The Commentariat -- April 2, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "Senator Robert Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges on Wednesday, setting the stage for a bitter court fight and putting his political future in doubt. Mr. Menendez was charged with seven counts of bribery, which carry up to 15 years in prison on each charge. He was also charged with conspiracy, fraud, and making false statements on government documents, the Justice Department said. Mr. Menendez is the first senator to face federal bribery charges since another New Jersey Democrat, Harrison A. Williams Jr., was indicted in 1980 in the Abscam scandal." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "The federal bribery case against Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey marks the first time large-scale super PAC donations have figured prominently as evidence of a political corruption scheme, renewing questions about how truly independently such groups operate. The 22-count indictment against Menendez and wealthy Florida opthalmologist Salomon Melgen hinges in part on $600,000 that Melgen gave to the Senate Majority PAC -- a Democratic super PAC -- earmarked to support the senator's 2012 reelection." ...

... New Jersey Star-Ledger Editors: "U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez now begins a fight for his political life that could last for years. New Jersey would be better off if he would resign and conduct that battle on his own time. The state needs a respected senator who is focused on his job, not a tarnished defendant who spends his days fending off credible charges of corruption and raising money for his legal defense. Menendez vows that he will not resign. He argues that he should be regarded as innocent until he is proven guilty.... But that is the standard for imposing criminal sanctions like jail and fines. For senators, the bar should be much higher."

One Small Step for Humankind. Jana Kasperkevic of the Guardian: "McDonald's will raise pay for 90,000 of its US employees starting on 1 July, according to the Wall Street Journal. Only employees working directly for McDonald's will qualify for the increase. McDonald's says it will pay at least $1 per hour more than the local minimum wage where a company-owned restaurant is located, bringing the average hourly rate for its US employees to $9.90. The company expects the average to reach more than $10 by the end of 2016, as minimum wages increase across the US." ...

... The New York Times story, by Stephanie Strom, is here. "The company's sales in outlets open at least a year were down 4 percent in February, one of the worst performances among the largest restaurants that publicly report their sales. Several large companies that have direct contact with consumers have raised wages over the last year, including Walmart, the TJX Companies and Ikea. There was a risk that McDonald's could lose its better employees to other companies that compete for low-wage workers. Many of its franchisees face similar challenges, which could ultimately lead to broader wage gains at other McDonald's fast-food outlets." ...

... Danny Vinik of the New Republic: "... Monday's move shows that the economics are finally moving in the protesters' favor. The labor market is beginning to tighten up and McDonald's needs to offer higher wages and better benefits to retain its current workers and attract qualified new ones.... [If the Federal Reserve doesn't raise interest rates,] Millions of workers are on the precipice of a substantial increase in their living standards."

CW: I covered this yesterday via PolitiFact but the story is so extraordinary, I'll let Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post have a do-over:

The Affordable Care Act is 'a major reason why we've seen 50,000 fewer preventable patient deaths in hospitals.' -- President Obama, remarks on the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, March 25, 2015

The numbers might seem large, but the research seems solid, according to experts we consulted, and it is based on a review of an extensive database. The results likely reflect work that predated the ACA but at the same time the ACA has spurred even greater cooperation among hospitals. Since the president is using a figure more than a year old, it is likely understated.... The president's claim appears worthy of the elusive Geppetto Checkmark. -- Glenn Kessler

John Bresnahan & Rachel Bade of Politico: "The Justice Department will not seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure in a scandal that erupted over whether the tax agency improperly targeted conservative political groups. Ronald Machen, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a seven-page letter this week that he would not bring a criminal case to a grand jury over Lerner's refusal to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March 2014." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Right Wing Response to This "Shocking News of the Day": Impeach Obama. Of course. "Richard Nixon was impeached for less."

Jackie Northam of NPR: "President Obama issued an executive order Wednesday creating the nation's first sanctions program to combat 'malicious' cyberattacks and cyberspying. President Obama said cyberthreats pose one of 'the most serious economic and national security challenge' to the U.S., and that the executive order offers a 'targeted tool' for countering that threat. The sanctions would apply to individuals and groups involved in cyberattacks that harm or compromise critical infrastructure, steal trade secrets and hobble computer systems, among other things." The order is here.

