The Commentariat -- March 31, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon News:

Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "U.S. officials said Tuesday that they might continue negotiating a preliminary Iran nuclear deal past a midnight deadline as they struggled to resolve key issues."

Nicholas Kulish of the New York Times: "The co-pilot at the controls of the German jetliner that crashed last week had informed Lufthansa in 2009 about his depressive episodes, the company said Tuesday. In a statement, Lufthansa said the co-pilot had conveyed the information when he sought to rejoin the airline's flight school after a monthslong pause in his studies. Lufthansa said that it had shared with prosecutors email correspondence between the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, and the flight training school, which included medical records about a 'deep depressive episode.' Lufthansa is the parent company of Germanwings, the operator of the Airbus 320 on which Mr. Lubitz was co-pilot."

Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) vowed Tuesday morning that the state would alter a religious liberties bill that has drawn widespread criticism, even as he defended the law and insisted it was being unfairly portrayed in the media. Pence urged lawmakers to pass legislation making it clear 'that this law does not give businesses the right to deny services to anyone.'... He did not support a repeal of the legislation, nor did he say that language would be added explicitly protecting gay or transgender people. He also spent a significant portion of the news conference defending the bill and criticizing the media, insisting that the current legislation did not allow for discrimination. 'This law has been smeared,' he said."

Jack Gillum of the AP: "Hillary Clinton emailed her staff on an iPad as well as a BlackBerry while secretary of state, seemingly contradicting her explanation that she exclusively used a personal email address on a so-called 'homebrew' server so that she could carry a single device, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press." ...

... AFP: "A US congressional panel investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks has called for Hillary Clinton to testify by May 1, following a scandal involving her exclusive use of private emails while secretary of state."

*****

CW: I've been called a lot of things, some I had to look up on account of their, um, vernacularity, but this is the first time I've been called a Nazi (or maybe a Nazi intern; hard to tell), as far as I recall. So from now on, I'll be the "Blog Nazi." Seriously, if you don't like it here, there are LOTS of other options out there on the Internets. Slamming me is sort of a waste of your time. The best you're going to get is that I'll shut down in disgust for a few days, & that doesn't seem a big enough reward for revealing your assholedness. I've got a lot to do, & an unpaid vacation would be welcome. Heads I win, tails you lose.

Edward-Isaac Dovere of Politico: "Inside the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, there’s an exact replica of the chamber. Outside, beneath a plastic tent shaking in the chilly wind coming off Boston Harbor, the Washington political world descended Monday, laughing and tearing up, telling their tales of the Massachusetts senator they remembered as the embodiment of a Senate now all but gone." ...

... Eric Levenson & Meagan McGinnes of the Boston Globe: "Kennedy died six years ago, but judging by speeches from a who's who of political leaders on Monday, the 'Lion of the Senate' remains the chamber's platonic ideal." ...

... President Obama speaks at the dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute:

... Vice President Biden remembers Ted Kennedy:

Niels Lesniewski of Roll Call: "Having won the backing of the entire leadership team, New York's Charles E. Schumer might become the next Senate Democratic leader by acclamation. Conference Secretary Patty Murray, D-Wash., has joined in endorsing Schumer for the top job when Nevada Democrat Harry Reid retires at the beginning of 2017, according to a Murray aide." ...

... Manu Raju & John Bresnahan of Politico: "... senators on both sides of the aisle will be watching Schumer -- closely -- to see how he responds to any deal. As a leading pro-Israel voice among Senate Democrats, Schumer is at odds with the White House on Iran, yet he also needs to maintain good relations with Obama. He has to balance his own views on the negotiations with those of a Senate Democratic Caucus that is, by and large, eager to avoid conflict with Iran and stand with the president. Further complicating the matter is a home-state constituency with very strong feelings about Israel and the threat posed to it by Iran.... Schumer is widely seen as a barometer of whether the White House will have enough support on Capitol Hill to sustain a veto on a bill by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) requiring that Congress review any Iran agreement."

Mean Obama Trolls Birthers. Tracy Walsh of CNN: "Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu (R) said on Monday during an appearance on Fox News that President Obama is 'inciting' birther conspiracy theorists by planning a trip to Kenya this summer.... 'I personally think he's just inciting some chatter on an issue that should have been a dead issue a long time ago,' he said.Obama announced Monday morning that he plans to travel to Kenya in July to attend the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit." CW: Thanks, Guv, for upping the Ridiculous Quotient. ...

... Laura Clawson of Daily Kos: "... Sununu — who was not just a governor but a White House chief of staff under President George. H.W. Bush ... feels that the president should plan his travel to avoid doing anything that will cause far-right nutjobs to embarrass themselves and their party."

