The Banality of MoDo

Maureen Dowd writes about how much Osama bin Laden reminds her of Norma Desmond, one of the major characters in "A Star Is Born." Or something.

Following is an e-mail a friend sent to Kate Madison, Karen Garcia & me this morning re: his thoughts on some of the comments to MoDo's column. I have the writer's permission to share the letter with you. I've redacted a few personal notes, including the opening paragraph in which the writer briefly mentions the banality of Dowd's column.

Kate did a nice job of calling out MoDo on her use of the "Bin Laden Slipped Away" meme, trotted out by the MSM, the Neo-cons and just about, well, everyone. He didn't, as Kate declares, "slip away". The Bushies took their eyes off the ball because they were too busy plotting world domination. Bush wasn't kidding when he said he really didn't think much about Bin Laden after the initial furor. He was thinking of blood and glory and killing brown people and re-making the Middle East in his own stunted, half-thought out image. Maybe that's why it's so fucked up now.

I did notice an interesting strain running through several comments, specifically, Marie's and Gemli's. They both refer to the banality of evil. It's funny, I was reading an essay in Hannah Arendt's Life of the Mind the other day. Arendt sat in on the Eichmann trial. She coined that phrase “banality of evil” to describe what Marie notes as Eichmann's seemingly innocuous and pleasant nature. How could such a nice little man be responsible for so much horror? You can say almost the same thing about Bush, except I don't think anyone would describe him as all that pleasant and polite (he's an arrogant, snotty little shit) but his public demeanor is one of good ol’ boy, back slapping, joke telling, occasionally pain in the ass frat boy. But here he goes, in full sociopath mode, initiating not one, but TWO, count 'em, TWO wars. You have to go back to FDR for that kind of two-fer (at least he didn't start the actions in the European and Pacific theaters).

But even closer to home, Gemli's comment called to mind that we are very close to that sort of thing (total evil in a “guy next door” package) right here in the US of A. Karen mentioned the Frontline piece “Capture/Kill” and right at the end there's an interview with an up and coming killer. This guy is the real deal. A hater, a murderer, a guy who made his bones by blowing up scores of civilians with a pipe bomb; someone to whom reason, hope, love, political expediency, national pride, money, power -- nothing -- matters. Only killing. He says that there can be no discussion, no negotiation. He says, revealingly, that this war that Bush started (and Obama continues) is like a sweet dessert for him and his kind. If a day or two go by and they haven't killed someone, they're antsy and restless. Ready for more blood.

It's not a stretch to take that checkered scarf off his head and put on a greasy trucker's cap with NRA or NASCAR stitched on the front, and put him in the mountains of Colorado ready to start a-shootin' guvmint men comin' to steal his freedoms!

I remember that I was reading Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1975 when I heard that Arendt had died. I was just getting into hard core philosophy and I distinctly recall a passage talking about Eichmann discussing his love of Kant and relating that he tried to live his life according to Kant's moral philosophy. Arendt of course rips him a new one for only reading one sentence and ignoring the rest of the 467 pages in the book, but I was struck at how dangerous philosophy could be to lamebrains, or smart, canny, unscrupulous people like David Brooks or Glenn Beck who can use it to provide support for the insupportable, cover for what should never be covered up. Eichmann focused on Kant's rejoinder to the rest of us to obey the law (he was specifically referring to the moral law). But think for a minute. Why did Bush and his legal assassins like Yoo and Gonzalez and Cheney's bully boy Addington, work so fucking hard for so long to provide legal cover that would allow them to attach electrodes to a man's testicles, pour water on him and turn on the juice. They were OBEYING THE LAW.

This is part of Brooks' obsession with those in the Baby Boom generation who (like all of us) questioned authority. A while back Brooks quoted from the work of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, specifically a book called Metaphors We Live By. Brooks, of course, didn't read it all the way through, probably only scanned for quotes so he could look smart. Unfortunately, I don't have that gene. I actually read the fucking thing. If Brooksie HAD read it, he would have come across the primary, seminal metaphors that describe the way the right and the left work politically, in this country. I believe it has gotten much worse since L and J wrote their book, but the gist of it is that the right wants a patriarchal society in which the Daddy calls the shots and we all dance. He dishes out assignments as quickly as punishment and we all have to take it. This goes along with the idea of why so many on the right (a total puzzlement to most lefties) so frequently vote against their own best interests. They are happy suffering as long as their enemies (mostly, us) suffer too. As long as Daddy spanks us hard, they'll take the lash too. The defining metaphor for the left tends to be much more matriarchal, nurturing and supportive. This, of course, drives the right to distraction.