Ben Protess of the New York Times: "On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission penalized the technology and engineering firm KBR for forcing employees to sign 'restrictive' confidentiality agreements, the regulator's first such action against a company suspected of stifling potential whistle-blowers. The S.E.C. has escalated enforcement of its whistle-blower protections as part of an effort by the agency to turn a historical sore spot into an advantage. After missing warning signs about Bernard L. Madoff's Ponzi scheme, the S.E.C. created a whistle-blower program and vowed to punish companies that muzzle potential tipsters."

Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program will be extended for a second day beyond Tuesday's deadline, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced he would stay in Switzerland to continue the talks into Thursday. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said progress had been made, but she pointedly said Kerry would be staying 'until at least Thursday morning.' The short time period appeared to reflect a sour turn in negotiations on Wednesday, as the six world powers negotiating with Iran failed to reach a preliminary agreement over restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in return for relief from crippling international sanctions imposed on Tehran." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Update. Michael Gordon & David Sanger of the New York Times: "Negotiators appeared to be moving wearily on Thursday toward a preliminary accord on limiting Iran's nuclear program, but they remained at odds about how specific that agreement would be." ...

... Paul Waldman: "If you believe that the negotiations with Iran are the equivalent of those in Munich in 1938, what you're basically saying is that war with Iran is inevitable, so we might as well get started on it right away." ...

... AFP: "Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said Thursday that all options including military action were on the table in the face of the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. Speaking to public radio as crunch talks on Iran's nuclear programme continued in Switzerland, Steinitz said Israel would seek to counter any threat through diplomacy and intelligence but 'if we have no choice we have no choice... the military option is on the table.'" ...

With his Iran deal, Barack Obama is for the 300 million souls of the United States what Andreas Lubitz was for the 150 souls on the German Wings flight -- a deranged pilot flying his entire nation into the rocks. After the fact, among the smoldering remains of American cities, the shocked survivors will ask, why did he do it? -- Michele Bachmann, in a Facebook post

No longer a member of Congress, but still a crazy hatemonger. -- Constant Weader

You think someone like Bachmann represents the rightmost point on the bell curve of crazy, and it turns out that she's not alone at the far edge, because of plenty of others are right there with her. At this point, the right is so deranged that she may be closer to the middle of the curve than the far end. -- Steve M.

Jon Ralston: "Now that CNN's Dana Bash has found Harry Reid to be unrepentant about his Mitt Romney tax lies, it's finally time to publish a column I wrote contemporaneously with the Nevada senator's McCarthy-like tactic during the 2012 campaign. The column was never published because Las Vegas Sun Editor Brian Greenspun attempted to protect his friend, Reid, from the criticism. I never wrote for the Sun again."

Presidential Race

Playing to His Audience(s). "Yes, you can too fool all of the people all of the time." Maggie Haberman & Vindu Goel of the New York Times: "Jeb Bush appeared to modify his public comments about Indiana's 'religious freedom' law on Wednesday in a closed-door Silicon Valley fund-raiser, telling a small group of potential supporters that a 'consensus-oriented' approach would have been better at the outset. Mr. Bush's comments were strikingly different in tone and in scope from what he said on Monday night in an interview with the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. In that interview he praised Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana for doing the 'right thing' and said that the new law was similar to one in Florida and to a law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993." ...

... Margaret Hartmann of New York: Also Chris Christie came up with a mealy-mouthed endorsement or not of Indiana's law, but we do know that he thinks Mike Pence is a wonderful guy. Rand Paul, according to Hartmann, is the only major GOP presidential candidate who has succeeded in ducking the issue.

CruzMentum. Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling: "PPP's newest Republican national poll finds that Ted Cruz has the big momentum following the official announcement of his candidacy last week. His support has increased from 5% to 16% in just over a month, enough to make him one of three candidates in the top tier of GOP contenders, along with Scott Walker and Jeb Bush. Walker continues to lead the field with 20%, although that's down from his 25% standing a month ago. Bush continues to poll at 17%, followed by Cruz at 16%, Ben Carson and Rand Paul at 10%, Marco Rubio and Mike Huckabee at 6%, Chris Christie at 4%, and Rick Perry at 3%."

Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Speaking before a conservative audience Wednesday, Gov. Scott Walker suggested he would not allow Wisconsin to set up a health care exchange if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a portion of Obamacare.'We're going to push back,' the likely Republican presidential candidate said of President Barack Obama's signature health care law. 'This president of the United States -- they've got to come up with a solution....They're going to try to put the pressure on us but we need to put the pressure right back on them.'" CW: So never mind that ObamaCare saves lives. Risking -- and taking -- the lives of tens of thousands of Americans for personal political advantage is disgusting & immoral.