Mafia Hit Job, Ctd. CW: The other day, I laughed off a confederate conspiracy theory that Harry Reid's recent injuries were the result of a mob beating. But Matt Yglesias does some serious reporting on the theory: ... "for the Vegas mob -- which was largely crushed in the 1980s -- to break into the house of a United States senator, evade or overpower his security detail, and rough him up would be quite the trick. It would also be quite peculiar.... It would presumably be more effective ... to threaten his family, or to simply threaten to release evidence of Reid's relationship with the criminal underground to the press." Yglesias also finds evidence that the type of elastic band exercise device that Reid was using has led to numerous serious injuries. "The right's larger frustration stems from the sense that people should be looking more closely at Reid's finances. But the truth here is that the media has looked into this. Extensively.... Reporters just haven't found the kind of career-destroying smoking gun that conservatives want to find."

Basta! Lawrence Hurley of Reuters: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a new challenge to President Barack Obama's healthcare law that took aim at a bureaucratic board labeled by some Republicans as a 'death panel' because it was designed to cut Medicare costs. The high court left intact a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that threw out the lawsuit."

Lawrence Hurley: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left intact an appeals court ruling that school officials in California did not violate the free speech rights of students by demanding they remove T-shirts bearing images of the U.S. flag at an event celebrating the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo. The court declined to hear an appeal filed by three students at Live Oak High School in the town of Morgan Hill, south of San Francisco. School staff at the May 5, 2010, event told several students their clothing could cause an incident. Two chose to leave for home after refusing to turn their shirts inside out."

Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "Gay Americans simply have too much political power to be afforded equal rights under the Constitution, according to a brief filed by the state of Ohio asking the Supreme Court to permit that state to continue to practice marriage discrimination. Ohio's claim comes as part of a greater effort to convince the justices that laws which discriminate again gay men, lesbians and bisexuals should not be treated with skepticism by courts applying the Constitution's guarantee that everyone shall be afforded 'the equal protection of the laws.'" Millhiser argues that laws discriminating against blacks & women, for instance, received "heightened scrutiny" even after the federal government had passed laws designed to protect the groups.

Michael Gordon & David Sanger of the New York Times: "Negotiators from the United States, Iran and five other nations pushed into the night on Monday to try to reach a preliminary political agreement on limiting Iran's nuclear program. But with a Tuesday deadline, it seemed clear that even if an accord were reached some of the toughest issues would remain unresolved until late June." ...

... Scott Clement & Peyton Craighill of the Washington Post: "By a nearly 2 to 1 margin, Americans support the notion of striking a deal with Iran that restricts the nation's nuclear program in exchange for loosening sanctions, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. But the survey -- released hours before Tuesday's negotiating deadline -- also finds few Americans are hopeful that such an agreement will be effective." ...

... CW: Huh. So the GOP War Machine hasn't convinced everybody to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. Looks like Tom Cotton served up a dish only the Republican base finds tasty. If there were any chance Democrats would use the warmongers' preferences against them, we could take a tiny step toward democracy. I'm not counting my chickens. And I mean chickens.

Nicholas Kulish & Melissa Eddy of the New York Times: "The co-pilot of the Germanwings jetliner that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday had been treated for 'suicidal tendencies' before receiving his pilot's license, the office of the public prosecutor in Düsseldorf said Monday. The co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, had been treated by psychotherapists 'over a long period of time,' the prosecutor's office said, without providing specific dates. In follow-up visits to doctors since that time, the prosecutor said, 'no signs of suicidal tendencies or aggression toward others were documented.' Mr. Lubitz's medical records show no physical illnesses, the prosecutor said, an apparent reference to vision problems that Mr. Lubitz had been experiencing, which officials said may have been psychosomatic in nature."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd., O'Reilly Edition. David Corn & Daniel Schulman of Mother Jones: Bill "O'Reilly claimed [as recently as 2013] he rescued his bleeding cameraman during a riot in Argentina. But the journo who shot O'Reilly's video says this didn't happen." Corn & Schulman have the details. O'Reilly responded, "... This is nothing more than yet another coordinated attack which predictably comes on the heels of my appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman." CW: Yeah, everybody's picking on Billo. And it's totally not his fault.

Presidential Race

Steve Kornacki of MSNBC: "Hillary Clinton will be opposed by a real, actual, credible Democrat for her party's presidential nomination. That's the takeaway from Martin O'Malley's Sunday appearance on ABC's 'This Week.'... As a former two-term governor of a major state -- and someone who cultivated extensive national fundraising contacts while chairing the Democratic Governors Association in 2012 -- he brings serious credentials to the race."

