The Commentariat -- March 5, 2014

The Guardian's liveblog of the crisis in Ukraine is here.

Steve Erlanger & Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: "A top European Union official said Wednesday that the group is prepared to offer an aid package to Ukraine worth as much as $15 billion over the next two years. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the union's executive arm, said Wednesday it will include 1.6 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in loans and 1.4 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in grants from the E.U. as well as 3 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in fresh credit from the European Investment Bank." ...

... Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: "NATO members held emergency talks about the crisis in Ukraine on Tuesday and pledged their 'solidarity,' but there were signs of division in Europe over how to respond to Russia's intervention in Crimea. Among the biggest obstacles to consensus: Fears dating to the Cold War are running up against the economic clout of the new Russia." ...

... New York Times: "A senior United Nations diplomat who was sent to the Crimea region of southern Ukraine to assess the Russian military takeover there was threatened by armed men at gunpoint on Wednesday, and aborted his visit a day after it had begun. The diplomat, Robert Serry, was confronted by a group of 10 to 15 gunmen as he left a meeting at a naval facility in Simferopol, the capital of the Crimea region, according to an account of the incident provided by ... the United Nations deputy secretary general." ...

... Josh Gerstein & Burgess Everett of Politico: "Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's history as a tough-as-nails leader bent on restoring Russia's sphere of influence, the U.S. intelligence community failed to read the signs when it came to Ukraine. That has members of Congress asking why there was no clear warning that Russia would respond militarily to the abrupt departure of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych by sending troops into Crimea -- and what intelligence agencies plan to do about the oversight.... A range of lawmakers and intelligence community experts are puzzled about why U.S. intelligence agencies seem to have misjudged Putin's intentions and whether the lack of warning fits a pattern of other significant intelligence shortcomings in recent years." ...

... Eli Lake of the Daily Beast: "Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told The Daily Beast Tuesday that he was ordering a review of the intelligence analysis that produced what was in retrospect a flawed assessment: that the buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine's border was simply a bluff by Vladimir Putin." ...

... Steve Holland of Reuters: "President Barack Obama spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday about the situation in Ukraine and discussed a potential resolution to the crisis, a senior Obama administration official said. The officials also said Obama would not attend a G8 summit scheduled for Sochi, Russia, in June unless there is a Russian reversal in the Ukraine crisis." ...

... President Obama answered a reporter's question yesterday re: the situation in the Ukraine. (See also the top of yesterday's Commentariat):

... Ruby Cramer of BuzzFeed: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the ongoing crisis in Ukraine at a fundraiser in California on Tuesday, comparing Russia's decision to issue passports in the Crimean region to the 'population transfers' carried out by Nazi Germany before World War II." ...

... Karen Meeks of the Long Beach Press Telegram: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday compared recent actions by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Ukraine to those implemented by Adolf Hitler in the late 1930s." ...

... CW: I think we want to be really careful about electing someone as president who, as the most recent secretary of state, throws around Hitler analogies during an international crisis. I think it's all right for you to make Hitler comparisons, for pundits to do so, for newspaper editors & for academics. But the country's top diplomat? Big Fucking Mistake.

... Kathy Lally & Will Englund of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a vigorous defense Tuesday of Russian intervention in Ukraine, saying the pro-Russian former government in Kiev was illegally overthrown and that the man he regards as Ukraine's legitimate president asked him for military help. But he also asserted that the troops wearing unmarked uniforms in Crimea are local self-defense groups -- not Russian forces, as observers on the scene have said. President Obama and Secretary of State John F. Kerry both rejected Putin's assertions Tuesday, with Kerry charging during a visit to Ukraine that 'Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further.'" ...

... Fox "News": "When informed by a reporter of Putin's claim, Kerry -- who arrived in Kiev on Tuesday -- smiled and said, 'He really denied there were troops in Crimea?'" ...

... Bob Gates to McCain & Co.: STFU. David Ignatius of the Washington Post: "Distilled to its essence, his message would be...: Cool it, especially when it comes to public comments. 'I think considerable care needs to be taken in terms of what is said, so that the rhetoric doesn't threaten what policy can't deliver,' Gates explained.... Russian President Vladimir Putin 'holds most of the high cards' in Crimea and Ukraine as a whole. U.S. policy should work to reinforce the security of neighboring states without fomenting a deeper crisis in which Putin will have the advantage.... Gates said that Obama is correct to avoid loose talk about military options....

I asked Gates what he thought about the criticism of Obama by McCain and Graham. 'They're egging him on' to take actions that may not be effective, Gates warned. He said he 'discounted' their deeper argument that Obama had invited the Ukraine crisis by not taking a firmer stand on Syria or other foreign policy issues. Even if Obama had bombed Syria or kept troops in Iraq or otherwise shown a tougher face, 'he still would have the same options in Ukraine. Putin would have the same high cards.' Gates, a Republican himself, urged the GOP senators to 'tone down' their criticism and 'try to be supportive of the president rather than natter at the president.' ...