Absent Actual ObamaCare Horror Stories, Ted Cruz Set to Manufacture His Own. Brian Beautler of the New Republic: Ted Cruz is "signing his family up for health insurance in a market he wants the Supreme Court to destroy.... If his plan gets canceled or his premiums mushroom after a bad Court ruling in June [-- King v. Burwell, for which Ted filed an amicus brief on behalf of the plaintiffs --], he can play up his own Obamacare horror story to frothing Republican primary voters, while omitting the fact that he quite literally asked for it." BTW, Ted & family, because they're rich, would not qualify for a subsidy, except for that lovely 75 percent Congressional subsidy, which Ted says he'll eschew.

Steve M.: Rick Santorum is proud ISIS is quoting him -- correctly! -- unlike the sloppy so-called journalists at the New York Times. The fact that Santorum is propagandizing for ISIS doesn't phase him a bit: "Santorum is doing what ISIS wants, and is quite pleased with himself for doing it. Oh, and by the way, Obama and The New York Times still suck!"

Washington Post Editors: "... it is very disturbing to see evidence that four undeclared candidates for the presidency, from both parties, have made questionable judgments about campaign finance laws. According to complaints filed by two activist groups that favor more openness, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, the four are sidestepping restrictions on fundraising and spending activity on those who are 'testing the waters' before deciding whether to run. Those named in the complaints are former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R), former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley (D), former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R). All deny doing anything wrong.... In this era of 'dark money' in American politics, Mr. Bush has taken another step that causes deep concern:... a friend and former staffer has set up a nonprofit 'social welfare' organization, tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Code, that will reportedly develop policy options that are 'consistent' with those held by Mr. Bush.... Mr. Bush seems to have adopted every dark-money trick in the book.... Americans want a president with the right stuff, and that does not mean bags of secret cash."

Beyond the Beltway

Campbell Robertson & Timothy Williams of the New York Times: "Facing a backlash from businesses and gay rights advocates, Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to either recall or amend legislation billed as a religious freedom measure so that it mirrored a federal law approved in 1993. Mr. Hutchinson, a Republican, said he understood the divide in Arkansas and across the nation over the question of same-sex marriage and its impact on people's religious beliefs. His own son, Seth, he said, had asked him to veto the bill, which critics say could allow individuals and businesses to discriminate against gay men and lesbians." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Daniel Kloap of Arkansas Online: "The Arkansas Senate on Wednesday night approved transmitting two amended existing ['religious freedom'] bills to the House that add language that mirrors the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act." CW: It's unclear to me exactly what the amendments accomplish.

... Frank Rich on "how much damage these laws are inflicting not just on gay people but on the GOP's national electoral prospects that conservatives who should know better are desperately trying to defend the indefensible by suggesting that liberals and gay-rights activists are overreacting." Rich goes on to knock his old colleague David Brooks' "deceptive" column on the subject. ...

May Not Be The Anthem of His Life. Mike Pence "added that the 'issue of discrimination' has been an 'anthem throughout my life.' You have to wonder how stupid he thinks people are. Pence has a consistent record of supporting anti-gay discrimination, from speaking against the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' in 2010 to opposing state laws that protect the rights of gays and lesbians." -- Frank Rich

... Jonathan Cohn delves into the possible effects of Indiana's RFRA law. ...

... Gail Collins: "Pence did have another explanation for why Indiana needed a religious freedom law right now. He said he wanted to expand the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision.... 'With the Supreme Court's ruling, the need for a RFRA at the state level became more important, as the federal law does not apply to states.'... Think about that for a minute. Indiana passes a law that is widely regarded as a sop to the state's social conservatives for their inability to ban same-sex marriage. The Republican establishment expresses dismay at this interpretation, and insists that its only intention was to deprive female residents of the right to get birth control. Yippee." ...

... CW: Yes, do think about that. For some reason, the "business community" has taken up the cause of gay rights. But these business interests don't give a flying fuck about women's ability to obtain contraceptives. Nor about minorities' right to vote. Where were Apple & WalMart & Angie's List when the Hobby Lobby decision came down? Or when states merrily passed voter suppression laws? (And of course, right-to-work laws?) It's almost as if the business community, not to mention some civil rights activists, have chosen gay people as their cute little pets so everybody can ignore the shattering of the rights of other groups.