The First Amendment says keep government out of religion. It doesn't say keep religion out of government. -- Rand Paul, to a group of religious activists

... ALSO, gay marriage is the bitter fruit of a "moral crisis." AND what this country needs is more "tent revivals." Charles Pierce disputes Aqua Buddha Man, the part-time Constitutional scholar. CW: I myself would pay to attend an Aqua Buddha tent revival. I hope the worshippers do not ban representations of Aqua Buddha as I have wanted to know since the Beginning what His (or Her!) Holiness looks like.

Erik Eckholm of the New York Times: "Also Monday, two Republican White House hopefuls, Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz, defended the [Indiana religious discrimination] law. 'I think Governor Pence has done the right thing,' Mr. Bush told the conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt. 'I think once the facts are established, people aren't going to see this as discriminatory at all.'" Eckholm writes a brief history of the evolution of the RFRA. The federal law passed in 1993 was intended to protect minority religions. New state laws, not so much. ...

... Michal Mishak & Patrick Reis of the National Journal: "Sen. Marco Rubio on Monday partially defended a new religious-freedom law in Indiana that critics say sanctions discrimination against same-sex couples." CW: Since Marco spoke with his own brand of mush in his mouth, it's impossible to say what his position might be. But of course that's what Marco finds so tasty in Marco Mush. ...

... Alex Roarty of the National Journal: "With the exception of the libertarian-minded Rand Paul, lockstep support from the rest of the Republican field -- most of whom are courting evangelical voters -- now looks all but guaranteed. (Sen. Ted Cruz already had introduced legislation in the Senate that would repeal laws in the District of Columbia that force religious institutions such as Georgetown University from recognizing gay and lesbian groups.) The question now is whether the candidates can sell the public on the idea that these laws ward against discrimination rather than facilitating it.... And if they can't, it could pose a problem in the general election, much like the questions of gay marriage that the party was hoping to avoid." ...

... CW: Um, Alex, I don't think teh gays should be counting on "the libertarian-minded Rand Paul." See Charles Pierce post, linked above.

Paul Waldman assesses Carla Fiorina's presidential qualifications & her brilliant ideas, like forcing federal workers to do something more productive than watching porn. Waldman is of the impression that Hewlett-Packard employees watch porn, too. He find's Fiorina's potential bid as ridiculous as that of every other businessperson who has no political experience. CW: Actually, Fiorina's candidacy will be good for people who watches the Sunday shows, because it will preclude her being on those insufferable "round tables" where she is often the most insufferable participant. ...

... Charles Pierce seems equally unimpressed, although he too is bedazzled by the porn thing: "Carly Fiorina, who has failed spectacularly at business and even more spectacularly at politics, is now thinking of running for president based on her staggering career success. She's already the most entertaining harpy the Republicans have produced since Jean Schmidt 's slandering of John Murtha's military service."

Catherine Thompson of TPM: "Tea party darling and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson on Monday connected backlash against Indiana's anti-gay 'religious freedom' law to acts of religious persecution across the globe. 'It is absolutely vital that we do all we can to allow Americans to practice their religious ways, while simultaneously ensuring that no one's beliefs infringe upon those of others,' Carson told Breitbart News."

Senate Race

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "In a YouTube video posted Monday morning, Illinois Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth announced her bid for Senate against incumbent GOP Sen. Mark Kirk. The two-minute clip describes Duckworth's hard-luck childhood and her family's reliance on food stamps. She also describes in detail the injury that cost her both legs in Iraq -- when a rocket-propelled grenade tore through the U.S. Army helicopter she was piloting during a combat mission.... Duckworth is the first Democrat to declare for what could be a crowded race against Kirk. Several other members of the Illinois delegation -- including Reps. Robin Kelly and Bill Foster -- are eyeing candidacies in what is likely to among Democrats' best pickup opportunities of the 2016 cycle."

Beyond the Beltway

** We Do Not Have to Bake You People a Wedding Cake. Garrett Epps on Indiana's "religious freedom" law: "... sincere and faithful people, when they feel the imprimatur of both the law and the Lord, can do very ugly things.... The Indiana statute has two features the federal RFRA -- and most state RFRAs -- do not. First, the Indiana law explicitly allows any for-profit business to assert a right to 'the free exercise of religion.' ... rights matching those of individuals or churches.... Second, the Indiana statute explicitly makes a business's 'free exercise' right a defense against a private lawsuit by another person, rather than simply against actions brought by government.... Of all the state 'religious freedom' laws I have read, this new statute hints most strongly that it is there to be used as a means of excluding gays and same-sex couples from accessing employment, housing, and public accommodations on the same terms as other people.... So -- is the fuss over the Indiana law overblown? No. The statute shows every sign of having been carefully designed to put new obstacles in the path of equality; and it has been publicly sold with deceptive claims that it is 'nothing new.'" ...

