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.