its first year, the Obama administration cut funding for democracy and governance programming in Egypt by more than half, from $50 million in 2008 to $20 million in 2009 (Congress later appropriated another $5 million). The level of funding for civil society programs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was cut disproportionately, from $32 million to only $7 million. Though funding levels for 2010 are not yet available, they are expected to show an increase to $14 million, says Stephen McInerny, the director of advocacy at the Project on Middle East Democracy. He notes that the Bush administration slashed economic aid to Egypt in the 2009 budget but kept the funding for democracy and governance programs constant, while Obama cut funding to those programs...." ...

... Justin Elliott of Salon highlights the big-name U.S. lobbyist firms who work for the Egyptian government, including the Podesta group, founded by Tony & John Podesta. ...

... In this April 2010 New Yorker piece, Joshua Hammer provides background on the Egyptian situation & on some of the personalities in the mix.

CW: I'd like to pretend a give a flying fuck about what the opinionators at the Davos, Switzerland Summit of the Swells have to say, but I don't. I'll let economist Simon Johnson sum of the proceedings; he says all I need to know about it.

Mike Ahlers & Jean Meserve of CNN: "A program that allows airports to replace government screeners with private screeners is being brought to a standstill, just a month after the Transportation Security Administration said it was 'neutral' on the program. TSA chief John Pistole said Friday he has decided not to expand the program beyond the current 16 airports.... Though little known, the Screening Partnership Program allowed airports to replace government screeners with private contractors who wear TSA-like uniforms, meet TSA standards and work under TSA oversight.... [In December,] Rep. John Mica, a Republican from Florida, wrote a letter encouraging airports to privatize their airport screeners, saying they would be more responsive to the public. At that time, the TSA said it neither endorsed nor opposed private screening."

Greg Sargent: "It looks like David Brock is getting more serious about building a powerful apparatus on the left to go head-to-head with the flood of outside money conservative groups are planning to pump into the 2012 elections. I'm told that Brock has made some major staff shifts within his Media Matters empire in preparation for 2012, shifting key staff over to a new third-party spending vehicle he's created to spend big money on campaigns this cycle, which is called American Bridge."

CW: I'm glad to see the New York Times is covering Rep. Darrell Issa's demand that federal agencies turn over to him the details of every Freedom of Information Act request they've received for the past five years, including the names of those making FOIA requests. As I wrote to a friend yesterday, "You can't convince me Issa cares about timely, non-discriminatory practices. He wants to find out what certain people want to find out. It won't be long before he's waving sheaves of paper & yelling, 'I have here in my hand the names of 137 known terrorists to whom careless bureaucrats have given sensitive documents. Our own government is aiding & abetting the enemy....'" According to Eric Lipton's NYT report, some journalism professors share my concern. ...

... AND Karen Garcia warns "Ask not of your country unless you want your name on an Issa List."

Really, the Salmon Management System Makes Sense. Devin Dwyer of ABC News: "Atop President Obama's list of targets for a proposed overhaul of federal bureaucracy is the trio of agencies that has a hand in regulating the country's salmon catch. Regulatory and wildlife experts said Wednesday that while the current arrangement might seem complicated or messy, the system serves a vital purpose and works just fine. Changing it, they said, wouldn't necessarily save money, and could cost taxpayers, at least in the short term." ...

... Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, where salmon is a billion-dollar business, likes the regulatory system, too. He sent President Obama a sample of Alaska smoked salmon.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "President Obama has balanced on a political tightrope for two years over the Defense of Marriage Act.... Now, two new federal lawsuits threaten to snap that rope out from under him. Mr. Obama, whose political base includes many supporters of gay rights, has urged lawmakers to repeal the law. But at the same time, citing an executive-branch duty to defend acts of Congress, he has sent Justice Department lawyers into court to oppose suits seeking to strike the law down as unconstitutional."

You Just Aren't Gay Enough. Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: gays seeking asylum in the U.S. "may risk being dismissed as not being gay enough."