... Keeping Up Appearances. Steve Benen: "Ove[r] the course of just six days, [Mike] Pence has endorsed the [IRFRA] law, then endorsed changing the law, then opposed changing the law, then re-endorsed changing the law, only to then oppose changes again.... I suspect the governor himself is a little confused about his own intentions.... if you watched Pence's press conference closely [Tuesday], there was one word he used 12 times: 'perception.'... It seems Pence is convinced that there is no real problem with his anti-gay measure; there's only the appearance of a problem. We should expect, then, a resolution that doesn't fix the problem, so much as it gives the appearance of fixing the problem." ...

... Tony Cook & Tom LoBianco of the Indianapolis Star: "Indiana Republican leaders are set to announce a deal Thursday morning that alters Indiana's controversial 'religious freedom' law to ensure it does not discriminate against gay and lesbian customers of Indiana businesses.... The compromise legislation specifies that the new religious freedom law cannot be used as a legal defense to discriminate against patrons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The proposal goes much further than a 'preamble' that was proposed earlier in the week, and, if it stands, would be the first time any protections against discrimination have been extended to gays and lesbians in state law. But it doesn't go as far as establishing gays and lesbians as a protected class of citizens statewide or repealing the law outright...." ...

     ... Update: "Indiana Republicans said Thursday morning that they are presenting an addition to the controversial RFRA legislation that will make it clear no one 'be able to discriminate against anyone at any time.'" ...

... Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed: "Amid a national debate over religious liberty bills being considered in several states, nearly 40 top tech leaders have joined together in urging states to provide protections for LGBT people in state civil rights laws and explicitly ban denial of services to people." ...

... Erick Erickson of Red State: "In the last twenty-four hours, much of the mainstream media has shown itself perfectly willing to serve as agents of Satan.... Jesus.... Hell fire.... Christians.... The left.... God.... Evil...."

... The Catering News. Pizza Joint Specializes in Exclusive* Pizza Party Wedding Receptions. Golden Crust in Shape of Wedding Ring. Pick-up or Deliver. Napkins Extra. *For Opposite-Sex Couples Only. Alyssa Marino of ABC 57 News: "A small-town pizza shop is saying they agree with Governor [Mike] Pence [R-Straight-Ind.] and the signing of the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The O'Connor family, who owns Memories Pizza, says they have a right to believe in their religion and protect those ideals. If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no,' says Crystal O'Connor of Memories Pizza." ...

... CW: Yes, I know it's Good Friday & the illustration is offensive. I'm sorry for that, but it was not my idea to promote Totally Straight Pizza during Holy Week. ...

... Michelle Sokol of the Elkhart Truth: "Since the story aired ... thousands of people from across the country have targeted the business's Facebook and Yelp pages. The pizzeria's rating on both sites has plummeted to a single star. The business's website was also hacked to display gay pornography and graphic language.... A Concord High School coach has been suspended after she tweeted about arson in relation to a Walkerton pizzeria whose owners told the media they agree with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act." ...

... TMZ: "Memories Pizza -- the first Indiana business to declare it would refuse LGBT business -- got blasted on the Internet and by phone, but the owner says there's been a huge misunderstanding ... sorta. Kevin O'Connor tells TMZ he's had to temporarily close his business after he told a reporter he would refuse to cater a gay wedding under Indiana's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act. O'Connor says he was immediately flooded by threatening phone calls, and social media postings."

MEANWHILE, in Georgia Greg Blustein & Jim Galloway of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Call it coincidence, but two of the losers in [Tuesday] night's [Georgia legislature] vote on a transportation funding bill were also the two business interests who voiced opposition to the 'religious liberty' legislation.... H.B. 170 goes to Gov. Nathan Deal with a provision ending a $23 million-a-year aviation fuel sales tax break that was largely enjoyed by Delta Air Lines, whose CEO Richard Anderson had riled GOP lawmakers with his opposition to 'religious liberty' bills and statements on immigration reform. The big surprise in last night's deal-making was a new $5 surcharge on hotel and motel stays.... It just so happens that Jim Sprouse and Ron Fennel, top dogs at the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association, were also the only two members of the business community to personally testify at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing ... [at which] they warned of a sharp drop-off in convention business if the measure moved forward."

Matthew Simon of Channel 3000: Madison, Wisconsin, city council"... members unanimously voted to make discriminating against atheism, and others who do not believe in God, illegal.... The vote amends the city's equal opportunity ordinance, adding atheism as a protected class in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations."

