The Commentariat -- May 25

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, for a reciprocal dinner at the Winfield House in London. Getty image.President Obama addresses the British Parliament:

     ... Here's the full text of his speech, via the White House.

President Obama & British Prime Minister Cameron hold a joint press conference:

Maureen Dowd: "Obama had to take a foreign trip to seem less foreign to Americans." ...

... I've posted a comments page on Off Times Square for Dowd. Karen Garcia and I have added our comments.

While making baseless claims might be shrewd tactics for those who want to undermine the bureau’s work, they are flatly wrong. -- Elizabeth Warren, in testimony before the House Oversight Committee

Ben Protess of the New York Times writes a plain-vanilla report on yet another committee grilling of Elizabeth Warren, the head of the not-yet-operational Financial Consumer Protection Bureau. ...

... Karen Garcia is less sanguine, comparing the hearing to the Spanish Inquisition, as Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) repeatedly accused Warren of lying under oath & ironically, seldom let her finish a sentence. You can watch the hearing on C-SPAN. Here's the final exchange -- my guess is that twit McHenry doesn't consult his own staff:

     ... Video via Dave Weigel. Ari Berman of The Nation has more on the hearing.

Unretouched photo of David Brooks in London by renowned celebrity photographer Lord Driftglass of High Mockeryshire.Glenn Greenwald does a nice job of whacking Our Oligarchical Mister Brooks in his Adoration of the Elites. ...

... AND so, of course does Driftglass. ...

... Update. Commenter P. D. Pepe recommends this commentary on Brooks' column by British writer Daniel Knowles. So do I. Here's a taste: "... his column is laughably ignorant of British history and bizarrely naive about British political culture.... This self-indulgent ego-boosting nonsense is just what we need to get away from. While our politicos go around slapping themselves on the backs about how utterly indescribably and uniquely brilliant they all are, the British public hates them more than ever."

... An American Disgrace. Glenn Greenwald on reaction to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's speech yesterday before a joint session of Congress: "... the super-patriots of the American Right..., the same faction that spent the last decade demanding fealty to the Commander-in-Chief in a Time of War upon pain of being accused of a lack of patriotism (or worse) now openly sides with a foreign leader over their own President.  The U.S. Congress humiliates itself by expressing greater admiration for and loyalty to this foreign leader than their own country's."

You know, we don't do elaborate things.... We are very frugal. -- Newt Gingrich

Here are a few Gingrich frugalities: "His flagship political operation, a tax-exempt conservative group called American Solutions for Winning the Future, has spent at least $2.2 million over the past two years on private jets and executive chauffeur services"; a million-dollar-plus home; dining at the chic La Sponda in Amalfi; dining at the upscale Cafe Milano in Georgetown; the Newt wearing a $15-20,000 Patek Philippie Calatrava watch; "a $450 bottle of 1983 Chateau Latour." More to come, I'm sure.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times: "To the long list of rich-guy foibles that turned into defining campaign moments — John Edwards’s $400 haircut, John Kerry’s kite-surfing,* John McCain’s inability to remember how many homes he owns — let us now add Newt Gingrich’s $500,000 revolving line of credit at the luxury jeweler Tiffany & Company.... The way some voters out in the rest of America might see it, he’s a guy who paid more for jewelry than some people pay for their houses." ...

... Time has a slideshow of Callista's Tiffany trove. ...

... Jeff Stein of SpyTalk: " At the same time Tiffany & Co. was extending Callista (Bisek) Gingrich a virtual interest-free loan of tens of thousands of dollars, the diamond and silverware firm was spending big bucks to influence mining policy in Congress and in agencies over which the House Agriculture Committee -- where she worked -- had jurisdiction, official records show."

Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post fact-checker was "puzzled by his claim that he [Gingrich] had a 'standard, no-interest account' at Tiffany & Co." Uh, there's no such thing. Tiffany's "standard" account charges 21 percent interest. Read Kessler's whole article. It's a hoot. Kessler has an update here, the crux of which is that Tiffany's confirmed that the Gingriches now have a zero balance at Tiffany's. Kessler doesn't change his three Pinocchios rating.

* A friend writes, "Wind-surfing is like a half-million dollar Tiffany's account? Really? A friend writes, "... the Kerry thing is just stupid. You know what? I've gone wind surfing. It was a blast. I'm an ocean guy, and I like doing stuff like parachuting and para-sailing and wind surfing....when I get a chance to do it and I'm on vacation and I have an extra $50 to do it. It is NOT something restricted to rich guys. In no way could you ever mistake me for a rich guy."