...When Baking a Cake Was Such a Simple Gesture of Hospitality:

Katie Sanders of PolitiFact on Mike Pence's assertions in his "This Week" explains the context of the Indiana law.

... Ed Kilgore: "The more they talk about it, advocates of broad-based 'religious liberty' laws sound like those conservatives back in the day who offered to accept the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if the public accommodations section was removed. That was, in fact, the position of the 1964 Republican nominee for president, Barry Goldwater, and that's largely why he became the first Republican since Reconstruction to carry the Deep South, even as he lost catastrophically just about everywhere else." ...

... Brian Eason of the Indianapolis Star: "Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard on Monday called on the Indiana General Assembly to either repeal the divisive Religious Freedom Restoration Act or add explicit protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in state law. Ballard also issued an executive order that anyone who receives money from the city government must abide by its human rights ordinance, which has had such protections in place for a decade." Ballard is a Republican. With video. ...

... Tom Davies of the AP: "Republican legislative leaders said they are working on adding language to the religious-objections law to make it clear that the measure does not allow discrimination against gays and lesbians." ...

     ... CW: That's sweet, but it doesn't make sense. The whole purpose of the law was to facilitate discrimination against gays. Oh, wait. And women. So Indiana isn't going to be anti-gay anymore, but anti-woman is A-Okay. Because Jesus. ...

... The Indy Star Editors wants "Gov. Mike Pence and the General Assembly ... to enact a state law to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, education and public accommodations on the basis of a person's sexual orientation or gender identity." Women? Meh. You might have to go to Chicago to exercise your reproductive rights.

... Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "In a classic case of 'unintended consequences,' the recently signed Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in Indiana may have opened the door for the establishment of the First Church of Cannabis in the Hoosier State. While Governor Mike Pence (R) was holding a signing ceremony for the bill allowing businesses and individuals to deny services to gays on religious grounds or values, paperwork for the First Church of Cannabis Inc. was being filed with the Secretary of State's office, reports RTV6."

Abby Phillip of the Washington Post: "A month after [Missouri state auditor Tom] Schweich died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound amid an alleged political smear campaign focused on his faith, a top aide appears to have committed suicide by the same means, police said. Robert 'Spence' Jackson, who served as Schweich's media director, was found dead in his bedroom Sunday, Jefferson City police said in a statement." ...

... CW: Sounds to me like the sad end to a star-crossed lovers' affair. No hint of a romantic relationship in Phillip's story, however. I'm just guessing.

Days Inn Fires Employee for Talking to WashPo after Introducing Employee to WashPo Reporter. Chico Harlan of the Washington Post: "Shanna Tippen was another hourly worker at the bottom of the nation's economy, looking forward to a 25-cent bump in the Arkansas minimum wage that would make it easier for her to buy diapers for her grandson. When I wrote about her in The Post last month, she said the minimum wage hike ... wouldn't lift her above the poverty line.... After the story came out, she says she was fired from her job for talking to the Post." Tippen worked for Days Inn. The Days Inn manager had introduced Tippen to Harlan & allowed him to interview her. After Tippen reported the manager fired Tippen, someone at the motel (who, um, sounded like the motel manager who fired Tippen) claimed he'd never heard of that manager & threatened to call the police if Harlan "kept bothering" him. The same manager threatened to sue the Post if it published Harlan's original story. Also, the manager opposed the 25-cent hike in hourly wages. Just a class act all around. ...

... Digby: "Maybe if she had a union...." ...

... CW: No such luck, digby. Arkansas has been a "right-to-work" state for all of my long life. Still the Service Employee International Union does have a local in Little Rock. I'd recommend they picket the Pine Bluff Days Inn.

News Ledes

Los Angeles Times: "Andrew Getty, an heir to the Getty oil fortune, was found dead at his Hollywood Hills home Tuesday. Los Angeles police are investigating.... Just two weeks ago, Getty had sought a restraining order against a woman, according to court records.... A woman who was present at the time of the death was escorted from the residence by police for questioning...."

Washington Post: "Iraqi forces claimed to have seized the city of Tikrit from Islamic State militants on Tuesday after U.S.-led airstrikes cleared the way for ground operations, an advance that would mark the government's most significant victory over the extremists since their summer blitz. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced in a televised address that Tikrit had been liberated after security forces and 'popular mobilization' units, a grouping of pro-government fighters that includes Iranian-backed Shiite militias, made rapid inroads into the city. However, military officials said some areas of the city were yet to be entered...."

New York Times: "With anger swelling over corruption, inequality and a devastating Islamist insurgency in the nation's north, Nigerians chose a former general who once ruled with an iron hand to be their next president, according to election results on Tuesday. The election was the most competitive presidential race ever in Nigeria, one of the largest democracies in the world. Now, if power is handed over peacefully, it will be a major shift for the nation -- the first transfer of power between civilians of different parties in a country that has spent much of its post-colonial history roiled by military coups."