News Ledes

Washington Post: "The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, the televangelist who drew millions of followers with his 'Hour of Power' broadcasts from the Crystal Cathedral, the glittering house of worship recognized around the world as the locus of his signature brand of motivational Christianity, died April 2 at a care facility in Artesia, Calif. He was 88."

AP: "Al-Shabab gunmen attacked a college in northeast Kenya early Thursday, targeting Christians and killing at least 15 people and wounding 60 others, witnesses said." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "Gunmen attacked a university campus in northeastern Kenya early Thursday, clashing with guards, forcing their way into dormitories, taking hostages and singling out non-Muslims, the authorities said. Kenya's interior minister, Joseph Nkaissery, said that 147 people had been killed, including four attackers."

The Commentariat -- April 1, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon Update:

Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "Senator Robert Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges on Wednesday, setting the stage for a bitter court fight and putting his political future in doubt. Mr. Menendez was charged with seven counts of bribery, which carry up to 15 years in prison on each charge. He was also charged with conspiracy, fraud, and making false statements on government documents, the Justice Department said. Mr. Menendez is the first senator to face federal bribery charges since another New Jersey Democrat, Harrison A. Williams Jr., was indicted in 1980 in the Abscam scandal."

Campbell Robertson & Timothy Williams of the New York Times: "Facing a backlash from businesses and gay rights advocates, Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to either recall or amend legislation billed as a religious freedom measure so that it mirrored a federal law approved in 1993. Mr. Hutchinson, a Republican, said he understood the divide in Arkansas and across the nation over the question of same-sex marriage and its impact on people's religious beliefs. His own son, Seth, he said, had asked him to veto the bill, which critics say could allow individuals and businesses to discriminate against gay men and lesbians."

John Bresnahan & Rachel Bade of Politico: "The Justice Department will not seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure in a scandal that erupted over whether the tax agency improperly targeted conservative political groups. Ronald Machen, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a seven-page letter this week that he would not bring a criminal case to a grand jury over Lerner's refusal to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March 2014."

Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program will be extended for a second day beyond Tuesday's deadline, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced he would stay in Switzerland to continue the talks into Thursday. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said progress had been made, but she pointedly said Kerry would be staying 'until at least Thursday morning.' The short time period appeared to reflect a sour turn in negotiations on Wednesday, as the six world powers negotiating with Iran failed to reach a preliminary agreement over restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in return for relief from crippling international sanctions imposed on Tehran."

*****

Neil Eggleston of the White House: "Building on his commitment to address instances of unfairness in sentencing, President Obama granted 22 commutations [Tuesday] to individuals serving time in federal prison. Had they been sentenced under current laws and policies, many of these individuals would have already served their time and paid their debt to society. Because many were convicted under an outdated sentencing regime, they served years -- in some cases more than a decade -- longer than individuals convicted today of the same crime."

Louis Jacobson of PolitiFact: "In a recent speech marking the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama [said the ACA has] helped reduce hospital readmission rates dramatically. It's a major reason why we've seen 50,000 fewer preventable patient deaths in hospitals.... The statement is accurate but needs clarification, so we rate it Mostly True." CW: That's impressive, especially if you're one of the not-dead people.

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The White House on Tuesday introduced President Obama's blueprint for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by nearly a third over the next decade. Mr. Obama's plan, part of a formal written submission to the United Nations ahead of efforts to forge a global climate change accord in Paris in December, detailed the United States' part of an ambitious joint pledge made by Mr. Obama and President Xi Jinping of China in November.... [SO, NATURALLY,] Republican leaders immediately savaged the plan Tuesday and announced their intent to weaken or undo it -- and, by extension, to block the international efforts to reach a climate accord in Paris."

John Bresnahan & Manu Raju of Politico: "An indictment of Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez on federal corruption charges is expected as early as Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the case."

Department of Justice: "The Justice Department announced today the filing of a lawsuit against Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern) and the Regional University System of Oklahoma (RUSO) for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against a transgender employee on the basis of her sex and retaliating against her when she complained about the discrimination."

Stating the Obvious. Bernie Becker of the Hill: "The IRS commissioner on Tuesday brushed aside GOP proposals to abolish his agency, insisting the U.S. would have to have a tax collector one way or another. 'You can call them something other than the IRS if that made you feel better,' the agency's chief, John Koskinen, said after a speech at the National Press Club."