News Ledes

New York Times: "A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Jared L. Loughner was not mentally competent to stand trial on charges of opening fire at a constituent event for an Arizona congresswoman in January, killing 6 and injuring 13."

Slate: "Goodwin Liu, President Obama's nominee for a seat on the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals, sent a letter to the president ... officially withdrawing his name from consideration. Liu's nomination was filibustered in the Senate last week, when Republicans (and one Democrat) refused to give Liu an up-or-down vote."

New York Times: "The Justice Department plans to move ahead with criminal charges against John Edwards, the former senator and presidential candidate, contending that he misused campaign funds to cover up an affair, a person close to Mr. Edwards said on Wednesday morning."

NBC News: "As residents in three states picked through rubble, looking for victims and belongings buried by storms that killed 14 people, twisters were reported in the Kansas City area and an even broader round of severe weather was expected throughout Wednesday." With video.

PM & Mrs. Obamas spent their second day in London today.

Reuters: "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel was offering 'nothing we can build on' for peace and that without progress he will seek U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood in September." ...

... Washington Post: "Top Democrats have joined a number of Republicans in challenging President Obama’s policy toward Israel, further exposing rifts that the White House and its allies will seek to mend before next year’s election." CW: ... evidently because "top Democrats" and "a number of Republicans" claim not to know Netanyahu agreed to Obama's stated terms last November.

Washington Post: "... when pressed to name their biggest concern, nearly half of [American] respondents say they are alarmed by the prospect that the debt could grow beyond its current limit of $14.3 trillion, according to a new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll. Only 35 percent say they are more worried about the risk of default and economic destabilization if Congress does not raise the debt limit." CW: the President has utterly failed to explain to the American people why raising the debt ceiling is necessary. He hasn't even addressed it.

The Obamas in Britain

And the Band Played on over Him. President Obama toasts Queen Elizabeth:

Queen Elizabeth speaks at the state dinner in the Obamas' honor:

Elizabeth, Philip & the Obamas arrive at the state dinner:

Queen Elizabeth II poses with U.S. President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle Obama and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace ahead of a State Banquet in London. Getty image.

Here's the Guardian's liveblog of the Obamas' visit to Great Britain.

President Obama meets Leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party Ed Miliband at Buckingham Palace. Getty image.

WiffWaff, a/k/a Ping Pong Politics. President Obama & British PM David Cameron take on some local champs, who don't appear to have much to worry about:

Putting some English on it. Getty image.

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are greeted by British Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha outside Number 10 Downing Street. Getty image.

President Obama lays a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Westminster Abbey in London, England. Getty image.

President & Mrs. Obama had lunch with Queen Elizabeth of England today. Washington Post story here.

President Obama accompanied by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II view an exhibition at the Portrait Gallery inside Buckingham Palace in London. Getty image.

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "The ceremony inaugurated a two-day state visit by the American president, rich in pageantry but shadowed by concerns over the stalemate in Libya, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and deepening tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians."

Because who doesn't carry a purse to her own front door? Getty image.... Maybe this is why. Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: "Perhaps foreshadowing an election season debate in the United States about the cost of America’s own projections of power overseas, the British are wondering whether their deeply indebted nation can maintain its substantial international role."

Hold onto your hat -- and your skirt. AP photo.

President Obama & Prince Philip review the honor guard. Getty image.

The Obamas in the parlor with the new Duke & Duchess of Cambridge. Getty image.

The Obamas arrive at Buckingham Palace:

I'll get up a travel page sometime within the next 24 hours or so.

The Commentariat -- May 24

I've posted an Open Thread for today's Off Times Square. Brooks was unintentionally hilarious today, so I've posted my comment on his column, and also my comment on Nocera's column. Kate Madison's comment, which is very popular among Times readers, is also posted here.

Today is Election Day in New York Congressional District 26. VOTE!!!

... New York's 26th is usually a solidly Republican District, but Democrat Kathy Hochul, who has emphasized the Ryan/Republican Tea Party Medicare debacle, was ahead by 4 points in the last polling done, and Democrats attribute her potential win to the public's rebuke of the plan. Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post, however, thinks Hochul's good showing is the result of her being the most experienced politician & campaigner in the three-way race.