Lloyd Gets a Raise. Susanne Craig of the New York Times: "Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, had a rough 2010. But at least he got a raise: ... Mr. Blankfein’s 2010 compensation comes to $13.2 million.... In 2009, amid a widespread public outcry over sky-high pay on Wall Street, Mr. Blankfein and other senior Goldman executives received compensation packages valued at $9 million each. In 2007, the year before the financial crisis, Mr. Blankfein made $68.5 million."

Aqua Buddha Strikes Again. And Again. Ben Adler of the Daily Beast: Rand "Paul wants to expand the 14th Amendment to cover the fertilized embryos of American citizens while restricting it to exclude the babies of illegal immigrants. It's not clear where the fetus in an illegal immigrant's uterus would fit into this equation." You'll have to read Adler's article to get a grasp of "The World as It Should Be" by Aqua Buddha Man. Even then.

Dead Man Running. Javier Hernandez of the New York Times: "... a dead man who was presented as a candidate for State Senate in 2010 ... has perplexed local officials. The man, Raphael M. Klapper..., died in May at age 85.... Six months later, he was listed on the ballot as the Conservative Party candidate in the 31st District.... Election officials ... have asked the Manhattan district attorney to investigate. Though the rolls of the deceased have long been a trove for schemers searching for votes, nobody seems to know why anyone would want to put up a dead man for election."

News Items

AP: "Hundreds gathered at NASA's launch site Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, receiving words of hope from the widow of the space shuttle's commander."

AP: "President Barack Obama issued a plea for restraint in Egypt after meeting with national security aides Saturday to assess the Cairo government's response to widespread protests threatening the stability of the country." ...

... Washington Post: "Tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators swarmed central Cairo on Saturday in the largest demonstration yet against the rule of the country's longtime autocratic leader, President Hosni Mubarak. The crowd went unchallenged by troops, who, in extraordinary scenes unfolding around the capital's central Tahrir Square, smiled and shook hands with protesters and invited them up onto their tanks." ...

... AP: "Thousands of people in Egypt who flooded streets in riots calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down were joined Saturday by relatives and supporters at protests in major American cities." ...

... Haaretz: "Embattled Egyptian President Mubarak appointed on Saturday a former air force commander and aviation minister, Ahmed Shafiq, as the new prime minister, in efforts to stem popular rage against his autocratic regime. The move ensures that men with military links are in the top three political jobs. Shafiq's appointment followed announcement earlier on Saturday that Omar Suleiman, the intelligence chief with military experience, would be vice president and in prime position for the top job if Mubarak does not run for president again in September." ...

... AP: "Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak named a vice president Saturday for the first time since coming to power nearly 30 years ago. It was a clear step toward setting up a successor in the midst of the biggest challenge ever to his rule from tens of thousands of anti-government protesters. Mubarak named his intelligence chief and close confidant Omar Suleiman, state television reported. Mubarak was widely seen as grooming his son Gamal to succeed him, possibly even as soon as in presidential elections planned for later this year. However, there was significant public opposition to the hereditary succession." ...

... AP: "A massive crowd of tens of thousands calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak was gathering in the streets and squares of downtown Cairo Saturday afternoon, with protesters making clear they reject promises of reform and a new government offered by the embattled leader trying to hang on to power." ...

... New York Times: "Egypt was engulfed in a fifth day of protests on Saturday but an attempt by President Hosni Mubarak to salvage his 30-year rule by firing his cabinet and calling out the army appeared to backfire as troops and demonstrators fraternized and called for the president himself to resign. While some protesters clashed with police, army tanks expected to disperse the crowds in central Cairo and in the northern city of Alexandria instead became rest points and even, on occasion, part of the protests as anti-Mubarak graffiti were scrawled on them without interference from soldiers." ...

... Here's the New York Times' story on President Obama's conversation with President Mubarak: "President Obama on Friday put Egypt’s embattled leader, Hosni Mubarak, on notice that he should not use his soldiers and the police in a bloody crackdown on the protests in Egypt, edging away from a close American ally whose cities have erupted in protest." See video below of President Obama's address on the situation in Egypt. ...

... The New York Times has an interactive map which locates sites of the protest in Cairo.