... Sorry, Bob. Obama Derangement Syndrome Is Incurable. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Thursday [sic. CW: actually, "Tuesday"] that the United States's failure to hold anyone accountable for the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, contributed to the Russian incursion into Ukraine last week." CW: Got that? Putin would not have wanted to strengthen his hold on the Crimea but for Obama's failure to solve a Libyan murder case. Makes sense. Benghaaaazi! always makes sense to severely-afflicted ODS sufferers. ...

... Elias Isquith of Salon: "With Graham having definitively and unquestionably established that many if not most of the awful things that have happened in the world since Sept. 11, 2012, can be blamed on Benghazi, the good folks on Twitter -- on both the left and the right -- were more than happy to help Graham substantiate his argument further with other examples of the Benghazi attack's expansive repercussions." Isquith posts a slew of tweets blaming Benghazi for other stuff. ...

... MEANWHILE, "America's Mayor" reminds us what a really scary guy he is. It turns out "dictator" is just another word for "leader." Thanks to contributor Julie for the link:

... Brian Beutler of Salon: "... Republicans ... reverse engineered the crisis and miraculously found that its catalysts all happen to substantiate their previously held obsessions and grievances -- and from a handful of journalists #slatepitching or getting taken in by this spin. For Palin it's Obama's moral equivalence, but for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, it's Benghazi, for Rudy Giuliani it's that Obama lacks Putin's impressive testicular fortitude (see Syria), and for much of the GOP, it's Obama's inability to understand geopolitics as well as that foreign policy redoubt Mitt Romney.... To swallow any of this you need to believe that Putin would've begged off but for some unrelated historical curiosity that by pure coincidence happens to be the subject of some long-standing GOP obsession or political attack."

President Obama spoke yesterday about his FY 2015 budget:

... Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: "President Obama on Tuesday sent Congress an election-year budget request that reflects Democratic ideals, emphasizing increased spending on domestic initiatives for education, public works and research paid for by ending tax breaks for the wealthy and some corporations, rather than continued budget-cutting. Mr. Obama's budget for the 2015 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is mostly a familiar volume that seeks, for the sixth time, to balance investments to help the economy and spread economic opportunities, against continued spending cuts and tax increases to continue reducing annual deficits. But the theme of this year's budget reflects Mr. Obama's call to have the nation address the growing inequality of incomes and economic opportunity." ...

... Zachary Goldfarb of the Washington Post: "President Obama unveiled an ambitious $3.9 trillion budget blueprint Tuesday that seeks billions of dollars in fresh spending to boost economic growth but also pledges to tame the national debt by raising taxes on the wealthy, slashing payments to health providers and overhauling the nation's immigration laws."

Lyin' Ryan Keeps on Lyin'. Steve Benen on that 204-page report on poverty that the GOP loves because it gives them the "scientific data" they need to slash "entitlement" programs: "The Fiscal Times' Rob Garver ... interviewed some of the same economists cited in [Paul] Ryan's paper in support of his thesis. Many of the experts 'had reactions ranging from bemusement to anger at Ryan's report, claiming that he either misunderstood or misrepresented their research.' ... What he's done is look for a new way to reframe his own plan: he still supports letting struggling families fend for themselves with a weak, shredded safety net, but the Wisconsin Republican wants Americans to perceive this as compassionate.... Ryan also wants to add an intellectual veneer to his plan...." ...

... Despite his misappropriation of academic findings which led Ryan to conclude -- to everyone's surprise -- that federal poverty programs "are not only failing to address the problem. They are also in some significant respects making it worse," Igor Volsky of Think Progress thumbs through the 200+ pages & finds Ryan admitting that numerous anti-poverty programs have helped millions of needy Americans, um, escape poverty.

... Charles Pierce: "... there is not now a bigger fake in national politics than Paul Ryan, who went to high school and college on my dime -- You're welcome, dickhead -- who's never had a real adult job outside of government and/or wingnut welfare, and who nonetheless believes that government money blunts the work ethic of everybody except him." ...

... CW: I'd say the whole 204 pages can be summed up in one unintentionally ironic footnote: "The Official Poverty Rate does not include government transfers to low-income households." Got that? You can't factor in income received from government poverty programs, because they raise people out of poverty. And Ryan's whole fucking point is that poverty programs don't raise people out of poverty. So Aunt Maude has zero income because she lives on Social Security & food stamps & Medicaid. Or Cousin Joe has zero income because he's living on unemployment benefits. That footnote is the Rosetta Stone of Ryan's report. It's all you need to know to dismiss the whole report as a sham.

** Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times: "The Central Intelligence Agency's attempt to keep secret the details of a defunct detention and interrogation program has escalated a battle between the agency and members of Congress and led to an investigation by the C.I.A.’s internal watchdog into the conduct of agency employees. The agency's inspector general began the inquiry partly as a response to complaints from members of Congress that C.I.A. employees were improperly monitoring the work of staff members of the Senate Intelligence Committee...." ...