A Rocky Transition, After All. Burgess Everett & Manu Raju of Politico: "A feud between Sens. Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer escalated further on Tuesday, with spokesmen for the two Democratic leaders offering sharply different on-the-record accounts of whether the two men reached a power-sharing deal. Durbin's office insists Schumer agreed last week to support him as the party's whip when current Minority Leader Harry Reid retires at the end of 2016. But Schumer's office is denying any such deal was struck.... Schumer is said to be open to elevating Sen. Patty Murray of Washington to the whip job...."

David Dayen in Salon: In his autobiography, Barney Frank provides another reminder that Barack Obama could have forced banks to provide foreclosure relief in exchange for TARP money, as Frank wanted. But Obama refused to do so. CW: Obama's abandonment of homeowners with underwater mortgages is, in my mind, the low-water mark of his legacy. You might say it is drone killings of civilians, & I won't disagree, but there is an argument to be made that drone attacks are simply another gruesome war tactic not much unlike "collateral damage" by other means.

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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Update. Jordan Fabian & Kristina Wong of the Hill: "The Obama administration's effort to reach a nuclear deal with Iran stretched past its latest deadline Tuesday, as U.S. officials expressed confidence that they could still reach an agreement. 'We've made enough progress in the last days to merit staying until Wednesday,' State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said. 'There are several difficult issues still remaining.'" ...

     ... Update 2. Michael Gordon of the New York Times: "Secretary of State John Kerry renewed his push on Wednesday to secure a preliminary accord that would limit Iran's nuclear program, a day after negotiators extended the March 31 deadline. With the diplomacy at a pivotal point, President Obama convened a teleconference on Tuesday night with Mr. Kerry, Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz and other top members of the administration to review the status of the negotiations."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Seeking to patch up relations with a longtime regional ally at a time of spreading war and instability in the Middle East, President Obama on Tuesday lifted an arms freeze against Egypt that he first imposed after the 2013 military overthrow of the country's elected government. Mr. Obama removed his holds on the delivery of F-16 aircraft, Harpoon missiles and M1A1 tank kits and in a telephone call assured President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt that he would continue to support $1.3 billion in annual military assistance for the Cairo government...."

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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... 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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times: "... two leading campaign finance groups charged on Tuesday that the spread of ... unofficial campaigns in recent months was not only deceptive, but also illegal. The groups, the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, filed formal complaints with the Federal Election Commission against four undeclared candidates for president: Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Rick Santorum, all Republicans, and Martin O'Malley, a Democrat.... Among the prospective White House candidates, those four have been particularly aggressive in appearing at fund-raisers, visiting crucial states like Iowa and New Hampshire, hiring staff members and setting up offices, and positioning themselves for a possible bid, Paul S. Ryan, a lawyer for the center, said in an interview. Yet they have skirted federal election law that requires candidates who are 'testing the waters'..."

For the umpteenth time, Elizabeth Warren says she's not going to run for president. Also, she's not exactly endorsing Hillary Clinton. But Warren is willing "'to give her a chance to decide if she's going to run and to lay out what she wants to run on,' ... when asked whether the Clinton would be the right Democratic candidate to fight for the middle class."

Philip Rucker & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "The national debate over an Indiana religious-liberties law seen as anti-gay has drawn the entire field of Republican presidential contenders into the divisive culture wars, which badly damaged Mitt Romney in 2012 and which GOP leaders eagerly sought to avoid in the 2016 race. Most top Republican presidential hopefuls this week have moved in lock step, and without pause, to support Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) and his Religious Freedom Restoration Act.... The position puts the Republican field out of step with a growing national consensus on gay rights, handing Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Democrats a way to portray Republicans as intolerant and insensitive." ...

... Dana Milbank: "Pence backed down Tuesday and called for new legislation 'that makes it clear that this law does not give businesses a right to deny services to anyone.' Alas for Republican 2016 hopes, the leading candidates had already backed the original, discriminatory version of the law.... The candidates' rush to endorse the now-doomed law doesn't even make much political sense: GOP voters place gay issues at the bottom of their list of concerns."...

... Dominic Holden of BuzzFeed: "Sen. Rand Paul said he doesn't buy into the concept of gay rights because they are defined by a gay person's lifestyle. 'I don't think I've ever used the word gay rights, because I don't really believe in rights based on your behavior,' the Kentucky Republican told reporters in a videotaped interview ... recorded in 2013." ...