Prof. Bill McKibben in a tongue-in-chief Washington Post op-ed on why you shouldn't consider the many recent disastrous weather events as even remotely related to climate change: "Better to join with the U.S. House of Representatives, which voted 240 to 184 this spring to defeat a resolution saying simply that 'climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for public health and welfare.' Propose your own physics; ignore physics altogether.... If you got upset about any of this, you might forget how important it is not to disrupt the record profits of our fossil fuel companies."

Take the Money and Run. Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "Thousands of companies and nonprofits that received funds from the Obama administration’s economic stimulus program owe hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes, according to estimates in a new government report. A Government Accountability Office investigation set for release Tuesday found that at least 3,700 recipients receiving $24 billion in stimulus contracts and grants owe more than $750 million to the government."

Jennifer Haberkorn of Politico: "Sen. Lisa Murkowski has become the latest Senate Republican to shy away from Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan, saying she may not vote for the House budget later this week because of her concerns about how it might affect Medicare.... She’s the fourth Senate Republican who has either come out against the House Medicare plan or expressed doubts about it. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Scott Brown of Massachusetts have said they won’t support it when it comes up for a Senate vote later this week. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine has been vocal with her criticism of the Medicare plan, too, but hasn’t said how she will vote." ...

Yes, this is an undoctored photo of self-certified doctor Rand Paul.... AND Manu Raju of Politico: "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Monday evening he couldn’t support Ryan’s budget because it would add too much to the national debt.... The conservative tea party favorite joins some moderate Republicans who have voiced concerns with Ryan’s plan for going too far on overhauling Medicare.... But Paul said he actually likes Ryan’s changes to Medicare – and he’ll later unveil his own stand-alone plan to overhaul Medicare." CW: Crazy Randy is write about Ryan's budget adding to the debt -- it would add more than Obama's working proposal -- but you can bet Li'l Randy's Medicare WIP will be good for one special interest only: questionably-certified opthamologists.

Hear yourself. Hear yourself.... You want the government to take care of you, because your employer decided not to take care of you. My question is, ‘When do I decide I’m going to take care of me?'
-- Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.) ...

... CW Translation: You're on your own, Sister. (Video here.)

Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu and U.S. right-wing politicians went nuts this week over President Obama's speech in which he said the Israeli-Palestinian settlement should be based on the 1967 lines, with swaps. Bibi rejected the proposal & lectured Obama, while wingers immediately said stuff like this:

Mitt Romney ('President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus.'); Tim Pawlenty ('President Obama’s insistence on a return to the 1967 borders is a mistaken and very dangerous demand.'); and Mike Huckabee ('This is an outrage to peace, sovereignty of Israel, and a stable Middle East.') -- Peter Catapano of the New York Times

... which was all a lot of crap because, as Andrew Sullivan notes, in November 2010, Netanyahu and Hillary Clinton issued a joint statement, which read in part,

The Prime Minister and the Secretary agreed on the importance of continuing direct negotiations to achieve our goals. The Secretary reiterated that 'the United States believes that through good-faith negotiations, the parties can mutually agree on an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state, based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps....'

That is, Bibi & his American right-wing enablers have thrown fits over something Bibi himself has already agreed to. What a bunch of phonies. 

Mark Ambinder of the National Journal, who has proved to be a credible Obama Administration mouthpiece, on what the Obama camp thinks of the Republican field of presidential candidates.

Right Wing World *

Glenn Thrush & Jake Sherman of Politico: how the Republican House decided to pass the Ryan plan despite dire warnings from GOP pollsters, political consultants & staffers that it would be a political disaster with no purpose since there was no chance of its becoming law. Bottom line: Boehner can't control the freshman class of teabaggers, who think they have a mandate to run roughshod over entitlements, & Eric Cantor is colluding with the kids.

PolitiFact: "An ad from the Republican controlled campaign group Crossroads GPS [Karl Rove's group] asserts that unions are exempt from the new health care law as a political favor from President Barack Obama.... We don’t see any pattern that would support a case for special treatment." ...

... As Greg Sargent wrote last October,

Here's something important that's getting lost in the firefight over the money funding the ads by the U.S. Chamber and Karl Rove's groups: Many of the ads themselves have been debunked by independent fact checkers as false, grossly misleading, or marred with distortions.

AP Fact-Checker: "'Truth' was Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's buzzword Monday when he announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He said he will tell the truth about hard choices facing the nation while others — President Barack Obama notably among them — do not. A parsing of Pawlenty's opening-day statements shows they were not the whole truth." The Fact-Checker then ticks off seven of the misstatements of fact Pawlenty made in just his announcement speech. ...