     ... CW: I find this the most intriguing story of the day. It also demonstrates that Bernie Sanders was not grandstanding when he asked James Clapper whether or not the NSA was spying on members of Congress.

Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "The outgoing director of the National Security Agency lashed out at media organizations reporting on Edward Snowden's surveillance revelations, suggesting that British authorities were right to detain David Miranda on terrorism charges and that reporters lack the ability to properly analyze the NSA's broad surveillance powers. General Keith Alexander, who has furiously denounced the Snowden revelations, said at a Tuesday cybersecurity panel that unspecified 'headway' on what he termed 'media leaks' was forthcoming in the next several weeks, possibly to include 'media leaks legislation.'"

Dan Roberts of the Guardian: "A Palestinian peace deal could open up economic growth across the Middle East, Binyamin Netanyahu told US supporters on Tuesday, but is still held back by security concerns and a lack of recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. In the most upbeat of recent comments during his trip to Washington, the Israeli prime minister highlighted the potential regional benefits of the US-led peace process, even while making it clear he believed significant hurdles remain. 'I am prepared to make a historic peace with our Palestinian leaders,' he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference in Washington." CW: I wonder what Bibi's game is here?

Beyond the Beltway

Reuters: "The Arkansas House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to fund the state's so-called 'Private Option' medical insurance program that has drawn interest from lawmakers in other states as an alternative to Obamacare. The measure, which had earlier passed the state Senate, received 76 votes, one more than necessary in the 100-member House. This ended a more than week-long standoff over the health insurance program for lower-income residents." ...

... Here's the Arkansas Times story, by Max Brantley. Still don't know how Josh Miller voted; he's the $1MM Medicaid patient who opposed the expansion because some Arkansans are loafers who would use healthcare benefits to buy drugs. ...

... The Blue Hog Report reprinted a very good letter to Miller from one of his constituents, Carol Balderree. CW: Balderree thinks we live -- or should live -- in a "Christian nation," but this Christian lady sure understands that everyone is deserving of affordable health care. Via Max Brantley.

Tom Loftus & Chris Kenning of the Louisville Courier-Journal: "Kentucky will fight a federal judge's ruling ordering the state to recognize gay marriage -- but without the help of Attorney General Jack Conway [D], who says he refuses to defend discrimination.... Moments after the announcement, Gov. Steve Beshear [D] released a statement saying the state would hire outside counsel to appeal U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II's ruling that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed outside the state.... Beshear said he'll seek a stay of Heyburn's order pending the appeal...." ...

     ... The New York Times story, by Trip Gabriel, is here.

Jeff Weiner of the Orlando Sentinel: "A judge has granted a temporary protective injunction against U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson after his wife filed paperwork accusing the Orlando congressman of shoving and injuring her during an incident this past weekend. Lolita Grayson's petition for the injunction, dated Monday, says her husband pushed her against a door, causing her to fall to the ground, during a confrontation Saturday at their home on Oak Park Road near Windermere. In a statement, Alan Grayson's press secretary, Lauren Doney, wrote that the allegations 'are absolutely false, completely unfounded, and clearly designed to vilify and harm Congressman Grayson.' ... The incident comes just less than two months after Lolita Grayson filed a divorce petition stating that their marriage of nearly 24 years was 'irretrievably broken.'"

Texas Primary Races

Ronnie Crocker of the Houston Chronicle: "The Republican lieutenant governor's race, the nastiest and most competitive of the primary season, is set to go another round. State Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston and incumbent David Dewhurst will compete in a May 27 runoff.... Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn held off challenger Steve Stockman, a U.S. representative from Friendswood, in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. George P. Bush, the grandson of one president and nephew of another, was victorious in the Republican primary race [for] ... Texas land commissioner. He will face Democrat John Cook, a former El Paso mayor, in November."

Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "Establishment Republican leaders on Tuesday defeated challenges from the right in a statewide primary election as conservatives inspired by Senator Ted Cruz largely failed to topple mainstream incumbents, and a race for lieutenant governor headed for a runoff. Two Republican leaders in Congress -- Senator John Cornyn and Representative Pete Sessions -- and a number of other Republicans in the House overcame opponents backed by Tea Party activists."

Ben Jacobs of the Daily Beast: "Tuesday night will mark the end of one of the most stunningly dishonest political campaigns in American history: that of Steve Stockman for Senate. Stockman's campaign seemed to violate every ethical and social norm in politics.... The entire campaign came across as a strange grift...." CW: IMHO, the entire Tea Party movement is one massive grift. Stockman is merely among the worst of the worst.

Senate Race

Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times: "To score political points, Republican Rep. Tom Cotton said repeatedly that he'd forego the congressional health insurance plan and sign up on the new health exchanges. It was only fair, he said. But now it appears he's gotten himself a low-cost grandfathered plan outside the exchange. The [Sen. Mark] Pryor [D] campaign has compiled Cotton's changing stories on insurance purchases...."

The Commentariat -- March 4, 2014

Internal links removed.