... Steve M.: "... Senator Paul is one of the most uncompromising supporters of gun rights in Washington (which is quite a high bar to clear).... I guess he thinks gun ownership is so fundamental to the makeup of certain human beings, is so hard-wired, that it simply can't be considered 'behavior.'... Gay sex? A choice. Owning an assault rifle? An essential part of who you are." CW: C'mon, Steve. GOP rationales for discrimination don't have to make sense or be intellectually consistent.

Jebbie's Secret Admirers. Ed O'Keefe & Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "Jeb Bush has given his tacit endorsement to a new group that can collect unlimited amounts of money in secret, part of a bold effort by his advisers to create a robust external political operation before he declares his expected White House bid.... While ideological nonprofits have become major players in national politics in recent years, this marks the first time one has been so embedded in the network of a prospective candidate." ...

... Making New Hampshire as Antediluvian as Iowa & South Carolina. Ben Schreckinger of Politico: "Taking aim at Jeb Bush, a group of leading New Hampshire conservatives and libertarians are preparing to stage their own caucus three months before the state's first-in-the-nation primary -- and then unify behind the winner. Sick of the string of centrist GOP-ers who’ve dominated the state's primary in recent years -- including John McCain (twice) and Mitt Romney -- conservatives and libertarians are hoping to defy the conventional wisdom that the Granite State is moderate-friendly turf between the evangelical-dominated Iowa caucuses and socially conservative South Carolina."

CW: I skipped over Scott Walker's dog dander dilemma, but Margaret Hartmann of New York handles it with all the seriousness it deserves.

Harry Reid assesses the GOP field.

Beyond the Beltway

** My Religious Beliefs Are Your Problem. Amy Davidson of the New Yorker: "... the idea of religious practice seems to have morphed to include a vague sense of offense at the lives of others." ...

... Campbell Robertson & Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: "Despite intensifying criticism from business leaders both within and outside of Arkansas, the state legislature on Tuesday passed its version of a measure billed as a religious freedom law, joining Indiana in a swirl of controversy that shows little sign of calming. The Arkansas bill, passed when the General Assembly concurred on three amendments from the State Senate, now goes to the state's Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, who expressed reservations about an earlier bill but more recently said he would sign the measure if it 'reaches my desk in similar form as to what has been passed in 20 other states.' The Arkansas Senate passed the measure last week." ...

... Dominic Rushe & Jessica Glenza of the Guardian: "Walmart ... came out swinging on Tuesday against state legislation legalising discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, calling the move against its 'core basic beliefs'. The retail giant is headquartered in Arkansas...." ...

... Margaret Hartmann: Way last month, the Arkansas bill was all about the right to discriminate against teh gays, but (even though the language of the bill hasn't changed) suddenly it isn't anymore. Something about hamburgers & pizzas. CW: And here's a factor that makes the bill even worse: it works in conjunction with a law the Arkansas legislature passed last month "which prevented cities and counties in the state from passing their own anti-LGBT discrimination ordinances." Because discrimination needs to be statewide. Also, what's with gay people complaining about discrimination when mean people discriminate against white, straight, married politicians? Also, it isn't fair for gay people to have a "special right" to marry each other when straight people always get stuck in opposite-sex marriages. (On this last point, also see Steve Beshear story, linked below.)

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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

By Tom Stiglich.

... Jill Lawrence of US News: "... maybe, cosseted in the Christian right echo chamber, [Mike Pence] was oblivious to how all of this would be received in the wider world.... His action, and its reflection on his party, is about as forward-looking as the revived Republican hostility to immigration reform. Forget about the future, it doesn't even acknowledge the world as it exists today."

... Jonathan Chait: "One lesson to draw from this chain of events is that Pence and his allies either overreached or blundered, and were properly forced to retreat when liberal opponents raised well-founded objections. Instead, conservatives have reached the opposite conclusion: They have been victimized by bullying social liberals, delirious with culture-war victory." ...

Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "'Smoking Doesn't Kill' And Other Great Old Op-Eds From Mike Pence. The Indiana governor ... wrote some interesting op-eds 15 years ago." Or this one that begins, "Global warming is a myth." "He also mixes up India and Indonesia." ...