The Unfortunate Death of a Fool. Washington Post: "What had first appeared to be an attempt to breach security at the [NSA] ... now appears to be a wrong turn by two men who police believe had robbed their companion of his vehicle and perhaps didn't stop because there were drugs inside. A spokeswoman for the Baltimore office of the FBI, Amy J. Thoreson, said early in the investigation that authorities 'do not believe [the incident] is related to terrorism.' A law enforcement official said: 'This was not a deliberate attempt to breach the security of NSA. This was not a planned attack.'"

The Commentariat -- March 30, 2015

Internal links removed.

CW: My husband, who was Italian by birth and an American citizen, told me once that the only ethnic group that Americans -- in general -- felt comfortable dissing were Italians. His comment surprised me, & I thought maybe he was a bit overly-sensitive. When I was a child I heard people disparaging Italians, but had not heard such remarks for decades, partly, I suspected because of the efforts of the American-Italian Defamation League & similar groups.

Yesterday, my husband finally won his argument. I made the mistake of responding to a comment that bordered on an Italian slur but didn't go over the line, IMO. I should not have done that, as later in the day, the conversation in which I participated devolved into indisputable ethnic slurs. I bear responsibility for letting this happen, and -- as the saying goes -- I apologize to anyone who was offended. If you weren't offended, you should have been.

(If you're not sure you're delivering an ethnic slur, plug in the word "Negro" & see if you would feel comfortable making the remark to an African-American. If the answer is no, don't share your thought here, please.)

In future, I will endeavor to delete all comments that include a whiff of negative ethnic stereotyping. Again, I am sorry I allowed this to happen here, where bigotry should enjoy no privilege.

*****

Jonathan Weisman & Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Senate Republicans bolted for a two-week spring recess with the confirmation of Loretta E. Lynch as attorney general in jeopardy, and themselves in a quandary: Accept a qualified nominee they oppose because she backs President Obama's policies or reject her and live with an attorney general they despise, Eric H. Holder Jr.... Lawmakers have found nothing in Ms. Lynch's background to latch on to in opposition, and many are loath to reject the first African-American woman put forth to be the nation's top law enforcement officer. But, they say, their constituents have told them that a vote for Ms. Lynch affirms Mr. Obama's executive actions on immigration, which she has said she finds lawful." ...

... CW: I really find it unpossible that the Senate would not confirm Lynch. The GOP's behavior is despicable.

Tom Keane in Politico Magazine: "'Can Elizabeth Warren be the new Ted Kennedy?' wonders Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi in a recent column. One answer is that she doesn't have to be; after all, Ted Kennedy wasn't always Ted Kennedy either. The second answer is that she already is."

Paul Krugman: Republicans have been forced to think up & disseminate outlandish "facts" to support their anti-ObamaCare mania. "... what we're looking at here is the impact of post-truth politics. We live in an era in which politicians and the supposed experts who serve them never feel obliged to acknowledge uncomfortable facts, in which no argument is ever dropped, no matter how overwhelming the evidence that it's wrong."

Kimberly Railey of the National Journal: "... as [Rep. Aaron] Schock [R-Ill.] departs public office, Illinois Republicans are quietly closing up a political machine that distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars around the state. Schock has pumped money into dozens of races in Illinois ... during his rise up the political ladder. Now, the political network Schock formed is unraveling, leaving some in Illinois — especially downstate Republicans -- wondering who else might get caught up in a wide-ranging investigation and how much they'll miss Schock's help."

Tim Devaney of the Hill: "A high-stakes legal dispute pitting McDonald's Corp. against labor unions is set to enter a crucial phase this week, when the National Labor Relations Board takes up consideration of a case with major implications for franchise businesses. An NLRB administrative law judge on Monday will begin weighing whether McDonald's should be responsible for what employees say are poor working conditions and low pay at many of its franchise restaurants."

... there's a very real chance that the next president of the United States could replace four justices. --Ian Millhiser ...

... This Supreme Court Is a Lot Like Earlier Supreme Courts. Elias Isquith of Salon: "As [Ian] Millhiser sees it, the Supreme Court has spent most of its existence standing athwart history, yelling, Stop! From gutting the civil rights acts of the post-Civil War era to attacking business regulations to weakening protections for children, minorities and immigrants, the court Millhiser describes has much more often than not worked to return power to those in society who need it least, and abuse it most."

Judith Schaeffer, in Slate, notes that at his confirmation hearings, then-Judge John Roberts essentially spoke in favor of same-sex marriage; that is, that he confirmed that the "right to marry" is broader than any historical prohibitions against it, like miscegenation laws.