... Dana Milbank: so then Pawlenty goes on Limbaugh & lies again about having been an advocate for government that actually governs. CW: not only is Pawlenty a liar, but his "truth-telling" message is a wink-wink to the right-wing: he is contrasting himself with President Obama who has "lied" about his place of birth (Kenya) & religion (Muslim) & preferred form of government (communism/socialism).

... Pawlenty says his having once been a tourist in Europe & the Middle East qualifies as "having the most or as much international experience as anybody in the field." CW: Yeah, snapping those pix of the wife & kids standing in front of the Eiffel Tower probably gave him a lot of insights into the intricacies and nuances of diplomatic negotiations. ...

... AND former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson, a Republican, says Tim Pawlenty was a fiscally-irresponsible governor of his state.

The DNC has a swell ad demonstrating just how wrong the major Republican presidential candidates are on the economy. Message: don't believe what they tell you because they don't know squat and will destroy American industry -- and American jobs -- with their dangerous, unfounded fiscal belief system:

* Where facts never intrude.

News Ledes

President Obama this morning on the devastation in Missouri:

** New York Times: Democrat Kathy Hochul wins in New York's 26th Congressional District.

ABC News: "The United States Department of Justice has green-lighted the prosecution of former presidential candidate John Edwards for alleged violations of campaign laws while he tried to cover up an extra-marital affair, ABC News has learned. A source close to the case said Edwards is aware that the government intends to seek an indictment and that the former senator from North Carolina is now considering his limited options. He could accept a plea bargain with prosecutors or face a potentially costly trial." With video.

New York Times: "A series of tornadoes struck central Oklahoma on Tuesday, wiping out homes and businesses and killing at least four people. Officials said the number could rise as search and rescue teams started to fan out across a state already battered by storms over the weekend."

New York Times: The mysterious, reclusive heiress Huguette Clark died today in New York. She was 104.

AP: "The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto a defense bill, fiercely objecting to provisions limiting President Barack Obama's authority to reduce the nation's nuclear arsenal and decide the fate of terrorist suspects. In a statement, the Obama administration said it generally supported passage of the legislation, which would provide $553 billion for the Defense Department in next year's budget and an additional $118 billion to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the administration identified three provisions that would prompt the president's advisers to recommend that Obama veto the bill."

Guardian: "Egypt referred Hosni Mubarak to court on Tuesday over the killing of protesters and other charges, defying speculation that Egypt's new military rulers would spare the former president public humiliation."

Washington Post: "Speaking before a wildly receptive joint meeting of Congress that showered him with more than two dozen sustained standing ovations, [Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu said Israel wants and needs peace but repeated his flat rejection of a return to what he called the 'indefensible borders that existed before the 1967 Mideast war." CW: see today' Commentariat. Liar. C-SPAN has the full speech, with backup from his Republican Likud cheerleading squad, here.

Washington Post: "A top envoy from the U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that Libya’s rebel government would open an office in Washington, the latest indication that the United States views the rebels as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people."

President & Mrs. Obama were in London today.

Los Angeles Times: "President Obama this morning expressed his sorrow about the tornado damage in Missouri, Minnesota and around the Midwest, calling the devastation 'incomparable' and promising a full federal response to help in the recovery. Obama has already dispatched federal officials to the region to survey the damage and talk with local officials, and he said he will visit Missouri personally Sunday." ...

... AP: "Rescue crews worked through the rain-soaked chill of night, ignoring lightning and strong winds to dig through splintered homes, crumpled businesses and crushed cars in this Missouri town walloped by the deadliest single tornado in nearly six decades. Even more ominous: More storms, possibly strong ones, were on the horizon. The death toll in Joplin reached 116 on Monday and was expected to climb. But there were glimmers of hope: Rescuers pulled 17 people from the rubble, and Gov. Jay Nixon vowed that crews would keep searching until everyone is accounted for."

Washington Post: "Libya’s capital shook with at least 15 massive explosions Tuesday morning, as NATO launched its largest airstrike to date on the heart of Moammar Gaddafi’s regime. The strike came hours after French officials said Monday that France and Britain planned to deploy attack helicopters to Libya. Such a move would allow greater accuracy in military action within cities but would probably put their troops at higher risk."

AP: Harold Camping, "a California preacher who foretold of the world's end only to see the appointed day pass with no extraordinarily cataclysmic event, has revised his apocalyptic prophecy, saying he was off by five months and the Earth actually will be obliterated on Oct. 21." CW: I hope this will be the last story I link about this crank.