... CW: I remain surprised that all of the commentary concentrates on discrimination against gays. It's true, of course that this was -- from the beginning -- the primary motivation for passing the law. But the law also permits rampant discrimination against myriad other groups. Suppose the owners of a big, family-held company like Hobby Lobby "believed" that it was disgraceful for pregnant women to go out in public. Under the law, they could refuse to allow obviously pregnant women into their stores. Suppose a corporate owner believed men should sport facial hair. Or that tank tops were inappropriate attire. Whatever. As long as the particular group is not "protected," large corporations as well as mom-&-pop bakers & florists can claim a religious exemption from serving any number of classes of people. ...

... CW: I wasted little time on David Brooks' Politeness Pitch yesterday, but Driftglass goes to the heart of it: "... for Republican apologists like Mr. Brooks, inconvenient facts are always sent out of the room so he can set up yet another, simple-minded morality puppet show about the virtues of not making people like Mr. Brooks uncomfortable, Because once a hated out-group has fought its way to a place where the in-group is forced to stop treating them like vermin (even though they still may really, really want to) Mr. Brooks' answer to their grievances is always to make them step back into a posture of supplication and ask pretty, pretty please for the basic human rights which every member of Mr. Brooks' privileged in-group takes for granted as their birthright." ...

... AND Charles Pierce lets Brooks have it: "David Brooks, who would like all those hysterical gay people to start using their inside voices and to understand that their desire for equal protection under the law would be better served if they understood the feelings of the people who think they are sodomite insects who are all going to hell."

Try to Wrap Your Head around This. Andrew Wolfson of the Louisville Courier-Journal: "Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear [D] says the state's ban on gay marriage should be upheld in part because it is not discriminatory in that both gay and straight people are barred from marrying people of the same gender. In an argument labeled absurd by gay marriage advocates, Beshear's lawyer says in a brief filed last week at the U.S. Supreme Court that 'men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, cannot marry persons of the same sex' under Kentucky law, making the law non-discriminatory. The argument mirrors that offered by the state of Virginia nearly 50 years ago when it defended laws barring interracial marriage there and in 15 other states, including Kentucky, by saying they weren't discriminatory because whites were barred from marrying blacks just as blacks were barred from marrying whites. The Supreme Court in 1967 rejected that argument in the historic case of Loving v. Virginia...." Thanks to contributor Forrest M. for the lead.

Privacy Rights, Arizona-Style: Between a Woman and Her Doctor & the State Legislature & the Governor. Yvonne Sanchez of the Arizona Republic: Arizona "Gov. Doug Ducey [R-Misogynist] on Monday signed into law a bill that requires physicians to tell women receiving medication-induced abortions that the procedure can potentially be reversed. Senate Bill 1318 also bars insurance companies from providing abortion services to women who purchase medical coverage through the federal health-care exchange, except in cases of rape and incest." ...

... Arizona, a Good Place to Leave. Steve Benen: "Under the new law, consumers who want to receive health care coverage through an exchange will be prohibited from buying private insurance through a private business covering a legal medical procedure that Republicans don't like.... Medical professionals will now be legally required to give patients unscientific information, simply because far-right politicians in the state say so. Or as Amanda Marcotte recently put it, 'You should be able to get through an abortion without having to indulge a right-wing delusion.'"

Jaime Fuller of New York: "A new Chicago Tribune poll has incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel with 58 percent of the vote, and Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia with 30 percent."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Cynthia Lennon, the first wife of the Beatles' John Lennon, who chronicled their troubled marriage in two memoirs, died on Wednesday at her home in Mallorca, Spain. She was 75. The cause was cancer, according to a memorial on the website of her son, Julian."

Los Angeles Times: California "Gov. Jerry Brown, standing on a patch of brown grass in the Sierra Nevada that is usually covered with several feet of snow at this time of year, on Wednesday announced the first mandatory water restrictions in California history. 'It's a different world,' he said. 'We have to act differently.'"

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "'Guilty,' Judge Jerry Baxter read the jury's verdicts for conspiracy for 11 of the 12 defendants in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial. The conspiracy charge was the most serious and could bring sentences up to 20 years. Only one defendant, Dessa Curb, walked away with no conviction on any charge.... The scandal, one of the most notorious to strike a U.S. school district, was uncovered by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2008, when it found improbably improved scores on on the tests."

Los Angeles Times: "Authorities investigating the death of Andrew Getty, an heir to the Getty oil fortune, said a preliminary investigation suggests foul play was not involved.The death appeared to be natural or an accident, said Ed Winter, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner's office."

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.'"