** Paul Rosenberg, in Salon, takes a look at the big picture & its historical underpainting to conclude that the GOP really does aim to destroy democracy. "... part of what makes things much easier for Republicans in this era is that -- with few exceptions -- they're not going up against FDR-style social democrats, with the full-bodied set of attitudes, assumptions, principles and expectations entailed in that constitutional order, but instead face neoliberal Democrats who desire compromise in a framework of diminished expectations." ...

... CW: Besides the examples Rosenberg provides, you probably can think of others; for instance, the seemingly odd movement to repeal the 17th Amendment, which mandates the direct election of senators.

Brinkman's Strategy. Julian Borger of the Guardian: "There are less than two full days to go before an end-March deadline for agreeing a political framework to contain Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, and the atmosphere in Lausanne has taken on the nervous edge of an endgame.... The negotiations are still stalled within sight of the finishing line. There are still many issues still up in the air in Lausanne, but diplomats here say they believe most would resolve themselves if a couple of obstinate problems could be overcome. Those two issues are the extent to which Iran would be allowed to carry out research and development on new models of centrifuge in the last years of a deal, and -- the stickiest problem by far -- the lifting of UN security council sanctions." ...

... David Sanger & Michael Gordon of the New York Times: "For months, Iran tentatively agreed that it would send a large portion of its stockpile of uranium to Russia, where it would not be accessible for use in any future weapons program. But on Sunday Iran's deputy foreign minister made a surprise comment to Iranian reporters, ruling out an agreement that involved giving up a stockpile that Iran has spent years and billions of dollars to amass.... Western officials confirmed that Iran was balking at shipping the fuel out, but insisted that there were other ways of dealing with the material. Chief among those options, they said, was blending it into a more diluted form." ...

... Simon Sturdee, et al., of AFP: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a dire warning Sunday about a possible nuclear accord with Iran as talks in Switzerland towards the outline of a deal intensified days before a deadline. 'The dangerous accord which is being negotiated in Lausanne confirms our concerns and even worse,' Netanyahu said in remarks broadcast on public radio. He said the 'Iran-Lausanne-Yemen axis' was 'dangerous for all of humanity' and that combined with Tehran's regional influence, a nuclear deal could allow Iran to "conquer" the Middle East.'" ...

... Juan Williams of the Hill: "Speaker John Boehner[s (R-Ohio) trip to Israel this week is so blatantly political that even the avowedly impartial Associated Press describes it as looking 'like a jab at the White House.' It is worse than that.... The real issue here is the way Boehner is recklessly sowing division along party lines on Israel. He is also -- intentionally or not -- heightening the silent but simmering racial tensions that increasingly divide Americans on the subject. The racial division is the most troubling of all to me, as a black American." ...

... Steve Coll of the New Yorker: "After six years in office, and after repeatedly following the advice of his generals, only to see their predictions fail, Obama is choosing the risks of nuclear diplomacy over yet more war. It is the best of bad options, but it could be better still."

Yara Bayoumy & Mahmoud Mourad of Reuters: "Saudi Arabia accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of hypocrisy on Sunday, telling an Arab summit that he should not express support for the Middle East while fuelling instability by supporting Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad."

Presidential Race

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley said Sunday that the presidency 'is not some crown to be passed between two families,' sounding more resolute than ever about taking on Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination. O'Malley, who has been aggressively positioning himself as a more liberal and forward-looking alternative to Clinton, said during an appearance on ABC News's 'This Week' that 'new perspective and new leadership is needed.'"

Ted Cruz Is Still Obnoxious: Evan McMurry of Mediaite: "State of the Union temporary host Dana Bash pointed out to Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) Sunday morning that he and President Barack Obama shared notable similarities in their biographies and qualifications before the seeking the White House (an example of the limits of political analogy). Given that the GOP has made so much hay over Obama's supposed 'inexperience,' how, Bash asked, could they nominate Cruz? Cruz argued that his pre-Senate experience dwarfed Obama's. 'Unlike Barack Obama, I was not a community organizer before I was elected to the Senate,' he said. 'I spent 5 1/2 years as the solicitor general of Texas ... I supervised and led every appeal for the state of Texas in a 4,000-person agency with over 700 lawyers.'" ...

... CW: Cruz falls back on a stupid dog-whistle confederate talking point, ignoring Obama's 12-year career as an Illinois legislator & his side-job as a university lecturer. By Cruz's standard, we should describe Paul Ryan as nothing but a one-time Weinermobile driver & Scott Walker as a former McDonald's burger flipper. ...

... So this is hilarious. Kevin Robillard of Politico: "Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is swearing off negative campaigning as he begins his run for the White House. 'There may be other candidates who choose to throw rocks in my direction,' the GOP presidential hopeful said in an interview aired Sunday on CNN's 'State of the Union. I'm not going to engage in the personal mudslinging, in the negative attacks on people's character.'"