Reid Epstein of Politico: "President Barack Obama challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin's defense of his involvement in Ukraine, arguing Tuesday that there is widespread consensus that Russia is violating international law...." ...

... Ian Traynor of the Guardian: "Vladimir Putin ruled out war with Ukraine on Tuesday, but also reserved the right to use force 'as a last resort' days after his forces took control of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Breaking his silence for the first time since the revolution in Ukraine toppled Viktor Yanukovych, Putin denounced the takeover as an unconstitutional coup d'etat, insisted Yanukovych was still the legitimate head of state, although he declared him politically dead, and said he would not recognise presidential elections being held in Ukraine at the end of May." ...

... Here's the Guardian's liveblog. ...

... Steven Myers, et al., of the New York Times: "President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Tuesday described the crisis in Ukraine as the result of an 'unconstitutional coup,' throwing his support behind ousted President Viktor F. Yanukovych and reserving the right to use force as 'a last resort.'" CW: Exactly as I wrote yesterday (below) re: Yanukovich's CVA (Cover Vladimir's Ass) letter. ...

     ... CW: I'm having trouble seeing much difference between Putin's invasion of Ukraine & Kennedy's Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Oh, well this: the Bay of Pigs was a disaster for the U.S., & there was a lot of carnage. And Batista, the dictator Castro overthrew, was a dictator who got the top job by leading a coup, unlike Yanukovych, who was elected. Help me out, please. ...

... Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State John F. Kerry brought a pledge of $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees for Ukraine's new anti-Russian leadership as he arrived in Kiev to show solidarity with former opposition leaders now facing a military standoff with Moscow." ...

... Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The Obama administration suspended military ties to Russia, including exercises, port visits and planning meetings, just a day after calling off trade talks. If Moscow does not reverse course, officials said they would ban visas and freeze assets of select Russian officials in the chain of command as well as target state-run financial institutions. Congressional leaders signaled that they would follow with sanctions of their own, and quickly approve economic aid for the fragile, new pro-Western government in Ukraine."

William Booth & Will Englund of the Washington Post: "The embattled government in Kiev said Monday night that Russian forces had dramatically escalated the standoff between the two nations by giving Ukraine's army and navy in Crimea a blunt ultimatum: Pledge allegiance to the region's new pro-Russia leadership by morning or be forced by Russia to submit. A spokesman for the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is berthed in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, denied that a threat had been made, and the Russian Defense Ministry called the accusation 'utter nonsense.' But as Russian troops and warships surrounded Ukrainian security installations throughout the autonomous Crimean Peninsula, it was clear that Ukrainian forces believed they faced an imminent threat even though no shot had been fired." ...

... Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: President "Obama convened a meeting of his National Security Council on Monday evening to consider further actions, while the Defense Department announced that 'in light of recent events in Ukraine,' it had 'put on hold all military-to-military engagements between the United States and Russia. This includes exercises, bilateral meetings, port visits and planning conferences.' ...Obama responded sharply to lawmakers who criticized his actions as weak. 'I've heard a lot of response from Congress about what should be done, what they want to do. One thing they can do right away,' he said, is to join a 'unified position that stands outside of partisan politics' to condemn Russian action and approve an economic and political assistance package for Ukraine's interim government.

     "By early evening, Congress appeared on its way to doing so, as senior lawmakers said after a day of meetings in the snow-bound Capitol that they were set to begin debate next week on an economic aid package expected to cost at least $1 billion, along with possible sanctions against senior Russian officials involved in the ongoing military standoff." ...

... Manu Raju & Burgess Everett of Politico: "In an interview, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Congress should let the situation play out for 'a while' before trying to impose any new sanctions on Russia, which is dispatching military forces into Crimea -- forcing the West to scramble for a response. 'The most important thing is for us -- the United States -- to make sure that we don't go off without the European community,' Reid said Monday in the Capitol. 'We have to work with them. Their interests are really paramount if we are going to do sanctions of some kind. We have to have them on board with us.'" ...

... Somini Sengupta of the New York Times: "As the Security Council jousted in an emergency session over Russian military action in Ukraine on Monday, Ukraine's United Nations ambassador sent a three-page letter to every member state, accusing Russian forces of using stun grenades against Ukrainian soldiers, trespassing in Ukrainian airspace and deploying 16,000 troops to the Crimean peninsula. The Security Council's emergency meeting was its third in four days on Ukraine.... The Russian ambassador, Vitaly I. Churkin, who sought the Security Council meeting, told fellow members that 'ultranationalists,' including anti-Semites, had threatened Russians and Russian speakers inside Ukraine, prompting Russia to act." ...

... Louis Charbonneau of Reuters: "Ukraine's ousted leader Viktor Yanukovich has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that he use Russia's military to restore law and order in Ukraine, Moscow's U.N. envoy told a stormy meeting of the Security Council on Monday." CW: Yanukovich is giving Putin plausible cover: mobs deposed a democratically-elected president, so we intervened to restore the rightful government. This rationale, of course, would justify Russian troops going all the way to Kiev. ...