Anyway, the point here is that there is so much going on under the hood that remains barely noticeable and certainly not thought out. Our news cycle (Marie and Karen, you both must feel the stress of getting things out there in a timely fashion in order to remain relevant -- the other day Marie sent a link to a piece about the disclosure of the Bin Laden killing. Ten minutes made the difference between a scoop and a left-in-the-dirt, also-ran condition) does not allow for thoughtful analysis of what's happening to make us this way. Granted, plenty of people who are making things happen don't have anything close to the type of analytical skills necessary to do more than celebrate surface victories.

But we are getting further and further away from any kind of thoughtful consideration of where we're headed and why or, more to the point, WHO, is pointing us there.

The Commentariat -- May 11

I've posted an Open Thread for today on Off Times Square. Be creative!

Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times: "House Speaker John A. Boehner ... is scheduled to give the commencement address this Saturday at the Catholic University of America in Washington.... More than 75 professors at Catholic University and other prominent Catholic colleges have written a pointed letter to Mr. Boehner saying that the Republican-supported budget he shepherded through the House of Representatives will hurt the poor, elderly and vulnerable, and therefore he has failed to uphold basic Catholic moral teaching.... The letter writers go on to criticize Mr. Boehner’s support for a budget that cut support for Medicare, Medicaid and the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, while granting tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations. They call such policies 'anti-life.' ... The professors point out that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops also recently issued a similar letter expressing the hierarchy’s concerns about budget cuts in programs that aid the poor." Boehner is a Roman Catholic.

Tapped. Floyd Norris of the New York Times: In the Raj Rajaratnam/Galleon case, the investigation preceded the crime.

Sometimes the IRS Has Good News. Ben Smith of Politico: "The Internal Revenue Service appears to have begun to enforce a tax on gifts to the non-profit organizations [501(c)4s] that were a key vehicle for anonymous politics in the last five years and had promised to play a large role in the presidential cycle, a move which could reshape the place of money in politics in 2012.... Gifts to other political organizations are not taxable under federal law. The gift tax ... may run as high as 35%, mirroring income tax rates -- for contributions to 501(c)4s.... All those ads attacking out-of-control taxes and deficits, meanwhile, may wind up doing their own small part to fill the U.S. Treasury."

Fear of Windshield Wipers. Karen Garcia: Democrats "are milking the Bin Laden assassination for all it's worth" and "have co-opted the tried and true panic button of the right to make fear of terror trump fear of job loss, fear of going hungry because of crazily rising food prices, fear of going homeless because of the continued foreclosure crisis and scandal, fear of getting sick because that much vaunted health care reform has somehow lost its luster now that more of us are uninsured and underinsured and jobless and broke than ever before."

New York Times Editors: "For all his talk of supporting the hopes of the undocumented, [the Obama] administration has been doubling down on the failed strategy of mass expulsion. It is pressing state and local police to join in an ill-conceived program called Secure Communities, which sends arrested people’s fingerprints through federal immigration databases, turning all local officers and jails into arms of the Department of Homeland Security. Many lawmakers and police agencies say it erodes public safety by making immigrants, especially victims of domestic violence, afraid to report crimes.... And they feel betrayed because what the administration once billed as a transparent, voluntary program aimed only at dangerous convicted criminals turns out to be none of those things. The Homeland Security Department’s own data show that more than half of those deported under the program have no criminal records or committed only minor crimes." ...

... Annie Lowrey in Slate: "The United States can grow faster by stealing the rest of the world's smart people. The low-hanging fruit of immigration is not simply an open-door policy, but rather letting in — or, really, rolling out the red carpet for — highly skilled and educated workers and entrepreneurs." We already know it will work.