Joby Warrick of the Washington Post: Chris Christie was a big promoter of wind energy -- until he met the Koch boys. His "enthusiasm for wind energy appeared to flag around the time he began exploring a run for the Republican presidential nomination. Political opponents say the turning point was a series of meetings in 2011 and 2012 with key Republican donors, including billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, oil-industry magnates who have bankrolled campaigns against renewable energy."

Alina Selyukh & Sarah Lynch of Reuters: "Former Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) Chief Executive Carly Fiorina said on Sunday the chances she would run for the U.S. presidency in 2016 were 'higher than 90 percent' and that she would announce her plans in late April to early May." ...

... CW: Fiorina has never held elective office & "frequently has been ranked as one of the worst CEOs of all time." So. An excellent presidential candidate.

Beyond the Beltway

Stephanie Ebbs of ABC News: "Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act will not be changing despite critics saying it allows business owners to discriminate against members of the LGBT community, state Gov. Mike Pence said [Sunday] during an exclusive interview on ABC's 'This Week.' Pence described the media coverage and opposition to the law as 'shameless rhetoric,' saying it strengthens the foundation of First Amendment rights rather than discriminates. 'We're not going to change the law,' he said, 'but if the general assembly in Indiana sends me a bill that adds a section that reiterates and amplifies and clarifies what the law really is and what it has been for the last 20 years, than I'm open to that.'" With video. ...

... David of Crooks & Liars: Mike Pence refused to answer George Stephanopoulos's repeated question: "And so yes or no, if a florist in Indiana refuses to serve a gay couple at their wedding, is that legal now in Indiana? Yes or no?" CW: So I'm pretty sure we all -- including Pence -- know what the answer is. ...

... John Cole of Balloon Juice: Pence is "stuck, and he doesn't know what to do, so he will keep denying and deflecting while Indiana loses millions of dollars in business and travel and tourism. It is always important to remember, that when discussing Mike Pence, that he is really, really, stupid...." ...

... Sarah Parvini & Nigel Duara of the Los Angeles Times: Hoosiers are mystified & dismayed that a discriminatory law is upsetting people. ...

... Tim Cook, Apple CEO, in a Washington Post op-ed: Among the states, "In total, there are nearly 100 bills designed to enshrine discrimination in state law. These bills rationalize injustice..., go against the very principles our nation was founded on, and they have the potential to undo decades of progress toward greater equality."

News Ledes

New York Times: "On Monday, the [U.S.] government charged that in the shadows of an undercover investigation of Silk Road, a notorious black-market site, two federal agents sought to enrich themselves by exploiting the very secrecy that made the site so difficult for law enforcement officials to penetrate. The agents, Carl Mark Force IV, who worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Shaun W. Bridges, who worked for the Secret Service, had resigned amid growing scrutiny, and on Monday they were charged with money laundering and wire fraud. Mr. Force was also charged with theft of government property and conflict of interest."

Guardian: "The personal details of world leaders at the last G20 summit were accidentally disclosed by the Australian immigration department, which did not consider it necessary to inform those world leaders of the privacy breach.... An employee of the agency inadvertently sent the passport numbers, visa details and other personal identifiers of all world leaders attending the summit to the organisers of the Asian Cup football tournament."

Washington Post: "One person was killed and another was injured Monday morning when police with the National Security Agency opened fire on a vehicle whose driver refused commands to stop at a security gate, according to a statement from the agency. The vehicle slammed into a police cruiser after shots were fired." ...

... ABC News: "Sources say the two inside [the vehicle] were men dressed as women. Preliminary information indicated the two men were partying at an area hotel with a third individual when they took that individual's car without permission. However, it's still unclear how or why they ended up at the NSA gate."

New York Times: "Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli prime minister who was forced from office under a cloud of corruption, was convicted on Monday of fraud and breach of trust in a retrial of a case involving an American businessman, whose sensational testimony in a Jerusalem court in 2008 was instrumental in Mr. Olmert's downfall. The American businessman, Morris Talansky, said at the time that he had provided Mr. Olmert with about $150,000 over 13 years, mostly in cash stuffed into envelopes, an assertion Mr. Olmert vehemently denied. Mr. Talansky, known as Moshe, had said that much of the money was earmarked for election campaigns but that some was for Mr. Olmert's personal expenses."

The Commentariat -- March 29, 2015

Jamelle Bouie: "If liberals want someone to lead Senate Democrats, they should look to longtime Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the caucus." Bouie makes the case for Murray, & makes a strong case against Elizabeth Warren, who, he argues, would have to drop her liberal causes as the leader of the entire caucus....