... G-7 Leaders Statement. "We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission, join together today to condemn the Russian Federation's clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in contravention of Russia's obligations under the UN Charter and its 1997 basing agreement with Ukraine." There's more. ...

... BUT. EU Not Too-Too Upset by Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Ian Traynor, et al., of the Guardian: "A rift appeared to be opening up on Monday night between the US and Europe on how to punish Vladimir Putin for his occupation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, with European capitals resisting Washington's push towards tough sanctions. With the Americans, supported by parts of eastern Europe and Sweden, pushing for punitive measures against Moscow, EU foreign ministers divided into hawks and doves, preferring instead to pursue mediation and monitoring of the situation in Ukraine and to resist a strong sanctions package against Russia. On the ground in Crimea, Russian forces continued to tighten their stranglehold, intimidating and surrounding Ukrainian marines in an attempt to force them to surrender without shots being fired. There were further ominous developments in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian crowds forced their way into a number of government buildings." ...

... Embarrassing! Nicholas Watt of the Guardian: "Britain is drawing up plans to ensure that any EU action against Russia over Ukraine will exempt the City of London, according to a secret government document photographed in Downing Street. As [British PM] David Cameron said Britain and its EU partners would put pressure on Moscow after it assumed control of Crimea, a government document drawn up for a meeting of senior ministers said that 'London's financial centre' should not be closed to Russians. It did say that visa restrictions and travel bans could be imposed on Russian officials. The picture of the document was taken by the freelance photographer Steve Back, who specialises in spotting secret documents carried openly by officials entering Downing Street." ...

... David Jolly & Elizabeth Alderman of the New York Times: "The escalating crisis in Ukraine created turmoil in global markets on Monday, hitting stocks from Wall Street to Ukraine and causing a spike in oil and natural gas prices that could reach into consumers' wallets. But despite fears that the conflict between Russia and the West over Ukraine could shift into a military confrontation, analysts said there was little risk of global financial contagion or of major blowback to Western economies." ...

... ** John Judis of the New Republic interviews an actual expert on the region, Dmitri Simes. Very enlightening. ...

... In a New York Times op-ed, Ukrainian novelist and journalist Natalka Sniadanko argues that "Thanks to Mr. Putin, Ukraine has seen a rise not only in Russian-speaking Ukrainian patriots, but also 'Russian-speaking Russophobes,' who identify as Russian but want nothing to do with him." ...

... Gene Robinson: "... the United States, frankly, has limited standing to insist on absolute respect for the territorial integrity of sovereign states. Before Iraq there was Afghanistan, there was the Persian Gulf War, there was Panama, there was Grenada. And even as we condemn Moscow for its outrageous aggression, we reserve the right to fire deadly missiles into Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and who knows where else." ...

... Peter Beinart of the Atlantic: "from where Putin sits, American power hardly seems in retreat. From his perspective, in fact, the reverse is likely much closer to the truth." ...

... "Operation Oxymoron." Dana Milbank: With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Obama's critics pivoted seamlessly from complaining about his overreach to fretting that he is being too cautious.... Last Wednesday, I sat in a House hearing and listened to Republicans describe Obama exercising 'unparalleled use of executive power' and operating an 'uber-presidency.' They accused him of acting like a 'king' and a 'monarch,' of making the United States like a 'dictatorship' or a 'totalitarian government' by exercising 'imperial' and 'magisterial power.' But after events in Ukraine, this very tyrant was said to be so weak that it's 'shocking.'" ...

... Mika's dad, Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor during the Carter administration, calls Putin a thug, offers some retaliatory suggestions, then concludes, "... such efforts to avert miscalculations that could lead to a war should be matched by a reaffirmation of the West's desire for a peaceful accommodation with Russia regarding a joint effort to help Ukraine recover economically and stabilize politically. The West should reassure Russia that it is not seeking to draw Ukraine into NATO or to turn it against Russia." CW: So a policy of fake saber-rattling? ...

... Michael Cohen of the Guardian: "... the sea of foreign policy punditry -- already shark-infested -- has reached new lows in fear-mongering, exaggerated doom-saying and a stunning inability to place global events in any rational historical context.... The most bizarre element of watching the Crimean situation unfold through a US-centric lens: the iron-clad certainty of the pundit class that Putin is winning and Obama is losing. The exact opposite is true.... You don't have to listen to the 'do something' crowd. These are the same people who brought you the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other greatest hits." Cohen provides a nice rundown of the lunatic remarks coming form the usual suspects. ...

... Simon Shuster of Time: "It is already clear ... that [Putin] cannot emerge as the winner of this conflict, at least not when the damage is weighed against the gains. It will at best be a Pyrrhic victory, and at worst an utter catastrophe.... At home, this intervention looks to be one of the most unpopular decisions Putin has ever made.... The economic impact on Russia is already staggering.... Even Russia's closest allies want no part of this.... Russia's isolation from the West will deepen dramatically."...