Philip Rucker & Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats unveiled a plan Tuesday to save $21 billion over the next decade by eliminating tax breaks for the nation’s five biggest oil companies.... With the proposal, Democrats sought to reframe the debate over debt reduction to include fresh revenue as well as sharp cuts in spending. For the first time, Democratic leaders suggested an equal split between spending cuts and new taxes.... That represents a larger share for taxes than has been proposed by either President Obama or the bipartisan commission he appointed to recommend how to cut the national debt."

Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post: as Chinese labor costs go up, U.S. wages are coming down. Yippee! We're competitive! Especially in Mississippi!

Tom Friedman: "The systems in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that created a Bin Laden are alive and well," and we are heavily funding them. Assuming Friedman is right, and he relies on other sources, so he may well be, his column is worth reading.

Tom Shanker & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The killing of Osama bin Laden has set off a reassessment of the war in Afghanistan and the broader effort to combat terrorism, with Congress, the military and the Obama administration weighing the goals, strategies, costs and underlying authority for a conflict that is now almost a decade old. Two influential senators — John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana — suggested Tuesday that it was time to rethink the Afghanistan war effort, forecasting the beginning of what promises to be a fierce debate about how quickly the United States should begin pulling troops out of the country." ...

... Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed: "With Osama bin Laden now swimming with the fishes, the U.S. has but one sensible path: to draw down U.S. forces to 15,000-25,000 by the end of 2013, try cutting a deal with the Taliban, and refocus American power in the region on containment, deterrence and diplomacy."

David Streitfeld of the New York Times: For the last three years, federal agencies have backed new mortgages as large as $729,750 in desirable neighborhoods in high-cost states like California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts." But the FHA, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac are about to cut the size of the loan it will guarantee by as a much as one-third, a move which sellers, buyers and realtors say will have a bog negative impact on sales of high-end housing. Includes a multi-media table covering affected counties.

One Step Forward. Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times: "After 33 years of debate, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has voted to change its constitution and allow openly gay people in same-sex relationships to be ordained as ministers, elders and deacons. The outcome is a reversal from only two years ago, when a majority of the church’s regions, known as presbyteries, voted against ordaining openly gay candidates." ...

... One Step Back. Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "The Navy is revoking guidance to its chaplains about conducting same-sex marriages at military chapels following an uproar by Republican lawmakers and social conservatives claiming the move would violate a law prohibiting federal recognition of gay marriage. Despite the decision, military officials said Tuesday night that the Defense Department may still eventually permit gay troops to use military chapels in states that recognize homosexual marriages for same-sex weddings...."

Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "A panel of three federal appeals court judges aggressively questioned attorneys in a Virginia courtroom Tuesday who argued over the constitutionality of the federal health care overhaul — appearing particularly skeptical of arguments that sought to invalidate the law." CW: this is really a News Lede, but the article is chock-full of legal theory, so I've stuck it in the Commentariat....

... BESIDES, I wanted to share Dahlia Lithwick's take on the arguments. She conveys pretty much the same information Helderman does, but Lithwick makes it more fun. Something about broccoli.

Kareem Fahim of the New York Times: the specter of death squads looms over Benghazi, Libya, a city controlled by rebels.

Right Wing World *

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post complains about "the incoherent, impervious-to-facts economic philosophy undergirding [Speaker] Boehner’s remarks" to Wall Street on Monday. She debunks five big lies he told in the course of his speech:

The recent stimulus spending binge hurt our economy and hampered private-sector job creation in America.

The massive borrowing and spending by the Treasury Department crowded out private investment by American businesses of all sizes.

... We will never balance the budget and rid our children of debt unless we cut spending and have real economic growth. And we will never have real economic growth if we raise taxes on those in America who create jobs.

... In 1990..., our nation’s leaders struck a so-called bargain that raised taxes as part of a bipartisan plan to balance the budget. The result of that so-called bargain was the recession of the early 1990s. It wasn’t until the economy picked back up toward the end of that decade that we achieved a balanced budget.

A tax hike would wreak havoc not only on our economy’s ability to create private-sector jobs, but also on our ability to tackle the national debt.