... CW: I would add that a new Senator like Warren -- quick study or not -- does not have the experience & knowledge to negotiate the arcane Senate rules & traditions. I am hardly one to argue that "Well, that's the way we've always done it" has any validity, but I'm not sure Warren even knows the secret handshake yet. ...

     ... Update. Colin Campbell & Hunter Walker of Business Insider interview staffers who pretty much back me up on this by highlighting, among other things, Schumer's "master[y] of Senate procedures" & "the somewhat antiquated culture of the Senate, where 'civility' is often prized." ...

... Harry & the Bloggers. Dave Weigel on how Harry Reid learned to use liberal bloggers to help him stop Dubya's agenda.

William Hartung of the Center for International Policy in Salon: President Obama & hawk-in-chief John McCain both want to raise the Pentagon budget; it's only a question of how much. But the real issue is that the Pentagon "needs" the money only because its so-called "strategy" is to "cover the globe." It's time to think up a new strategy.

CW: Opinion pieces that begin like this tend to annoy me: "In many ways, America deserves Ted Cruz. After all, it's been nearly eight years since voters (and the Supreme Court) elected a cocksure, right-wing adopted Texan, long on discredited ideology but short on wits, who plunged the United States into a sinkhole of economic and foreign policy chaos from which it has yet to fully emerge." And I'm not even good at arithmetic.

Over there is Right Wing World, they're thinking Harry Reid's New Year's Day injuries were the result of a run-in with mobsters for whom he failed to deliver. CW: Confederates might be sort of stupid, but -- to give them their due -- they do have the imaginations of 14-year-olds & other action-movie fans.

The audio of the oral arguments in Texas v. Sons of Confederate Veterans is here. The page also includes a link to the transcript of the arguments. Adam Liptak of the New York Times has an analysis here (March 23).

Presidential Race

I'm pretty sure New Hampshire's definition of gun control is kind of what it is in Texas. Gun control means hittin' what you aim [at]. -- Ted Cruz, to a New Hampshire audience ...

... David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "There are 15 noteworthy contenders for the Republican Party's presidential nomination. Together, they own at least 40 guns.... Former Florida governor Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie -- don't own a gun at all.... Nevertheless, their political views on guns are almost all the same. Nearly every GOP contender is broadly opposed to new limits on the purchase or use of guns. In fact, with the exception of Christie -- the field's one true outlier -- those who have been rated by the National Rifle Association range from A-plus all the way down to ... A-minus."

Maureen Dowd has a go at "Bush 45," & her column is worth a read, for once. "Jeb wants it both ways. His litany of foreign policy advisers is a list divided against itself. He wants the money and dynastic privilege that comes with his name, even as he insists he's a fresh slate."

Invisible Man. AP: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker left a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border without addressing questions being raised about his stance on immigration. The likely Republican presidential contender remained invisible to reporters on Friday during a visit that could have given him a chance to spotlight illegal immigration and border security."

Argumentum Nixonum. Jesse Byrnes of the Hill: "Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus blasted Hillary Clinton on Saturday for wiping her server and permanently deleting all emails. 'Even Nixon didn't destroy the tapes,' Priebus said in a statement."

Beyond the Beltway

Tim Swarens of the Indianapolis Star: Indiana "Gov. Mike Pence, scorched by a fast-spreading political firestorm, told The Star on Saturday that he will support the introduction of legislation to 'clarify' that Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not promote discrimination against gays and lesbians.... [BUT] Asked if that legislation might include making gay and lesbian Hoosiers a protected legal class, Pence said, 'That's not on my agenda.'" ...

... Tim Evans of the Indy Star: "The continuing blowback over Indiana's new 'religious freedom' law hit home Saturday, with Indianapolis-based Angie's List announcing it is canceling a $40 million headquarters expansion. The decision is a direct result of passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, co-founder and chief executive officer Bill Oesterle said Saturday."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Rescue workers recovered two bodies on Sunday in the wreckage of the explosion and fire that happened last week in the East Village, the police said. One of two bodies was identified by family members as Nicholas Figueroa, 23. The second body was not yet identified.... Officials said the fire was most likely set off by a gas explosion. The explosion blew off the facade of the building, before spreading to four neighboring ones. Three of the buildings -- 119, 121 and 123 Second Avenue -- were reduced to rubble."

AP: "Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen will continue until Shiite rebels there 'withdraw and surrender their weapons,' a summit of Arab leaders decided Sunday, as they also agreed in principle to forming a joint military force. The decision by the Arab League puts it on a path to potentially more aggressively challenge Shiite power Iran, which is backing the Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis."

Baltimore Sun: Protesters show up outside Bill Cosby's Baltimore performance, and one interrupts his show.