... CW: In answer to yesterday's burning question (which didn't burn very brightly), here's the American guy who most reminds me of Vladimir:

... Mark Landler & Anne Barnard of the New York Times: "President Obama welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to the White House on Monday to discuss a litany of familiar problems and confront a new one: the Ukraine crisis, which threatens American policies throughout the Middle East. The West's standoff with Russia over its seizure of Crimea, analysts and former administration officials said, could complicate American efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program, resolve Syria's civil war and, even in the short run, broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians." ...

... Terry Atlas of Bloomberg News: "President Barack Obama urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to 'seize the moment' to make peace, saying time is running out to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian agreement."

Zachary Goldfarb & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration budget to be released Tuesday will set the stage for an election-year debate over government's role in creating economic opportunity, with President Obama calling for more federal spending to help the poor and Republicans charging that such programs waste money and foster dependency." ...

... Zeke Miller of Time: "President Barack Obama's proposed 2015 budget would raise taxes on many wealthy individuals while providing an estimated 13.5 million Americans a tax break, the White House announced Monday, in the latest manifestation of Democrats' midterm-election agenda.... Meanwhile, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) is at work on a GOP budget plan that aims to overhaul the nation's welfare system, in part by cutting spending on programs that Ryan argues have locked people into poverty." ...

... New York Times Editors: Paul Ryan (RCreepy-Wisc.) produced a 204-page piece-of-crap report "that finds flaws with almost every attempt the government has made to relieve poverty and its effects since the 1960s." The purpose of the the report is to provide an "intellectual" underpinning for Republicans' dream of eliminating programs that help the poor. CW: No, the poobahs at the Gray Lady did not precisely use the term "piece of crap." But that's what they meant.

Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: Sen. Rand Paul (RTP-Ky.) & Attorney General Eric Holder "have found common cause: eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.... While a range of judges, prosecutors and public defenders have for years raised concerns about disparities in punishment, it is this alliance that may make politically possible the most significant liberalization of sentencing laws since President Richard M. Nixon declared war on drugs.... Mr. Paul is backing a sentencing overhaul bill, also supported by Mr. Holder and the Obama administration, that he predicts will pass the Senate with support from up to half of its Republicans.... Similar legislation is pending in the House...."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether prison officials in Arkansas may prohibit inmates from growing beards in accordance with their religious beliefs. The policy was challenged by Gregory H. Holt, who is serving a life sentence for burglary and domestic battery. Mr. Holt said his Muslim faith required him to grow a beard." CW: Given the character of this Court, I'd be glad to see it stick to deliberating such trivial matters.

The Jersey Way

Big-Time Crooks. Russ Buettner of the New York Times: "A comprehensive examination of [Port Authority Chair David] Samson's dealings with Governor Christie and his administration, both inside the Port Authority and out, shows the extent to which their ambitions and successes became intertwined. Mr. Samson and his law firm benefited financially. Mr. Christie benefited politically."

Kate Zernicke of the New York Times: "Court papers filed by a lawyer for Gov. Chris Christie's former campaign manager indicate that federal prosecutors are moving aggressively to investigate the role of the governor's aides in the George Washington Bridge lane closing scandal." ...

... Shawn Boburg of the Bergen Record: "Governor Christie's former campaign manager Bill Stepien appears to be a target of a federal criminal investigation, his lawyer said in a court filing on Monday, describing recent unannounced visits and phone calls by federal agents who went so far as to ask Stepien's landlord if he was a rowdy tenant and paid rent on time."

Star-Ledger Editors: "Gov. Chris Christie has another Port Authority scam to explain, this time over the killer toll hikes at the Hudson River crossings that he approved in the summer of 2011. At the time, the governor expressed shock that the Port Authority would dare to propose roughly doubling the tolls over a few years. Now we learn it was all an act.... Christie knew about the toll hikes in advance.... Christie is refusing to discuss it. But the legislative committee investigating the Port Authority has issued subpoenas, so we will eventually hear the grisly details."

Brent Johnson of the Star-Ledger: "U.S. Sen. John McCain says Gov. Chris Christie's presidential chances are still strong despite the recent controversies he is entangled in, according to a new interview with Time magazine." CW: This is the same fellow who said during the 2008 economic freefall that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." (In fairness to McCain, the same day he issued this bromide, his campaign released an ad announcing, "Our economy is in crisis.") So, Chris, as I see it, you're still a loaf of toast.

Elsewhere Beyond the Beltway

The New York Times Editors on "Florida's unconstitutional death penalty." The Supreme Court is hearing the case of Freddie Lee Hall, a Florida death-row inmate who is severely mentally retarded, though the state is claiming he isn't really because he scored as high as 80 on some IQ tests. "... the Supreme Court categorically banned the execution of people with intellectual disabilities as unconstitutional in 2002."

Travis Loller of the AP: "A former Tennessee magistrate who changed a baby's first name from Messiah to Martin was censured Monday. Lu Ann Ballew said at the time that Messiah was a title held only by Jesus Christ.... Board of Judicial Conduct Disciplinary Counsel Tim Discenza said ... that a panel of the board voted unanimously in Dandridge for a public censure. Discenza said public censure is the probably most serious sanction the board could take against Ballew, given that she already lost her position as a magistrate."