Mike Huckabee's "Prophetic Voice." Tim Murphy of Mother Jones: Mike Huckabee has said "... Janet Porter, the onetime co-chair of Huckabee's Faith and Values Coalition..., is his 'prophetic voice.' But that voice has said some weird things over the years: Porter has maintained that Obama represents an 'inhumane, sick, and sinister evil,' and she has warned that Democrats want to throw Christians in jail merely for practicing their faith. She's attributed Haiti's high poverty rate to the fact that the country is "dedicated to Satan," and she suggested that gay marriage caused Noah's Flood. And there's this: In a 2009 column for conservative news site WorldNetDaily, Porter asserted that President Barack Obama is a Soviet secret agent, groomed since birth to destroy the United States from within.... Huckabee, contacted through his political action committee, did not respond to a request for a comment. The Soviet Union, which dissolved in 1991, also could not be reached."

* Where facts never intrude.

Local News

The El Paso Times Editors comment on President Obama's visit to El Paso & on the need for immigration reform.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Raj Rajaratnam, the billionaire investor who once ran one of the world’s largest hedge funds, was found guilty on Wednesday of fraud and conspiracy by a federal jury in Manhattan. He is the most prominent figure convicted in the government’s crackdown on insider trading on Wall Street."

New York Times: "Rebels in the contested western city of Misurata stormed the city’s airport on Wednesday afternoon, swarming over the grounds from the south and east and reclaiming it from the military of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. Seizing the airport in Misurata, Libya’s third-largest city, which has been under siege for nearly two months, marked one of the most significant rebel victories in the Libyan conflict. The airport and its approaches were the last remaining pieces of significant terrain in the city to be controlled by the Qaddafi soldiers."

In a video, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich announces he will run for President. CW: I can't bear to watch, but the video is here.

Wall Street Journal: "The White House and Senate Democratic leaders, worried that a proposal to cap federal spending could gain traction in Congress, have mounted a drive to discredit the idea. The proposal would limit federal spending — for everything from Medicare and other entitlements to discretionary items like military, education and foreign aid programs — to 20.6% of the nation's gross domestic product, when the cap is fully phased in. If Congress did not comply, the cap would be enforced with across-the-board spending cuts." CW: the bill is truly terrible, and Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) proves she's a lambrain by co-sponsoring it.

Washington Post: "The United States and China on Tuesday pledged to deepen their cooperation on economic and military matters, setting aside a year of tension over issues such as arms sales to Taiwan and the value of China’s currency with what officials referred to as a 'milestone' agreement."

Washington Post: "NATO carried out its most forceful [bombing] attacks in weeks in Libya on Tuesday, part of an apparently coordinated push with rebel forces to bring an end to Moammar Gaddafi’s 41-year-long rule."

Politico: "Senate Democrats will re-introduce the long-stalled DREAM Act, hoping to tap into momentum from President Barack Obama’s speech along the border Tuesday about America’s need to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

The Commentariat -- May 10

The Final Editon. A fabulous parody. Be sure to watch the Last Timescast. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO GO TO THE SITE. Thanks to David H.

I have opened a comments page on Off Times Square for David Brooks, where you may also comment on other political issues. Karen Garcia & I have read Brooks and have posted our comments on his column. Now I must shower. Update: looks like my comment on Brooks got the axe, so you'll have to read it here. Update 2: Do read today's comments. They are so far superior to Babbling Brooks that there is really no comparison. ...

... AND thanks to commenter Denis Neville for liberally excerpting this article by U.S. labor lawyer Thomas Geoghegan in a July 2010 post to In These Times, which is itself an excerpt from Geoghegan's book Were You Born on the Wrong Continent? The answer to the question is yes, if you're an American worker. You would be better off in Europe. And the U.S. economy would be better off if we followed the example of some European countries.

Peter Wallsten & Perry Bacon, Jr. of the Washington Post: "... in using a speech in El Paso to highlight his enforcement record, [President] Obama will signal that he intends to try turning the immigration debate into a political winner among conservative swing voters who back tougher immigration policies. The president is expected to reel off what his aides say is evidence of an unprecedented focus on border security.... The result, aides say, has been a steep decline in illegal incursions and plummeting crime rates in U.S. border communities from Texas to California." (This story is also linked in today's Ledes.)

Paul Kane & Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: "House Speaker John A. Boehner defined the GOP’s terms for raising the legal limit on government borrowing Monday, demanding that President Obama reduce spending by more than $2 trillion in exchange for an increase big enough to cover the nation’s bills through the end of next year.... Democrats immediately rejected Boehner’s approach as reckless. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) said Monday that the speaker is 'playing with fire' by not telling the captains of Wall Street that he would definitely approve an increase in the debt ceiling, no matter how far along the fiscal negotiations are. Schumer mocked Boehner’s long-running call for an 'adult conversation' with the American public about the nation’s debt. 'Speaker Boehner needs to have an adult moment right here and now,' the senator told reporters." CW: The New York Times story, which I also linked under yestdays Ledes, is here. And Schumer is right. Boehner is completely irresponsible. ...

... BUT. Jonathan Chait of The New Republic: "John Boehner ... is bluffing.... The obvious bluff is his supposed willingness to permanently hamper the Treasury's ability to borrow money, something he's been privately assuring Wall Street he won't really do.... Boehner says he wants to cut trillions, which would have to entail cutting Social Security and Medicare.... Oh, sure, he wants them to be cut. But he does not want to be the one who cuts them. He wants a bipartisan agreement in which President Obama provides him with cover.... Obama's play here is clear: He needs to ask Boehner to spell out his demands." ...

... Joshua Green of The Atlantic: "The current debt ceiling fracas stems from one thing, and it's not spending. It's the pointless, silly, and potentially very costly, two-step process by which the United States, and no other country, goes about budgeting and spending money. First, Congress passes a budget resolution that determines how much will be spent. Then it raises the debt ceiling to accommodate that spending. The fight now is being driven by Republicans, and some Democrats, who don't want to do the second part, even though the spending decisions have already been made." Years ago, Rep. Dick Gephardt fixed this problem by making the raising of the debt ceiling part of the budget bill, after which Republicans unfixed the fix.

Alexander Bolton of The Hill: "A deep rift is opening wider and wider in the Republican Party over controversial proposals to cut Medicare. Senate Republicans have decided to avoid jeopardizing their chances of capturing the upper chamber in next year’s elections and will not echo the House GOP’s call for a major overhaul of the popular health entitlement for seniors." ...

... Because here's what Democratic ads will look like in 2012. This is an ad running in New York's 26th District special Congressional election. Democrat Kathy Hochul's opponents are a Tea Partier & a Republican:

Eric Schmitt, et al., of the New York Times: "President Obama insisted that the assault force hunting down Osama bin Laden last week be large enough to fight its way out of Pakistan if confronted by hostile local police officers and troops, senior administration and military officials said Monday.... Senior officials also said that two teams of specialists were on standby: One to bury Bin Laden if he was killed, and a second composed of lawyers, interrogators and translators in case he was captured alive."

The Washington Post Editors go all liberal soft-on-defense-y: "Even if waterboarding or extreme sleep deprivation produced some pieces of the bin Laden intelligence puzzle, the program wasn’t justified — and it still did America far more harm than good.... President Obama was right to dismantle the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program."

Right Wing World *

Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times profiles Callista Gingrich, the "blond bombshell" who had a long affair with the Newt that broke up Newt's second marriage during the Clinton impeachment episode; now Newt plans to use his marriage to Callista as evidence of his "family values." According to Stolberg, Newt will use his wife "as a character witness." CW: apparently Newt is assuming reporters will find it too unseemly to question Mrs. Newt's character.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) knows more about economics than some ole MIT Nobel laureate. Victoria McGrane of the Wall Street Journal: "The Senate Banking Committee is slated to vote Thursday on the nomination of Peter Diamond to join the Federal Reserve Board, but his confirmation by the full Senate still remains doubtful.... Sen. ... Shelby..., the top-ranking Republican on the banking panel, continues to lead the fight against the nomination, arguing that Mr. Diamond doesn't have any direct monetary policy experience.... Senate Republican leaders are deferring to Mr. Shelby on the matter, meaning Mr. Diamond's Fed nomination is almost certain to remain frozen in the Senate as long as the Alabama Republican continues to oppose him."

Norm Ornstein in The New Republic: Republicans were all for full disclosure of campaign contributions before they were dead-set against it.

Well, you know, when it comes to racism and racists, I am the least racist person there is.... I’ve had great relationships. In fact, Randal Pinkett won, as you know, on The Apprentice a little while ago, a couple of years ago. And Randal’s been outstanding in every way. So I am the least racist person. -- Donald Trump ...