The Commentariat -- March 3, 2014

Internal links removed.

The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the Ukraine crisis.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "As Russia dispatched more forces and tightened its grip on the Crimean Peninsula on Sunday, President Obama embarked on a strategy intended to isolate Moscow and prevent it from seizing more Ukrainian territory even as he was pressured at home to respond more forcefully. Working the telephone from the Oval Office, Mr. Obama rallied allies, agreed to send Secretary of State John Kerry to Kiev and approved a series of diplomatic and economic moves intended to 'make it hurt' as one administration official put it. But the president found himself besieged by advice to take more assertive action." ...

     ... CW: Here's an example of what I've meant when I've criticized Baker's reporting. The above is supposed to be a news story. Yet after repeating some of the usual GOP whining (plus a remark from Sen. Dick Durbin [D-Ill.], who is 100% supportive of the President), Baker asks, "Is Mr. Obama tough enough to take on the former K.G.B. colonel in the Kremlin?" Tough enough? Huh? What would sufficiently demonstrate "tough"? Invading Siberia? Bombing St. Petersburg? As Marco Rubio suggests, kicking the Russian tourists out of Miami? Or just some mano-a-mano arm-wrestling with "the former K.G.B. colonel"? If only we had the Dick & Dubya back, they would know what to do. ...

... Will Englund, et al., of the Washington Post: "Russian forces expanded their control of Ukraine's Crimea region Monday, as the Ukrainian prime minister acknowledged that his country lack's military options in dealing with the takeover. The Russian forces, already in control of much of Crimea, took possession of a ferry terminal in Kerch, in the eastern part of the peninsula just across a strait from Russian territory, according to reports from the area. The terminal serves as a departure point for many ships heading to Russia." ...

... Steve Erlanger of the New York Times: "With small military standoffs around Ukrainian bases continuing in Russian-controlled Crimea and deepening anxiety about Russian intentions in eastern Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday called Ukraine 'the biggest crisis in Europe in the 21st century.' Visiting the new government in Kiev, Mr. Hague urged Russia to pull back its forces in Crimea or face 'significant costs,' echoing comments made by President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, who is due here on Tuesday." ...

... David Jolly of the New York Times: "The growing crisis in Ukraine hit global financial markets on Monday, unsettling investors who had already been nervous about shaky emerging market economies. The biggest impact was felt on Russian markets, as the Moscow benchmark Micex index dropped 9.4 percent, and the ruble fell to a record low against the dollar." ...

     ... CW: Yo, Marco, those Russian tourists in Miami are already feeling the pain. Now how many rubles does it take to buy a Cuban coffee? ...

... Geir Moulson of the AP: "The German government said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accepted a proposal by Chancellor Angela Merkel to set up a 'contact group' aimed at facilitating dialogue in the Ukraine crisis. Merkel raised the idea in a phone conversation in which she accused Putin of breaking international law with the 'unacceptable Russian intervention in Crimea." ...

... Steve Erlanger: "As Russian security forces consolidated their hold on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula on Sunday, the Ukrainian government called up its reserves and appealed for international help, while American and European leaders warned of potential political and economic penalties for Moscow. Sunday was a day of messages and mopping up, with Ukrainian and Western leaders trying to dissuade President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia from overplaying his hand and ordering an invasion of eastern Ukraine, even as Russian forces and their sympathizers in Crimea worked to disarm or neutralize any Ukrainian resistance there." ...

... Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "The State Department announced Sunday that Secretary of State John F. Kerry will visit Kiev on Tuesday to show support for the new leadership there in the face of Russian military intervention."

... Michael Gordon of the New York Times: "Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Sunday that Russia risked eviction from the Group of 8 industrialized nations if the Kremlin did not reverse its military occupation of Crimea in Ukraine." ...

... Dana Davidsen of CNN: "... U.S. lawmakers are pushing for decisive action against Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the violence in the region and respect Ukraine's independence. Appearing on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday, Sens. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat, and Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, made the case for congressional sanctions and a suspension of Russian membership in the G8 and G20." CW: Predictably, Graham called President Obama "weak and indecisive," blah-blah. As far as I can tell, Obama is skeert of foreign leaders, but at home he's a ruthless dictator. ...

... Masha Lipman of the New Yorker: "Vladimir Putin is not interested in mustering a 'coalition of the willing.' ... The West is no longer seen as 'partner,' the word Putin commonly used in the past. The West has become an unequivocal enemy. It is no exaggeration to say that tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine evoke the prolonged division that defined the Cold War. The geopolitical struggles over Iran, Syria, Georgia, and, now, Ukraine do not rise to the apocalyptic potential of the Cuban Missile crisis, but the stakes are enormous.... This is Putin's response to Ukraine's attempt to build a new nationhood that combines a leaning toward the Western world with the nationalism of Ukraine's own west; both 'wests' are regarded by Putin as utterly hostile to Russian interests." ...