... Alex Seitz-Ward of Think Progress has the story & video. Randal Pinkett, who is black, won "The Apprentice" contest six years ago. So there's your proof. ...

... BUT. Benjy Sarlin of TPM on Trump's handling of another black contestant, Kevin Allen. "Allen, a Wharton Business School grad, Emory MBA, and University of Chicago law graduate, was 'fired' from the show after Trump criticized his 'unbelievable education,' and numerous degrees from elite universities.... Allen was fired shortly after a controversial episode in which he was ordered to sell chocolate bars outside of New York City subway stops, a job stereotypically associated with African-American high school students. Entertainment Weekly's Mark Harris bluntly labeled Trump's handling of race tone-deaf at the time and said that the show 'humiliated itself in regards to Allen.'" Allen said to TPM recently, when asked about Trump's attacks on President Obama, "Apparently he doesn't like educated African-Americans very much." ...

     ... Update. Oh, dear. The least racist person is also the least popular. According to Frank Newport of Gallup,

Trump ... has the unenviable distinction of receiving a Positive Intensity Score of 0, the lowest for any of the 13 candidates measured.... Last week, when Trump's numbers were first reported, his Positive Intensity Score was 4, suggesting he lost ground after a week in which he was the butt of jokes that comedian Seth Meyers and President Barack Obama delivered at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner. That same week, Trump's focus on Obama's birthplace was defused by the release of Obama's long-form birth certificate.

     ... AND from Public Policy Polling: "Donald Trump has had one of the quickest rises and falls in the history of Presidential politics. Last month we found him leading the Republican field with 26%. In the space of just four weeks he's dropped all the way down to 8%, putting him in a tie for fifth place with Ron Paul."

* Where facts never intrude & consistency is just a hobgoblin.

News Ledes

President Obama speaks about immigration reform in El Paso, Texas:

ABC News: "Pakistani officials said today they're interested in studying the remains of the U.S.'s secret stealth-modified helicopter abandoned during the Navy SEAL raid of Osama bin Laden's compound, and suggested the Chinese are as well. The U.S. has already asked the Pakistanis for the helicopter wreckage back, but one Pakistani official told ABC News the Chinese were also 'very interested' in seeing the remains. Another official said, 'We might let them [the Chinese] take a look.'" ...

... ABC News: "One of Osama bin Laden's sons went missing in the midst of the Navy SEAL raid that took the life of the al Qaeda leader more than a week ago, Pakistani security officials told ABC News today. The officials said bin Laden's three wives, who are all in Pakistani custody, said that one of bin Laden's sons has not been seen since the raid. The son was not identified, but Pakistani investigators agreed that it appeared someone was missing from the sprawling compound, the officials said. Later, however, one U.S. official said there was no evidence anyone was missing from the compound...."

CNN: "Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, as well as those in the equivalent House committees, will be allowed to view the photographs taken of Osama bin Laden after he was killed...."

President Obama spoke at two DNC fundraisers in Austin, Texas, this evening.

President Obama spoke about fixing the immigration system in El Paso, Texas, this afternoon. Washington Post story here. Update: see video above. El Paso Times story here.

New York Times: "Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it would buy Skype Global for $8.5 billion in cash, in its largest acquisition ever. In Skype, Microsoft is buying the leader in Internet voice and video communications, with 107 million users per month connected for more than 100 minutes a month on average."

Washington Post: "The public outing of the CIA station chief here threatened on Monday to deepen the rift between the United States and Pakistan, with U.S. officials saying they believed the disclosure had been made deliberately by Pakistan’s main spy agency."

New York Times: "Rebel fighters made significant gains Monday against forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in both the western and eastern areas of the country, in the first faint signs that NATO airstrikes may be starting to strain the government forces."

The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal: "As the Mississippi River continued carrying near-record amounts of water past Memphis, draining storm-drenched lands stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, officials combined messages of reassurance and caution.... The river finally crests in Memphis today at about 48 feet -- a full 14 feet above Memphis' flood stage. The pressure will continue for weeks -- the river could stay at or near crest for more than a week and it may be June before it falls below 40 feet, still well above the 34-foot flood stage."