... "Russian Exceptionalism." Adam Taylor of the Washington Post revisits Putin's 9/11/2013 letter to the New York Times in which Putin argued against U.S. military intervention in Syria. Putin wrote then that "'decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus,' and that an American-led strike against the Syrian regime 'could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance. ... We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today's complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos,' Putin wrote. 'The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not.'" ...

... Juan Cole contemplates some of the regional implications of Russia's takeover of the Crimea & possible Western sanctions. The situation is, to say the least, complex. ...

... CW: I don't know what to make of this Washington Post editorial, titled "President Obama's Foreign Policy Is Based on Fantasy," since the editors claim they're not warmongering. I think they'd like to see the Pentagon arrange for some goose-stepping military parades on Pennsylvania Avenue. ...

... CW: Since Russia's invasion of the Crimea, many news organizations have run this AP photo of Vladimir Putin, no doubt because he looks insane in the shot. But he also looks to me like a certain American. I wonder if any of you notice a resemblance to another figure often in the U.S. news:

Reid Epstein of Politico: Darrell "Issa, the California Republican who chairs the House Oversight and Reform Committee, told 'Fox News Sunday' that [Lois] Lerner, the former head of the IRS tax-exempt division, would testify before his committee Wednesday, which he said he had been told by her attorney. That attorney, William W. Taylor, said Issa is wrong. 'As of now, she intends to continue to assert her Fifth Amendment rights,' Taylor told Politico."

Paul Krugman: "Recently the Federal Reserve released transcripts of its monetary policy meetings during the fateful year of 2008. And boy, are they discouraging reading. Partly that's because Fed officials come across as essentially clueless about the gathering economic storm.... What's really striking is the extent to which they were obsessed with the wrong thing. The economy was plunging, yet all many people at the Fed wanted to talk about was inflation."

Tim Alberta of the National Journal doesn't use the term, but he sure lays out the evidence that John Boehner is a flim-flam man. Actual legislating is not only against the GOP's perceived interests, it's hard, what with the devil being in the details.

Here's a surprise: Netanyahu promises to be obstreperous. Josef Federman of the AP: " Israel's prime minister headed to Washington on Sunday for a high-stakes meeting with President Barack Obama about U.S.-led Mideast peace efforts, vowing to maintain a tough line in the face of heavy international pressure to begin making concessions to the Palestinians."

New Jersey News

Shawn Boburg of the Bergen Record: "Years before they resigned amid a scandal over politically motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, Governor Christie's top two executives at the Port Authority [-- Bill Baroni & David Wildstein --] led a secretive campaign to quickly push through controversial toll hikes on the Hudson River bridges and tunnels by drowning out criticism, limiting public input and portraying the governors of New York and New Jersey as fiscal hawks who reined in an out-of-control agency."

Elsewhere Beyond the Beltway

** Phillip Longman of the Washington Monthly demythologizes and debunks the "Texas Miracle": Texas "may offer low housing prices compared to California and an unemployment rate below the national average, but it also has low rates of economic mobility, minimal public services, and, unless you are rich, taxes that are as high or higher than most anywhere else in America. And worse, despite all the oil money sloshing around, Texas is no longer gaining on the richest states in its per capita income, but rather getting comparatively poorer and poorer.... The real Texas miracle is that its current leaders get away with bragging about it."

Caitlin MacNeal of TPM: "California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Sunday said that he is not ready to legalize marijuana use in the state. 'Well, we have medical marijuana, which gets very close to what they have in Colorado and Washington. I'd really like those two states to show us how it's going to work,' he said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' Brown said he was worried about what would happen to the nation if too many people used the drug too often."

Thoughts from Right Wing World

Arthur Brooks, the president of the right-wing American Enterprise Institute, explains in a New York Times op-ed why it's a terrible thing to talk about inequality; rather, we should be instituting the winger/Villager agenda. His little essay is a good example of the slick tricks of fake intellectuals, but you will recognize the wind-up & pitch because you've seen exactly the same malarkey, presented in precisely the same format, coming from that other Brooks -- David. ...

... To continue with our Winger's Guide to the New York Times Op-Ed Page, we turn to a very sad Ross Douthat, who has "surrendered" to those of us who think "love and commitment" are "enough to make a marriage," whereas he is among the ever-dwindling minority who believe marriage should "emphasize gender differences and procreation." ...

... Martin Longman of the Washington Monthly: "It sounds like [Douthat] thinks women are only worth marrying so that they can have men's children. Loving them is not necessary. Being committed to them is not necessary. ...

     ... CW: That is what Douthat believes. Sadly, Douthat is a moderate conservative; the views of more perverse wingers are that women have almost no value -- they're merely temporary "hosts" to men's children. Incubators.

The federal government takes sides and hands out spoils based on skin color. -- Tucker Carlson, Fox "News" host & editor of the Daily Caller

Okay, that's enough.